Page 58 of Sweet on You
20
Ronnie
We tore our mouths away from each other, jumping to our feet. Somehow, I managed to tug on my jeans and shirt as I ran down the stairs and climbed over the doggy gate. The first thing I saw was blood. Lots of blood.
“What happened?” Lex said, on my heels, buttoning his pants as he, too, climbed over the gate. Frost was on the kitchen counter and she seemed fine from what I could tell. Lex ran to inspect her while I followed the trail of blood to where Penny was beneath my coffee table, whimpering. He looked up at me with giant, guilty, brown eyes.
“Oh, shit,” I whispered, looking around. “He got into the roses.” I realized as I looked around. The flowers were scattered around the floor, and the vase was broken at the base of the kitchen cabinets. From what I could tell, the thorns from the roses had cut Penny’s mouth and paws. I gently reached over and touched his paw, which he yanked away from me with a yelp. But I had managed to see the thorn lodged between the pads of his feet.
“Poor little dude.”
Lex was crouched at my side seconds later. “Is he okay?”
“I think he will be, but I need to get him to my brother.”
“Having a vet in the family must make owning a pet a lot easier, huh?”
I snorted, grabbing my phone. “I wouldn’t know. Up until a few days ago, I never had to worry about this sort of thing.”
Steve answered on the third ring. “What’s up, sis? Calling to jam more paleo and keto philosophies down my throa—”
“Penny’s hurt,” I blurted out. I didn’t have time for his snarky sense of humor. “He got into my roses and the thorns cut him up. I think there’s at least one lodged in his paw, maybe more. And—and he broke a vase, so there might be some glass too.” My blood ran cold. “Oh, God.” I spun to Lex, my eyes watering. “What if he swallowed glass?”
“Whoa, whoa, slow down,” Steve said, and I heard the immediate shift in his voice, the transfer from goofball big brother into the amazing doctor we all knew him to be. “Can he walk?”
I sniffled. Damn this big lug of a dog for burrowing into my heart. He was supposed to be temporary. I wasn’t supposed to care about him this much. “I don’t know,” I answered honestly.
“Are you able to get him into your car and to my clinic? Or do you need me to come get him for you?” Steve asked. “I’d do the exam at your house, but we’ll have access to a lot more supplies at my clinic—”
Lex was crouched over Penny, gently petting his back. He looked up at me and whispered, “I can get him in the car.”
I felt immediately calmer with Lex here. Penny seemed calmer, too. With me, he pulled away, but with Lex, he seemed comforted by his touch. “I can be at your clinic in ten minutes,” I said. “Maybe five.”
“I’ll meet you there,” Steve said and disconnected the call.
“Okay, big guy.” Lex stroked Penny’s fur gently and spoke in a low, calm voice. “We’ve got to move you, and I know you’re not going to like it. It’s for your own good though.” With that, Lex slid his arms beneath Penny’s belly and tucked him close against his chest as he lifted to his feet.
Penny whimpered, but didn’t fight.
“Good boy,” Lex cooed in his ear. “Such a good boy.”
I grabbed my keys and purse. “Will Frost be okay here alone? With all the glass and thorns on the floor?” I was in an utter panic, while Lex was the antithesis to that panic. He was quiet and calm.
“Frost will be totally fine here. I have never seen her eat or get into anything she shouldn’t.”
I still felt uneasy about leaving another animal in my home when there were so many hazards, but Lex knew his cat better than me. If he felt she was safe, I trusted him.
Practically proving his point, Frost hopped off the counter, avoiding the broken vase, and trotted over to Lex, looking up at him with a sad meow. Almost like she knew something bad was happening.
“Be a good girl, Frost,” Lex said as I opened the front door for him and Penny.
He walked with ease despite the thirty pound, whimpering dog in his arms. When I opened the back seat of my car for him, he slid in with Penny, still holding him in his arms.
“It’ll be easier than trying to lift him again when we get to Steve’s clinic,” Lex clarified. I only nodded, shut the door and ran to my driver’s side, sliding in and starting the car. I was too scared to speak. Too sad. I felt like I failed everyone. I failed Penny by not being a more attentive doggy mom. I failed Steve and Yvonne by not taking better care of their foster dog. I even felt like I failed Lex… though I couldn’t put my finger onwhyI felt that way.
Maybe because I now knew he was a father—and if we were really going to do this, then there might come a time I had to prove to him and myself that I could make a decent parental figure. Not that I would be his daughter’s mother—not by a long shot. But still. If dating him meant that I would be spending time with a little girl… I needed to prove that I was trustworthy enough to at least be in the presence of his daughter.
I shook my head in spite of myself and accelerated more, speeding through a yellow light. Frankly, that thought was ridiculous. We’d only just had our first date and here I was worrying about being a decent stepmother? Thank God Lex couldn’t read minds.
