Oh, she supposed he’d meant well enough, remembering now the expectant expression on his face as he had watched her open his gift. He’d no doubt assumed that once she caught sight of the shiny bauble, all would be forgiven and she’d fling herself into his arms.
She didn’t know whether to be amused or sorry for him.
Did he really believe all he had to do was toss diamonds at her and she’d be happy as a clam again? How could he think it would be that easy? That she could be bought? Had every woman in his life been so cheaply acquired? Well, if they had, then he was in for a rude awakening when it came to Ivy Angel Holloway.
But even as she thought that, she realized that maybe he didn’t care. He’d been avoiding her as strictly as she had him for the last couple of days. She’d heard him typing or muttering from behind the closed door of his office. But he hadn’t spoken to her since she’d handed him back the watch.
So where did that leave her?
“You know exactly where,” she whispered. “You’re in love with a man who doesn’t even know who you really are.”
A scratching at the back door caught her attention and Ivy gratefully shut down her self-pity party to check it out. She opened the door to a cool night, with a sharp wind racing through the trees and found a bedraggled dog staring up at her through huge, limpid brown eyes. One ear stood straight up, the other flopped over his head. His fur was matted over a well-defined rib cage telling Ivy that he hadn’t eaten in quite a while. He wasn’t wearing a collar, but he was sitting politely on the porch, watching her hopefully.
In a quiet, soothing tone, she asked, “Well now, who are you?”
The dog’s tail whipped back and forth across the porch and he regally lifted one paw as an offering.
Charmed, in spite of the dog’s straggly appearance, she reached out carefully to gently hold his paw before stroking the top of his head. He leaned into her touch as if hungry for the connection and Ivy’s heart melted.
“Poor baby. How long have you been on your own?”
Even as compassion swelled inside her for the poor little thing, anger blistered the edges of her heart as she realized just what had happened to this dog. She knew all too well that sometimes people from the city drove through the area and abandoned pets they could no longer keep for whatever reasons. It infuriated her that anyone could be so callous as to just drive away from what had been a member of their family. But she’d seen it too often to be surprised by the action.
“Bet you’re hungry, as well as lonely, aren’t you?”
The dog whined a little and she turned for the kitchen, in tending to get him food and water. She stopped abruptly when she ran into Tanner standing just behind her. She shrieked, then clapped one hand to her chest. “Seriously? You need to not do that to people. I’m going to have a heart attack before I’m thirty if you keep that up.”
“What is that?” he asked, looking past her to the dog.
“It’s a dog.”
He grimaced at her. “I know that. What’s it doing here?”
“Looking for food,” she said, with a glance back at the poor creature now staring up at Tanner. “And some company.”
“That’s probably the dog that’s been leaving his calling card on my lawn,” he muttered.
“Probably,” she agreed, and moved to stroke the dog’s head again, as if to make up to him for Tanner’s surly attitude. But the animal wasn’t interested in her attentions now. Instead, he stood up and walked straight to Tanner, then sat down again, placing one paw atop Tanner’s foot.
Typical of animals, it went directly to the one person who was less than happy to see it. Ivy couldn’t help smiling, despite the fact that she didn’t think the little dog was going to get much of a welcome reception.
She knew how it felt. There was no shining warmth in Tanner’s gaze for her, either. But then, they’d spent the last couple of days studiously avoiding each other, so what did she really expect? Shaking her head to dislodge the wayward thoughts, she focused instead on the dog and the man staring down at it.
“He likes you,” she said.
“He’s filthy.”
“And starving, no doubt,” she added, moving past the duo staring at each other with mixed looks of suspicion and curiosity. “His family must have dumped him here at least a week ago. Looks like he hasn’t eaten in days.”
“Dumped him?” Tanner asked, shooting her a look. “What?”
She dug around in a cupboard for two bowls. One she filled with fresh water and the other she carried to the counter. Shaving off a couple of generous slices of the freshly cooked pot roast, she broke them up in the bowl and then carried both offerings to the dog.
The animal glanced at them, but wouldn’t tear his gaze from Tanner to eat, regardless of the fact that he had to be desperate for food.
Ivy shook her head as she watched the little guy. He was no bigger than a medium-sized spaniel, but he looked even smaller thanks to the fact that he’d been scrounging for survival on his own. He must have been terrified, she thought sadly. New sights, new sounds, nothing familiar and no pack to turn to.
“City people,” she whispered with a shake of her head. “They drive out to the countryside and dump whatever pet they no longer want along the roadside. Then they take off again, leaving behind a poor animal who has no idea how to survive on its own.”
“What the hell kind of people would do that?”
She smiled at him, pleased that he was as outraged by the practice as she was. “You’d be surprised.”
“Don’t know why I would be,” he muttered, going down on one knee to study the dog more closely. “Mostly, people suck.”
“On this one point, I’ll agree.”
He flashed her a smile, then turned back to the dog.
Tentatively, he rubbed the animal’s head and smiled as the dog whined a little in appreciation of the affection. Then Tanner scooted the food bowl closer to him and watched as the animal politely ate what he’d been given instead of wolfing it down in huge, starved gulps.
“So, what am I supposed to do with him?” Tanner mused, reaching out to pet the dog again.
“You could call the pound,” she suggested, almost as a challenge, to see what his reaction would be. He didn’t disappoint her. “The pound?” He looked at her in astonishment. “Won’t they just put him down?”
Pleased at his response, Ivy said, “If he’s not adopted, then after a week or so, yeah, they would.”