to regret this. I’ll be there within an hour to pick up you and the pup. Be ready.”
“I love you, big guy.”
“Love you more, Ley.”
It takes me almost an hour to arrive at the hospital. The roads are packed with snow, and there are several cars stranded. The first thing I notice when I see Leyla is her swollen eyes. The second is the boxes around her. The third is the bundle she carries.
“What is all that?” I point at the stuff around her.
“The equipment I need,” she simplifies.
Oh fuck! She’s planning on doing more than just care for the pup until she dies. She’s going to try to save her.
Dan comes out and hands her a credit card. “Here. I can’t believe he didn’t give you the employee discount.”
“It’s fine,” Leyla sniffs.
“Did they fire you?” I ask, picking up two of the boxes and wanting to go inside and yell at the asshole who pretends to run this place.
She’s days away from finishing the internship.
“No,” she answers.
“Then what happened?”
“She lost six puppies and the mom,” Dan answers for her, handing me her backpack. “If I were you, I’d buy her those marshmallows covered with chocolate she loves.”
I don’t tell him that she loves everything covered in chocolate and that I have plenty of that stocked in the fridge and the pantry. Some days her dinner consists of yogurt, fruit, and chocolate.
I finish getting everything in the trunk. Once we arrive home, I finally ask, “What is the plan?”
She sighs, setting the pup into a crate filled with blankets, “I want to try to save her, but it might be pointless.”
“We’re nothing but persistent,” I remind her. “We’ll do the best we can, okay?”
She nods.
“But first, you’re going to take a nap,” I suggest. “Then, we’ll make a game plan.”
“Can you watch over her while I’m sleeping?” She yawns.
I grab her to me, pressing my mouth onto hers. My tongue slides easily along the seam of her lips, darting inside her. Her fingers thread through my hair. She’s as hungry as I am. I know she’s bone tired and I have to stop now. When I try to break the kiss she doesn’t allow me to do it. She’s devouring me. Fuck if I don’t want her desperately, but I know we have to stop.
“Love you,” I whisper. “Tell me what to do with the little girl and then you’re going to sleep. We can finish this once you’re rested.”
I won’t lie. I need more of her, but I can wait.
“You’re the best person in the world,” she states, giving me a big hug.
I’m not, but for her, I would do just about anything.
There’s a lot about me that she doesn’t know, and I prefer to keep it that way. I like the version of who I am with her. What’s the point of showing that I can be an asshole who doesn’t give two shits about others?
“Only for you.” I wink at her, bend my head down and kiss the fuck out of her because I’ve missed her so much.
“I promise to make it up to you later,” she says after our long, deep kiss. “Let me tell you what she needs.”
As she explains how to care for the pup, I pray that the little thing doesn’t die before Leyla takes charge.
Our little girl doesn’t die. She’s strong, and we spend three weeks watching her around the clock. Today, Leyla decides to wean her off the formula to solid food.
“Is she out of the woods?” I ask as Buster, Leyla, and I stare at the pup who shyly takes one kernel of food and places it on the floor.
“I’m not sure,” she answers.
Buster pushes the plate closer to the puppy. This guy has been concerned about the little girl just as much as us.
“Maybe. I won’t say for sure until she’s eight weeks old. Tomorrow, I’m taking her to the animal hospital so we can run some blood tests. I want to make sure that she’s perfectly healthy.” Leyla looks at me and says, “Thank you for…humoring me.”
“I won’t lie. I thought she wasn’t going to make it, but I wasn’t humoring you. It’s more like having faith in you. I wanted her to live.”
She smiles at the pup and then at me. “I can’t believe the owner had no idea that her dog was pregnant. At least one of them survived.”
“Any ideas of what breed she is?” I ask, because this is too close to what happened to