Hugh's Chase by Rhonda Lee Carver

Author:Rhonda Lee Carver [Carver, Rhonda Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-11-20T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

Adira was still thinking over Carol’s words hours later when she sat in the passenger side of Hugh’s truck as they headed to his house. He seemed preoccupied and she had a lot on her mind too. She had her window rolled down and was enjoying the cool breeze when she heard his muffled curse. Ahead on the road she could see something laying in the gravel. He slowed down and finally pulled over to the side, keeping the headlights on the dog that wasn’t moving.

By the time she reached the animal, Hugh was already bent next to it. Tears came to her eyes. “Is he still alive?” she asked. Her question was answered when the dog whimpered, then moved, trying to get up. His blood matted fur near his hind legs looked serious.

“It’s okay, boy.” Hugh patted his head and then grazed his palm down the dog’s chest and side. “I think it’s just his back legs that are hurt. Will you grab the water bottle from the console for me?”

Hurrying to gather the water and bring it back, she handed it over and Hugh offered the dog a drink and he slurped thirstily. “At least he can drink. Hard to tell how long he’s been here.” He gently poured the remaining water over the wound, receiving a yelp in protest.

“We can’t leave him here.” Acid rose into the back of her throat. She never liked seeing anything suffer.

“No, we can’t and we won’t. I’ll take him to Presley.” He carefully lifted the dog into his arms and Adira could see he didn’t have any fight in him to resist. “Will you grab my phone from my back pocket, scroll through my contacts and find her number. Tell her we have an injured dog we’re bringing in. She should still be in the clinic.”

She made the call and Hugh was already in the truck, sitting in the passenger seat. “She’s there and waiting on us.”

“You’ll have to drive. I’ll hold him. I’m afraid if I put him down it’ll only hurt him worse,” he said.

The next half hour was a blur. Presley took the injured dog back into the examining room and told Hugh and Adira to hang out in the lobby until she could figure out the extent of the injury.

Hugh’s uniform shirt was covered in blood and he looked tired. Although what he’d done to help the animal would be considered something most people would do, watching him hold the dog in his arms, his concern and compassion evident in every line of his face, had touched her. His kindness reached in and woke up hidden parts of her—showing her that it was possible to throw out the baggage she’d stored up inside. For the first time in a long time, she wanted someone on her side, someone she could depend upon. She wanted to have long walks, holding hands, talking about everything and anything.

Could she be dreaming?

“How is Deandra Newman?” she asked, needing to move her thoughts away from her feelings.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.