Page 32 of Sneak Attack

“It’s okay.” We both grabbed his leash at the same time. I won, and her hand brushed over mine. Sparks of something ignited the back of my hand, my arm, until I saw all the red, shallow gashes up her arm.

“You were hurt.” Bongo was a jumping, frantic mess with his damp black fur flying all over the place. Tongue hanging out, he danced in a circle while I stared at the cuts all over Eden’s arm.

Shewas the vet tech?

CHAPTER12

EDEN

Surprisingly enough, after that lovely bomb was dropped, Sarah was still willing to talk to me about volunteering. I figured she heard about Nate’s older sister dying in high school, so she didn’t ask many questions. I climbed into one of the playpens while we talked and reveled in the soft fur of a pack of abandoned golden retriever puppies climbing all over me, licking my face. The stress I’d felt since arriving in Marysville melted away with each soft swipe of my hands through their scruff when Nora returned with three plates overflowing with tacos. I joined her at a wood table. We ate. Talked about the animals.

Turned out Nora’s grandpa, who used to be the town’s only vet, passed away in the spring. Since it was her mom’s dad, I hadn’t realized she took over for Tom Mischler. She moved to town three months prior from Memphis when he left her his vet practice in his will. She wasn’t sure she wanted to stay here forever, “but it’s not bad, and the slower pace is kind of nice sometimes. Living in downtown Memphis…” She shuddered, ate her taco, and seemed perfectly content to ask me about my life in Florida, but didn’t bring up anything from here.

As for me, I’d gone back to Marley’s, handed her some BBQ pork from the truck I’d grabbed on my way to the car, and when I told her what I was going to be doing, she’d simply said, “Good. That’s good for you.”

We watchedWheel of FortuneandJeopardyand I had even more fun torturing myself when the local news came on and Cole’s face was once again splashed all over the screen before I’d decided the day had been hard enough.

After Marley took her medicine and went to bed, I gorged myself on Netflix, episodes ofTheOfficeto get my mind off everything wrong in my life and fell asleep on the couch.

Now, while I survived my first day volunteering, BarkTown was absolute madness.

Sarah had warned me that there were so many dogs there right now, a dozen of the rescue’s puppies being boarded there due to lack of current foster homes and with the increase in business to the doggy daycare.

I hadn’t exactly been prepared for the golden lab to be the cause of so much drama, but as soon as I got him separated from the black boxer mix, he’d attacked without so much as a snarl or warning growl to warn us, the rest of the day went smoothly. My scratches would heal in a day or two, and I was fortunate I wasn’t hurt worse. The lab owners came to pick him up, apologizing profusely. It was his first time in a doggy daycare, they knew he wasn’t fond of black dogs, but hadn’t thought to warn us.

He’d be welcomed back, and the workers would help him socialize safely at a slower pace.

The boxer mix had cuts on his face that would heal, and her owners, while shaken, seemed to be understanding.

It could have gone much worse.

After I got those dogs taken care of, I stayed inside for the rest of the afternoon, playing with the recuse puppies. However, once they all passed out on their beds in a small, sectioned off area inside, I went outside. It was there the beautiful Golden Retriever I’d seen playfully jumping in and out of the splash pads and barking at jets of water blasting into the air had done figure eights between my legs, so excited for the new person he could lavish his attention on. I fell for that dog in a blink. So when Suzie buzzed the back and announced Bongo’s owner had arrived, Ihadto meet the owner of this lovely creature who continually insisted I scratched my fingernails in his fur beneath his jaw.

And of course.Of freaking coursethe owner of that precious, beautiful, and precocious pup was none other than Cole.

The universe seemed insistent on throwing us together and if I wasn’t so distracted with the worry in Cole’s eyes as he focused on my arm, I’d shake my fists and curse the heavens.

“You were hurt.” Bongo jumped around him like the maniac he was, and his tail whipped happily back and forth across my knees.

“I’m fine.” I stood back, brushed my hands down my arms as if I could cover the scratches. “Job hazard, no big deal.”

“Suzie said—” He looked in the direction of the girl working behind the counter and back to me. “So, you’re a vet tech now.”

Suzie was sweet, and while I’d recognized her last name Paxton immediately, it was obvious she had no idea who I was. She would have been too young seven years ago, just a child, when everything happened, and her brother Paul wasn’t close friends with Cole. The town was small enough that we all knew each other, but Paul preferred the company of the marching band and debate club in high school, not the sports jocks. I hadn’t bothered to ask her what he was up to now.

I was absolutely not having this conversation in the lobby of BarkTown while Lance Hancock waited for Milo and Suzie looked on.

“Bongo was really good today. Great dog.” I stepped back and dipped back into the indoor play area and smoothed my hands down my face.

I couldn’t go anywhere to escape Cole. Obviously, I should have known that, but the animals were supposed to be a reprieve, and now he’d permeate my own peaceful space.

Just freakinggreat.

* * *

“You’re quiet today.”

Marley’s arm was tucked around mine, her hand on my forearm as we walked the path to the lake.

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