“Oh, wow,” she breathed. “This is gorgeous.”
It was. One hundred percent. But having her there made it exponentially better.
I jutted my chin toward the swing. “Remote’s over there. Turn on the TV and find the—”
“Oh, God!” she screamed, scrambling backward in a panic.
Her back slammed into my front, which popped the hat off her head and knocked the plate of burgers from my hand. I was too stunned by her sudden outburst to be able to catch them before they flipped to the ground. The plate let out a teeth-jarring crash as it shattered, but all of my attention was homed in on Remi as she scaled my body, frantic to get away from…what? I had no idea.
Adrenaline surged through me, her flight response skyrocketing my fight. I looked up, ready to take on whatever fucking grizzly bear was so obviously headed our way, only to find Clyde trotting toward us.
Acrid guilt hit my stomach.
“Shit. I forgot. They’re not going to hurt you.” Hooking her around the waist, I guided her behind me and snapped my fingers at the dogs. “Sit.”
Clyde immediately slowed, walking the rest of the way over. He picked up Remi’s hat in his mouth before dropping down on his ass in front of me. Sugar wasn’t far behind him, and manners were a work in progress for the little guy, so I bent down to scoop him up.
I put my chin to my shoulder and peered back at her. “You okay?”
Her chest heaved and her hand, fisted in the back of my shirt, loosened a fraction. “I, uh, think so?”
“Okay, well, take a deep breath. You are a hundred percent safe. I’ll put them both in the house, but I need you to move over to the swing so I can get to the door. Can you do that for me?”
“Y-yeah,” she stammered, but even as she started shuffling over, she held my shirt, turning me with her, using me like a shield.
Tugging the hat from his teeth, I caught Clyde by the collar, his tail wagging full throttle, and I waited for Remi to release me before guiding him around the broken plate and spilled meat and into the house. I needed to lock them up in the guest room, but I wanted to check on her first. So, once they were inside, I quickly shut the door, grabbed the entire doormat, folded it in half, and dumped the shards of glass and the majority of our dinner into the trash can by the grill. Then I gave my full attention back to her.
Pale-faced and wide-eyed, she had crawled into the stack of pillows, only her shoulders and head sticking out. I would have laughed if the adrenaline ebbing in my system had left me able to process anything other than her fear.
“Jesus, Remi. I am so sorry.” I tossed her slobbery hat onto the bar and then sank down on the edge of the swing and started digging her out. “I wasn’t thinking… I—”
“No. It’s fine. I should have warned you. There was a huge dog next door when I was growing up. He used to get out all the time and chase me into the house.” She tugged the neck of her shirt to the side, revealing a flat white scar several inches long. “He finally caught me once when I was twelve. Scared the absolute shit out of me. There was blood everywhere. I thought I was dying. It didn’t end up being too bad, but I’ve never been comfortable around dogs since. Especially if they sneak up on me.”
As if on cue, there was a thud at the back door and she let out a squeak, once again ducking back behind the fluffy cushions.
Clyde had squeezed his large body under the blinds on the door and had his snout pressed against the glass. Sugar joined the circus, tap-dancing on his back legs while attempting to paw his way out. Honestly, I felt bad for the poor guys. All they wanted was to slather her in kisses—I knew the feeling—but all of us would have to wait for that.
“Easy,” I breathed, catching her hand. “They’re just checking you out.”
She peeked her head up and smiled unconvincingly. “They’re…cute.”
I barked a laugh, my heart finally slowing as I collapsed flat onto my back, my feet still on the floor. “C’mere,” I rumbled, giving her hand a tug.
“Are you sure they can’t get out?”
“Positive. The only thing safer would be if I put the vacuum in the doorway. They’re terrified of the damn thing.”
“It’s not the worst idea you’ve had, then.” Still nervously staring at the door, she scooted down to lie beside me, but after the heart attack we’d both narrowly avoided for completely different reasons, she wasn’t nearly close enough. She didn’t argue as I dragged her against my side.
