Page 64 of Reckless Harmony

“How about you?” he asked. “You set up the date with your big spender yet?”

Rayna glanced at Stark before clearing her throat. “Friday as well.”

“Nice,” Lennox said. “Anyway, thanks for coming out. Louis is in the barn with the dog and is willing to sign the surrender form.”

“Is he drunk?” Rayna asked as the four of them headed across the icy ground toward the barn.

“He’s been drinking,” the sheriff said, “but he isn’t drunk. Not yet.”

They entered the barn, and Lennox led them to a stall near the back. A tall, broad shouldered man with weathered skin and wearing a thick wool coat stood outside the stall, a beer can in one meaty hand.

“Well, if it ain’t the little rescue bitch,” Louis said with a sneer at Rayna.

Stark immediately took Rayna’s hand, pulling her closer to him, but before he could tell the man to shut the fuck up, the sheriff gave Louis a hard look. “Knock it off, Louis, or you’ll spend the night in a jail cell.”

The man’s immediate pout would have put a tired toddler to shame. “What the fuck, Sheriff? You can’t arrest me for calling someone a bitch.”

Gideon just stared at him, and after only a few seconds, Louis looked away. “Whatever. Just take the fucking dog.”

Rayna tried to tug her hand free of Stark’s, giving him a warning look when he didn’t release her. “I need to look at the dog.”

Instead of releasing her hand, he started toward the stall, keeping his body between Rayna’s and Louis’s. They stepped into the stall, and he muttered a curse under his breath, this time letting go of Rayna’s hand when she pulled away.

Rayna crouched next to the bloodhound, studying the massive, pus and maggot-infested wound on its right shoulder. She placed a tentative hand on the dog’s ribs. He whined but didn’t lift his head or make any move to bite her, and she gently scratched around his chin and throat. “It’s okay, good boy. We’ll get you feeling better soon.”

The dog shifted on the ground, and Stark grimaced, covering his mouth and nose with one hand as the smell of rot and infection drifted into the air. He turned to stare at Louis, his body nearly vibrating with anger.

Louis gave him a defensive look. “What the fuck’s your problem?”

“My problem is you letting the dog get to this point,” Stark snarled. “Why the hell -”

Rayna’s hand slipped into his and squeezed so hard, he was pretty sure she cracked a bone. He shut up abruptly and forced himself to look away from the despicable man in front of him, despite his very real urge to grab Louis and slam him into the barn wall until his rage had dissipated.

“You need to sign the surrender form, Louis,” Rayna said, her voice calm and even. She reached into her hoodie pocket and pulled out a pen and a piece of paper she’d grabbed from a binder in the SUV’s back seat when they arrived at the farm.

Louis’s lip curled. “Maybe I’ve changed my mind about surrendering him. Old Red is one of my best bird dogs.”

“Sign the surrender form, Louis,” the sheriff said, “or I’ll arrest you for animal abuse.”

“The fuck?” Louis sputtered, his hand crushing the beer can he held. “It ain’t my fault he got bit by a coyote.”

“Sign the form,” the sheriff repeated calmly.

“Fine, whatever,” Louis snarled. “This dumb bitch won’t be happy until she takes all of my dogs.”

Stark bit the inside of his cheek until the metallic taste of blood dripped onto his tongue. The fucking piece of shit deserved to have his ass kicked, and he hated that he couldn’t be the one to do it. He took deep breaths as Rayna handed the pen and paper to Louis. He scribbled his name on it and flung them back at her. “Go on. Take the dog and get the fuck off my property.”

Without speaking, Rayna stuffed the paper and pen into her pocket and returned to the dog.

“Here, we’ll carry him,” Lennox said, glancing at Stark. “He’s awfully weak, and I don’t think he can walk with his shoulder like that.”

Moving carefully, Stark and Lennox picked up the dog. Its whines of pain tore at Stark’s chest, and he glanced at Rayna as they carried the dog out of the barn. Her face was pale and grim, and she gently petted the dog’s head once they’d placed him in the back of her SUV on a bed of soft blankets.

She closed the back of the SUV and gave the sheriff a thin smile. “Thanks for calling me, Sheriff.”

“Thank you for taking the dog,” he said. “Let me know if Louis gives you any trouble over it.”

“I will.” Rayna turned to Stark. “Can you drive?”

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