“C’mere,” I say, my voice coming out in a rasp. Molly gingerly comes closer and lays her head against my shoulder, careful not to touch my wound or my IV.
“Mr. Travis, I’m Dr. Warner. Your friend here found you early this morning outside, bleeding and unconscious on the ground. You’re a very lucky man.”
I heave a sigh into Molly’s hair, a lump forming in my throat. “I know I am. She’s my fierce angel baby.”
“Erm, yes. It’s a good thing she found you when she did. But that’s not what I meant exactly. It seems that a very smart German shepherd was the actual first responder.”
A few seconds pass before I register what the doctor is saying.
“The hell you say?”
“It’s true,” Molly adds, sniffling into my shoulder.
“Somebody gave me some good drugs because everybody’s talking crazy,” I say weakly.
But Molly sits up, shaking her head and sniffing. “It’s not crazy.
Dolly stayed with you. She was literally on top of you when I found you on the ground. The doctors say she prevented you from going into shock.”
I huff. “That can’t be right. You were there. You turned me over.”
“No, sir. You were lying on your back when I got there and Dolly was all over you.”
This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. No way a dog, not even a German shepherd could roll over a grown man who’s passed out. Could they?
But there’s no other explanation.
“You don’t believe me?”
The look on her face is all I need. She believes it. It’s plausible enough. Dolly is maybe the smartest dog I’ve ever met.
“I do,” I say. “I’m having a hard time absorbing it, is all.”
The doctor adds, “Not only did Dolly prevent you from going into shock, but she unwittingly put enough pressure on the wound to keep you from bleeding out. Mind you, the bullet passed less than an inch away from any major artery and lodged in your spleen. The surgery to remove the bullet was successful, but thank goodness the shot came from a far distance or it could have put a hole clean through you. And on that note, I need you to remember as much as you can, so you can give a statement to the police.”
All I want to do is get out of here, put some clothes on, and go home to take care of my woman. Find the assholes who tried to shoot her dogs.
“Babe, when I catch up with those guys, they are dead meat,” I say.
She smiles. “See? The dogs love you and you love them. Admit it.”
“Molly.”
“Come on. After all this? You cannot still be serious about putting in a golf course now. What are you going to do, put the 18th hole on the spot where Dolly saved your life?”
I smirk. “Don’t be ridiculous. The 18th hole is going to be closest to the clubhouse, which, if you look at the plans, is going to be at the back end of the property…”
“Daniel! Are you serious?”
I wait a beat before I say, “No. I’m joking, babe. I’m not going to put a golf course on your land. I have other plans.”
She eyes me suspiciously, but she’s also visibly relieved. “Plans…? What kind of plans?”
“Water,” I croak.
She helps me drink some more.
I continue: “A garden. A pool. A big playground for our kids. A canine obstacle course…”