“What are you doing here?” She awkwardly petted Betty, a mixed-breed mutt. Brennan must’ve recognized in her movements she’d never pet a single dog in her entire life before, as he quirked a brow in question.
“Donovan called me and said Kayla called him in panic. She was worried something bad happened to you. You’d called and screamed for someone to leave you the fuck alone.”
“Oh shit. Shit! I was talking to these damn dogs!” she said as she turned to him and held out her hand. “Can I use your phone? Need to call her back.”
He shook his head, his damp hair swishing over his forehead. “Already called her the moment I saw you from a distance, talking to the dogs. She knows you’re okay. I told her you’d call her later.”
“Hmm. And Kayla just agreed?”
“Well, she might have said something about she’d better hear from you sooner than later.” He smirked at the exact moment Errin snorted, recognizing Kayla’s fiery response.
“When she tried to call you back, and you didn’t answer, she called that hacker brother of mine to track you. He called the kennel because your phone still worked when you were there earlier. They said you always go to this park and because Lucky is only two blocks from here, I immediately ran out the door after Donovan called me.”
“I’m so sorry. You must—”
“No need to be sorry, Errin. I’m just relieved you’re okay. I saw you across the park and figured you were just walking your dogs.”
She scoffed. “These assholes are not mine!”
Brennan laughed and shook his head. “You’re the worst dog walker in the existence of dog walking.”
“Ah, shut up. I reallyneeded a job, so sue me. I just don’t like dogs, okay? I’m more of a cat person. These big fuckers scare me half to death most of the time. And have you met sweet ‘ole Jacky?” She waved at the miniature dog that already stood attention, ready to charge Brennan.
“No, can’t say I’ve had the pleasure before.”
“Well, let me tell you, it’s no pleasure at all to meet this flesh tearing little monster. This piranha on paws is the scariest out of them all.”
She narrowed her eyes at the dog and as if Jacky realized they were talking about him, he barked a couple times before going back to snarling.
“Okay. I get that. So… why did you call Kayla?” he asked.
Errin sighed before she locked eyes with him. “I lost a dog and—”
“You lost a dog?” he said as he quirked a brow and sat back with his back against the backrest.
“Yes. Well, two actually.”
He bellowed a laugh, and the sudden sound made Jacky jump up. Errin scooted closer to Brennan, but before the dog even reached Errin, Brennan had already grabbed his leash and jerked him into a sitting position.
“Stay.”
And surprisinglyenough, Jacky stayed. The dog still eyed them both, but he didn’t dare to move another muscle.
Brennan’s manly sandalwood scent soothed her, and she didn’t scoot back over.
“So you were talking to the dogs then? When you called Kayla?”
“Yes. I just found Missy and left out here somewhere is Jones. He’s a Border Collie. You know the type? Lots of hair. Runs like he’s on speed or something,” she said, glancing up at him.
Brennan was a lot taller than her, and his robust physique would come in handy right now. She figured that maybe his coming over to ‘rescue her’ wasn’t so bad, since he could help her walk what’s remaining of the pack back to the kennel.
He tapped her leg. “Do you think you can walk back by yourself? Or do you need me to carry you to the kennel?”
“Please? Sorry. I think it’s better for my ankle if you’d carry me,” she said while glancing up at him, smiling shyly.
“Fuckin’ cute.”
“What?” She cocked her head to the side and blinked up at him.