Dogged Romance Read online

  “Hey Lenny.” I said as I dove into the cab of the truck. The rain poured down in sheets, and I was soaked from the dash across the parking lot. Lenny had the heat cranked up. I smiled at him through chattering teeth. “Thanks for coming to get me.”

  “No problem, princess.” Lenny grinned back, putting the truck into gear and roaring out onto the street. We drove to the store before going home, so Lenny could tell Blanche he picked me up walking home. She rolled her eyes and yelled at us for dripping on the carpet, but let me go to my bedroom without any trouble. I showered and crawled into bed, my teeth still chattering from being soaked to the bone. My dreams that night featured a knight in shining armor that bore a striking resemblance to one Brandon Kendal.

  Part Three

  I didn’t see much of Brandon over the next few weeks. Honey and I were busy getting the shelter ready for the annual inspection, and our big Adoption Day. Honey figured that while we had the dogs groomed to their best, and everything sparkling clean, it would be a good time to advertise an open house and adoptions as well. More than seventy dogs had found forever homes at the event over the last few years.

  I both dreaded and looked forward to the day. I would miss the dogs that were adopted, all of them, but if any from Room Three left, I would be heart broken. They were all listed on the advertisement, except Jazz. He wasn’t ready yet.

  I took my lunch from the fridge and popped the ceramic mug in the microwave. My whole body shook with exhaustion. Blanche had been horrible lately. She and Lenny had been up half the night fighting. He had left for work today without even saying hi to me. I had also had a sore throat and headache for days, which wasn’t helping my energy levels at all.

  The microwave beeped and I pulled the red mug out. Lenny had made venison stew the night before. Blanche wouldn’t touch it, but it had been delicious. I had divided the leftovers into two for our lunches today. I took a couple of bites, but it tasted funny. It couldn’t have gone bad, the stew had been in the refrigerator all night. Taking another bite, I tried again. Ish. Something was definitely off. I decided I should skip lunch, the food had only made my head hurt worse.

  Digging around in my backpack, I pulled out a couple of painkillers, and chugged them with a bottle of water. Folding my arms onto the table I buried my face in them and closed my eyes. Ugh. I hated being sick.

  “Gwen.” A deep voice invaded the darkness. My knight in shining armor.

  “Just five more minutes, darling,” I mumbled.

  “Gwen.” The amused tone of Brandon’s voice caused my eyes to fly open. Crap. I squinted up to see him grinning, his shoulders shaking with his silent laughter.

  I swiped at my face with my hands, hoping I hadn’t drooled. The light shot pain through my head. My stomach churned. No, I did not want to hurl in front of him. My stomach didn’t listen. I looked around in a panic trying to find the nearest garbage.

  Brandon grabbed the one by the door and held it under my head in the nick of time. What little lunch I had ended up in the can.

  “Sorry.” I mumbled.

  “You can’t help it if you are sick.” To his credit, Brandon’s voice was steady and kind. Embarrassment still flooded through me.

  He handed me a cold bottle of water from the fridge. I struggled to open it. My hands didn’t want to work. I wished the painkillers would kick in. It felt like someone was playing church bells inside my skull.

  Brandon easily opened the bottle and handed it back to me. I took a few sips and leaned back against the chair. When I opened my eyes, Honey had joined us.

  “Do you want to go home?” she asked.

  “Home to step-mommy dearest? No Thanks. I think I will feel better if I lie down. Maybe the couch in Room Three?”

  “With the dogs?” Brandon asked.

  “Uh huh.” I tried to stand, but my legs were shaky. I waited a second, and tried again. Not good, but better. I could at least make it down the hall. “The dogs always make me feel better.” I smiled wryly.

  “Okay, but let us help you get there. You don’t look so good.” Honey’s face looked pinched. She was really worried.

  I nodded, thankful for their offer.

  Honey grabbed a blanket from the storage closet as Brandon helped me to the oversized couch. Jinkies nuzzled my hand with his nose and curled up behind my legs. Ebenezer sprawled himself out right across my feet and Sneezer cuddled up next to my chest. I could feel their warmth seeping through the blanket as I fell asleep.

  I woke up a few hours later feeling like there were bricks on my chest. When I opened my eyes, I realized all seven dogs were crowded around and on top of me. I laughed. My head still hurt, but my stomach was no longer in full revolt. Yay.

  The clock on the wall said it was almost closing. The dog bowls were full, and everything looked ready for the night. I must have been sleeping hard to have missed all of that. Wiggling free of my bed mates, I stretched.

  “Hey, are you feeling better?” Brandon poked his head in the door.

  “Yes, much better. Sorry about earlier.” I could feel my face heating.

  “Don’t mention it. Can I give you a ride home?”

  I almost said no, but after three weeks, I felt like I knew him well enough to say yes to a five minute ride back to my house. I didn’t feel like walking, and I knew Honey couldn’t give me a lift. She had company coming. Greg’s parents were visiting. She had been talking about it for days.

  “I would appreciate it today,” I said.

  “Clock out, and I’ll meet you out front after I tell Honey,” Brandon said, as he dashed out the door.

  I took my time and packed up my back pack, before I slid my coat on. Temperatures were growing crisp as fall approached. Autumn was my favorite time of year. The cool days and pretty foliage made me happy. I pulled the lockbox out of the desk and put in my twenty bucks for the week. Honey let me keep my cash in her desk so Blanche wouldn’t get to it.

  I popped a couple more pain killers and hurried out to meet Brandon. He stood waiting with the door open. I slid into the front seat as gracefully as I could, managing to not trip over my own two feet.

  “Is it running?” I whispered to Brandon as he got behind the wheel.

  “Yes.” He laughed as we smoothly pulled into traffic.

  “Sorry, I’m used to the monstrosity that my stepdad drives.” I shrank back into the comfortable seat, enjoying the plush cushions. Lenny’s truck had a spring that poked me in the back any time I rode with him.

  “Where am I going?” he asked.

  “Oh, sorry.” I told him my address. We lapsed into silence.

  “So, what do you do when you are not at the shelter?” I asked. Hoping to fill the quiet with something.

  “I have a few other places I volunteer at, when I’m not working,” he said.

  “Where do you work?”

  “Here and there. From home mostly. I’m semi-retired.” He laughed.

  “How can you be semi-retired? You aren’t that much older than I am,” I blurted before I thought better of it. “Never mind, forget I said that. It is none of my business.” The car pulled into my driveway and I fumbled with the seat belt wanting to escape before I put my foot in my mouth again.

  “Gwen, wait.” Brandon’s hand on my shoulder made my heart race.

  I sat back in the seat and looked over at him.

  “I want to tell you. When I was seventeen, I developed an app. It took off and sold millions. I amassed a fortune before I turned nineteen. I’m twenty-two now, and spend most of my time volunteering, but on occasion, I get a new idea and run with it.”

  I sat back, stunned. “That is amazing…” I didn’t get to finish my sentence. Blanche pounded on my window, her face the color of puce.

  “What are you doing out here. Git in the house this minute,” she shouted.

  I scrambled out of the car, trying to stay away from Blanche. “Thanks for the ride,” I shouted over my shoulder as I raced into the house.

  “Wh
o is that boy? What are you doing getting a ride home from a strange boy. You know better than that.” Blanche followed me into the house, screaming the entire way.

  “He is a guy I work with down at the shelter. I wasn’t feeling well, so he gave me a ride home. I have known him for weeks. He’s not a stranger. I’m nineteen, and not a child. Leave. Me. Alone.” I could count on one hand the times I had shouted back at my stepmother. Today was one of those. It shocked her into silence. The reprieve was blissful, for the two minutes it lasted.

  “You ungrateful brat. It would serve you right if I kicked you out of this house,” she sputtered.

  “You can’t kick me out of my own house. Dad left it to me in his will. What’s left of it that is.” I countered. Blanche looked as if I had struck her.

  “Yes, when you turn twenty-one.” Her voice had gone cold.

  I turned to go into my room.

  “If you turn twenty-one.”

  I thought I imagined the whispered threat until I turned around and saw the look on Blanche’s face. Pure hatred radiated from her icy blue eyes.

  “Blanche, leave the girl alone.” Lenny’s voice thundered through the house. I had never seen him look so angry. The two of them started bickering, so I shut my door. It didn’t help much.

  Part Four

  It snowed sometime in the night. The white powder would be gone by noon, but it would mean a messy walk to work. I threw a can of soup into a microwave mug and shoved it into my back pack before I jumped in the shower. Not wanting to have wet hair out in the cold, I didn’t wash it, but brushed it into quick half twist and clipped it into place with a sparkly barrette. Jeans, a soft t-shirt, and my favorite hoodie and I was ready to go.

  “Don’t forget your lunch.” Blanche held out my soup as I hurried out the door. I grabbed it without thinking and shoved it in on top of the dog biscuits in my backpack.

  The inspectors were waiting for us as Honey unlocked the doors to the shelter. I spent the entire morning showing some of them every crate, room, closet, and surface of The Bone Yard. Honey relieved me so I could eat around noon. We planned on swapping groups after lunch, I sat down for some much needed alone time in the kitchen for my break. I heated my vegetable soup and pulled out one of my magazines to read while I ate.

  I still had a lingering headache. As I ate the pain got worse. My chest started to feel tight and I was having a hard time breathing. Calm down, it is only a panic attack. Breathe in, and out, in, and out. It wasn’t working. Breathing was getting harder, and I was feeling sick to my stomach again. Struggling to suck air in, I stumbled to the kitchen door. I fell through the door and hit the floor hard.

  “Gwen.” Brandon’s face swam in front of me. His dark eyes liquefied into pools of warm chocolate as my vision faded to black.

  When I opened my eyes again, I lay in a stark white hospital bed. IV tubess protruded from my hand and my throat burned like crazy. Something warm held my hand still. I glanced down to see a dark head resting on the sheets of my bed. My hand was swallowed up in a much larger one. I wiggled my fingers to get his attention.

  It worked. He popped up like a Jack in the Box.

  “Gwen, thank goodness. Don’t try to talk. Let me get you some water.” He seemed enormous as he leaned over my head to push a button. “She is awake. We need the doctor and some water right away please.”

  Content to lay there and look at his slightly scruffy face, I wondered how long he had been there.

  “Honey, she woke up. Yeah. I will. Thanks.” He looked at me and winked as he spoke rapidly into the phone.

  “Detective Avery please. Miss Iclyn is awake. You should be able to speak to her in a couple of hours. Yes, yes. I will.”

  Now I was curious. A detective? What was going on?

  “Wh-wha-wha…” I tried to ask, but my voice would not work.

  “Hang on there one minute, sweetie. Let’s get some water in you before you try to talk.” A heavy set nurse bustled into the room and held a glass of lukewarm water to my lips. You have been out of it for several days. We had to pump your stomach. You are one lucky young lady to be here today.”

  Some of the water poured down my face.

  Brandon sat on the edge of the bed and propped me up with one strong arm, helping me sit up a bit more. I sipped at the water steadily until the nurse pulled it away.

  The room became a whirlwind of activity as doctors and nurses zipped in and out, taking my blood pressure, pulse, checking my pupils, temperature, and my chart. Brandon stayed through it all, standing in the corner. His presence was comforting, almost as if he were one of my seven little companions back at the shelter.

  Just as the medical personnel finally gave us a moment’s peace, Detective Avery arrived. His rumpled appearance reminded me of a late night TV detective I used to watch with my dad. He had the look down pat, complete with a trench coat.

  “How are we feeling Miss Iclyn?” He sat in a chair next to my bed and pulled out a small notebook.

  “I don’t know how you are feeling, but I feel rotten,” I grumbled. Brandon snorted from his place in the corner.

  The detective laughed, a loud full laugh. “I deserved that.” He smiled. “Shall we start over?” He got up out of the chair, walked out into the hall, turned around and came back in.

  “Good afternoon, Miss Iclyn, Mr. Kendal. I’m glad to see you are recuperating. My name is Detective Avery. I would like to ask you a few questions if I may.” He winked at me as he sat down in the chair.

  I couldn’t help but smile. He reminded me a lot of Ebenezer. Short, stocky, and gruff on the outside, but a marshmallow inside. I could tell.

  “Do you know why I’m here?” the detective asked.

  I shook my head no.

  “Detective, allow me, please.” Brandon’s voice sounded grave. It scared me. My heart rate monitor beeped as my pulse began to race. Brandon sat on the edge of the bed and took my free hand in his. I could feel the calm seep into my bones, and the monitors reflected it.

  “You passed out on the floor at The Bone Yard. By the time I got you to the ER, you weren’t breathing. They ran a battery of tests, pumped your stomach, and pulled out all the stops. You had formaldehyde, tetrahydrozoline, and a few other nasty chemicals in your system.”

  “To make a long story short, you were poisoned,” Detective Avery said.

  “Poisoned?” They had to be joking. One look at their faces told me they were not kidding at all.

  “Who? How?” I sputtered.

  “We were hoping you could tell us,” Detective Avery said.

  “I don’t know.” My head felt like it was spinning and I couldn’t think.

  “I have a pretty good idea,” Brandon said.

  I raised an eyebrow at him. “You do?”

  “You got sick right after lunch. Two days in a row. When they pumped your stomach, they found the poison in the soup from your lunch.”

  “Once we knew you had been poisoned, we confiscated your belongings, including the leftover soup from the fridge at the Bone Yard. Police testing confirmed the chemicals were in your food,” Detective Avery clarified.

  “But I packed my own lunch. I… oh…” The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. “Blanche,” I whispered, horrified. I told the detective what she had said the night before I had gotten sick. He made a few notes in his little book, but didn’t say anything while I talked.

  “What were those things you said were in my lunch? Tetra…?” I had no idea where Blanche could have gotten sophisticated sounding poisons.

  “Gwen, you were poisoned with simple eye drops and air freshener.” Brandon’s hold on my hand tightened as he spoke.

  “Thank you, you have been very helpful. Do you have someplace safe to go when you get out of the hospital?” the detective asked.

  “She does, she will be staying with me,” Brandon spoke up. I stared at him, too surprised to protest.

  “I will be in touch. Thank you for your time.” The detective left as
quickly as he had come.

  “You want me to come and stay with you?” I whispered. “That is a lot to do for a new friend.”

  “I think you are a pretty amazing woman. You are more than a friend to me, we have spent the last few months at the shelter talking and getting to know one another, and I would like to spend my life with you,” Brandon murmured into my ear.

  Happiness shot through me like a jolt of electricity. He loved me. I had cared about him for weeks, but was too scared to admit it.

  His phone buzzed before I could respond. He glanced at it, then back at me. “I have to take this,” he said.

  I watched his back as he walked out of the room into the hall, talking in hushed tones. He smiled when he caught me watching him. I yawned, sleep was crowding in. I wanted to stay awake to tell him I would stay with him always, but my body wasn’t cooperating. I thought I felt a kiss being pressed into my hair as I drifted off to dreamland.

  Honey and her husband, Greg, came to visit me in the hospital, Lenny came by too. He didn’t stay long though. He had left Blanche and found a job out west. He promised to keep in touch.

  “I’m sorry, Gwen. If I had known, I would have stopped her,” he said as he stood in the doorway. “I love you like you were my own kid. You know that, right?”

  “I know, Lenny. You’re pretty special to me too.”

  He came back in and gave me an awkward hug. As he disappeared down the hall, Brandon came in. The smile melted off my face at his expression.

  “What is wrong?”

  “You are going to have to stay here a while longer. Your tests came back not quite normal. They want to keep you here for observation. Nothing too scary just a couple more nights in the hospital to make sure your liver and lungs are not permanently damaged,” a bespectacled man in a white coat said as he entered the room.