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“You can’t do this.” The man made no move.
“You shouldn’t have done what you did.” I shouldered past him.
“I called her to come get some of them,” he cried.
“So you got one thing right. Don’t make another mistake.”
I jogged around the front of the van.
Pepper screamed.
I reversed course to find the man had opened the side door.
Dogs barked viciously.
The man fought for the leashes in her hand. She kicked her legs wildly, landing a couple blows to his stomach.
“Leave them alone,” she screamed.
I yanked on his shoulders and tossed him to the ground.
“Ahh!” He landed flat on his back.
I put a boot on his chest. “I said don’t make another mistake.” I pressed a little harder to emphasize the point before I removed my foot.
“Lock it.” I closed the van doors again and sprinted around to the driver’s side.
Thank God Pepper had never turned off the ignition. I threw it into gear and slammed on the gas.
No one said a word until we were off the track property.
“Is this what all rescues are like?” I asked.
“No,” Miss Adeline said. “We don’t usually get caught.”
Chapter Fourteen
Pepper
Thirteen.
What were we going to do with thirteen more dogs? We were already out of kennels. And our donation funds were nearly dry. After the vet bill from Dr. Lyons came in, the coffers would be depleted.
When I’d gone in that track kennel and seen the conditions, I’d nearly been paralyzed. It didn’t matter how many ugly situations I’d seen. It never got any easier.
But we’d rescued them.
They were safe now. And thankfully most of them just needed to put some weight on, although a couple were dangerously underweight and one had a fractured leg.
Dr. Lyons had kept them for observation.
There was a sea of greyhounds at my feet as I filled water bowls.
It was nearly ten o’clock. I still had to walk the other dogs before bed. And I had to figure out where our new friends would sleep. We didn’t have enough crates. Maybe they’d have to come upstairs.
“We’ll be fine.” Miss Adeline patted my shoulder. “We always are.”
“I know.” And I did. But I was exhausted.
