smarter guess.
Amy reached out and gently touched the dog’s head, ever so careful and loving as she rubbed one ear. “I found Donner last night out in the snow. He kept growling but he was hungry, so I brought him in. I think he’s blind. I was going to put up flyers and post online, but there hasn’t been time to do much of anything. And I was supposed to get him some pet food tonight and . . .” She bit her lip, and for a moment, she looked so frustrated that she seemed as if she was ready to start crying again.
“I’ve got dog food,” he managed.
“On you?” She looked surprised. “Really?”
He wanted to slap his forehead. “At home. I can bring some in the morning.” It was the longest sentence he’d managed in a while, and he was pretty proud of it. He rubbed the dog’s muzzle, then got to his feet. “That okay?”
Amy’s eyes softened. “Of course that’ll be okay. Can I pay you for it?”
He shook his head and went to the sink to wash his hands. The dog was kind of a mess, and after working in a barn or with livestock all day, you learned to wash your hands often. When he reached for her sink, though, he saw her faucet was dribbling—not just from the tap, but from both knobs, and no amount of twisting made the water turn off. “This is broken.”
“I know. My landlord . . .” She trailed off. “It’s on the list.”
Right. Of course she knew it was broken. He washed his hands quickly, then glanced around at the old kitchen. Just like he suspected, there was a bucket tucked surreptitiously in a corner to catch drips. No wonder the place smelled like mildew. Back home in Alaska, if the cabin he’d shared with his brothers had a leaky roof, they all crawled all over the damn thing to get it patched up. You took care of stuff, didn’t let it go to heck. Her landlord hadn’t gotten the memo, though, and the entire place needed a good fixing, in his estimation.
Caleb couldn’t say that to her, though. It was clear she knew that already. Despite her elegant clothing—thin, warm-weather elegant clothing, he noticed—she had an embarrassed expression on her face. She didn’t like him seeing this place. Not like this.
He cleared his throat and held his hand out. “Keys.”
She pulled them out of her purse and then hesitated. “Why?”
“Gonna fix you.”
Amy’s jaw dropped and she gave him a look of concern. “Excuse me?”
He flushed. He really needed to learn to stop blurting things out before he thought. He composed himself, thinking through the words before stating them slowly. “I am going to fix your car. I need the keys so I can drive it over to the ranch in the morning to take a look at it. If I can’t get it working, I’ll tow it to the garage.”
“Oh. But . . . if it’s the alternator, isn’t that expensive?” She held the keys out, hesitating. “I don’t know much about cars. And I don’t have much money . . .”
Caleb held his hand out, waiting.
Still, she hesitated. “We don’t exactly hand our keys over to strangers in the city, you know.”
He’d given her a ride home. Even now, she was wearing his blanket around her shoulders. He was in her phone. She’d called him for help . . . but he was a stranger? Amy must have seen something on his face, because she hesitated for only a moment longer before handing her keys over. “Just . . . let me know how much it costs, okay?”
“I’ll be back at seven.”
“For what?” Her brows furrowed and she gave him a curious look.
“I can give you a ride to work, too.”
“Oh. That’s very kind of you but it’s Friday night. I don’t work again until Monday.”
“Monday morning, then.”
He wasn’t being kind. Not really. Caleb managed to nod and then left her house, realizing as he got back into his truck that she’d given him all her keys, even her house keys. Damn, but she was trusting. Someone could take advantage of her if she wasn’t careful and if he wasn’t around. The thought worried him, but he’d just have to talk to her about that.
Then again, talking was hard. Maybe he’d write her a note. Or would that seem creepy? He didn’t know. He watched her house for a bit, and when the lights went out, he