Penniless And Secretly Pregnant - Jennie Lucas Page 0,3
head. “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
She looked around. “Sounds like a baby crying.”
“I’m sure there are children everywhere here. Its mother will take care of it.”
A baby was an it? Daisy’s forehead furrowed. Then she heard the soft cry again. Weak. More like a whine, or a snuffle. She turned toward the alley behind the gleaming waterfront co-op.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“I just need to make sure...”
“Daisy, it’s not your problem—”
But she was already hurrying toward the alley, following the sound. There had been a newspaper story just the month before about a baby abandoned in an alley in New Jersey. Thankfully that child had been found safely, but Daisy couldn’t get the story out of her mind. If she didn’t investigate this, and something bad happened...
She followed the sound down the alley and was only vaguely aware of Leo behind her. She saw a burlap bag resting on the top of a dumpster. The sound seemed to come from that. It was wiggling. She heard a weak whine. Then a whimper.
“Daisy, don’t,” Leo said sharply behind her. “You don’t know what it is.”
But she was already reaching for the bag. It weighed almost nothing. Setting the burlap bag gently on the asphalt, she undid the tie and opened it.
It was a tiny puppy, a fuzzy golden-colored mutt, maybe two months old, wiggling and crying. She stroked it tenderly. “It’s a dog!” Sudden rage filled Daisy. “Who would leave a puppy in a dumpster?”
“People can be monsters,” Leo said flatly. She looked back at him, bemused. Then the puppy whined, weakly licking her hand, taking all her attention.
“She seems all right,” Daisy said anxiously, petting the animal. “But I’d better take her to the vet to make sure.” She looked up at Leo. “Do you want to come?”
He looked grim. “To the vet? No.”
“I’m so sorry. Could we maybe get together later? You could show me your apartment tonight?”
“Tonight?” His jaw set. “I’m having a party.”
She brightened. “How fun! I’d love to meet your friends.”
“Fine,” he said shortly. “I’ll send a car to pick you up at seven.”
“I told you, a car’s not necessary—”
“Wear a cocktail dress,” he cut her off.
“All right.” Daisy tried to remember if she even owned a cocktail dress. Carrying the puppy carefully in her arms, she reached up on her tiptoes and kissed Leo’s scratchy cheek. “Thanks for understanding. I’ll see you at your party.”
“Daisy—”
“What?”
She waited, but he didn’t continue. He finally said in a strangled voice, “See you tonight.”
And he turned away. She watched him stride down the street, his hands pushed in his pockets. Why was he acting so weird? Was he really so embarrassed of where he lived? Embarrassed of his friends?
She looked down at the puppy in her arms, who whined weakly. Turning on her heel, she hurried down the street, going to the veterinary office owned by one of her father’s old friends.
“Dr. Lopez, please,” she panted, “it’s an emergency...”
The kindly veterinarian took one look at the tiny animal in Daisy’s arms and waved her inside his office. After an exam, she was relieved to hear the mixed breed puppy was slightly dehydrated, but otherwise fine.
“Someone must have just wanted to get rid of her. She must have been dumped sometime during the night,” Dr. Lopez said. “It’s lucky the weather isn’t colder, or else...”
Daisy shivered. It was heartbreaking to think that while she’d been snuggled warm in bed in Leo’s arms, some awful person had been dumping an innocent puppy in the alley, leaving her to die in a burlap bag.
People can be monsters. Leo was right. All Daisy had to do was remember those awful lawyers who’d vindictively harassed her innocent father into prison on those trumped-up forgery charges. Her tenderhearted, artistic-minded father had collapsed in prison, surrounded by strangers. He’d had a stroke and died—
“What are you going to name her?” the vet asked, mercifully pulling her from her thoughts. Daisy blinked.
“Me?”
“Sure, she’s your dog now, isn’t she?”
Daisy looked down at the puppy on the examining table. She couldn’t possibly own a pet. She didn’t even rent her own apartment. Franck Bain was due to return from Europe soon, and she’d need to find a new place to live. With her meager income, it was unlikely she’d be able to afford an apartment that allowed a pet. Just thinking of the cost in dog food alone—
No. Daisy couldn’t keep her.
But someone had left this puppy to starve. A sweet floppy mutt who just needed a loving