Page 131 of Until the Sea Runs Dry

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Jane had barely slept a wink all night.

After they had returned home with Loki, who was pale around the gums and much quieter than normal, they had kept turns keeping watch on him.

Instead of his place by the fire, they’d had him on the bed between them, which had sent the puppy’s tail wagging until he’d quickly run out of energy.

Though the vet said he should make a full recovery, Jane wasn’t able to shake the feeling that it was her fault he was sick. She wasn’t able to relax, her nerves shrieking at her that something was very wrong. Even with the fire burning, she wasn’t able to shake the chill that had entered her body.

When six o’clock came, Logan got up reluctantly. Dark shadows ringed his eyes.

“Are you sure you can’t call in sick?” She didn’t want to cause issues with the production, but she would feel much happier if he stayed home with them today.

Reluctantly, Logan shook his head. “I wish I could, but I have to go in today.”

Swallowing her disappointment, she looked at Loki, sleeping by her side. “I’m supposed to see the hypnotherapist again today, but I can’t leave Loki. I know he shouldn’t take a turn for the worst, but I’m not willing to risk it.”

“I’ll arrange for him to come here for your session.”

There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that he’d be able to do that.

“Thank you.”

She went to hug him, but Logan seemed distracted. There was a distance in his eyes that hadn’t been there during the night.

There was trouble on the horizon.

She couldn’t say how she knew this. Call it intuition or her gut, but she knew it as sure as the sun rose each morning.

Something was coming.

They walked into the kitchen to find Kitty, having cooked another breakfast for them. Today, she’d made waffles and eggs, with freshly squeezed orange juice and an exotic fruit salad.

“Can Loki eat anything yet, or should I wait?” Kitty asked, bending down to fuss over him as followed them inside. “Poor boy.”

He whined up at her, still as adorable as ever, though the little pep in his step that was usually there was nowhere in sight this morning.

“Let me check with his vet,” Logan said.

A quick call to the clinic as the vet was wrapping up the night shift, and he confirmed, “We can give him bland food like rice and chicken, and lots of water, but nothing else until his system stabilizes.”

“I’ll get right on it and steam him some chicken. I’ll mix the chicken juice with the rice. He should like that,” Kitty said, casting the puppy a concerned look as he crawled into his bed in the kitchen.

Grabbing a banana, Logan stroked Loki on the head. “Don’t give us any more problems, understand? I’ll be back later.”

Loki managed an answering thump of his tail.

He kissed Jane. “I don’t have a big day today, so I should be home before too long. Thank you for the birthday. And if I forget to tell you later, it was the best one I’ve ever had.”

His words should have instilled warmth, though she couldn’t get rid of that churning that had been in her stomach since they’d arrived home from the vets.

He waved goodbye and left, leaving Jane nibbling on a croissant even though her stomach recoiled at the very thought of food.

She had to eat something so she wouldn’t crash and burn, particularly when the therapist arrived. Even though she wanted to crawl back into bed, she forced down the rest of the croissant, finished her coffee and took a quick shower while Kitty kept a watchful eye on Loki.

When she was dressed, she spent an hour with Loki to make sure he was recovering. Despite how good the food Kitty had made for him smelled, Loki needed encouragement to eat, his stomach still somewhat sore.

It wasn’t until Jane fished up one of the pieces of chicken with her fingers and held it to his mouth that his tongue snaked out to lick it. Once he tasted it, it seemed to kick-start his appetite. He ate the entire bowl, which made her feel a little better. It was about as much as they could have hoped for at this point, but it did show he was making progress.

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