animal whimpered. “Hang on, buddy. We’ll help you.”
Lilly hovered by his side, her attention on the pup in his arms.
“What happened to it?” Her nearness rattled his insides. He’d vowed to never again think of sharing his life with a woman, but sometimes it was hard to remember that. Like now, as she tenderly ran her fingers over the furry dog. When her arm brushed his, his mouth went dry. He drew in a strengthening breath and righted his thoughts.
“This animal has been neglected.” She fired a hot look at him, as if to silently accuse him.
“We found her by the road.” He wanted to make it clear he wasn’t responsible for the condition of the animal.
“Can you make her better?” Teddy asked.
Thankfully she shifted her powerful gaze to Teddy, and Caleb pulled his thoughts back to where they belonged—finding help for the dog, finding help for his son and preventing any woman from entering his life.
She smiled at Teddy. “I’ll certainly do my best.”
Her gaze returned to Caleb, warm with a compassion that slowly cooled as she looked at him. He understood her kindness was aimed at Teddy and likely this unfortunate pup. Toward him, she seemed accusatory.
Well, it wasn’t like he wasn’t used to accusations, mostly from his own thoughts. At twenty-five years of age, he had a number of failures to his name. Likely more than a man twice his age ought to have. He’d failed to protect his wife. He’d failed to help his son with his problems. Letting this dog die in his arms was not another failure he meant to endure. “Can you help?” His question rang with more harshness than he felt. She had no way of knowing he only wanted to make this turn out right.
“Follow me.” She hurried toward the barn, seeming to expect him to follow.
He didn’t move. He couldn’t carry the dog and help Teddy down, too.
“I’ll wait,” Teddy said.
“See that you do.” Caleb gave him a look that ought to have pinned him to the wagon box, but Teddy’s eyes lingered on the dog.
Caleb hustled after Lilly. The woman moved like a whirlwind. By the time he caught up she was already inside the barn, a scrap of old blanket on the floor in front of her.
“Put her here. Gently,” she urged as if she thought he’d drop the dog.
It was on the tip of his tongue to point out he’d rescued the dog and brought her here for the animal’s good and he wasn’t about to do anything to make things worse. Instead he knelt and eased the dog to the mat.
She examined the poor critter with gentle fingers. The dog moaned and opened her eyes briefly.
“What do you think?” Sure looked to him like the pup was about to draw her last breath.
“She’s very weak. There are a number of cuts on her. She’s got some nasty bruises. And she’s been badly neglected.” Her voice grew harder with each word. “Who would do this to a dog?”
“Same sort who would hurt a woman or child.” He heard the strangled sound of his voice but hoped it wasn’t noticeable to Lilly. He kept his attention on the suffering animal as a thousand pictures flashed through his mind. Amanda’s blood pooling on the floor. Teddy’s pale face as Caleb cradled Amanda and tended to his son’s wounds.
Lilly nodded her head in decision. “Let’s get to work.”
“You’re gonna save her, aren’t you? She’s my dog. I want her to live.”
They both jerked toward Teddy, who stood in the doorway. Without waiting for an answer, he hobbled toward them.
Lilly’s eyes filled with pity.
Caleb stiffened. Pity would not do Teddy any good. The specialist down east had promised to fit the boy with a brace that would teach the leg to work again. Or so the man had claimed. Caleb had long since lost his faith in doctors. “Let’s get started.”
Lilly bent over the dog, but her hands didn’t move. He wondered what she thought about it all—Teddy, the dog, him. Well, he already knew what she thought of him. He worked for the Caldwells. That made him part of the wrong side in a land feud. Good thing she didn’t know his past or she’d have reason to think even more poorly of him.
“You want me to get water?” he asked.
She let out a gust of air and nodded. “There’s a bucket by the door and the pump is toward the house.”
Caleb scrambled to his feet and then hesitated.
She glanced up, a question in her eyes.
“Is it all right if I leave him here?” He gestured with his head toward Teddy.
She looked at his son and her mouth curved into a smile as warm as the morning sun on the horizon.
His breath caught partway up his throat at her gentle, sweet regard for his boy, who had been hurt so badly. He closed his eyes against the rushing memories. The boy was without a mother because Caleb had been unable to save Amanda. He’d been away from home when the cowboys had entered, set on punishing him for interfering after he’d caught them tormenting the young man running his father’s store. If Caleb hadn’t come along, the pair would have helped themselves to whatever they liked from the shelves without paying. In hindsight, he should have known they were the sort who would want revenge, but he thought the incident was over with when he rode away. Later he’d arrived home and come face-to-face with their blazing guns. He’d shot the two men in self-defense after they’d murdered his wife, and he lived with the agony that he might have been the one who shot the bullet that injured Teddy. His hope, his prayer, was that he could make up for it by getting Teddy the best of care. God, let this doctor be one who can really help.
He strode out to get water. He pumped with such vigor the water splashed out of the bucket, and he realized he was angry. What was the use of anger anyway? His energies would be better spent getting help for Teddy. And if that meant working for the Caldwells while seeking Lilly Bell’s care for the dog that Teddy had claimed as his own, well, so be it.
He wouldn’t let a feud that meant nothing to him stand in the way.
* * *
Lilly smoothed the dog’s fur across the top of her head, which was about the only place that wasn’t soiled with dirt and blood. “Poor puppy. You’ll be okay now.” She’d do her best to make sure that was true.
Teddy scooted closer and leaned over to put his face close to the dog’s. “You’re my dog and you ain’t gonna die. You hear?”
The dog stuck out her tongue. It touched the tip of Teddy’s nose and the little boy laughed.
Lilly wanted to pull both of them close and shelter them in her arms. Seemed life had been unfair and cruel to the pair. “I’ll do my best to make sure she gets better.”
Teddy studied her so intently her lips twitched with a smile.
“The man in town said you had a special way with sick animals. Do you?”
She
