Page 87 of 15 Summers Later

Her sister must be ready to climb the walls right now.

Madi hurried out to the reception area, where she found Ava stretched out on the leather recliner they kept out there for humans and animals who needed extra snuggles before appointments. The corgi was nestled on her lap, snoring softly. Or maybe that was Ava. It was hard to tell, since they were both fast asleep.

The sight made her smile. In sleep, Ava looked less remote and composed. She looked like the big sister Madi remembered from their childhood. A little rumpled, her cool blond hair hanging around her face and her shirt damp across the front, probably from giving the corgi a bath.

Love twisted in her chest, sharp and bittersweet, like green apples that weren’t quite ripe.

She missed Ava. She ached for the time when they used to be able to talk about anything and everything, when they had leaned on each other to struggle through their mother’s death and their father’s increasingly erratic behavior.

She longed for their relationship to go back to the easy, sisterly love of their childhood, but she did not know how they could ever regain that closeness. It wasn’t only Ava’s book that had come between them. The chasm had been widening since the day they were rescued.

“They look so peaceful. Maybe we should leave them sleeping.” Luke spoke barely above a whisper, head bent toward hers, his breath stirring her hair.

She fought down an instinctive shiver. She really had to cut this out or things were about to get awkward really fast.

“Ava would never forgive me if I left her to sleep all night in a vet clinic with a dog on her lap,” she whispered back.

“You’re probably right. Too bad. They look really sweet together.”

Madi agreed. On impulse, she reached into her pocket for her phone and snapped a quick picture, thinking she might send it to Cullen. Her brother-in-law likely would appreciate the moment for the anomaly it was.

Though Madi’s camera phone was muted, Ava must have sensed them looking at her. Her eyes flickered open and she gazed at them uncomprehendingly until recognition dawned.

“Oh. I must have fallen asleep. Sorry.”

“No problem,” Luke said. “A good cuddle with you was probably exactly what this brave girl needed.”

Ava blinked a few times, still coming out of sleep. She straightened in the recliner and lowered the footrest.

“What’s going to happen to them now?” she asked, her tone threaded with worry as she looked at the corgi.

“Our first goal is to try to find their owner or owners,” Luke said. “We scanned for a chip on the border collie and didn’t find one. Gracie has a collar with her name but no phone number and no tags. Maybe we’ll have better luck finding a chip.”

He produced the handheld universal chip scanner and ran it around the dog’s neck and ears, and then, for good measure, all around her body.

“Well? Does she have one?”

“She doesn’t seem to.”

“So, what now?” Ava asked.

“We’ll have to try more traditional ways of locating their humans,” Madi said. “We’ll put a notice on the town’s social media pages and our classifieds, though I suspect the dogs may have been lost by visitors.”

“Or maybe they were abandoned,” Luke said, his features hard.

As a devoted animal lover, Madi couldn’t imagine simply dropping any domesticated animal into the backcountry, assuming it would be able to fend for itself. They usually didn’t have the skills to survive for long and would likely become prey to coyotes or mountain lions.

“After an initial period of observation here at the clinic, probably only a day or two, we will send them to the shelter. As long as Madi has room for them, anyway.”

“I’ll make room, however long it takes to either find them a new home or a foster home together,” she assured him. “I’m invested in these two now.”

“Will they be able to stay together here?” Ava asked.

“I’m sorry,” he said, genuine regret in his voice. “Normally I would say Gracie could go to the shelter while we leave the collie here, but I know they want to be together. We have to keep them somewhat separated so Gracie doesn’t lick her friend’s wounds. But we can put them in runs right next to each other so they can nuzzle each other through the fence.”

“That’s something, at least.”

Madi almost offered to foster the two at the farmhouse but she knew it wasn’t the best situation.

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