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“Thanks for helping us get her,” Wesley says, offering his hand.
“Dogs are more trouble than they’re worth sometimes.” The truth is that I want the chance to talk with Madison alone. That’s clearly not going to happen with her brother hovering, So, I pretend to be interested in what’s going on with him.
“Where do you live now? Must be nearby if you could get here this fast to help Madison.”
“Oh, yeah. I live down on the other end of Oak Island, closer to the mainland. I work in Wilmington, so…”
I nod. I’m not good at small talk. My patients and I normally talk about the weather then get down to business…unless they have already been put under. In that case, we don’t talk about anything at all.
“What type of work do you do?”
“At the university.”
I blink at Wesley. He hardly looks old enough to have graduated college himself. To say that he’s working there is like saying a sixth grader is teaching elementary school. “Good to hear you’ve found a good job. It can be hard in this economy.”
Wesley nods.
I let the silence extend until it’s too awkward for any of us to handle.
Madison nods toward her house. “Well, I’m going to get Bella inside. I keep thinking she’s going to dart at any moment and I’m going to lose hold of the leash.”
We both nod, and I watch as she goes. Maybe if I pretend to head to my house, Wesley will get the hint. Then, I can circle back and knock on Madison’s door.
I lift my hand in a wave toward Wesley. “Well, good seeing you. Good luck with everything.”
Wesley nods and heads toward his car. I walk toward my house, but very,veryslowly. I’m barely at my front porch by the time Wesley pulls away. Then, I circle back to Madison’s yard. She’s on the back porch with her dog, Samson, and she looks much more relaxed.
“Oh, you’re back.” Madison stands up from the rocker, but I motion for her to sit back down.
“I just wanted to make sure you’ve recovered.” I lean against the porch railing. Samson trots over curiously andsniffs at me to make sure I’m really the same man who was just here. I absentmindedly pat his head.
Madison shakes her head. “I don’t think I’ll ever recover. Those dogs arestrong.And I know I’ll have to take them out to at least pee in a few hours. I won’t make the same mistake of leaving them outside, though. Is it too much if I use two leashes?”
I laugh. “No, maybe that’s what they need. They’re strong. Look, I could help you with them.”
“What?”
“I could help you take them out… Exercise a little. I’ll fix the fence, and they could have a chance to run around inside. But we could leave the leash on them so that when it’s time to go back inside, you just step on the leash instead of actually trying to grab the dog.”
Madison’s eyebrows raise. “That’s actually a very good idea. How do you know so much about dog-sitting?”
“I’ve taken care of a few ill-behaved dogs in my day.”
Madison smiles gratefully, but then, she bites her bottom lip, and I’m instantly distracted. I think about what it was like pushing myself inside her and feeling her naked body next to mine. But it’s not right for me to just suggest we go inside and have sex again. I don’t want her to think I’m just using her.
I need to be more creative about how I bring this up.
“Do you have any more dogs coming in soon?” I ask.
Just then, one of the large dogs presses his face against the window just behind Madison. He howls and then looks at us again.
Madison jumps and presses a hand to her heart. “No, no more big dogs like this, but sometimes, people schedule with no notice. So, you never know.”
“It seems like business is good, then.”
I remember when she marched into my house asking for money and wonder why. Is this her only stream of income? Is she relying on these crazy dogs to pay her bills?
Madison shrugs. “It’s fine. I’m starting to make a name for myself, but this isn’t something I want to do all the time.”