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“Tired, and her parents are going to be shocked when they see what a mess she is. She desperately needs a bath. She’s wearing pieces of bracken and brambles. She’s way overweight, so all this running has to have been hard on her. How are we doing on the tide?” Maisie asked.

“We have to hurry. It was already up to my calves.”

“Tell me about it.” She sounded so defeated, he worried she’d injured herself.

“Are you okay?”

“No.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I twisted my ankle. I was trying so hard to keep up with the dog and not lose her, I was moving too fast for the terrain. I don’t think running for the causeway is going to work for me,” Maisie said.

He’d figured he would carry the dog, and he and Maisie would run together once they reached the beach, but he couldn’t carry her and the dog and make it back down the hill and to the causeway in time before the water was too deep. At high tide, the loch would be nearly fourteen feet deep.

He finally reached Maisie, who was sitting on a rock, Lady sitting nearby. Her ears perked up when she saw him, and she stood, her tail wagging like crazy. She was dirty, just like Maisie had said, but man, she had really gained weight since the last time he’d seen her. He brought out a treat for Lady. She came over for it, and he greeted her, at the same time putting on the collar and leash he’d brought with him. She sniffed at the dog biscuit but didn’t take it.

“Either she has been overeating since I last saw her, or—”

“Don’t tell me she’s going to have pups.” Maisie sounded worried, her brow furrowed. “I have her collar.” Maisie pulled it out of her pocket. “I just couldn’t put it on her.”

He handed Maisie the lead and crouched down to check her ankle and saw the bruising and swelling. “It’s swollen, alright.”

“Can we make it down to the causeway?” she asked.

“We’ll try. You hold on to Lady’s leash, and I’ll carry you down the hill.”

“No way. It’s too slippery and dangerous. We’re likely to fall and hurt ourselves more.”

“We’ve got to try.” Though he seriously doubted they would make it in time, he wasn’t one to give up that easily. The water would be so cold, he couldn’t risk trying to get the dog and Maisie across the causeway if the tide was high enough to force them to swim. “Just easy does it.”

He checked over Lady next. Her belly was swollen, and her nipples were distended. She was very affectionate with him. Other conditions could cause weight gain, a swollen tummy, and changes in appetite, but he knew she was having pups. He was surprised Bruce hadn’t told him.

“Worst-case scenario, we can build a fire down below. I saw a firepit, probably built by someone who got stuck on the island exploring and didn’t leave fast enough.” He lifted Maisie into his arms.

“Like us. What time does the tide go back out?”

“Eighteen hours from full tide to low tide.”

“No way.”

“Yeah. I hope Grant can figure out a way to come and rescue us, but it’ll probably take them a couple of hours at least,” Robert warned, trying to inch his way down one of the paths, holding her against his chest while she held on tight to Lady’s leash, the dog following behind them.

“I can’t believe you and I are in another mess like this together.” She sighed.

“I’m sorry.”

“Oh, it’s not your fault. It’s Lady’s. Normally, dogs will come to me with some coaxing, but she was just too wary, and I wasn’t smart about bringing treats. You didn’t bring anything to cook over a fire, did you?”

“No, I’m afraid all we’ve got is the box of dog biscuits.”

“Well, Lady is all set then, though she didn’t eat the other one you tried to give her.”

Robert kept making the slow, tedious journey down the rocky, treacherous bracken trail, slipping a couple of times, Maisie tensing and letting out a soft cry when he did. It was a lot harder to do while carrying someone. Every once in a while, Lady pulled at the leash as if she’d decided to take a different trail, which had Maisie calling out, “Lady, come.”

But since they were also worried about Lady now that he knew she was pregnant, they were taking it slow for her too.

When they finally reached the base of the granite hill, he set Maisie down and looked at the water that now separated them from the mainland. Then he got on his phone and called Grant, glad he could get reception. “Hey, are you up for a rescue mission?”