Page 15 of Unexpected

Directly in front of my desk was a picture window looking into the front yard and street beyond. When setting up my office, I decided it would be nice to stare outside instead of at a wall. The idea was fine, except I had grossly misjudged my own ability to focus and found myself distracted by people, cars, and whatever else.

That time I was distracted by a dog, but not just any dog. Sadie, my wonderful neighbor’s dog, was sunbathing in my front yard. I let a second or two pass, scanned the rest of the yard, and when I decided that sure enough, she had gotten out once again, I got up from my desk.

I opened the front door, and rather than dart off like most dogs would, Sadie rolled onto her back with her tongue hanging out of the side of her mouth.

“Hi, sweet girl,” I cooed as I approached her slowly, still hoping she wouldn’t dart off into the street.

She pawed at the air and stretched to show me more of her stomach. I ran my fingers through her blonde coat and gave her the tummy rubs she was after. Just to be sure, I checked her collar and confirmed that it was Sadie and that Luke’s phone number was on the reverse side along with his address.

I stood and began walking toward his house while patting my thigh. “Come on. Let’s go home,” I said in a high-pitched voice I reserved only for cute dogs and babies.

She slowly rolled onto her stomach and stood up. She looked a little uneasy, and when she began walking to me, she refused to put any weight on her front right paw. She held it tucked to her side as she tried to move as quickly as her injured body would take her.

Shit.Not only had I found Luke’s dog in my yard, but I had found her injured in my yard.

Luke and Josh always parked in the driveway, and when I turned to find that neither of their trucks was there, I decided just to bite the bullet and call Luke.

I sat down in the grass and Sadie followed. I rubbed between her ears as her eyes drooped close.

“Luke Shepherd's phone,” a bright, unexpected voice answered.

“Umm, yes. Is Luke available?” I asked after gathering my thoughts.

“He’s actually busy at the moment. Can I help with something?”

“I’m his neighbor, and I found his dog in my front yard. It looks like her front paw or leg is hurt.”

“Oh, no. Hold on one second,” she said before I heard shuffling and low whispers in the background. “Are you there?”

“Yes.”

“Could you bring her to the Forest Vet Clinic? I can give you the address if you need it.”

She provided the address as I typed it into my phone, and I was happy to see it was only five-ish minutes away. She said she would meet me out front to take Sadie.She instructed me to park in one of the reserved spots near the door, and she would wait there.

Thankfully, we were seated in the grass fairly close to my car, and Sadie didn’t appear to really want to go anywhere. So, I rushed into the house, grabbed my purse, and locked the door. Sadie was able to slowly amble to my car, but I had to lift her to get her in the back seat. It probably took longer than it should have, but the last thing I wanted to do was hurt her even more.

Sadie looked sad on the way to the vet, so I talked to her and assured her that I would beat her daddy’s ass for letting her escape again.

Just as she said she would be, a woman was outside waiting for me when I pulled into the closest spot to the door. She whipped the back door open before saying anything to me and scooped all seventy pounds of Sadie into her arms like it was no big deal.

“I’m just going to take her inside. You don’t have to stay,” she said over her shoulder while walking to the door. I turned the car off and grabbed my purse off of the passenger seat.

“Actually, I thought I’d sit and wait with her,” I said and ran ahead to open the door for the veterinary technician.

For some reason, she seemed hesitant to let me stay but led me through the lobby and into an examination room at the back of the building. She told me I could wait in the small room while she took Sadie back for some X-rays. Her long, blonde ponytail swung as she walked through a separate door in the room that appeared to lead to the back of the clinic.

I plopped into one of the black plastic chairs on the opposite wall and shivered when the air conditioning kicked on and blew directly on me. The only decorations in the room were funny pictures of dogs hanging on the walls. But the can of treats and bottle of squeeze cheese on the counter were also nice touches.

Without a better way to pass the time, I pulled out my phone. My mom had sent me several text messages with names of wedding venues along with their availability. Other messages were pictures of wedding dresses that were more extravagant than what I was wanting but were beautiful, nonetheless.

I clicked the links she sent for the venues and gawked at the absolutely insane price tags. I was typing out my thoughts on one venue when the door leading to the back opened again.

I expected to see the petite blonde but was surprised when six-foot-something Luke stepped inside.

He was wearing dark-blue scrubs that hugged his biceps, his chest, his thighs, and suddenly the room felt even smaller than it had a few moments before. I chastised myself for finding him attractive. I mean, I was a woman, and just because I was engaged didn’t mean I turned off my hormones or was exempt from feeling a certain way sometimes. Then I realized the last time he’d seen me, I’d been accidentally topless and flushed at the memory.

“Hey, thanks for bringing her by,” Luke said as he approached the opposite side of the exam table.He was casual and definitely not thinking about me topless. Good.

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