“Of course. I will come with you. I want to know how all these guys are doing.”
“For now, he is going to need some rest, and I will check on some of the other dogs.”
George went to pick him up, but Bull got there first.
“I’ll take you to his room,” Maddie said, leaving the vet clinic. She held open the doors. “You like dogs?”
“Love them. Even my dad loved them when he was around.”
“They’re amazing.”
“That they are,” he said in agreement.
She walked him down the long corridor. Seeing as the dog was going to be in surgery in the morning, he stayed close to the vet clinic. She smiled at a few nurses she passed, but they were more interested in Bull.
After opening the door, they went to a bed in the corner that had a water bowl. She wanted to give him some food, but the vet would organize what to feed him.
Bull lowered him down onto the bed.
“He’s so sweet,” Maddie said. “I hate that anyone could do this.”
“While we let him get some rest, do you want to see the other dogs?” Bull asked.
Maddie nodded. “I’ll be back. I promise.” She wasn’t going to get much sleep tonight worrying about this little guy. If she could have, she’d have taken him home.
With a sigh, she got to her feet and left the main clinic. The sound of barking dogs filled the air.
They were an animal shelter primarily for dogs and cats, but they sometimes took in rabbits, hamsters, and any kind of animal that was often dumped on their front lawn.
“I can’t believe you stumbled onto the dogfighting ring,” Maddie said. “Were you afraid?”
“It takes a lot to make me afraid, Maddie.”
“Of course, it does.” This was awkward. She couldn’t stop thinking about Bull’s proposition last night.
She had done nothing but think about it all day, and if the animals at the shelter could talk to humans, they would have a whole lot to say to Bull about what she’d been talking about.
“We are but I’ve got kind of a proposition for you.”
“What kind of proposition?”
“I can already tell you struggle when it comes to dating, so I’m offering my services.”
“I still don’t get it,” she said.
“I am going to show you how to date.”
“You’re propositioning to teach me to date?” she asked.
He smiled. “Yes, and in return, you have to promise to keep this between us.”
“You’re going to teach me in secret?”
“Exactly.”
Their conversation had been weird. She spent a lot of time last night thinking about it as well.
She wasn’t good on dates or with men, and Bull was now offering her the chance to learn from him.
“Have you thought about what I asked last night?” Bull asked.
Maddie licked her lips. Her mouth felt incredibly dry. “I have.”
“And?”
“I … what will dating entail?” she asked.
“Well, I will teach you how not to be awkward around men. I’m getting the sense you’re not used to it, and seeing as I’m a man, I know what I’m talking about.”
This did make her laugh. “You have a point.”
“There’s no reason to be nervous.”
“I don’t think every thirty-year-old woman is offered dating advice, or even the opportunity to practice.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. It sounds kind of corny.”
“How many dates have you been on?” he asked.
“The ones that turn up, quite a few.” She was mortified by her answer. “Look, I appreciate what you’re offering, I am, but I don’t know. The point of dating is for the guy to want to be there, Bull. The last time…” She gritted her teeth. She hadn’t wanted to tell him what was going on, but seeing as he was kind of being sweet and attempting to offer her sound advice, she had to be honest with him. “The last date that was a no-show. He didn’t want to have sex with me at the end of the night.” She held her hands up in total surrender and mortification. If she told him that, she might as well go the whole mile. “He told me I was too fat and too ugly, and that even though he wanted to get laid, I was going to be too much hard work to get through. There, that’s just him for now, but believe me, this isn’t the first time I’ve been told that.” She tucked her hair behind her ears, feeling even worse than she had moments ago. “So I don’t think I need dating advice. What I need is a strict diet and plastic surgery.”
“No, you don’t,” Bull said.
“Look, I don’t…” She stopped talking as she came to one of the kennels and frowned. The paperwork was attached to the door, and she picked up the file to glance through it.
“What is it?”
“I … I’m sure I recognize this dog,” Maddie said. “She came in last year. She was a stray, but she was rehomed.”