Page 9 of Otter Heart
“Go home,” I said, shooing her away. “Git.”
She didn't budge.
“Great. The one idiot dog found me first. Of course.” I saw she had a collar with a metal tag shaped like a bone dangling from it. “Are you nice?” I asked her warily.
She took a step forward and sat down again before nudging her nose into my outstretched hand. Clearly, she was eager for some attention.
“Okay, okay.” I gave her a few pets, enjoying the sensationdespite myself. I wasn't really an animal person. “Let's hope this has an address on it.”
She stood still as I flipped the tag over to get a better look. Sure enough, there was an address on it. I had to punch it into my phone to figure out where it was, but when I did, I realized it was less than a mile away. In fact, it was just past Hardwood Beach. On the other side was a name.
“Bessie?” I snickered, looking up at her. “I’m so sorry they named you that.”
I let the collar go and got back to my feet, trying to decide what to do. A small part of me wanted to just move on and go about my day. I wasn’t really in the mood to talk to people right now. In fact, I was actively trying to avoid making connections with anyone. However, even though I wasn’t an animal person, I couldn’t just leave this poor stupid-looking dog out in the middle of the woods. Poor thing probably didn’t have two whole brain cells to rub together.
“Well,” I said, looking down at her with my hands on my hips. “I’m sure your owners are in a tizzy that you’re missing. Dog people are fucking crazy.” I reached down, grabbing the bar attached to the back of her harness. “Come on. Let’s go.”
Without hesitation, Bessie started to lead the way. It was as if she were takingmeback to her home and not the other way around. I followed willingly, glancing down at my phone now and then to make sure we were headed in the right direction.
Less than ten minutes brought us to Hardwood Beach, my original destination. But then we continued along the treeline until another path broke through the foliage. There Bessie forced me to take a right and begin following a long boardwalk through the woods. There were willow and cattails waving in the breeze as we crossed over a mostly dried up swamp. I’d never been there before, but I figured it was the kind of place that stayed muddy and wet all year but filled up with water the moment it rained. Clearly it was home to billions of bugs though because the mosquitos were as thick as molasses.
At the other end of the boardwalk the path let out into agrassy park at the edge of a condo development. I’d driven past the sign several times out on the main road. However, it was a gated community, and I’d never had a reason to visit.
“Home,” I said to Bessie, giving her harness a jingle.
She seemed to recognize the command and pulled me ahead. Another glance at my phone told me she was heading in the right direction. It wasn’t until we came around the corner of a building that I saw a man standing near his front door with his hands cupped around his mouth.
“Bessie!” he called, his voice clear and strong. “Bessie!”
She pulled against her harness, but I didn’t let her go. The last thing I wanted her to do was run off. The man continued to call for her as we approached. I thought he’d see us coming, but it wasn’t until we were right up on him that he finally turned our way.
“Bessie?”
“I’ve got her,” I said, stepping up to the door.
He didn’t look at me as I brought her up. She took a seat practically on the man’s foot and he gave her a few quick ruffles.
“You dummy!” he said, holding her head between his hands. “Where did you go? It’s not like you to run off!” He waggled a finger at her, grinning. “No treats for you missy. You’re grounded.”
Finally, he stood up, holding onto her harness bar. Still, he didn’t meet my gaze. But as I looked him over, I realized there was something familiar about him. I just couldn’t place it. He was well tanned with dark brown hair and green eyes. Scruff on his cheeks gave him a bearish look, but his form was lithe and muscled. Under his tank top I could see the dark splash of chest hair. I caught myself wondering what it looked like as it trailed further down.
I shook my head. I was on a break from dudes and fantasizing didn’t make that easier.
“Thanks for finding, Bessie,” he said. “This is the third time she’s run off. I don’t know what’s gotten into her. I’d lock the door, but she knows how to open it.” He smiled, still lookingsomewhere over my left shoulder. “I don’t recognize you. Do you live around here?”
I nodded, jabbing a thumb over my shoulder. “Yeah. Just up the road. I was walking to the beach when I found her.”
Suddenly his eyes narrowed. “Wait a minute. I think Idorecognize you,” he said in an accusatory tone, placing a hand on his hip. “You called me a dickhead a few days ago at the beach when you ran into me.”
“Excuse me,” I replied as my anger flared, knowing exactly the moment he was talking about. “You ran intome. You should watch where you’re going.”
Then it dawned on me who the guy was and what I’d just said.
He waved his hand in front of his face. “It’s a bit easier foryouto watch out than it is for me.”
His green eyes didn’t see my reaction. I hadn’t recognized him without the sunglasses.
“Shit…” I muttered, feeling more embarrassed than I had in a long time. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize at the time… and I forgot you were…”
