Page 41 of Daddy's Little Cowgirl

Ellie stiffened when the dog stepped a little closer, thinking this was it. She was about ready to get attacked. Instead, the dog fell to the ground on his back.

She remembered reading that dogs did that to show they were submissive. She couldn’t think of anything else it could be. She knelt close to it and put her hand on its chest.

“Is this okay, puppy?”

The dog’s tail started wagging. Another good sign, she thought. She used her fingers to pet him, and he seemed to like it.

“Maybe you’re not so mean.”

The dog whined.

“What? Are you hurt?” she asked as she looked over the animal. She could tell that besides the fact he was dirty, he was very thin.

“We need to get you some food.” She looked over to the shack. She was afraid to go in, but the bad man might have left food that she could feed the dog. “Let’s look in the cabin. Will you go with me?”

The dog rolled and stood to his feet next to her. He was bigger than she thought when she saw that the top of his head was level with her breasts.

The dog nudged her hand with its nose. “What? Do you want me to pet you?”

He whined and pressed against her side, almost knocking her to the ground. She giggled and sank her fingers into his fur and scratched along his body.

She smiled when the dog groaned. “You like this, I see.” The thing wasn’t so mean after all. It just wanted affection. Now, she just needed to keep it together so she could get them home.

Chapter Twenty-Five

She kept at it for a moment. “Let’s check out the cabin.”

When they got to the door, she opened it, but the dog immediately pushed her out of the way so it could go in first. She watched him check out the room before he came back to stand in front of her.

“You’re just trying to protect me, aren’t you?”

Without a thought, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. “Thank you for being my friend.”

She giggled when the dog turned its head and started licking her face. “Ewww.” She stood. “Maybe after a bath, but I’m not sure how I’m going to do that. We might have to wait until we get home.”

She thought about how long it had taken the man to drive her there. She had no idea if she was still on the ranch. It had been longer than thirty minutes but not quite an hour. “We’ll figure it out. Right now, I want to find you something to eat.”

She went through the things on the counter. There were beans, chili, and chips, but nothing she thought a dog should eat. She lifted the lid to the cooler and saw meat. “Ahh, here we go.”

She pulled out a package of sandwich meat and opened it. “I hope this is okay to feed you.”

She set the package down and watched the dog devour it. “Wow, You’re really hungry. Let me get you something else.” She pulled out a slab of ham and watched it go just as quickly. She smiled when she came to some steaks. “I think you’ll like this. I hope it’s okay to give it to you raw because I wouldn’t know how to cook it.”

She handed it to the animal and was surprised he gently took it from her hand. It took a little longer for him to eat the steak.

There was more, but she didn’t know if the dog would get sick eating too much at once. “How about we save the rest for later?”

The dog sat and waited. She petted its head.

“You are very smart. Aren’t you? Heck, you’re smarter than most humans I’ve met.” She laughed.

She put everything she thought they’d use in a bag, including the chips and several bottles of water. She also grabbed a blanket and pillow. It grossed her out thinking of using the man’s things, but she wanted to make sure they were prepared for anything.

“Let’s see if we can get the truck to work.”

It took Ellie some time to pull the fabric the guy covered the truck in. She opened the door and looked up. It would take some effort to even get in the thing.

She looked at the dog. “Can you get up because I don’t think I’d be able to lift you?”

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