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“We have to get you to safety you beautiful baby. Come. Can you get up?” Jasmin tried to help the animal to it’s feet, thrilled when it seemed to understand and strived to move. Making the best effort it could became pathetic. Falling back to the lying position, it yelped in frustration.
Frankly, it couldn’t seem to gain it’s feet without falling over so she tried lifting it in her arms. Being such a tiny thing herself, the impossibility of heaving a seventy-pound dog became clear.
Sliding back on her butt, she tried to think of how she could get the dog safely enclosed in the back of her Rav4. Looking around, she got an idea. If she built the snow up as a ramp to the back of her car, maybe she could push the dog up to the top and pull it inside.
Gathering as much of the white stuff as possible, it didn’t take long for her to have made the platform high enough. Next, she positioned herself to gather the front end of the dog who took the liberty to lick her face, while making guttural welcoming noises.
By yanking this way and that, she started to make some headway. Every so often, the dog let out a moan of pain and Jasmin stopped. It seemed that the puppy’s left side had taken the worst of the injury and so Jasmin tried very hard not to put too much pressure there.
Hauling at the body, again moving it side to side, they progressed inches at a time. Finally, she could go in through the driver’s door, crawl to the back of the car, and pull the dog in the rest of the way. Frantically searching through her box of presents, she pulled out the quilt she’d bought her mother for Christmas and made a bed of sorts. Then she pulled her passenger inside to rest on the warm mattress-like space she’d made and sucked in a full breath of satisfaction for having gotten the job done.
And not anytime too soon. The dog’s warning growl made Jasmin reach up to push the close-door button, and then she rushed, tumbling over the seats to close her driver’s door before the wild animal’s face appeared at the window. Listening to it’s snarls of anger at having lost it’s meal, Jasmin laughed hysterically. “We beat you… so go suck eggs.”
Laughing now, more like a hysterical giggle, she suddenly realized that darkness was descending earlier than usual, and she wasn’t going anywhere. Thinking about how her vehicle straddled the road, she prayed that anyone approaching would see her in time. Knowing there was nothing she could do, she turned on the motor to warm the interior for a short while and used her emergency lights for extra protection.
Glancing at the temperature gauge, she saw that it wasn’t terribly cold at forty-six degrees. Thank God, they wouldn’t freeze to death. She’d heard stories of folks being stranded in much worse conditions, but there was no getting around the fact that it was chilly, and night was also approaching with no let up on the snow.
Cuddling to her new friend, she whispered sweet words while petting the poor baby and making a discovery of her gender. “You’re a pretty girl, aren’t you? Don’t be scared. I’ll take care of you.” As an indication that the dog liked her attention, her tail wagged furiously. “We’ll be fine here. I have a full tank of gas so we can heat the car up when we need to, and there’s lots of goodies to eat.”
Thankful that her main Christmas presents included fancy chocolates, shortbread cookies, expensive crackers, her father’s favorite salami and smoked salmon, many bottles of wines and even a bottle of expensive Brandy, she knew this to be true. They wouldn’t starve.
Really, how long could the blizzard last?
Chapter Five
Dexter Hall never left anything to chance. It was his way. He’d spent precious time researching the weather conditions. But, he’d had so much work to accomplish in a short period that he’d prolonged leaving Carlton Grove too long.
Over the last months, he’d been in a huge battle to adopt his brother’s son Dillon, and the final papers had been emailed and signed just yesterday. Dillon’s maternal grandmother, Margot, had custody of him at the moment.
For a man whose business acumen couldn’t be doubted, and his reporting skills were requested by many different newspapers, his brother’s personal life had been a shambles. Both Max and his partner Doreen had done nothing to organize care for their son or their belongings in case of their demise.
Sadly, they’d been killed in a stupid hotel fire while working together on an overseas assignment which left Dillon an orphan. The police had notified the nanny who had the name of thegrandmother as a person to call in case of an emergency and the battleaxe had grudgingly stepped up.
Having had multiple conversations with his brother and listening to the disparaging remarks he’d often make about the older woman, about her greediness and sharp temper, Dex couldn’t allow his nephew to grow up with that kind of frightful personality. He needed to step up and would.
Not surprising, she’d battled against his plea for custody until he’d waived all rights to Max and Doreen’s worldly goods, including their savings, as long as he got to keep the boy… and of course, Dillon’s personal belongings. That had been the key to success. Things suddenly began to move. Arrangements were finally put in place for him to pick up the boy, and he couldn’t wait to do so.
In fact, he’d been on his way to Seattle to get Dillon and bring him home for Christmas. Unfortunately, having a growing law practice to run and in need of staff, he’d been working fifteen hours a day for months. Giving up his one-bedroom, luxury loft that had been fine for a bachelor, he’d used the few spare moments he had in a day to buy a new home. Organizing additional furniture had to be put off. Deciding to wait until Dillon arrived so he could have a say in his own décor made sense to a man with no time.
Knowing how important it would be for the boy to have good roots near a school and a neighborhood filled with families who he could engage with, Dex wanted him to have a different experience than he’d had while growing up as a city kid. Carlton Grove would provide him with a good life and would be perfect.
Because his brother and Doreen had strong ambitions, they’d moved from place to place, eventually settling in Seattle. With both of them being workaholics, Dex had often felt bad for his nephew. The boy had become studious… too quiet for an eight-year-old who’s shyness hid a rather keen intellect and a good sense of humor.
Accepting that his social skills had not developed the way Dex would have liked if Dillon had been his own son, his first goal would be to encourage the boy to spread his wings. Help him settle into this strange world of Carlton Grove where there were many possibilities of new friendships to explore.
In hopes of making things easier, he’d taken on a pet called Pretty Girl. A lovely dog he’d grown very attached to as a pup.
When his middle-aged secretary – who from time to time took in rescue animals – began bringing the puppy into the office, she’d begged Dex not to get mad. “I promise I’ll find a place to leave her during the day, but it’s been so busy, I haven’t had time. I will soon.”
And so, the dog became an office fixture. Changing from a playful puppy into a lovely dog, Dex had become enamored, and Pretty Girl had become so devoted to Dex that she soon became his shadow.
When his secretary suddenly got called home to Canada to take care of her sick mother, she’d gladly left Pretty Girl with Dex, and he’d happily become her new owner.
Thinking about her, he called out. “Hey Pretty Girl, you’re being awfully quiet back there. You can come up front and sit with me, you know.”
When he looked in the rearview mirror expecting to see his dog’s smiling face pop up, his heart stopped and started again at a much faster beat.What the hell?
“Pretty Girl.”
