Hometown Fireman by Lissa Manley

Author:Lissa Manley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2013-10-04T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Ally looked at her watch. 2:00 a.m. The middle of the night after a busy day. Yet she’d never felt so energized. Sure, delivering puppies was life-affirming, and, as such, revitalizing.

But she wasn’t a complete head-in-the-sand idiot; she knew much of her energy and positivity was due to the man sitting next to her on the floor of Grace’s laundry room–turned–canine whelping area, holding a tiny puppy as if it were the most precious thing on earth. The man who’d helped her deliver six puppies with nary a frazzled look or word. If he were this good under pressure, he’d be a great paramedic, hands-down.

Most especially, she’d noted, Drew had been so calm, so levelheaded when the runt—a female, they’d discovered—had been born. Just as Ally had been on the edge of panic, he’d taken over and saved the pup. Was there anything more wonderful than a man who could be calm under pressure and take a teensy newborn pup and literally bring it back from the brink of death?

He’d risen about a hundred notches in her estimation, and he’d already been way up there before his puppy heroics. He was hovering in the stratosphere in her mind right now. And in the vicinity of her chest, too, which was, oddly, feeling both empty and full at the same time. Save a puppy, steal her heart? Could it be that effortless for him to work his way under her skin?

She shifted uneasily on the floor. Oh, boy. She was getting in over her head for sure.

“Is your back starting to hurt?” Drew asked, his brow furrowed. Amazing. He was always concerned for her, more than anyone else in her life. Ever.

Trying to act normal when little warning bombs were exploding in her brain, she stretched her neck both ways. Okay, so her back was a little tight. Not unexpected, considering they’d been down here for going on four hours. If she told him that, would he drag a chair in, or something equally as considerate?

Instead, she shook her head. “Nah. I’m tough.”

“I know.”

Oh, yeah. He knew her whole ugly story, ’cause she’d put it all out there. Needing a change of subject, she looked at the puppy, whom they’d named Allison after Ally’s given name. “How’s she doing?”

They’d tried to get her to nurse, but she wasn’t mobile enough yet. Hopefully, she’d rally quickly, or an emergency call to the local vet would be in order.

Ally tried not to worry that she had no money to pay for the vet, though in a few weeks she might have enough saved up from babysitting Heidi to pay a portion of a vet bill. Nightly she thanked God for Carson’s job offer, and it was certainly no chore to keep Heidi entertained at Grace’s house for a few hours after school.

“She’s squirming,” he replied. “Should we try to see if she’ll eat again?”

“Yes, let’s.” Ally needed a distraction. Quick.

All the other pups had crawled over and started nursing with that instinct that all mammals had.

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