Two Doms for Christmas (10 page)

“I don’t know. How’s Ginger?”

“We did some X-rays. She had a
collapsed lung, three broken ribs, and one of her fangs is missing. She’s still
unconscious. We have some more tests to run and then all we can do is wait.
Hopefully she will wake up and not have brain damage.”

Haley gagged as she tried to
restrain her tears.

The doctor took her hand, stroking
the back of it soothingly. “Why don’t you go home? We will call if there is any
change.”

“Can I see her first?”

“Of course.”

She turned to him. “Will you come
with me?”

He stood, taking Sammie from her
hands and then offering her a hand up. Of course he would come with her. He had
no intention of leaving her alone in the near future. He needed to be at her
side to help her through this.

They followed the doctor though the
door and to the back of the building. Ginger lay in an open crate, right in
front of the desk where a nurse was keeping an eye on her. Haley knelt down,
choking on her tears as she petted the dog’s fur. “My brave little girl,
Ginger. You were trying to protect me. I love you so much. You need to fight
for Mommy because
me
and Sammie want you to come home
with us.” She swiped at her face with her open palm, unable to say anything
else as she leaned into the crate and gave Ginger a kiss on the nose. “They
will call me as soon as you wake up, and I will be her as fast as I can get
here. Just please wake up, baby.”

Sobbing, she got up and held out
her hands for Sammie. He whimpered as she hugged him to her chest. She turned
to the doctor. “You have my numbers, right?”

“We have them on file. I’m so
sorry, Haley. Hope for the best, I’ve seen dogs come through worse. She’s a
little spitfire and she’s a fighter.”

“I know. Thank you.”

The doctor nodded and Haley inhaled
a deep, shaky breath. “I guess we should go find out what’s happening.”

Austin held out his hand to the
doctor. “Thank you. Would you mind if I left my number also just in case her
phone dies again?”

She nodded and shook his hand. “I’m
Doctor Brenda Shay. Haley has been bringing Ginger and Sammie here since she
got them.”

“I’m Austin McKenzie, Haley’s
boyfriend.”

“You can leave your name and number
with the nurse, and we will call if we can’t reach Haley.”

Austin left his information and
then walked Haley out to his truck. He had no intention of allowing her to
drive. She was far too upset to be behind the wheel. “We will come pick up your
car tomorrow.”

She nodded and shivered as she got
into the passenger’s seat. Austin walked around and dug a throw blanket that he
used for the dogs out from behind the seat. He got in and wrapped it around her
shoulders. “I asked Med to take a ride over to your house to see what was
happening.”

She released a weary chuckle. “I’m
glad someone has their head on straight. I can only imagine the hell my mother
is putting him through.”

Austin held his arm out and she
moved over into the center seat, putting on her seatbelt. He pulled her closer
with his arm around her shoulder and backed out, heading to her house.

* * * *

Haley sat silently beside Austin. To
have him holding her with her head resting on his shoulder gave her a feeling
of warmth and protection. She was chilled by the lack of clothing and was sure
her mother was going to give her even more shit for running out of the house
half dressed. She was aching too badly to really care.

She had called upon her white
knight and he had come through for her. Austin had just proven himself to be
what she so desperately needed, a man she could rely on.

“Thank you, Austin.”

“For what?”

“As I stared at my phone wondering
who to call, I had a feeling you were the right one. I was right and you were
here for me. You have no idea how much that means to me.”

“I know what it would mean to me if
situations were reversed. I just wish I could make this all better for you.”

“You already have made it better.
I’m sorry I’m acting so childish. I just love my dogs so much. They are all I
have.”

He rubbed her shoulder through the
blanket. “No. You have me now. If I know Med, you can have him also if you
want, but that is a subject for later. You are not alone anymore, Haley.”

“It seems kind of pathetic that
when my life fell apart, I called a man I just met. This was a lot to dump on
you.”

He stopped for the light and kissed
the top of her head. “I think I can handle it. You are such a special woman and
you don’t deserve more tragedy in your life. I know we just met, but I want to
be with you, Haley. I think we need each other. I know I need a woman who
depends on me. It makes me feel more complete to know I can help you. I was
terrified by what you told me on the phone, but at the same time, I was
completely honored it was me who you called. I like to feel appreciated.”

“I like to feel safe and wanted. I
know some women would be mortified at the idea of putting their man before
themselves and doing what he requested of them. I’m not. There are other things
that are more important to me. I treasure trust and have no problem letting a
man make the decisions in our relationship. As long as I’m free to write and enjoy
my life, then who cares what anyone else thinks?”

“Well put. We eventually need to
discuss the specifics of what you expect from me and what I expect from you. I
honestly think it is too soon to get that far into things right now. I will
promise you that while we are exploring the boundaries of our relationship, you
are the only woman in my life and I expect the same from you.”

She snuggled up to him. “I have no
problem with that. Women don’t turn me on anyway.”

He turned to her, shaking his head.
“You know what I mean.”

She was glad he took it with humor
as she had meant it. “Of course I do. You are the only man in my life. I don’t
cheat.”

“That’s a good thing to know. That
doesn’t include Med though.”

“I’ll give that some thought. I
haven’t even met the man yet.”

He pulled onto her street. Haley
was not ready for this.

“You’ll know him. He looks like a
tall, sleek, black and gray haired wolf.”

He was back to the comparison
between humans and animals. She was going to have to get used to that. Austin pulled
into her driveway and within moments a man was walking toward the truck. He
looked just as Austin described him. He had a look to him that did remind her
of a wolf.

Austin opened the door and got out
as Med came around to her side. He tugged her door open. “How’s Ginger?”

“They don’t know. She had broken
ribs and a collapsed lung. She may have brain damage.”

“I’m so sorry. Did you want to see
your mother?”

“Not really.”

“Good, now I don’t feel bad for
pissing her off so she left.”

Haley couldn’t help it as she
laughed. His expression was so sheepish. “Oops. I’ll call her later. It’s one
more thing for her to be mad at me for.”

She slid out of the car with Sammie
still draped in her arms. Haley put him down. “Go pee.”

He went over to lift his leg on the
mailbox and then followed her toward the house. Sammie was not leaving her
side. He was obviously as upset about Ginger as she was. Med stopped her at the
door with a hand to her shoulder. “Do you know what happened?”

“I’m not sure. I was so worried about
Ginger, I ran out without a second look back, she asked.

Med hesitated. Then he said, “He’s
dead.”

Austin put his arm around her
waist, pulling her to his side. “What are the police saying?”

“Not much. I know they want to talk
to Haley.”

She inhaled a deep breath, trying
to calm her racing heart. She wanted to get this over with. “Then let’s go
talk.”

Austin walked with her inside,
Sammie and Med following. An older officer walked swiftly up to her, keeping
her from looking into the kitchen. “Are you Miss Joy?”

“Yes.”

“I’m officer Flanders. Why don’t
you have a seat on the sofa?”

Haley nodded and went to sit down.
Austin sat protectively between her and the officer, and Med sat on the other
side as Sammie jumped up to sit on her lap. She was surrounded. The officer
took a seat in the chair and pulled out a notepad. “Can you tell me what
happened here tonight?”

Haley nodded and went on to explain
everything she could remember about the events. She apologized for running out,
but explained that the dogs were her babies and she had lost it seeing Ginger
lying on the floor bleeding. She hadn’t meant to kill the burglar. She had just
been terrified and it had been self-defense.

“We are not currently pressing any
charges. There is clear evidence that he broke into your home. He was armed and
had a gun in his hand when he hit the floor. Didn’t you know that?”

She hadn’t even noticed. Haley had
two things in mind, stopping the man from doing any further damage and getting
Ginger to the vet. “I knew he had something in his hand, but I didn’t wait to
find out what it was. I didn’t figure it was flowers.”

Austin glared at her and she
grimaced. “I didn’t mean to say that. I don’t even know where that came from. I
guess I’m just a bit overwhelmed by all of this.” Haley rubbed her eyes. They
felt dry and gritty, and she was suddenly very tired. She leaned against Austin
and he tightened his hold on her shoulder. To know the man had a gun was just
one more trivial matter to stress about. At least it gave her a better case for
self-defense.

They carried a green body bag out
the door and she morbidly wondered if her kitchen floor was covered with blood.
“It will take our team a few hours to finish up here. Do you have somewhere
else to go?”

“She’s coming to my house. There is
no way in hell I want her here alone.” Austin leaned around and petted Sammie.
“Is he good with other dogs?”

Haley nodded. “He always has been. I take them to the
dog park in the summer, and they go to doggy daycare once a week just to keep
them socialized. The owner said they are both very good.” Tears welled in her
eyes again. It hurt just to think about her poor little Ginger. This monster
had ruined the sanctity of her home. He had taken so much more from her than
just material things. “What am I going to do if she dies?” she whispered to
Austin.

“
We
are going to deal with
that when and if it happens. You have to stop thinking that way. Like the vet
said, she is a strong little girl and she’s gonna come out of this.”

She sniffled, the tears making her
vision blurry. “I’m trying to keep it together. I’m just so worried about her.”

“I know. I’m worried too, but I’m
also worried about you. Med, please go get her a tissue. I can’t stand that
sniffling sound.”

He gave her a smile to let her know
the comment wasn’t angry like it had sounded. She didn’t particularly like it
either, but it was either sniffle or let it run down her face. Med got up and
walked out of the room. He came back with the whole box, setting it in her lap
on top of Sammie.

The dog looked at him as if he had
lost his mind. Haley giggled at him, glad for the sudden reason to laugh. She
removed the box. “Thanks, Med.”

“Wow, is he opinionated or what?”

“He can be.”

“Is there anything else we need to
do, officer?”

The man shook his head. “I hope
your little dog gets better.” He gestured with his head to the painting of
Ginger and Sammie on the wall. I had a sheltie myself when I was younger. They
are tough little dogs.”

“Thank you. I hope so, too.”

Austin leaned and kissed her on the
temple. Standing, he smiled. “I’ll go get you some clothing. We can’t have you
running around as you are all day.” He walked out, disappearing down the hall.
The officer went back into the kitchen, and Haley looked at Med.

“Thank you for taking care of
things here. My mother would have been more than I could bear tonight. She is
really a sweet lady, but a bit overbearing at times.”

“I’m overbearing?” her mother asked
from the doorway. “I arrive at my daughter’s house to find police swarming over
the place, and she is no where to be found. Then this man shows up and is so
rude to me, I was forced to leave. Please tell me you aren’t dating this
creep.”

Haley’d had enough. She couldn’t
take any more, and her mother had really bad timing to challenge her at the
moment. “What if I am, Mother? He got out of bed and ran over here to see what
was going on for me. He is not a creep.”

Med pinched her ass. “Everyone’s
upset. Don’t make matters worse,” he whispered in her ear. “She ran over here,
too.”

He was right. “I’m sorry, Mother. I
know you don’t value animals as I do. These two little creatures have been
better to me than most of the people in my life. To see my sweet Ginger
crumbled against the corner of the cabinet broke my heart. She is at the vet’s
office, and I have no idea if she will even make it until the morning. I know
you don’t understand, but I’m not asking you to.”

Austin came out and set her carry
bag on the corner table. He gave a cordial nod to her mother. “Mrs. Joy, Haley
really appreciates you coming over, but she is very upset right now. I think
she would benefit from some sleep and a very calm atmosphere. She is coming
back to my house. I’m going to light a fire and give her a backrub while we
wait for news from the vet. I will have her house cleaned, so no need to worry
about that.”

He was being polite, but there was
an undertone of ‘don’t fuck with me’ in his voice. Austin knew what her family
had done to her. They had deserted her just as surely as her husband had. They
were pleasant enough if she called, but conversations were always kept short
and to the point. They never asked about her life, and she didn’t have the
leisure to tell them.