Page 53 of The Duke's Hellion

Mimi couldn’t rememberthe last time she had been alone with a dog. But she couldn’t get Sally’s words of advice out of her head. Marriage and all its choices. She needed to choose every day who she wanted to be and how she wanted to treat her husband.

Sam was kind enough to separate her from the dog, she could be brave enough to face her fears. Besides, this dog looked harmless. Actually, the dog was practically motionless.

A raindrop landed on the fence. A small drop, but Mimi looked up. She hoped Sam would be returning quickly. She wanted to give Rex his treat and then take shelter.

A few more drops landed, a bit heavier this time. Rex got up. Now that he was on all fours and looking at her, her heart pounded inside of her. Her legs almost trembled, but she scolded them. If Rex had bounded over to them earlier, jumping, barking, and lapping at her, she would have been terrified. There would have been no chance she would have remained alone with him, but he was a slow and quiet dog, keeping to himself.

But with the rain falling, and the clouds growing darker, she could see Rex making his way over to a doghouse. He gave her a look over his shoulder.

Mimi reciprocated the action, looking over her shoulder to see if Sam was in sight yet, but the fields were open behind her.

A loud whimper rang through the air, and she looked back at Rex’s enclosed space. She couldn’t find him, but she could hear a whimpering sound. As if the dog were hurt.

The rain was beating down now and the air was growing colder. She needed to make a decision quickly.

She could stay where she was and hope Sam would return soon. Then he could find Rex and take care of the dog. That option did not look good. Sam wasn’t in sight, and the whimpering sounded awful.

She could run back to the house and get Sam. But that didn’t seem very feasible. The rain was almost pouring now. By the time she went home and returned, Rex would be freezing. She couldn’t do that to Sam’s dog. To Sam.

So the last option she had…the last plan she ever thought she would enact…was the one she chose. She would launch herself over the fence, go find the dog, and comfort him. This dog meant a lot to Sam, and she couldn’t have him suffering.

It took all her nerve, all her concentration, and then all of her strength, but she climbed the few feet up the fence and then pushed herself over it. She didn’t give her feet a chance to take root, knowing they would if they caught whiff of her fear. Instead, she rushed forward, toward the whimpering sound.

“Rex?” she said in what was hopefully a more calm than frantic voice. “Rex, are you all right? I’m coming.”

Another whimper, another step. Then she looked down and saw a hidden ditch in the ground. Rex was lying there whimpering.

“I’m here, Rex.” Yes, she was here, but she had no clue what she was going to do. That wasn’t true, she knew what she was going to do. She just needed an extra moment to steel her resolve. Finding her backbone, she bent over, putting one foot in the hole, with two arms, she reached around the dog and pulled him to her chest. He was heavier than she expected, but she pushed him up so that he was on level ground. After she pulled herself out of the ditch, she started to walk toward the dog shelter.

Sam’s house was too far for her to make the walk with the dog. Rex hobbled behind her. “Come on, boy. Let’s get you safe.”

It was a slow pace, but thankfully the shelter was only a few yards away. It was huge. Large enough for her to fit inside and wait out the rain with Rex.

Rain beat against the roof while Rex rested his head in her lap. She never thought she would pet a dog again, but Rex wasn’t moving.

Gingerly, she brought her hand up to his head and slowly brought it down to pat him. Then she slid her hand down his back.

Never in her wildest fantasies had Mimi ever imagined confining herself into an enclosed area with a dog, waiting to be rescued by her husband.

Chapter Twenty-One

Where was she?She was supposed to be waiting by the fence where he left her. From the distance, he could see she wasn’t there. Panic ripped through him. The rain was pouring. She was alone with Rex. He trusted the dog, knowing nothing would happen to Mimi, but he couldn’t stop envisioning her stiff body back at the house party when that dog had been barreling toward them barking. She was absolutely frozen. How could he be so foolish to leave her alone with Rex? What if she had fainted?

Sam was running now toward the fence, gaining in meters as he approached. “Mimi!” His shouts were lost through the downpour. “Mimi!” He tried again. His vision was blurry and his heart was a mess. He couldn’t see Rex either now. Where the deuce had they gone? And together?

He trudged around the fence and then hopped over the fence. There was no way Rex escaped, was there? But what would have prompted Mimi to enter? Or had she returned to the house? Impossible. He would have seen her. And she wouldn’t have taken off in a different direction with the imminent rain clouds.

He couldn’t imagine the two together. But if Rex were alone, he probably would have taken shelter in his doghouse. Perhaps Rex could help him find Mimi. Sam jaunted over to the doghouse and bent down. To his utter disbelief, he saw Rex curled around Mimi with his head in her lap while she stroked his head.

“Mimi, are you all right?”

She had tears down her cheeks, but she didn’t appear to be afraid. “He got hurt. I-I had to help him. He was stuck and whimpering.”

At this point, Sam was crouching as far as he could into the small space, his head ducked under the shelter. His heart felt inflated, full. Overflowing. This woman.

“Mimi,” he leaned in and brushed a hand across her cheek. “You must have been terrified. Why did you do it?”

“He’s your dog. You love him. I had to help him.” Her voice was trembling yet still strong. Because she was strong. She was brave. To face her fears, her paralyzing fears, for him. Her courage was inspiring. Humbling. Captivating.

---