Page 32 of Love, Always and Forever
She hadn’t bothered to check caller ID, so it took her another second to realize that it was Mikhail’s deep voice coming through the line, not someone in her family. But if nothing was wrong, why had he called?
“Look, I’m sorry if I scared you. It’s just that I saw your lights were still on and wanted to make sure everything was okay.”
No, everything wasn’t okay. Her puppy had been crying off and on for hours. She hadn’t gotten more than fifteen minutes of sleep since she’d first turned out the lights. She’d expected it the first night, but Panda had moved in with her three days ago. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could go without sleep.
“It’s Panda. He hasn’t gotten used to his crate, which means neither of us has been getting much sleep.”
“Want me and Sarge to come over?”
She wasn’t sure what the two of them could do to remedy the situation, but right now she was feeling pretty desperate. “Sure. I was about to make some hot chocolate. Want some?”
“Sounds good. I’ll get dressed and then we’ll be right over.”
Get dressed? Did that mean he was…no, better not to go there. She headed into the kitchen to put the milk on to heat. That done, she let Panda out of his kennel.
“Come on, little guy. Might as well take a trip outside while we’re up and about.”
The puppy wriggled so hard in her arms that she had trouble holding on to him, but they made it out to the backyard without mishap. When he immediately took care of business, she praised him lavishly and carried him back inside. It took everything she had to put him back into his crate, because that set off another round of pitiful cries.
Her heart was breaking, and so was her resolve. Doing her best to focus on making the hot chocolate, she poured two cups and topped them off with marshmallows before carrying them into the living room and setting them on the coffee table.
A knock at the front door had her swiping at the tears streaming down her face. Mikhail stepped across her threshold and immediately gathered her into his arms. She was dimly aware of him closing the door and then half-carrying, half-leading her over to the sofa. He sat down and settled her on his lap.
“Aw, honey, don’t cry.”
The panicky note in his voice made her smile even if it didn’t quite stop her tears. She’d had her face pressed against his chest, but she lifted her face to look up at him. “What’s the matter? A big, tough marine can’t handle it when a woman cries?”
He brushed the tears off her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs. “Sure I can, but I don’t like it when my friend is hurting. What can I do to help?”
“Just coming over is enough. It’s Panda. Poor baby, he cries all night, so I’m not getting any sleep and neither is he. I’m barely making it through the day, and then it starts all over again. I’m doing a terrible job as a dog owner.”
“He’s quiet now.”
She lifted her head to listen. He was right. There was nothing but silence coming from the kitchen. Had something happened? Fear for her puppy had her up and heading for the door with Mikhail right behind her.
One look at what was going on froze her right where she stood. Panda was snuggled up on his blanket right next to the wire door of his crate. That was good news. But the part that warmed the worry right out of her heart was the sight of Sarge snuggled up to it from the outside. Both dogs were sound asleep, their rumbling snores the only noise in the room.
As the two humans backed away, Sarge lifted his head long enough to give them a bleary-eyed look. Obviously, he had the matter under control and didn’t need their help. Mikhail led her back toward the sofa where he sat down and then tugged her down beside him. Once she was settled, he picked up the two mugs she’d set on the coffee table and held one out to her. “No use in letting good hot chocolate go to waste.”
She sipped hers and grimaced. “Well, it’s sort of lukewarm chocolate now, but it still tastes good.”
Mikhail put his feet up on her coffee table. The movement drew her eyes to his long legs and the realization that he was wearing low-slung flannel pajama bottoms and an army drab T-shirt. He hadn’t even bothered with shoes or socks. Her own attire was much the same. Maybe she should have at least put on slippers and a robe, but she didn’t have the energy to make the effort or care about the proprieties.
“I’m sorry I worried you.”
“Not a problem. Sarge and I were up anyway.”
Why? Was the older bulldog having trouble adjusting to his new home, too? Something to ask when she had the energy to string the words together. She suspected the right thing to do was to let Mikhail and his buddy go back home, but she couldn’t bring herself to make the suggestion. Maybe it was selfish of her, but she needed these few minutes of peace and quiet if she was going to make it through the rest of the night.
Besides, right now she could barely hold her head up or keep her eyes open. Mikhail must have noticed, because he pried her mug out of her fingers and set it aside. After tucking her in close to his side, he covered them both up with the quilt she kept on the back of the couch for those nights when the air got a bit chilly. Surely she wasn’t being too selfish by dozing off for a few minutes while someone was there to keep an eye on Panda for her. She’d find some way to pay Mikhail back for once again helping her out. Comforted by his warmth and surrounded by his scent, she let the darkness carry her away.
