Page 28 of Otter Heart
“Golden,” he said at last, his voice barely above a whisper.
A lump rose in my throat, cutting off any words I might’ve said in reply. It couldn’t be her, right? It just couldn’t be. That dog was everything to me and I loved her more than I could say. She wouldn’t have gotten herself…hitby a car, would she? I couldn’t bear the thought of it.
Adam pulled the car to a stop, the rain still pounding against the roof.
“It’s raining too hard to tell,” he said after a few seconds. “Let me go look.”
I nodded, my bottom lip quivering.
Adam patted my hand and opened the door. The sound of rain suddenly doubled then was cut off as the door shut behind him.
“Please…” I muttered to myself, my hands twisting in knots. “Please let it be something else.”
Thirty agonizing seconds ticked by, each of them an eternity and more. When I finally heard the door handle click, I startled so bad I smacked my elbow on the door. Adam pulled himself inside and shut the door behind him, the scent of fresh rain filling the car. I looked in his direction, terrified of what I was about to hear him say.
“It wasn’t her,” he said at last. “Someone hit a deer recently. Maybe this morning.”
Tears welled up in my eyes anyway as I let out a gasp. My hands went to my face and I began to cry despite my best efforts.
“Hey,” Adam said, putting a hand on my back. “It’s okay.We’re gonna find her.”
“I know,” I choked, trying to force the tears back. “She’s just the only friend I have in this world. I can’t lose her…”
He simply gave me a pat, letting me have the emotions I apparently needed to have as he drove further down the road. After a minute or two I felt the car turn right onto a bumpy road. We must have gotten to Hardwood Beach. It wasn’t until we pulled into the parking lot that Adam suddenly brought the car to a halt. Without a word, he threw open the door and jumped out.
“Bessie!” he called over the pounding rain. “Come here, girl!”
Had he seen something?
Without hesitation, I jumped out of the car as well, throwing my door closed behind me.
“Bessie!” I cried. “Bessie!!”
A single bark echoed across the lot, cutting through the sound of the pouring rain. A moment later I heard paws crashing through mud puddles and over wet concrete. I crouched down, holding my arms out. Two seconds later a ball of wet fur collided with me knocking me onto my ass. My hands ran over the dog, feeling the harness and the long golden fur drenched with rain. But the moment she started to whine, I knew it was her and I began to cry again.
“Bessie!” I cried, pulling her into a tight hug. “You’re okay!”
She continued to whine, her entire body wagging thanks to her tail that wouldn’t stop. I pulled back for a moment, feeling her all over to make sure she wasn’t hurt before I hugged her again.
“God! You stupid fucking bimbo!” I growled through my happy tears. “Don’t worry me like that again!”
A pair of footsteps approached, and Adam’s hand joined mine on Bessie’s head. He placed his other hand on my back.
“Told you we’d find her.”
“Thank you,” I said, hoping the rain covered up the factthat I was bawling. “I never could’ve done it without you.”
“You know,” Adam smiled. “Bessie isn’t theonlyfriend you have. I know we haven’t known each other for long, but I think we could be friends.”
I grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him down to my level, kissing him on the cheek.
“Absolutely,” I replied. “You’vemorethan earned it.”
And if I had my way about it, I was going to show him just howmuchhe’d earned.
Chapter Twelve: Adam
Ihadn’t turned on the fireplace in my condo in a long, long time. It was the sort of thing I only used on special occasions or during those cold winter nights when the central heat just wouldn’t keep out the winter’s chill. However, after getting absolutely soaked in freezing cold rain multiple times, I figured now was as good a time as any.
