She shrugged sheepishly. “I can’t kick him back out in the cold. So far he’s been well-behaved.”
“Maybe he just hasn’t had to relieve himself yet.”
“Maybe,” she admitted. “I guess he could sleep in the laundry room.”
“Not sure how he would like being penned up in a little room after being free to roam.”
“There is that,” she admitted. “I suppose I could always put some blankets out on deck for him if he’d rather be outside.”
Casey glanced at the blissfully content-looking dog and smiled.
Following his gaze, she said, “I realized today that we should probably contact the shelters, maybe the local newspaper, and see if anyone is missing a pet. It could be that he just got lost rather than abandoned. He might already have a home somewhere.”
“That’s possible. He’s a nice dog. Handsome, too, now that he’s clean.”
“Yes, he’s very sweet.”
Setting down his cup of tea, Casey turned on the couch to face her. “Sounds as though you’re getting attached.”
She shook her head. “I’m not in a position to adopt a pet, no matter how sweet. I don’t even know where I’ll be living next month. It’s best if I avoid any attachments for now.”
Was there another message not so subtly hidden in her remarks? Probably, he answered himself. Natalie was making it very clear that she wasn’t looking for commitment. Even when she had invited him in last night, she’d implied that she wasn’t suggesting anything more than a night of fun.
He’d talked himself out of accepting last night because of a sudden concern that before they went any further with their relationship, temporary though it might be, they needed to talk. He should tell her what he really did for a living, and that he knew she too was an attorney.
Since then, he’d had second thoughts. She was, after all, the one who’d established the no-questions policy. Even if she hadn’t actually put it in so many words, she’d managed to get the message across. Whatever made her leave her firm in Nash ville, she didn’t want to talk about it, didn’t even seem to want to think about it, since she was working so hard staying busy with other things.
“I know the feeling,” he sympathized. “I’m not looking for any commitments right now, either. Just not the right time. For a pet,” he added.
She looked at him through her lashes, then asked, “So you think we’ll be able to find a home for him?”
“I’m sure we will. But there’s no hurry, is there? First we have to see if anyone’s reported him missing. And he’s fine here in the meantime.”
“He’s welcome here, I guess,” she said, keeping her tone nonchalant. “Though I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be staying.”
“When you need to leave, we’ll make other arrangements.”
“Okay. Fine.” She looked at the dog again, her expression hard to read.
“The fire’s going out,” she murmured after a moment.
He glanced that way. “Do you want me to throw on another log?”
“No, it’s fine. It’s not really all that cold tonight. But I enjoyed watching the fire.”
“I think Buddy liked it, too.”
She smiled. “It certainly looks that way.”
Perhaps sensing they were talking about him, Buddy raised his head, yawned, then stood and moved toward the sliding glass door. He paused there and looked over his shoulder at them with a brief bark.
“I believe he’s saying he wants to go out,” Casey commented, amused.
Natalie was already on her feet. She opened the door and Buddy trotted outside and down the deck steps.
“Do you think he’ll come back in?” she asked Casey, who’d walked up behind her to see what the dog was going to do. “Or do you think he’ll spend the night out in the woods again?”
“I don’t know.” He brushed a strand of hair away from her face, studying her grave expression. “Don’t worry so much about it, Natalie. He’s pretty good at taking care of himself.”