Page 33 of Heal Me
“Oh, I forgot to introduce you. That little guy is Cinders and the Lab is Rocco. And I already told you about Daisy,” Kate said. “I have a parrot named Manny, too.”
“Yes, you did. How come she’s so shy?”
The brindle Great Dane sat just inside the doorway of the living room, warily watching Ric.
“She was a shelter dog and was abused by her previous owners. I took her and she’s starting to come around, but it’s been hard,” Kate said.
“Aw, poor baby,” Ric said. “Those are the kind of people I’d like to beat the shit out of. Give them a taste of their own medicine.”
“Me, too.”
Ric reached for a bowl, but Kate caught his wrist at the last second. “You don’t want those. They’re dog treats.”
He looked at the bowl and then back at her. “They are? They look like Fritos.”
“Looks can be deceiving. I give them to the dogs when I have snacks so that they don’t feel left out, but so they’re getting something that’s good for them.”
“That’s really nice of you.” Ric picked up one of the treats and sniffed it experimentally. “Smells pretty good. Dare me?”
Kate giggled when he opened his mouth and acted like he was going to eat it. “They’re not bad, actually.”
“You’ve eaten them?”
“I try all of the treats we sell. How else will I know if they’re spicy?” she said, shrugging.
Ric looked at the treat. “Is that a bad thing?”
“If a dog eats or drinks too much or too fast at a time, it can make them sick to their stomach. Spicy treats will make them drink much more than they should at one time, especially because owners sometimes give them too many treats,” Kate said.
“Do they taste good?”
“Those are chicken and they’re not half bad. I don’t sit around eating them, of course, but I did try them when we first got them.”
“If I eat it will you rub my tummy?”
“Absolutely.”
Ric studied the treat and sniffed it again. “Okay.”
He popped the treat into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. Slowly, his face registered distaste and Kate dissolved into giggles.
“I thought you said that these weren’t half bad?” he commented around the treat. He took a huge swig of beer to wash the treat down.
Kate laughed so hard that she snorted. Tears gathered in her eyes as Ric shoved a nacho in his mouth and chewed it quickly. He followed it by more beer and then belched, which set Kate off on another laughing jag.
“God, that was the shittiest thing I’ve ever tasted!” He looked at the dogs. “You can have my share. I don’t know how you eat those things.” His hand shot out and he grabbed Kate’s arm. “And you’re going to pay. You never ate any of them did you?” he accused as he dragged her over onto his lap and started tickling her.
Kate squealed. “Yes! Yes, I did! I swear!”
“Hey! Shit!”
Kate suddenly found herself dumped on the floor between the coffee table and the couch as a horrible snarl and growl filled the room, followed by Ric’s shout of pain. Kate scrambled to her feet and saw that Daisy had Ric’s left bicep clamped in her huge jaws.
“Daisy! Drop!” she commanded, her heart pounding.
Ric held up a hand. “Don’t shout. Damn, that hurts.” His voice was soft even though it held fear and pain. “Daisy, it’s okay, honey. I was just playing around. I wasn’t going to hurt Kate, I promise. I would never hurt your mommy.”
Kate couldn’t believe that he was trying to reassure Daisy when he was the one being attacked.
