Page 21 of Good at Being Bad (Rock Canyon, Idaho 8)

The puppy appeared to tremble at the sound of his voice and it started to back up, so he spoke in a higher register.

“Here, puppy. Come on.”

The puppy whimpered.

“Don’t be scared, little dude. I’m awesome, I promise.” Mike started crawling toward the pup, surprised when the creature dropped onto its belly. When he was within arm’s length, he reached out and picked the fuzzy bundle up. He was thin under his thick, wet fur and there was something foul coming off him…

And that’s when he smelled it: the odor of something dead.

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Mike stood up with the pup and took pushed through the underbrush, following the scent. He pushed aside a limb and his stomach rolled over, threatening to upchuck the protein bar he’d eaten before leaving the house.

There was a sack on the shore of the river, and he lifted the opened end to find a litter of pups inside. They’d obviously been tossed in to drown, and Mike’s disgust turned to rage.

He noticed larger paw prints next to the sack, followed closely by a smaller version.

“Was your mom with you? Where did she go?”

The pup whined, and wiggled against him, but several shushing sounds calmed him.

Mike followed the tracks up the bank, letting out a loud, high-pitched whistle. Nothing.

He ducked into the trees and noticed the disturbed leaves, the puddle of blood, and the drag marks through the dirt.

Mike didn’t want to find out what had taken mama dog, at least, not unarmed.

Holding the pup against his chest, he headed back to the trail. His heart slammed into his breastbone, and the blood pounded in his ears. Every rustle of leaves or snap of a twig had him jumping. It felt like an hour had gone by when he got back to where his car was parked.

Once he was inside and the pup was sitting on the passenger seat next to him, Mike let out a shaky breath. He’d half expected a cougar to jump from one of the trees and make a meal out of them. Being surrounded by steel and glass was comforting.

The pup climbed across the seat and onto his lap. As Mike stroked him, he reached across the seat for his phone in the glove box. He couldn’t get a data signal, so he set the phone and puppy on the seat and headed back to Rock Canyon. The first thing he needed to do was take the dog to the vet and get him looked at.

The pup tried to crawl back into his lap and when he set him on the seat again, a pitiful whine erupted into a series of howls. With a sigh, Mike lifted him with one hand and held him against his chest.

“You’re killing me, Smalls.”

The puppy snuggled into his neck, clawing his way up until he was wrapped around the back of Mike’s neck, caught between him and the seat. His warm breath tickled Mike’s skin, and he reached up to rub a soft, floppy ear.

Mike parked the car on Main Street in front of Rock Canyon Veterinary Clinic. He pulled the sleeping puppy down into his arms and climbed out. Dotty, the receptionist, was just flipping the sign over to open when he reached the door.

She unlocked the door and pushed it open, her weathered face smiling widely.

“Mike, who do you have there?”

“I found this little guy down by the Snake River.” He stepped into the white reception area. Framed posters of puppies and kittens adorned the walls, and there was the sound of excited barking coming from the shelter kennels in the back. Rock Canyon was small enough that the town couldn’t afford a separate building for the animal shelter, but it was big enough to take some animals and didn’t have to send every case to Twin Falls.

Zoe Archer, the veterinarian, came through the door from the shelter and waved when she saw him. Although Zoe was beautiful, tall with long black hair and blue eyes, Mike wasn't interested. This was partly because Zoe's big rescue cat scared the pants off him, and not in a good way.

Zoe used to be the host of Zoe’s Critter Kingdom, a popular wild animal show for kids. No one knew why she'd given up the glamour of Hollywood to become a small-town vet, but most of the citizens of Rock Canyon adored her.

Just not necessarily the cougar and host of other wild creatures that lived on her sanctuary ranch.

“Mike, I didn’t know you got a dog,” Zoe said.

“Actually, he kind of found me. I was out for a run and he peeked his head around a bush.”

Zoe came over and leaned closer. “Whew, well he smells like he’s been through the wringer. Were there any more out there?”

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