looked sheepish. “Yeah, at Cade and Peyton’s wedding reception. I happened to mention that he’d missed your birthday, so he knows I know you. Fortunately, the woman he loved got kidnapped so I got out of further explanation.”
She laughed. “Got to love conveniently-timed kidnappings.”
It wouldn’t be long until her brother was hunting her down. It was definitely time to let him know what was going on.
She grabbed her jacket and purse, and closed up the house behind her as she and Baby stepped out.
She couldn’t stop her pleased sigh as he wrapped an arm around her waist. “Since we’re not hiding out, is New Brothers Pizza okay?”
Pizza, another thing she hadn’t had enough of in her life over the past ten years. “Pizza sounds great.”
They walked toward the truck, his warm hand splayed against her lower back.
Her face heated, remembering what had happened there the last time it had been parked in almost the exact same place. The fingers trailing circles on her back told her he was remembering the same thing.
She stopped when she saw that limping dog over near the trees again.
“Hey! Hey, there he is.” She flung her hand out and tapped Baby on his stomach. Good God, was he wearing a metal plate under his shirt or were those his abs?
She dragged her attention back to the dog and pointed. “He was here yesterday. He’s back.”
“Grizzly?”
“Is that his name? I keep seeing him around.”
Baby shrugged. “That’s what I call him. Or her. I don’t think he has a name, but I’ve seen him around town for a couple of years now.”
“Nobody wants him? Is he vicious?”
“He doesn’t seem to be. I’ve seen him run around with some of the kids during the summer, and they’re never afraid of him. And it’s not that nobody wants him, it’s more that he doesn’t want anyone.”
“Oh.”
He shrugged. “I’ve tried setting him out some food before. He’ll eat it, and I thought that might get him to stick around, but he never does.”
“I set him out a plate of canned tuna yesterday.”
A smile tugged one side of Baby’s lips. “And did he eat it?”
Quinn didn’t want to get into her neuroses about the feeling she’d had that someone was watching her. Nobody lived around here for like a mile, and despite her mostly sleepless nights, there hadn’t been any sign of anyone nearby. Baby would probably think it was just a big city mentality.
“I didn’t actually see him eat it, but it was gone the next time I checked.” She crouched down on the ground. “Here, Grizzly. Do you want to come over here?”
The dog stayed at the tree line. She stood, feeling a little stupid, and self-conscious about her lack of general pet knowledge. “I’m not great with dogs. But I hate for him to be hungry. Was tuna something bad to give him?”
Baby shook his head. “No, maybe a little fattening, but Grizzly could use it.”
Thank God. “Do you mind waiting a second? I’ll get him another can of tuna and set it out on my porch. Maybe he’ll eat it while we’re gone.”
Baby looked at her funny, and she hesitated. “Do you think that’s okay? I don’t want to make him sick.”
He trailed a finger down her cheek. “I think it’s absolutely fine. But I want you to know that Grizzly has been taking care of himself for a while, so don’t take it as a rejection if he decides to ignore your food and do his own thing.”
She ran back in and grabbed the tuna, opened the can, dumped the tuna on the plate, then took it out to the porch. Maybe Grizzly would eat it once he didn’t have an audience. She smiled brightly as she locked her door and made her way back toward Baby.
He helped her into the truck then got in on the driver’s side. “You know, if you want a dog of your own, we’ve got a lot of places around here where you could get a great one. You could start with a puppy, or if that’s too much work, there are some housebroken dogs you could find. Having one out here so you’re not alone might be a great idea.”
A dog. She looked back over at Grizzly, who was studying the truck, his head cocked to the side. It was almost as if he was waiting to hear her answer.
“No, I’m not a dog person. I’m not really good with dogs.”