Page 123 of Bodybuilders for the BBW

“I can’t take him to the station,” Rhett said before Garrett could even ask. “The whole dalmatian thing? Didn’t happen in Australia. There’s rules and regulations.”

“Looks like I’m ringing the council…” Garrett looked at the back fence, because the stupid bloody dog had started barking again. Bronson’s head hovered above his bowl, then he turned and ran off deeper into the house. “Not going in.”

“Video and record the noise,” I said, having had some experience with this at the vets. “They need evidence of the level and occurrence of the noise to take action. Have you talked to the neighbours at all?”

“I spoke to the woman that lives there once,” Garrett replied. “She said to talk to her husband and shut the door in my face.”

“Let them know you want to settle this between yourselves, but you’re about to talk to the council because you’re at the end of your tether. Might be worth talking to the other neighbours as well and see if they’re also getting frustrated.”

It was hard to see how they wouldn’t be. The dog’s barking was loud and persistent, not stopping for a second. It appeared it thought the whole neighbourhood belonged to it and it needed to be vigilant about protecting this expanded turf from threats.

“You could also give them my work’s number.” I fished out the company business card. “Some of the vets have a lot of experience working with highly reactive dogs. If they’re open to solutions, that might be one of them, now I…” I looked down at my phone. “Need to go if I’m going to get home in time to grab some clean clothes.”

“Seems like you need to start keeping some here.” Rhys shot me a hopeful look. “I mean, it’d make sleepovers easier. You could take longer to have breakfast…” He pressed a kiss to my temple. “With us.”

“Maybe.” I was trying to play it cool, but the grin on my face? It made a liar out of me instantly. “I’ll think about it.”

And I did, all the way to my car, then by the side of it as they kissed me goodbye, then on my drive home. Even as I scaled the steps to my apartment. I only thought about Mandie when I walked in the door, but me tiptoeing inside was pointless, because as I walked past her bedroom, I saw the door was open and it was empty. Left to my own devices, I got dressed and wondered exactly how it would work with the guys. I was running scenarios through my head as the hours ticked by at work, right up until the point I was forced to look at my phone. It wasn’t something I usually did at my desk, but a few messages had come through in a rapid flurry. I opened my notifications to find this.

Katie, can you drop by our place on the way home?At first I was smiling, thinking this was another invitation to hang out with the guys.Didn’t have much luck with the council and the guy next door is a dick. There’s been an emergency at work…

I didn’t read the rest, going perfectly still as I realised what this was about.

…look in on Bronson for me?

That last bit grabbed my attention and didn’t let go, jerking me to my feet.

“Katie?” one of the vet nurses said as I grabbed my bag. “Everything OK?”

“My dog.” She looked confused, because as far as she knew, I didn’t have one, and legally, that was correct, but emotionally? I remembered the conversation this morning, that Garrett was the only one who could look after Bronson today and it was him that sent the message.

Right after promising to change things, he’d left Bronson on his own, inside his house, with that damn dog yapping next door.

“I’ve gotta go,” I said. “Cover for me.”

I didn’t stop to see if that was OK, because somehow I knew what I would discover when I reached the guys’ house

The neighbour’s dog wasn’t the only one that was barking, though the sound was completely different. Theirs was rhythmic, persistent, aggressive, but Bronson? There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that sounds worse than the sound of a terrified dog. His screams were muffled by the front door, but that changed as soon as I stepped inside.

“Bronson…”

My voice cracked on his name and his yelps changed pitch, getting more and more hysterical. He was like this the first time I left the shelter. I’d cried then, and I cried now at the sound of it. I’d been the one to approve the guys’ application to adopt him, but it was only now I was realising what a mistake that was. I opened the bathroom door and found him balled up in the shower recess, damp and covered in the stink of his own urine.

“Buddy…”

He wouldn’t come near me. His head was tucked into the wall, trying to block everything out, but his tail told a whole other story. It beat at double time, frantically attempting to self soothe. Bronson had water, food, an old t-shirt and his favourite toys, so Garrett had tried to do the right thing, I’d give him that.

It just wasn’t enough.

“Hey…”

It felt like I was watching months of work flush down the plughole. Bronson didn’t even want to turn to face me. He was in his own personal hell right now, and I’d put him in it. I didn’t realise I was crying until I felt a tear roll down my face, and that brought on others. One by one, they hit the shower tiles as I leaned forward.

Bronson stiffened then started to scream in earnest. I couldn’t help but haul him closer, holding him tightly in my arms. He fought me at first, which made this super dangerous, but I wasn’t thinking with my head, but my heart. That couldn’t let me do anything but cradle him close. I rocked him back and forth, having no idea if that helped dogs like it did babies, and mumbled nonsense words until he seemed to snap out of it. One snuffle, then another, he drove his nose into my neck, smelling my scent and then whimpering as he fought to get closer. He was a heavy weight that stank to high heaven, but he was back here with me, not in that fighting ring all over again.

Of course, that was when the sound of the dog next door filtered in.

“I’m getting you out of here,” I said, even though I had no idea what to do once that was achieved. He couldn’t stay at my place, but there was no way he was staying here. “C’mon, boy, let’s go.”

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