“We’d better go,” Dal said curtly. “I’ve got the truck over here. I’ll carry Snow for you.”
“Thanks,” she said softly.
He gave orders to his men, thanked Jerry, lifted Snow, and carried her to the truck.
“I’ll hold her,” Meadow said quickly when she opened the passenger side of the truck and climbed in.
“She’s got blood on her fur,” he said.
“It’s just clothes,” she replied. “Please?” Her green eyes had him almost hypnotized. He slid the big dog onto her lap and closed the door with a jerk.
“Snow, my baby, my poor baby,” she crooned, hugging her dog close.
“Seat belt,” he said.
“I’ll try.” She reached for it and managed to get it around her waist under Snow.
“I’ll do it.”
Dal reached for the seat belt and found her hand instead. Even through his leather gloves, he could feel the chill. “Your hands are like ice,” he said.
“They’re okay,” she said. “Just a little numb.” She hugged Snow close. “I was so afraid that we’d find her in one of Mr. Smith’s traps.”
He had been, too, but he didn’t say so. He started the truck. “You need to find a way to close that dog flap at night so she doesn’t wander. Or put a high fence set in concrete around the house.”
“I’ll buy a helicopter for the Bat Cave while I’m about it,” she muttered.
He gave her a curious glance.
“I work for the sheriff’s department,” she pointed out. “My budget is much more Walmart than Park Avenue.”
He frowned. He hadn’t considered her situation. She was probably hurting for money, or she wouldn’t be working at all. Pity she knew nothing about ranching. If she had, she’d at least have enough money to fence her yard.
He turned into her long driveway. “You need to sell the ranch to someone who knows what to do with it,” he said bluntly.
“Your tact always amazes me.”
He glanced at her. “I don’t have any tact.”
“And I am not surprised,” she pointed out. “But thank you for saving my dog.” She averted her eyes. “She’s all I have.”
He felt the pain of those words like a blow. He understood them. His big Lab, Bess, had been his only family. Her loss, despite the company of Jarvis, his cat, had left him bereft. Dana hadn’t understood why he kept the dog dishes in their place in the kitchen. She’d started to throw them out, and he’d jerked them out of her hands. She’d laughed.What a silly, sentimental thing to do, she’d commented.
That had led to some harsh words that Meadow’s phone call had interrupted. He and Dana argued more and enjoyed each other’s company less. Dal really wasn’t much for families and Dana was. It would end soon, as all the other brief affairs had ended. He didn’t trust women enough to stay with one.
He got out of the truck at Meadow’s front door and carried Snow inside for her, waiting while Meadow got two thick bath towels to spread on the floor to catch the droplets of blood.
“Let me see your hands,” Dal said.
She left Snow long enough to show them to him. He grimaced as he touched them. “Red and raw, but no frostbite. You were lucky. Don’t go out without gloves again,” he instructed.
“Don’t give me orders,” she returned. “I don’t belong to you.”
“Thank God,” he said with faint sarcasm, his eyes disparaging on her face. “I like my women soft and feminine.”
She smiled sweetly. “How fortunate for you that you’ve got Dana, who’s both.”
“Yes. Lucky me.”