An Accidental Mom. Loree Lough

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СКАЧАТЬ only hope the mutt is wearing tags, so I can reunite him with his owner fast as I can. This whole ordeal will be traumatic enough without being separated from loved ones.”

      “Well, a customer just walked in. Call me later, let me know how things turned out.”

      Lily hung up, hoping that when “later” came, she wouldn’t have to tell her sister she’d been forced to take the dog home. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d taken in a lost dog or cat, and experience had taught her it wouldn’t be the last. Whether bringing the animal back to its former healthy state took months or days, every situation lasted only long enough to roust out a good family to adopt the pet. But regardless of how much or how little time and energy she invested in the creatures, Lily always experienced a period of mourning while she adjusted to life without the furry critter.

      Nate Sheridan came to mind, with his big brown eyes and mop of dark curls. If she managed to save the dog and couldn’t find its owner, maybe…

      Of course, that would require direct contact with Max. Lily’s heart beat double time at the mere thought. Clucking her tongue, she whispered through clenched teeth, “Get a grip, girl.” Because, really, what could happen between them in the few minutes it would take to get his permission to introduce Nate to the rescued dog?

      “You’re getting way ahead of yourself, Lily.” She had no idea what kind of dog was splashing around for its life, no clue what condition it might be in by the time she reached it. A glance at her dashboard clock told her she’d been on the road less than fifteen minutes; it was nearly an hour’s drive to the entrance gate at Lake Meredith.

      It dawned on her suddenly that she hadn’t asked Violet where the pilots had seen the dog. Acres of water made up this stretch of the park.

      She reached for her cell phone, punched in her sister’s code. “Hey, kiddo…it’s me,” she said when her sister answered. “I didn’t think to ask earlier, but did those pilots mention where they spotted the dog?”

      “I remember something about the boat dock. They thought maybe the dog had fallen off a sailboat or something.”

      “But who’d go boating at this time of year?”

      “I know I wouldn’t want to waste a nice day like this if I’d sunk a hundred grand into a sailboat.”

      Violet made a good point, Lily admitted. The weather had been remarkably balmy for October, these past few weeks. “Did you manage to raise either of them on your CB?”

      “No. We must be on a weird frequency. I’m hearing them fine, but they didn’t respond to me at all.”

      Just great! Lily thought. Chances were pretty good that the sharpshooter who’d talked himself into believing he’d be doing a good deed by “putting the dog out of its misery” might actually take aim…and pull the trigger!

      “Thanks, Vi. I’d better step on it. I’m still forty-five minutes away. I’ll call soon as I know something,” she said, and hung up.

      “Please, God,” she said aloud, “watch over that pup. Give him the strength he needs to hang on ’til I get there.”

      Maybe she should phone Georgia, so she and Nate could join in her prayer. No, the kid would get his hopes up. And knowing how much danger the dog was in would only worry him. Besides, if she didn’t reach the lake in time, his little heart would break, and for what? Lily knew only too well how much it hurt to lose an animal, any animal.

      “Help me, Lord….”

      What if she phoned ahead, told the rangers at the gate who she was! If she described her car and explained the urgency of her mission, they’d let her through without stopping.

      Lily said a quick thank you to the Almighty for the idea and grabbed the phone again, dialed the number she’d memorized ages ago—and stomped on the gas.

      Chapter Two

      “Here’s our very own TV star!” Georgia said when Lily walked into the diner. “Does your dad know what got you on the evening news this time?”

      “No, thankfully.” Lily plopped onto a stool at the counter and sighed. “But I’ll have to keep him away from television, at least ’til this whole ‘daring rescue’ nonsense is old news.”

      Georgia clucked her tongue. “In all fairness to the reporters, from what I saw, you did risk your life to save that mutt.”

      Shrugging, Lily rolled her eyes. “I borrowed a rowboat and paddled to the middle of Lake Meredith. Hardly what I’d call life-threatening.”

      “Yeah. Right. Without knowing if the dog was vicious, or diseased.” She punctuated her opinion with a haughty harrumph. The redhead aimed a bony forefinger at Lily. “You can’t fool an old fool, so quit tryin’, girlie!”

      Then Georgia’s brow furrowed. “How’d the soggy ol’ fleabag get out in the middle of the lake in the first place?”

      Grinning, Lily shrugged again. Leave it to Georgia to put a brand-new spin on things. “Near as anyone can figure, she fell off a boat. When her leash got tangled in a buoy wire, she couldn’t get loose.” She frowned. “Guess her collar fell off in the struggle. Weird thing is, none of the boaters on the lake claimed her.”

      “Maybe she didn’t fall. Maybe somebody tossed her overboard.”

      Lily gasped. “Why would anyone do such a horrible thing! Especially considering she’s a beautiful, well-behaved, intelligent golden retriever.”

      “Maybe she has the mange.”

      “There isn’t a single solitary thing wrong with her. She’s positively perfect.”

      Georgia leaned closer and whispered beside a cupped palm. “Maybe she witnessed a murder and the killer had to get rid of her so she couldn’t identify him.”

      Lily laughed. “That would be pretty spectacular, even for a dog as smart as Missy.”

      “Oh, ho! Don’t be so quick to judge. I read a novel where a dog could communicate by spelling stuff, using Scrabble tiles. Now that was one brilliant canine.” She narrowed her eyes. “Hey, wait just a minute. Did you call her ‘Missy’?”

      Lily nodded.

      “I thought she didn’t have a collar.”

      Another shrug. “She didn’t. But, how she got into the lake, who owns her, her medical history—it’s all a mystery. So I called her Miss-Terry.”

      “Miss-Terry, I get it,” Georgia said. “Missy for short.” Then she added, “Not the smartest move you’ve ever made.”

      Lily held up one hand. “I know, I know. If I do find her family, it’ll be harder to give her up now, because I named her.” But then, it always was hard to give up an animal once she’d rehabilitated it. Eagles and hawks, lizards and snakes, fawns…it didn’t matter what species; Lily inevitably went through a period of mourning when her work with the animal was done.

      She glanced at Georgia’s cast. “What’s this I hear about your leg not healing properly, about СКАЧАТЬ