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He glanced at her truck sitting in the driveway. “Are you having vehicle problems?”
“No. Valerie Tapp came by this morning and asked if she could borrow it for the day. She needed to take some furniture to Goodwill, and Victor got their truck in the divorce settlement. I knew I could take an Uber to Warren’s, so I said sure.”
Hal shook his head, a small smile on his face. “So you spend your own money to help out a neighbour.”
She shrugged. “She’s struggling right now. Victor was a real douchebag about splitting assets, and he made her buy the house from him to stay in it. I know money is tight for her, and borrowing my truck saves her from hiring someone to haul it away. And it’s not like I don’t have enough money.”
She unzipped Hal’s jacket. Selling the eggs from her hens gave her a nice nest egg - pun intended - but it wasn’t enough to survive. However, their farm had long since been paid for, and the life insurance cheque she’d received after Alan died was more than enough to give her a comfortable life.
She smiled a little. Alan had been insistent early in their marriage about having life insurance policies for both of them. His practicality was only one of the many things she’d loved about him.
She handed Hal the jacket. “Thank you for the ride home, Hal. I really enjoyed it. I’ve missed riding you.”
Her cheeks went beet red as realization flashed over her. “I mean with you. Ridingwithyou.”
Hal’s grin made her pussy ache with need even as more embarrassment washed over her.
After a beat of silence, he said, “How is Izzie doing?”
“Much better. Still on antibiotics, but I think the UTI is almost cleared up. Do you want to come in and see her and the puppies?”
“Sure,” he said.
She hid her surprise. She hadn’t expected Hal to say yes, but she was glad he had. It would give her a chance to spend a little more time with him and apologize for sneaking out this morning.
She grabbed the keys from the visor and locked the truck as Hal packed away his extra jacket and strapped down the second helmet before leaving his on the seat. He followed her inside the house, leaving his boots at the door and hanging his jacket on the coat tree.
She flicked on the light in the kitchen as Izzie walked out of the dining room, her tail wagging happily. She sat in front of Savina, and Savina gave her a few soft scratches around her ears. “Hi, Izzie girl. Did you have a good day, sweet mama?”
At the sound of Savina’s voice, a chorus of high-pitched whining came from the dining room. Hal grinned as she winced and said, “I love the babies, but my God, they can be so loud.”
Hal petted Izzie, squatting down to rub her belly when she rolled over. “Let’s go see your babies, Izzie.”
Savina led him toward the dining room. Two years ago, she’d turned it into a full-time puppy nursery by removing all the furniture and turning a big chunk of it into a whelping pen with low wooden walls that puppies couldn’t climb out of, but a mama could jump in and out to feed her babies. Hal had helped her set it up, and his experience as a vet tech and former dog foster was invaluable.
The babies’ yelping and hollering grew louder as they entered the nursery. Savina glanced into the pen and sighed. While Izzie could use the doggie door to do her business, the puppies were contained in their nursery. After being gone all day, the puppy pen was in dire need of cleaning.
She smiled at Hal as he picked up one of the puppies and snuggled it against his chest. “They’re getting so big.”
“Izzie’s done a great job nursing them,” Savina said. The puppy licked Hal’s face enthusiastically, and she felt a moment of actual envy. She wanted to be licking Hal. Repeatedly.
When Hal set the puppy back in the pen, she grimaced. “Well, you’ve got puppy poop on you now.”
He stared at the poop footprint on his shirt and laughed. “It won’t be the first or the last, not in my line of work.”
“I really need to clean the pen. While I clean, I let the puppies roam free in the dining room if you want to get in some cuddles,” Savina said.
“I’ll help you clean the pen,” Hal said.
“You don’t have to do that,” Savina said. “You clean enough kennels at work. You don’t need to do it during your free time.”
“I don’t mind,” Hal said. “It’ll go faster if I help.”
Before she could argue, Hal stepped into the pen and started scooping the puppies up and depositing them on the other side of the pen. She ran to close the door to the dining room as the puppies immediately scattered across the room to chase Izzie and wrestle with each other.
“Hal, are you sure?” Savina said.
“Positive.” He grinned at her. “Grab those pee pads, and let’s do this.”
