Page 34 of Reckless Harmony

“Jesus, what happened?” he asked.

“She’s a stray in the area who I’ve been trying to catch for a few weeks now. Someone saw her tangled in the fence and called me.”

“Who?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she said impatiently. “Some guy. He didn’t stick around. He just told me approximately where he’d seen her.”

“He left her here to suffer?”

She gave him another impatient look. “Welcome to the world of animal rescue. People are both great and awful. What are you doing here?”

“I was headed into town. How will you get her free?”

“If I can get her to stay still without me having to hold her down, I’ll cut the wire with these.” She waved her free hand at him, and he studied the small bolt cutters she held.

He held his hand out. “You hold the dog. I’ll cut the wire.”

He expected her to argue, but she handed him the cutters without speaking before holding the dog down with both hands. Working quickly, he cut the wire from the dog’s leg, grimacing as he peeled it away, and she made a sharp yelp of pain.

“I know, sweetheart,” Rayna said softly. “We’ll get you feeling better soon, I promise. You’re a good girl.”

He unwound the last of the bloody barbed wire from the dog. “She’s free.”

“Thank you,” Rayna said.

She stood, keeping one hand on the dog’s ribs. “Can you stand, sweet girl?”

The dog stayed where she was, whining softly and continuously, and Rayna stroked her light coloured fur. “Okay, girl. I’ll carry you.”

She squatted, but before she could slide her hands under the dog’s body, Stark nudged her out of the way. “I’ll do it.”

“You’ll get blood on your clothes,” Rayna warned.

He ignored her and lifted the dog. She hung limply in his arms, and he gave Rayna a worried look. “Now what?”

Rayna was already pulling out her phone. “Bring her to my SUV, please.”

He followed her through the deep snow, the dog’s whines making his chest tight.

“Hey, Nathan, it’s Rayna. Yeah, sorry to call, but I have a badly injured dog. Her hind left leg was caught up in some barbed wire. It looks like she was trapped for quite a while and thrashed a lot. The leg is pretty bad… might need to be amputated bad.”

Stark’s stomach clenched as he stared at the dog in his arms. They crossed the ditch as Rayna said, “Okay, I’m on my way. Should be there in about fifteen minutes. Thanks, Nathan.”

She opened the back of the SUV. There were already thick blankets laid out, and he gently set the dog down. Still whining and panting, she laid her head on the blankets and closed her eyes.

“Thank you,” Rayna said again as she closed the door.

“What now?” he asked.

“Now I’m hauling ass to Brandt Vet Clinic.” She brushed past him and yanked open the driver’s door. “Thank you again. I appreciate your help.”

She climbed into her SUV and drove off. He slid behind the wheel of his vehicle, watching the dwindling lights of Rayna’s vehicle before muttering a curse and following her. She’d need help carrying the dog into the vet clinic, right?

CHAPTER 14

It took nearly twenty minutes to get to the clinic, and Stark drove slowly down the long, bumpy driveway to the vet clinic and parked next to Rayna’s SUV. Lights burned in the clinic building as he joined Rayna at the back of her SUV.

“What are you doing here?” she asked as she opened up the back.

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