“Murphy. That’s your name.”
The dog’s ears perked. Finn grinned.
“You like that name, huh, Murph?”
His tail whipped back and forth.
Finn put the truck in gear. “Murphy it is. Let’s go get you checked out and fixed up, then we’ll buy you some food and toys.”
* * *
• • • • • •
BRENNA WAITED ALL through dinner for Finn to show up. When he didn’t, she was at first irritated, then concerned.
Finn never missed dinner with the family. But she didn’t want to bring it up because . . . well, why would she? It wasn’t like they were dating or he was anyone special to her.
He obviously just had other plans. But when they were talking in the kitchen earlier that day, he’d told her he’d be there.
And then he hadn’t shown up.
So after dinner, instead of going to her office to work, or into the library to read or to do some research, she’d gone up to her room to pace and think and stew and generally annoy herself.
Just walk down to his place and find out what’s going on, dumbass.
Right. What if he had a date or something and brought her to his place and you walk in on that? Then she really would be a dumbass. No way was she doing that.
Instead, she went downstairs to the library and picked up a book on medieval forms of armor and sat in her favorite reading chair, paging through amazing photographs and descriptions. After thirty minutes, she couldn’t remember a single page she’d read.
Dammit. She got up, put the book away and walked out the back door, feeling ridiculous the entire walk to Finn’s place.
He probably wasn’t even home. He was out on a date or something.
But as she rounded the corner and saw all of his lights on, she had hope. And when she saw him sitting on his front porch, she also saw a flash of yellow bouncing around near his feet.
Was that a . . . dog?
When she heard a bark, she knew for sure it was. And when it saw her, instead of running toward her, it ran to Finn.
Interesting.
“Oh, hey, Brenna,” he said, getting up from his chair. He put his hand on the top of the dog’s head. “Meet Murphy.”
“You got a dog.”
“Well, I found a dog. He was hiding out in the woods. A stray.”
She arched a brow. “Are you keeping him?”
“Yeah. I already took him in and Jason gave him an exam. He’s not microchipped and no one’s been looking for him, so I guess he’s mine now. He’s healthy. For sure underfed so I got him some good food and he got his vaccinations and worming today.”
The dog went over and picked up a toy and brought it to her, his tail wagging back and forth. She took the toy and the associated slobber that came with it. “And toys, too.”
Finn grinned. “Well, yeah. The poor guy has been all alone. He needs love and attention. And lots of toys to cuddle up with.”
Her heart did a little lurch at seeing this side of Finn. She knew he loved animals. She’d seen him with Erin’s dog Agatha and how the dog followed him around. But this was new. He’d always talked about his love for animals, how he’d had a dog when he was a kid and how much he’d missed having one around.
Finn motioned her to one of the chairs, so she took a seat and he sat on the other chair.
“You’ve got a dog of your own now. How old is he?”
“Jason said he’s barely out of the puppy stage, not more than a year old. He minds well, so he should be easy to train. I think right now it’s because I gave him food.”
“And some love. From the looks of him, he hasn’t had nearly enough of that. Have you, Murphy?” She wiggled the stuffed rabbit and Murphy pounced, obviously wanting her to throw it. She did, and he bounded over to grab it, then came back up on the porch and lay down with the toy.
She looked over at Finn, who was staring at the dog with such love in his eyes it made her heart ache.
“We missed you at dinner.”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry. I should have called but between the vet and then the pet store for food and toys and stuff for Murph, I kind of forgot about the time.”
“Did you eat anything?”
He shrugged. “I snacked.”
“You’re probably hungry.”
“I’ll make do with whatever I have here.”
“I’ll be right back.”
He frowned. “Where are you going?”
“I have to do something. I’ll be right back, Finn.” She got up and walked back to the house, went into the kitchen and checked the fridge. She knew there’d be leftovers—there always were. She packed up a container and made her way back to Finn’s place. He was still sitting outside, throwing a ball to Murphy, who was pretty good at fetch because he brought it right back to Finn.
“I brought you something to eat. We had pork chops, mashed potatoes and carrots for dinner.” She handed him the containers.
“Damn. Now I’m hungry.”
“Then you should eat.”
“Would you come inside with me?”
She should leave. It would make sense for her to do that. “Sure.”
“Come on, Murph.” He walked in and she followed, the dog right next to her, his stuffed bunny firmly held in his mouth.
Okay, the dog was adorable. As was his owner.
“Want something to drink?” he asked.
“Wine if you’ve got it.”
He grinned. “I’ve got it.” He uncorked a chardonnay from the fridge and poured her a glass, set it down, then warmed up the food in the microwave.
They sat at the table while he ate and taught Murphy table manners, instructing him to go lie down. It took a few tries, but eventually he got the hint and went to the corner of the kitchen with his bunny, circled a few times and went to sleep.
“He’s cute, Finn.”
Finn swallowed his food and took a drink of water. “You should have seen him when I found him in the woods. He was covered in dirt and God did he smell bad. I had to clean the shower after I washed him.”
She laughed. “That bad, huh?
“I went in there with him and I had to shower after I showered. Yeah, that bad.”
She looked over at Murphy, all fluffy and cute as he slept. “Poor guy. How does someone just dump a dog? Same thing happened with Erin when she found Agatha. I don’t get people.”