Growling in frustration, I kept going. I was not stopping until I found her stupid adorable dog.
The pines grew thicker, the spaces between them littered with debris. I had to duck beneath the branches and sharp twigs reached out to snag my shirt and scratch my skin. I pushed through, still calling for Max.
A rustling sound up ahead caught my attention. I crested the next rise and there he was.
Max’s back was to me, his tail in the air, as he dug furiously. Dirt sprayed behind him, making a little mound. He was filthy.
“Max, what are you doing?”
He paused and looked back at the sound of my voice, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. Frustrated as I was at his disappearance—I was sweaty as hell—I almost laughed. He really was cute, in a derpy sort of way.
“Come on, Max. Let’s go find your mommy.”
He went back to digging, tossing more dirt behind him. Maybe I hadn’t said the right thing. Dogs knew commands, not actual English.
“Max, come.”
Instead of obeying, he dropped to the ground at a weird angle, neck first, and rubbed himself across something in the dirt.
“Audrey!” I called, hoping my voice would carry far enough that she could hear me. “I found him!”
He twisted and writhed until he was nothing but a ball of fur, undulating on the ground.
“Audrey! This way!”
Since Max wasn’t interested in listening to me, I figured I should at least get ahold of his collar so he couldn’t run off. I started toward him. “Okay, Max. You’re dirty enough. Let’s go.”
In the distance, I heard Audrey’s reply. “I’m coming!”
“Here!” I yelled so she’d know the way.
I approached Max cautiously, not moving too fast. I didn’t want him to think I was there for a game of chase. He rubbed himself in the hole he’d dug again, then rolled onto his back with all four legs in the air, twisting back and forth like he was scratching his spine on the ground.
“You’re ridiculous, you know that?”
When I got a few steps closer, I stopped in my tracks and wrinkled my nose. Something smelled terrible. Where was that coming from?
I looked at Max. Was he covered in dirt or was that something else?
Wincing at the smell, I got closer. He was caked in something brown, some of which was certainly dirt. But dirt didn’t stink like that.
“Fucking hell, dog. Are you serious?”
Audrey rushed through the trees, still in her heels. She had pine needles in her hair and something had ripped the sleeve of her shirt.
“Oh my god, you found him.”
I saw the second the smell hit her. She stopped as if she’d run into a solid wall.
“Whoa. What is that? Oh, Max. Oh, no.”
“I don’t know what he found but it’s probably the worst thing I’ve ever smelled in my life.”
Her eyes started to water and she backed up a step. “What is that? No, I don’t even want to know. Max, how could you?”
He hopped to his feet and shook. Dirt and – whatever else – went flying in all directions, sending the horrible scent with it.
“Ugh.” Audrey plugged her nose with her thumb and the side of her forefinger, using the rest of her hand to shield her mouth. “That’s so gross I might puke.”
“Don’t puke. He’d probably roll in that too.”
“Good point. I’ll have to hose him down at the house. Is there a hose? I don’t have one, so I really hope there’s one in the back.”
“Yeah, there’s a hose. If not, I’ll call one of my brothers to bring one over.”
“Okay, Max. Let’s go home.”
He happily obeyed, falling in step beside her as she started picking her way through the pine needles.
Limping. In her heels.
I was at the top of a big-ass hill with a dog covered in either shit or the rotting remains of a dead animal, or both, with a woman limping in her heels who was absolutely not my problem.
Except she was. She really, really was.
Damn it.
“Audrey, wait.” I moved in front of her, so I was on the downhill side, and bent my knees. “Hop on.”
“You don’t have to carry me.”
“Just get on.”
She put her hands on my shoulders and jumped up. I caught her legs around my waist and hitched her up so she was secure on my back. Then I started down the hill.
Fortunately, Max the stinking dog trotted along with us. Maybe it was my imagination, but he seemed awfully proud of himself.
I was a lot more aware of the instability of the hillside on the way down. Rocks rolled downhill and the bed of pine needles felt slick under my boots. The last thing I needed was to drop her or fall on my ass.
We made it to the bottom in one piece with the dog still following. He ran to a tree in her backyard and peed on it, which seemed both natural and an oddly appropriate end to our dog rescue mission. He had no idea the problem was only half solved. Now we had to figure out how to get him clean.
I set Audrey down.
“Give me two seconds,” she said. “I don’t want to do this in work clothes.”
“He better not run off again.”
“I know. But I’m not letting him in the house like that.”
“Just hurry.”
She ran around the front while I eyed her dog. He seemed content to sniff the grass. How he could smell anything but himself was beyond me.
A few minutes later, she came out the back door, dressed in a t-shirt and cutoffs. Her feet were bare and she had a bottle of dog shampoo and a big blue towel.
The house did have a hose. Max wanted to attack the water and since neither one of us wanted to grab and hold onto him, we did our best. At least he seemed to be enjoying the process. Once he was somewhat clean, Audrey took off his collar. It was caked with shit or dead animal or whatever it was. She tossed it aside.
“I have an extra in the house. I don’t think that one’s salvageable.”
“Agreed. Toss it.”
After a good rinse, it was time to soap him up. That part he loved. Not surprising, considering it was like having two people pet him all over simultaneously.
“You better be careful,” I said. “He’s going to do that again just to get a bath.”
“He does love his baths, although usually they’re not with freezing hose water.”
“I’m just glad he’s not running away again.”
“Oh my gosh, same.” She leaned in and sniffed her dog. “I can’t tell if the smell is gone. I think it’s just in my nose now, but I’m not sure.”
I got close and inhaled deeply. “I don’t smell it anymore.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I think we got it all.”
She breathed out a long sigh. “Thank goodness. What a nightmare. Sorry about all that.”
My clothes were wet, I was tired, and I probably smelled like dog. But oddly enough, I wasn’t annoyed.
“It’s fine. I’m just glad we found him.”
“Me too.”
She rubbed him down with the towel and he shook again. We both did another sniff test, just to be sure. All I could smell was the lavender from the dog shampoo.
“Okay, Max, that’s enough adventures for one day.” She opened her sliding door and shooed him inside. “In you go.”
He ran in and she shut the door most of the way, leaving just a crack. With her hand on the handle, she met my eyes. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
For a second, she didn’t move. Then she stepped closer and hugged me.
Without thinking, I wrapped my arms around her and drew her in tight.
Fuck me, that felt good. She was soft and warm and her hair smelled good. Her body pressed against mine, stirring up all kinds of things I wasn’t prepared for.
She moved back and, almost reluctantly, I let go.
“Goodnight, Josiah.”
“Night.”
And with that, she disappeared inside her house, leaving me with an ache in my chest.
CHAPTER 16
Audrey
My morning could not have been more chaotic.
I slept through my alarm and for once in his life, Max didn’t wake me up. By the time I rolled over and realized what had happened, I had all of twenty minutes to get ready for work.