When the Bough Breaks (Rose Gardner Investigations #6) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,55
she has any other broken bones and what we might be looking at. We’ll go from there, okay?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Of course.”
Levi smiled down at Muffy. “I’m gonna pick you up, girl. This might hurt, but I’ll be as gentle as possible.”
He rewrapped her in the bloody towel, then slid his arms under her body and picked her up. She let out a yelp, then whined as Levi cooed and murmured what a good dog she was, carrying her through the door to the back.
As soon as he walked out, Joe asked, “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I said, trying not to be hurt that he’d stayed on the other side of the room. I wanted so badly for him to pull me into a hug. I needed to feel his arms around me. But while he moved closer, he didn’t reach out.
Still, his voice was tender as he said, “She’s gonna be okay, darlin’.”
“I never should have let her outside,” I said, starting to cry. “But I was up, and she wanted out and no one’s bothered us at the farm lately…”
“This is not your fault,” he said in a firm tone.
“I tried to get her to come back.”
“She must have sensed danger. She was tryin’ to protect you.”
I still wanted his comfort, and part of me wanted to make the first move, but he was wrestling with the demons I’d brought to his front door. If he wanted space, I had to give it to him.
Levi cleared his throat from the doorway.
“What’s the word, Romano?” Joe asked stiffly, and I could hear the fear in his voice.
He gave Joe a grim look, which he then shifted to me. “In addition to the break in her leg, she has internal bleeding and some broken bones in her pelvis. I need to do surgery.”
I nodded, tears flooding my eyes again. “Of course.”
His stance softened. “I’ll do everything I can for her, Rose. I swear it.”
“I know.” I trusted him with my dog’s life. Literally.
“Why don’t you and Joe head home and I’ll call you when we finish. I have no idea how long the surgery will take, and she won’t be able to go home for a few days.” A wary look washed over his face before he said, “I hate to bring this up, but I need to know if you have a financial limit for her care. We’re looking at over a thousand dollars for certain, likely more. I can call you once I have a better idea.”
“No limit,” Joe said, his voice tight. “Whatever it takes.”
Levi gave Joe a warm smile. “I’ll do everything I can, and I’ll call you with updates.”
“Rose doesn’t have her phone right now,” Joe said. “Call mine.”
Levi nodded and jotted Joe’s number on a paper towel. Before I knew it, he was heading toward the back. Which was when I realized we wouldn’t be seeing Muffy again tonight.
“I don’t get to tell her goodbye?” I asked Joe, wishing I’d rubbed her head or at least touched her so she knew that I loved her.
“There’s no need to tell her goodbye when we’re going to see her tomorrow morning.”
I had to believe him because I couldn’t handle losing someone else I loved.
Chapter 14
Joe wanted to get back to the farm and meet with his men, but he was worried about bringing me with him, so he’d convinced me to stay at Jed and Neely Kate’s house. Under normal circumstances, I would have protested that I wasn’t a fragile flower in need of protection, but frankly, I was out of fight. Between Ashley and Mikey’s disappearance, my encounter with James, the distance with Joe, and then Muffy…all I wanted to do was sleep.
Joe called Jed as we headed north to fill him in on what had happened and to let him know he was dropping me off. We pulled into their driveway a few minutes later, and warm light shone through multiple windows of their two-story white home. Neely Kate must have been watching for us because the front door burst open as we pulled up in front and she ran out to greet us.
“I’ve got her, Joe,” she said, opening my door. He hesitated for a moment, but then he nodded and went in to talk to Jed, several feet from the car and out of earshot.
As soon as I got out of the truck, Neely Kate gave me that hug I’d been wanting, wrapping her arms tightly around me and squeezing. I wanted to cry