Page 11 of Tack’s Bounty

“Thank you,” she countered, tossing her old gloves away and sliding on new ones to get everything ready to go to transport.

“Hey, Sophia, I heard you were here and might need some help,” said a voice she’d been hoping to hear.

“Tack, what are you doing here?” she asked.

He shrugged. “I got off work and found out you hadn’t been home to get the flowers I sent asking you out. I dropped by the house. Lake and Freedom told me about your day. I had one of the guys drop me here and see if you wanted some help getting them back,” he reported, sliding his hand in his pocket.

“That’s incredibly sweet. Let me finish locking everything down and slip this off. Can you drive a truck and trailer? I’d love to have a second to relax before I have to unload and treat them all,” she questioned while continuing to lock the crates in place.

“I can. Will I need to back in?” he asked.

“No, there is plenty of room to pull it far enough into the parking in front of the barn to unload,” she replied, finishing and stripping her gloves off. She folded her apron and put it in the bag of clothing to be disinfected, joining Tack in the truck. She leaned back against the seat, waiting for him to go.

She smelled his clean scent as he leaned across her. “Hey, I smell. I wouldn’t get too close if I were you.”

“Nothing wrong with smelling from working hard. You need your seatbelt on,” he mentioned, pulling the belt across her and clicking it closed.

“I imagine it was hard physically and emotionally.” His deep voice had her wishing she felt halfway sexy and not completely spent.

“It was. I understand wanting to make money to survive and thrive. I don’t understand how people can knowingly hurt animals or others in the pursuit of that money. The amount of dead animals was heartbreaking,” she whispered, wishing this day was over and she could go home, shower, and go to sleep. But these animals deserved the care they’d been deprived of.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured.

She closed her eyes and rested while she had the chance because tonight was going to be a long night.

Chapter Seven

Tack parked the truck and trailer, marveling at the setup that had been added to the backyard. There were tables for examining the animals, wash stations, bins for dirty laundry, a place for hosing down and cleaning the crates, along with other stations that he had no idea what they were used for.

Looking around at the number of animals they’d brought back and seeing the ones that had already arrived, Tack sent a quick text to his brothers that help was needed.

He turned toward the woman who had turned his life upside down in the very best way and debated for half a second if he could let her sleep longer. He grinned at the firestorm she’d rain down on him if he made those poor animals wait any longer for care.

“Sophia, we’re back,” he whispered, brushing back her hair that had come loose from her ponytail.

She stretched her shoulders and neck while keeping her eyes closed. Breathing deeply, she opened her eyes and nodded. “Let’s do this.”

Tack unbuckled her seatbelt, cupping her face. “My club’s bringing food because I imagine you’re starving.”

The faint smile on her face created a yearning in him to be the reason she smiled every day.

“I am. We’ll have to break in shifts because this is an all-night job. Thanks for driving,” she called, slipping out of the vehicle.

By the time he met her at the back of the trailer, she’d transitioned to the professional Doc Woods and was handing out tasks to Freedom, Lake, and a couple volunteers who’d been called. The rumble of engines had him smiling. Extra hands meant the animals could be helped sooner and Sophia might get to sleep tonight.

Sophia, Lake, and Freedom had obviously done this job multiple times and had an amazing system. Tack found himself washing the animals that were deemed stable at this point. Each animal had a color-coded card that detailed what the animal was dealing with and where it was to be taken after being cleaned.

Sophia was taking care of the German Shepherd puppies that had been in the house. Tack hoped, for Sophia’s sake, they made it.

His club members were efficiently moved into areas by Lake and Freedom. Even Adley and Ariel, his President’s Ol’ Lady, had shown up. His Aunt Charlie was probably keeping the kids, but Tack had to grin when his mom came walking around the corner dressed to help with a huge bouquet of flowers. He finished the dog he was cleaning and hurried to intercept his mother, but his mom moved fast when she wanted to. She was standing, talking with Sophia before he had a chance to introduce her.

“Oh, thank you so much. Are you sure?” Sophia questioned.

“Of course. Let me put these flowers inside. I’ll get the drinks made, and then you can put me to work out here. It’s wonderful to meet you, Sophia, and I can’t tell you how amazing I think it is that you do all this as a volunteer,” his mom praised her, patting Sophia’s arm, then winking at Tack as she headed in.

“Your mom is so sweet,” Sophia gushed.

Tack bit his tongue because if Sophia knew what his mom had done over the years to keep them all safe after his dad died, he wondered if Sophia would still call her sweet.