“No,” I say, “I mean the whole thing. How did you lure them here?”
He gently taps his cargo pants pocket and the dog looks there. It’s then that I notice the other stray slowly coming forward, also drawn by the noise.
Lachlan reaches in and pulls out what looks like beef jerky. “I always carry some sort of food on me, just in case.”
“Wherever you go? Just in case you find a stray dog?”
“Aye,” he says calmly, as if it’s totally normal.
I gesture to the other dog. “What about that one?”
He glances at the scruffy mutt now standing beside the leashed pit bull. He hands both dogs more jerky and they take it, eager and wary at the same time. “This one will follow the alpha.”
“Aren’t you the alpha?” I ask.
“I will be by the time the night is over.”
God, he can alpha me anytime he wants. Even with the dogs here now, I’m having a hard time forgetting that just moments ago my lips were locked with his and I was lost in all he was giving me. I need more of it. That kiss can’t be it.
But now he’s preoccupied. A cold, wet breeze laced with fog washes over me and I fold my arms across my chest. “The fog is rolling in again.”
“We’ll get going,” he says.
“Where? To the pound?”
“Fuck no,” he says sharply. “These dogs will be put down in a few days if I do that.”
I obviously have a lot to learn about all of this. “Really, why?”
“Because the pound is overwhelmed with dogs, as are most shelters in any given city. There just isn’t any room for them, and these two are shy. Being a pit doesn’t help either. They won’t get adopted. They won’t get rehomed. They’ll be killed.”
I swallow uneasily. “That’s horrible. I’m sorry, I had no idea.”
“Most people don’t,” he says, staring down at the dogs. “So I’m taking them home.”
“Home? To Scotland?”
“I’ll take them to my flat here first and try to find homes for them this week. If I can’t, they’ll fly back with me.”
Jesus. I’m floored by the size of this man’s heart.
“Who are you?” I can’t help but whisper.
“Just a man,” he replies. “Come on.”
He turns and walks off through the darkness, the pit bull pulling on the belt but reluctantly following, limping as he goes. The scruffy dog is right on his tail.
“Is he going to be okay?” I ask.
Lachlan eyes the dog. “Seems minor. I’ll get him to a vet tomorrow.”
I walk beside Lachlan on the other side, careful not to vibe out the dogs since they seem so taken with him. Hell, I can’t blame them. I’d also follow him anywhere, whether he had food or not. I mean, I guess I did just that when he ran off into the forest.
He keeps talking to them in his low voice, and my brain is going wild. It’s hard to know what time it is or even what direction we’re going along the path now. I wonder how the hell he’s going to get home, let alone me. I wonder if I should bring up the fact that we made out, just in case he’s already forgotten. Cuz I sure as hell have not.
Finally we see the trees thin out and the rise of buildings and lights. The road, Lincoln Way, cuts along the edge of the park, and there are still a handful of concertgoers straggling along the sidewalk.
“This seems busy enough,” Lachlan says as we come to a stop a few yards from the road. “You can hail a cab from here. Do you need any money?”
I stare at him blankly. “No. Where are you going?”
He gestures with his head down the street, where it disappears into the heart of the city. “Cabs don’t let you take dogs.”
“An Uber might.”
He raises his brow. “This Uber thing, you need a phone for that, aye?”
“So you’re just going to walk?” I ask, incredulous. “That’s like miles and miles from here. That’s the whole freaking city. It will take hours.”