When the Bough Breaks (Rose Gardner Investigations #6) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,53
from behind, pulling me to a halt, but I fought against him, trying to break free.
“Rose,” he said, his voice breaking. “Stop. What happened?”
“That car…” I hiccupped through a sob. “It ran over…Muffy.”
“Stay here!” He released his hold on me and took off running toward the road, calling her name. I followed, slower this time, partially out of fear I’d fall and partially because I was terrified of what I’d find.
Joe dropped to the ground, murmuring softly, and I heard Muffy whimper.
“Rose, get my car keys and my shoes,” Joe said, his voice strained. “And a towel.”
I started to ask him how bad she looked, but I was too scared to hear the answer.
I took off for the house. I ran inside and grabbed Joe’s shoes by the front door, plus a clean towel from the laundry basket in the kitchen. I snatched my keys from the bowl by the door, then locked up the house and drove my truck to Joe, who was still kneeling in the gravel.
I pulled to a stop, and I got out of the truck, hurrying over with the towel. “How bad is she?”
“I’m not sure,” he said, laying the towel on the ground. “But I already called the vet. He’s gonna meet us at his office.”
He scooped her up and lifted her onto the towel. She released a loud whimper, which made me start to cry again.
I couldn’t lose her. Muffy had been with me since my new life had begun. Since Momma had died. She’d been with me when my heart had been broken, and she’d been with me through my greatest joys. She was as much a part of me as my hand, and I couldn’t imagine my life without her. A sob wracked my body.
Joe looked up at me as he wrapped the towel around her. “Rose. You okay to drive or do you want me to?”
I hesitated. “I can drive.”
“Okay, good,” he said, scooping her up and holding her tight to his chest, “because I plan to hold her, and I wasn’t sure whether you’d be able to.”
I knew he was talking about my stomach, which was a fair concern. I opened the passenger door, and Joe climbed in. I shut the door and got into the truck, then finally shot a glance at Muffy. Her head stuck out of the towel and I could see blood on her fur.
Dread flooded me, and it must have shown in my eyes, because Joe spoke to me in a low, calming voice. “Rose,” he said, “it’s gonna be okay.”
I nodded, because I couldn’t let myself fall apart. Muffy needed me to get her to the vet’s.
I started driving, gripping the steering wheel with both hands.
“What happened?” Joe asked. “What was Muffy doin’ outside?”
“I couldn’t sleep,” I said, trying to settle down. “I had bad heartburn, so I went downstairs to get some water. It didn’t help, so I figured I’d take Muffy out back, but she must have sensed the car, because all of a sudden she took off running for the front of the house.”
“Why didn’t you come inside as soon as you saw the car?” he asked in a panic. “Your niece and nephew are missin’, Rose. What if whoever took them is tryin’ to kidnap you next?”
“I wasn’t thinkin’ about that,” I admitted with a sniff. “I was only thinkin’ of Muffy. She ran right for the car. I kept calling her back, but she wouldn’t listen.”
He pushed out a breath, and I wasn’t sure if it was in relief or frustration. “She’s gonna be okay. She’s a tough little dog.”
I glanced over at her, worried that she lay so still, releasing a tiny whimper every few seconds. “You said Levi’s going to meet us there?”
“Yes,” Joe said. “Sounded like he was still awake.”
While I saw Levi’s sister at least once a week given our arrangement with the horses, I hadn’t seen Levi since last year. We’d gone on a few dates at the beginning of the summer, but it had never gotten serious—nowhere approaching it—so it hadn’t been too awkward to end things. I’d chosen James, although Levi hadn’t known that. I’d told him I wasn’t ready to move on after the end of my relationship with Mason. He might think I was a bit of a hypocrite given Joe had moved in with me a few months later, and I’d discovered I was pregnant a few months after that, but I wasn’t worried about facing him. He