Page 76 of Swept for Forever
Dom exhaled beside me, running a hand through his hair. “Jesus,” he muttered. “You nearly gave me a heart attack, Lu.”
Claire grinned, scratching behind Lulu’s ears. “Well, I’d say lesson learned. But let’s be honest, she’d probably do it again.”
“Thanks, Claire,” Dom said. “You’re good at this.”
Claire’s mouth twitched. “That’s kind of the goal.”
Lulu let out a whimper, shifting slightly on the exam table, but Claire just smiled, rubbing a gentle hand over her back. “You’ll be fine, girl.”
Then she looked at Dom and me. “Give me a few minutes.”
Dom followed her toward the front desk, already pulling out his wallet.
Claire rolled her eyes. “Your money’s no good here.”
“Claire—”
“You’re family, Dom. Consider it a freebie.”
Something about the way she said it made my heart squeeze. It wasn’t just that Dom was a good guy. Everyone knew it, not just me.
Dom exhaled through his nose, clearly not thrilled about the handout, but he didn’t argue.
And twenty minutes later, Lulu trotted out of the clinic as if she hadn’t just scared the hell out of us.
Crisis averted.
For her, at least.
For me?
Not so much.
The ride back to the motel was quiet, and I let it stay that way. Lulu gave me the perfect excuse to keep my eyes on the window and pretend my silence was about her.
Dom reached over. “You okay, girl?”
Lulu lifted her snout to his hand, her tail brushing his elbow as it wagged.
For a while, I let myself watch him—how easily he’d carried her, and how instinctively he’d taken charge of her care.
But my mind wasn’t on Lulu anymore. It kept drifting to the pizzeria, to that sketch the deputy had handed out. And to the cold fact that if the wrong person recognized me, everything would fall apart.
The truck rolled to a stop outside my room.
“How’s my Otter?” Dom finally turned his attention from Lulu to me, his voice gentle. “You’ve been quiet.”
I forced a smile. “Just thinking.”
His eyes flicked over me, assessing. He didn’t quite believe me. I could see it, but he didn’t push.
“All right. Get some rest.”
His phone rang. It was Claire.
I climbed out, unhooked Lulu’s leash, and forced my legs to carry me toward my door.
Dom followed, half listening to Claire, half focused on me. Even now, he was still looking out for me.
