Page 6 of Seaside Cowboy's Second Chance

Austin grinned as he brought the dog back, walking on her own, her spectacular freshly shampooed fur shining. She looked like a different creature now. “It was probably a trick to gain your compassion.”

And it worked. Skylar couldn’t blame the dog, unlike...

Stop it.

No use being bitter.

Besides, Austin gave her good news, and she should be grateful. “I’m glad she has no broken bones. Thank you. What about the rest? Any other injuries, cuts, or illnesses?” Even if the dog was abandoned recently, she’d survived on the street for a few days at least, and that could be rough.

“She had some cuts, likely from a cat’s claws, but not deep. I treated them. Overall, she’s slightly malnourished but healthy. I don’t think she’s been a stray for long.”

“I’ll put some posters in the neighborhood and post an announcement on the local social media.” Her heart shifted. Weird. It was like she didn’t want to let the pet go.

Austin winked at her. “Or just tell Dolores Rafferty.”

The dog barked again several times as if recognizing the name. Was her owner also named Dolores?

Austin continued, “And I’ll tell Mom. By tomorrow, the entire town will know you found a stray dog.”

“I can ask around, too.” Dallas shoved his hands in his pockets. “But it won’t help if a tourist left her when their vacation ended.”

Then Austin’s expression turned serious. “Do you intend to keep her if that’s the case? I wouldn’t advise dropping her at the animal shelter. They have no open spots. Too many vacationers leave their pets.” His stern tone revealed what he thought about that.

Skylar had never had any pets to leave. But she’d left her friends and family behind. And the love of her life. “I...um...”

Austin studied her. “We foster a lot of abandoned animals. Sometimes people return for them. But often not.”

How could some tourist leave this beauty behind? The dog trudged to her and put her cold nose into her hand. Something inside Skylar changed.

Dallas squared his shoulders. “I’d better take the dog, then.”

“No. She’s going with me.” Skylar spoke before she even made the decision. Thankfully, neither she nor grandmother had fur allergies, and Grandma loved animals, though she preferred cats. Then Skylar leaned to the dog who licked her hands as if understanding everything.

Dallas’s eyes became less frosty.

Austin’s lips tugged up. “Let’s see if we can guess a name. That would be easier on the pet. I’ll toss out some popular names.” He listed several names, but the dog only tilted her head and didn’t react.

After a while, Dallas joined in. There were always many dogs on the ranch, so he was no stranger to plenty of canine names. Still no reaction.

It seemed such a small thing to get a dog. But somehow, she could breathe easier as if she was already near the ocean with its humid, salty air. “Breathe,” she told herself.

The dog ran to her and started barking as if in approval. She petted the dog.

“Huh. That would be a weird name.” Austin braced his hip against the oak desk.

“I think it’s like in thebreezeof the ocean,” Dallas said slowly.

“Hmm. Breeze. Breeze?” Skylar tested it, looking at the dog.

Breeze lifted her head and barked cheerfully. Then, when Skylar stooped to pet Breeze, the dog licked Skylar’s face. A chuckle escaped. She scolded herself.

No attachments, remember?

“Your grandmother is going to be in for a surprise,” Dallas said, and a tiny inflection of his former affection lifted the words. Everyone in town loved her grandmother.

Minutes later, they left after Austin had refused payment. Dallas opened the door, and Skylar and Breeze stepped out into much warmer air. Her gut tightened despite tender sunrays on her skin. She had so many things she wanted to tell Dallas. And even more things she couldn’t tell him. “I... Thank you.”

A muscle moved in his jaw again as if he expected her to say something more, but she was at a loss for words, not a regular occurrence for her.

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