Page 23 of He Has MVP (Boston Brawlers Hockey)
Chapter 8
Aiden
Igo with the pups when I let them out to make sure they don’t go far. Though I doubt they will in this weather. The rain and wind have gotten steadily worse, gusts whipping up now and then to scary velocities. They don’t wander far off the deck, not going as far as the sandy beach. Until a squirrel dashes from under the deck, catching Curly’s attention. She chases the squirrel in spite of my shouted command to stop. When she chases the squirrel around the side of the house, I know I need to run after her. Taking a quick look inside to see if Pink is watching, I see her staring and waving frantically.Shit.
As I run, I hear a door slam. Moe and Larry scoot inside and Pink is out, shouting after me. I look over my shoulder to see her running in my direction. She has no coat or jacket or anything except a damn white blouse, leggings, and bare feet. Fuck.
Waving her hands, she shouts, “Don’t stop, don’t let her get away. Go after her.”
Rounding the corner of the house, I catch sight of Curly in the vision-blurring rain just as she disappears into the trees across the street. It’s a small forest.Fuck. The sky is dark and I’ll never see anything in those woods without a flashlight.
Hesitating, I turn to go back to the house, running at a sprint toward the front door. Pink cuts me off, catching my arm, her hand shaky and her face a picture of fear.
“Where are you going?”
“Curly ran into the woods. We’ll need a flashlight.” I take her hand and drag her with me. “And you need to get back inside.” It’s too late for her to bother with a jacket. She’s soaked through already and even though the temperature isn’t cold, the wind and driving rain are chilling.
Pink digs in her heels and tugs her hand from me as I get us to the front door.
“You get the flashlight. I’ll meet you there. Those woods run deep, she could get lost.”
Before I have a chance to yell at her that she’s the one who’ll get lost, she takes off at a sprint and man she’s fast. “Fuck.”
I dash into the house, zeroing in on the exact spot where I left the flashlight and then taking it with me as I slam out the front door, running full tilt like my fucking pants are on fire. Once I reach the edge of the trees, I turn on the light and slow down. Spreading the beam around where I saw both Curly and Pink enter the tree line, I spot Pink and she turns around. She makes her way back do me as I look for signs of a small dog trampling through the underbrush. But I’m no tracker.
“Aiden, I don’t see her anywhere.” Pink’s practically in tears now and I pull her in close to me because she’s shivering like mad.
“Stick to me. We don’t want to lose you too.” Moving forward, I flash the beam of light from right to left looking for any movement. After we’re a few feet in, the storm’s fury is muffled and I shout for the dog. Pink does the same, adding an impressive whistle.
We get further into the woods, about the distance of two ice rinks, when I see a movement.
“There,” Pink says, “I think I see her.” I aim the beam as she takes off in the direction of the movement and when I hear the muffled bark I know we’ve hit pay dirt, thank fuck.
“Curly, you poor bad little girl.” Pink’s voice is happy and angry and shaky all at once, but mostly happy, as she picks up the puppy and hugs the little beast to her body. They look like a pair of bedraggled orphans, hair and fur soaked and dripping.
“Let’s get you home,” I say, just as the flashlight flickers. “Fuck.” I grab Pink’s arm and haul ass in the direction we came from, the path somewhat identifiable by the trampled bushes here and there.
“I should have left breadcrumbs or something,” I say, trying to stay calm and move fast.
“If they were glow-in-the-dark breadcrumbs,” she says, her teeth chattering now.
I turn and look at her gorgeous rain-streaked face, just as the flashlight beam goes dark.
“Fuck,” she says.
I tug her closer to my side.
“It’ll be all right. It’s not much further. Our eyes will adjust.” I’m lying my ass off because I have no idea if that’s true, but I keep us moving in the same direction with one hand out in front of me and my feet aimed where I think we should be headed.
Curly yips and squirms in Pink’s arms.
“Donotlet her go,” I say, slowing down, becoming less sure of our direction as we nearly run into a large tree and my eyes strain to see past a few feet in front of us. Fuck.
“Maybe Curly can find the way,” Pink says.
“Do you have her leash?” I ask, hating to be the practical one. “Because if we let her go, she’ll take off without us and even if she does find her way back—”
“Now who’s the one with no faith in the puppies’ loyalty? She won’t run off.”
