He went into the house and grabbed his rifle. It was still light outside, which wouldn’t prevent someone from breaching the property line. He’d run off teenagers before who were looking for a place to hang out, and this was a nice secluded spot. A verbal warning generally took care of that. But you never knew who you might run into in the woods, and Finn wasn’t taking any chances.
He crept slowly around the water and toward the thick trees, ignoring the sweat pooling at the small of his back. As he entered the woods he stilled when he saw the bushes move, raising his rifle.
“I’ve got a gun trained on you and I’ll use it if you come at me. I’m giving you ten seconds to get the hell out of here.”
He waited, mentally counting to ten. He didn’t see anyone running. But someone or something started to come closer.
He lowered his rifle when he saw a dirty creature inching his way.
It was a dog. He crouched down to see that the poor little thing was filthy and looked like it hadn’t been fed in a while.
“Hey, buddy, you lookin’ for some food?” He held out his hand, not wanting to scare it into running off.
The dog came a little closer, whimpering. Finn wrinkled his nose. The dog stank.
“You need a bath. And a good meal. I’ll bet I can help with both of those. Wanna come to my house?”
The dog looked up at him with soulful brown eyes that hit Finn right in the stomach.
He stood, slowly. “Come on. Let’s go.”
He hoped the dog would trust him enough to go with him. He walked back toward the house, happy to see the dog following him, though he was keeping a respectable distance.
First, he needed food, so as soon as they got to the house Finn went inside. The dog didn’t come in, but he waited on the porch while Finn filled a bowl with water and took that outside. The dog lapped greedily. While the dog drank his water, Finn went back into the house and looked through his cabinets and fridge. He didn’t have any dog food, but he did have some eggs and bacon. He quickly scrambled up a few eggs and fried the bacon, threw them on the plate, waited for them to cool down some, which only took a minute, then hoped the dog would still be there when he walked out onto the porch.
The dog was still sitting there. The water bowl was empty, trails of muddy water dripping down his chin.
“Here you go, buddy. Try this out.”
He laid the plate down and the dog gobbled up the food like he hadn’t eaten in days. Judging by the ribs Finn could see, it had probably been longer than that.
Finn crouched down after the dog had licked the plate clean. “Who threw you out like you were nothing but garbage, huh? What asshole would do that?”
He reached out his hand and let the dog sniff him. He wagged his tail and licked Finn’s fingers.
“You like that my fingers smell like bacon, don’t you? Wanna come inside and see about having a bath?”
He got up, took the plate with him and looked at the dog. “Come on, buddy, let’s go inside.”
He crossed the threshold, figuring the dog would either follow or not but Finn wasn’t going to force it.
The pup was tentative, but he came in, making Finn’s heart do a little leap. He didn’t know why. Was he actually thinking about keeping this dog?
Hell yes, he was. No one had taken care of this guy, which meant he was now Finn’s responsibility.
The dog followed Finn all the way into the bathroom and studied him with his head cocked to the side while Finn turned the water on.
Okay, he seemed interested in the water. That was a good thing.
“Wanna get in there? Do ya?”
When Finn built the house he didn’t put in a tub, figuring he never took baths and wouldn’t need one. So he just had a walk-in shower. Bathing the dog would have been easier with a—
The dog walked right into the shower and stood under the water as if he knew he stunk like the worst thing Finn had ever smelled.
“Okay, then. Let’s shower.” Finn knew the only way to get the dog clean was to get in there with him, so he stripped down, grabbed the handheld and made sure the dog was totally wet, then took shampoo and started lathering him up.
The funny thing was, the dog seemed to really enjoy it. Maybe he was tired of stinking, too.
After he rinsed the dog, he grabbed a large towel and dried him off. The dog shook himself and water flew everywhere.
“Thanks a lot, dude.”
Finn dried off, too, though he’d have to take another shower later. The important thing was getting the dog clean. He looked at the shower floor. It was covered in dirt and twigs and God only knew what else. Obviously he’d have to clean the shower, too. But at least the dog looked better.
He was pretty, if too thin. Finn would take care of that. He’d have to take him in to the veterinarian to be checked out. He didn’t even know if he’d had any shots. He was glad Jason was a vet so he knew the dog would be well cared for.
The first thing he had to do was get him checked out. If he was microchipped and just lost, he’d have to find his owner and return him.
And didn’t that hit him like a gut punch. He’d grown attached already.
If he wasn’t chipped or lost, he’d get food and supplies for him and make the dog feel welcome and at home.
The dog lay on the bathroom floor and calmly watched while Finn cleaned the shower, then washed himself. After he dried and dressed, he picked up his phone and called Jason, who fortunately answered his cell.
“Are you at the clinic today?”
“Yeah.”
“A stray dog wandered onto the property. I got him cleaned up but he’s really thin. Can I run him in for you to check him over?”
“Sure. I’ll be here and I’ve got some time.”
“Thanks. I’ll be there in a bit.” He hung up, got dressed and headed out to his truck. The dog had already decided to follow him everywhere, so he assumed it would be the same, though he didn’t know about riding in the truck.
The dog hopped right in.
“Good dog,” Finn said, ruffling the fur on his head. He was yellow and fuzzy and looked to be a cross between a golden retriever and a Labrador. “You’re a damn handsome fella. I don’t know why someone didn’t want you, but obviously whoever it was sucked as a human.”
The dog leaned over and licked his face. Finn laughed.
“How about a ride to see our friend, Jason?”
The dog just looked at him.
“You need a name, too.” Finn studied him, the way his head tilted sideways, the intelligence and life he saw in those big brown eyes.