Twenty minutes later she was stopped by the front gate of the rescue, pushing the button and looking up at the camera, praying Sid would answer.
“Hi, Chloe,” Sidney said through the speaker.
Relief swept through her. “Hi. Is it too late for me to visit with Shadow?” She saw the hours posted by the gate and realized they’d closed more than an hour ago. Silently chiding herself, she said, “I should have checked the hours. Sorry.”
“It’s fine. Those hours are for the general public. I’m catching up on some paperwork. I’d love the company.”
Sid opened the gate, and Chloe drove through. She parked in front of the veterinary clinic, and Sid came out to greet her. “Hey there.”
“Hi. I’m sorry to stop by without calling.” Chloe hoisted her bag over her shoulder and said, “I know Justin didn’t have time to stop by to see Shadow today, and I thought he could use a little company.”
“He’ll be thrilled to see you,” Sid said as they headed for the shelter.
“Do you work every day?”
“Pretty much. There is so much to do, and some of the animals need daily therapy.” Sid opened the door to the shelter, sparking a cacophony of barks, and grabbed a leash from a hook on the wall. She slowed by each kennel so the dogs could sniff their hands and get a few finger pets through the wire.
When they came to Shadow’s kennel, he went paws-up on the wire, whining and barking, his stump of a tail wagging.
“Hey, big boy,” Chloe said as Sidney unlocked the kennel and hooked the leash to his collar. She petted Shadow, who was sniffing her legs and panting excitedly.
“Let’s bring him into the visiting room. I’ll stay with you since Justin isn’t here. Just in case Shadow gets funky.”
She followed Sid down the hall to the visiting room and said, “Has he gotten nasty with people?”
“No, and I don’t think he will. But he gets scared sometimes, and that can cause behavioral issues. It’s better to be safe than sorry.” She closed the door behind them and sat on the floor.
Chloe set her bag down and sat on the floor, too. Shadow climbed in her lap and licked her face as she loved him up. “I missed you, too, Shadow.”
“He sure loves you and Maverick. Did you have a dog when you were growing up?”
“No. We barely had enough money to feed ourselves.” Shadow sat between them, sniffing first Chloe, then Sid. Chloe stroked his back and said, “What about you?”
“My dad was military, and we moved around a lot. We didn’t have pets, but I’ve always loved animals. I became a dog handler in the military. That’s how I met Gunner. We were stationed at the same base, and we ended up in the field together. My dog, Rosco, and I were clearing a tunnel before Gunner’s unit was supposed to go in. Unfortunately, there was a suicide bomber waiting for us. Rosco and I took the hit.”
“Oh my gosh, that’s awful.” A shiver ran down Chloe’s back. “Did you get hurt? Did Rosco survive?”
“We both had shrapnel wounds and broken bones. Rosco lost his back leg near his hip, and I had a mild traumatic brain injury. It took a while, but we’re both okay. We got lucky.”
“That doesn’t sound lucky to me. You’re so brave.”
Sidney shrugged. “Rosco made it easy to be brave.”
“Where is he now?” Chloe stroked Shadow’s head, and he put his chin down on his front paws and closed his eyes.
“I adopted him. He’s in the clinic waiting for me to take him up to the house.”
“I don’t mean to keep you away from him.”
“It’s okay. We’re together all the time. It’s actually nice to have a real person to talk to.”
“Justin said you live with Dwayne—I mean Gunner. That must be interesting. He’s such a flirt.”
“I know everyone wonders about us,” Sidney said softly. “The truth is, he and Steph are a lot closer than we are. I love Gunner, but once you’ve seen a guy guzzling milk from a carton and belching the alphabet, attraction goes out the window.”
“I’m trying to imagine Justin doing those things, and I gotta say, guzzling milk would not be a deal breaker. Belching the alphabet, on the other hand…” She laughed.
“Those Wicked boys could charm the pants off a nun.” Sidney sat back against the wall and said, “But I think they all see me as one of the guys.”