plodding along next to her. When she turned around she saw him lying on the sand.
Something about the way he was laid out bothered her though. She called for Jamison but he was out of earshot. No doubt trying to put her as far behind him as fast as possible.
Approaching the old dog, Gabby got down on her hunches. “Hey, are you okay?”
A soft wine and whimper was her answer.
She tried to give him a little nudge up on his feet but the dog only whimpered more. He wasn’t moving. He certainly wasn’t walking anywhere.
Now what was she supposed to do? Jamison wouldn’t loop back here for at least another forty minutes. She couldn’t leave the poor dog sitting on the beach. And she sure wasn’t going to wait around while something awful might be happening when she could have gotten him to a vet.
Decision made, Gabby began to use her foot to draw out some letters in the sand. That done she bent down and hauled what had to be forty pounds of German Sheppard into her arms and over her shoulder. As old as he was, he didn’t carry a lot of weight, but still he was as much as she could handle.
“Okay, boy, stay with me now.”
Carefully she made her way up the incline. Stopping a few times to catch her breath. This workout was way worse than jogging, but fortunately the old dog didn’t fight her, just laid over her shoulder with an occasional whimper. No struggle at all in fact.
It made Gabby feel worse. Obviously something was wrong for the dog to be this complacent. Reaching the top, she spotted Jamie’s truck. It would be a whole lot faster to use than making her way down the long driveway to where she left her rental car. Taking a chance Jamie was a leave-the-keys-in-the-car person—wasn’t that a thing most small-town people did?—she opened the passenger door and settled Shep inside. The poor dog simply curled in on himself and closed his eyes.
Running around the car to the driver side she opened the door and checked the center console for the keys. Nothing. She lowered the sun visor and found nothing there, either. Last shot was the glove compartment otherwise she would have to move Shep again—something she didn’t want to do.
Pay dirt. A fat key ring sat in the compartment but the car key was the heaviest and easy to identify. Partway down the drive, she realized when Jamie returned from his run he would need to follow her. She reversed to where her car was parked, dropped the keys on the front seat, then drove on.
She really had to hope the stuff about small towns being safe with low crime rates was true.
“Okay, Shep we’re on our way.”
Thanks to the coincidental meeting in the café last night, she knew the island had a vet. Of course, she didn’t have a clue where his office was located. She figured she could simply drive into town and someone there would help her. If not for her, then certainly for Jamison’s dog.
* * *
J AMIE KNEW THERE WAS something wrong when he reached his starting point. Shep should have been there waiting for him. Shep was always there waiting for him. And despite the fact he’d told her otherwise, he kind of thought Gabby would be waiting for him, too. He put his hands on his thighs and took some deep breaths. Walking it off for a while he whistled to see if maybe Shep had wandered into the bushes for a spell.
Then he saw the letters in the sand. Big letters hastily drawn that made his heart sink into his stomach.
SHEP TO VET
Running up the hill as if he hadn’t finished a five-mile run, Jamie cursed when he saw the truck was missing. She had to know he would follow her so he took a chance and sprinted down the driveway. Her rental sat at the side of the road as if waiting for him. He opened the door and gave a soft yes when he saw the keys.
There was only one vet in town. Tom had been treating every animal on the island for the past five years. Even if Gabby couldn’t find his clinic, anyone in town would know exactly where to find him.
* * *
P ULLING
Something about the way he was laid out bothered her though. She called for Jamison but he was out of earshot. No doubt trying to put her as far behind him as fast as possible.
Approaching the old dog, Gabby got down on her hunches. “Hey, are you okay?”
A soft wine and whimper was her answer.
She tried to give him a little nudge up on his feet but the dog only whimpered more. He wasn’t moving. He certainly wasn’t walking anywhere.
Now what was she supposed to do? Jamison wouldn’t loop back here for at least another forty minutes. She couldn’t leave the poor dog sitting on the beach. And she sure wasn’t going to wait around while something awful might be happening when she could have gotten him to a vet.
Decision made, Gabby began to use her foot to draw out some letters in the sand. That done she bent down and hauled what had to be forty pounds of German Sheppard into her arms and over her shoulder. As old as he was, he didn’t carry a lot of weight, but still he was as much as she could handle.
“Okay, boy, stay with me now.”
Carefully she made her way up the incline. Stopping a few times to catch her breath. This workout was way worse than jogging, but fortunately the old dog didn’t fight her, just laid over her shoulder with an occasional whimper. No struggle at all in fact.
It made Gabby feel worse. Obviously something was wrong for the dog to be this complacent. Reaching the top, she spotted Jamie’s truck. It would be a whole lot faster to use than making her way down the long driveway to where she left her rental car. Taking a chance Jamie was a leave-the-keys-in-the-car person—wasn’t that a thing most small-town people did?—she opened the passenger door and settled Shep inside. The poor dog simply curled in on himself and closed his eyes.
Running around the car to the driver side she opened the door and checked the center console for the keys. Nothing. She lowered the sun visor and found nothing there, either. Last shot was the glove compartment otherwise she would have to move Shep again—something she didn’t want to do.
Pay dirt. A fat key ring sat in the compartment but the car key was the heaviest and easy to identify. Partway down the drive, she realized when Jamie returned from his run he would need to follow her. She reversed to where her car was parked, dropped the keys on the front seat, then drove on.
She really had to hope the stuff about small towns being safe with low crime rates was true.
“Okay, Shep we’re on our way.”
Thanks to the coincidental meeting in the café last night, she knew the island had a vet. Of course, she didn’t have a clue where his office was located. She figured she could simply drive into town and someone there would help her. If not for her, then certainly for Jamison’s dog.
* * *
J AMIE KNEW THERE WAS something wrong when he reached his starting point. Shep should have been there waiting for him. Shep was always there waiting for him. And despite the fact he’d told her otherwise, he kind of thought Gabby would be waiting for him, too. He put his hands on his thighs and took some deep breaths. Walking it off for a while he whistled to see if maybe Shep had wandered into the bushes for a spell.
Then he saw the letters in the sand. Big letters hastily drawn that made his heart sink into his stomach.
SHEP TO VET
Running up the hill as if he hadn’t finished a five-mile run, Jamie cursed when he saw the truck was missing. She had to know he would follow her so he took a chance and sprinted down the driveway. Her rental sat at the side of the road as if waiting for him. He opened the door and gave a soft yes when he saw the keys.
There was only one vet in town. Tom had been treating every animal on the island for the past five years. Even if Gabby couldn’t find his clinic, anyone in town would know exactly where to find him.
* * *
P ULLING
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