Page 8 of Home for Nathan (Secret Springs)

“Poor puppy. Um, what do you need me to do? Should I call the vet?”

Zion shook his head. “Let’s give her a minute. She doesn’t seem hurt. More just skinny and scared and cold.” Zion settled her on his lap, and Nathan set to drying her off a little bit more enthusiastically, since his hands weren’t shaking.

Maybe he needed to go to the gym. There was a gym right in the Merchante building. He could just go in, ask Ben how much it cost, and start working out. Be a stud.

Or he could just walk around this place for a while and…

Towel off dogs and feel like he was going to die. Either way, what bliss?

“I wonder how she got all the way up here. I mean, it’s not like this is on the road or on the trail. She seems in pretty good shape, really. Skinny, sure, but honestly, it could have been so much worse.” Zion shivered, but he was looking at the dog with a really sweet smile.

Nathan shrugged. “I’m not sure. I mean, who knows how long she’s been living off the land. She could have been lost from a campground, a rest stop, even, you know, if they just stopped here to eat. What if she jumped out of a boat in the river, and they couldn’t find her?”

Zion blinked up at him, then smiled. “I love how your mind works.”

His eyes went wide, and he swallowed hard. “What?”

“I can almost hear you thinking, worrying. You are amazing.”

He didn’t feel particularly amazing, but he’d take it. “Thank you. That’s…sweet.”

“I mean it.” Zion gave him a broad wink. “Though not the time for romance, huh? Ugh!”

The dog had licked Zion’s face, swiping right over his mouth.

“She likes you.”

“She can like my neck or something. Not my mouth.” But Zion was laughing.

“Yeah. Whew. Somehow, even though she was in the river, she needs a bath.”

“So do I, now.” Zion rolled his eyes. “So much for me being all suave homeowner.”

“Well, is there a shower down here?”

“No, but there is out by the yurt, and it has its own little hot water heater.” Zion looked around. “Let’s find something we can use for a leash.”

“Sure. You hold her, and I’ll find something. Are there old sheets with the old towels?” Maybe he sounded a little dubious about towels from a box.

“Hey, I found those in the house and washed them in color-safe bleach…”

“Hmmm.” Nathan wasn’t sure how he felt about that. But he guessed he didn’t have to feel any way about it.

“Oh, hey. There’s a catch leash in my car if you want to go get it. I always keep one just in case I see a stray dog on the road.”

He had an awwww moment with that, but he just headed to the door.

“On it! I’ll be right back.” Nathan trotted back outside, and he was definitely going to start working out.

He put a hand under his belly as if to hold it up, and he wasn’t even that big yet.

Well, he was bigger than he had been when they’d started seeing each other, he guessed, and he had to be cognizant of that and give himself some grace.

He found Zion’s vehicle unlocked, which he should have realized when they parked—he was really going to have to talk sternly to the man about security—and then found the catch leash down in the door pocket of the passenger side.

He grabbed it, then headed back in so he could hand it to Zion. “Here you go. Do you need any help?”

“Just bring the stack of towels?” Zion asked with a grin.

He slipped the leash over the dog’s head.

She fell right in with him as they headed out the back door, so she must be leash trained.

He was gonna have to call the animal shelter and see if anybody had asked about her.

Maybe put up some signs around town, because it would suck if somebody had just lost her.

Nathan grabbed the stack of towels to follow Zion, and they walked to the back toward the yurt, which he could see now from the walkway.

It stuck up with a little white tent top, but it was really cool.

It was obviously a permanent structure, which he saw as they rounded the bend in the yard.

It had a little deck, it had all sorts of neat little patio furniture and yard art outside, and then off to one side there was a tiny outhouse.

Attached to the other, there was an outdoor shower that would be really cold in the wintertime, he guessed, but nobody would stay here in the wintertime anyway.

“Could you grab the box of supplies from inside the yurt, Nathan? Or you know what, you hold her, and I’ll do that,” Zion said.

“Thanks.” He chuckled. “I’m about worn out. I didn’t realize how hard all of this dog adventure stuff was going to be on the pregnant guy.”

“Yeah, well, for me this just means I don’t have to work out today.

” Zion winked. “In fact, I haven’t had to work out since I’ve been here because I’ve been sanding floors.

” He made his way into the yurt, the little floorboards on the deck creaking, and he came back out with a bottle of what looked like shampoo.

“Found it! When I first moved out here, only the power to the yurt worked. This ought to make her a little less stinky. We’ll have to see if she needs flea shampoo or something afterward, but she looks pretty good. ”

“Right. It’s not exactly like we’re in fields of clover here to attract fleas.

” While they were in the mountains, they were considered a high-desert part of the state of Colorado, and they didn’t have the big alpine meadows until you got up a lot higher than they were here.

Secret Springs had sort of been carved out of a rocky canyon in the river. They were way more likely to get ticks.

“That’s okay, girl.” Zion took the leash back.

“Let’s get in here and take a warm shower and get nice and clean.

” Zion stripped down to his underwear which just made Nathan a little stupid, because God he was cut and hot and all the things that Nathan really wasn’t, and he could just stare for hours.

“You okay?” Zion looked back at him as he started the water.

“Uh-huh. Do you need me to do anything?”

“Well, I would offer to let you join us, but I don’t want you to slip or anything. Maybe you and I could take a shower together later.”

He flushed, his cheeks heating almost painfully with pleasure, but he couldn’t help his smile widening to something probably a little predatory. “I think that sounds like a great idea.”

“Wonderful.” Zion was so easy and so kind.

He got the water up to a nice temperature—Nathan could tell because a tiny bit of steam was rising from it—and then he got the dog and himself under the spray, soaping them both up.

The dog was a good girl. It was like she seemed to realize that Zion was helping her, and she just stood still and let him wash her down.

Of course, if she’d been an outdoor sports dog, maybe she was used to having frequent baths.

“All done.” Zion turned off the water, and the two stepped out of the little shower, Zion grabbing the towels that Nathan had carried. He dried himself off first and then the dog. “All right. I think we’re good to go. Let’s see about getting her something to eat and some water, huh?”

“Sure. Do you have anything in the house?” Nathan still had two towels in his arms. He was pretty impressed by that actually.”

“I think I probably have some hot dogs, maybe? I don’t know. That may not be the best thing for her, but at least it’ll be filling, and then we’ll look at getting her better food after she’s settled a little.”

Nathan nodded, but curiosity won out. “Are you going hang on to her until you know whether or not you can find her people?”

“Yep. I guess I don’t love the idea of taking her to one of the shelters here. I know there are some no-kill rescues, but they’re all so full. I have a friend in Denver who does dog rescue, and she’s always complaining about how no one will foster the dogs, and I have plenty of room for her.”

“Oh, that’s really sweet.”

Zion shrugged. “I’m selfish, I guess. Sometimes, it’s hard to be all alone here. I just want some company.”

“Yeah, well, I think you’re great. We should go find out if she’s microchipped.” That would be the first step, then they could—Zion could—deal with the rest.

“Oh, that’s smart. I think that’s a great idea. You’re kind of a brilliant guy.”

Nathan rolled his eyes. “No, I just want to deal with seeing if she has a family before I fall in love with your dog. So, we’ll run down to the vet once she’s settled and have Dr. Gary check for a microchip, and that way you know if somebody’s looking for her.

That way you haven’t stolen their dog, right, because that would be crappy. ”

“Exactly, and we’re not those kind of people.” Zion dried his hair off with one of the last two towels. “How do you know the vet?”

“Ham and Swiss on rye.” He rolled his eyes. “And you’re absolutely right. We aren’t those type of people.”

Zion grinned at him. “I think I’m gonna like her. Is it mean to hope that nobody’s lost her?”

“No.” He winced. “Probably. Let’s go with being tickled that, if we can’t find her owner, she’s going to have a good home.”

“Oh, man, you’re super good at that.”

That made him snort right out loud. “Look, rationalizing has sort of become my new stock in trade. I mean, I’m an unmarried pregnant omega without a good job, whose life skills involve making blankets and wall hangings.”

They got the pup back in the house, and he got on the phone to see if Dr. Gary was available today while Zion got her some hot dogs. One way or the other, they were going to have to head back into town just to get her some food. He made them an appointment for four thirty to get her checked out.

Then they sort of sat there and stared at each other a little bit.

“Well, I could give you a tour of the house, such as it is.”

Zion was so weird. “Hey. You’ve got a house, and you’re working on it. It’s so cool. I don’t even know how to do some of this stuff.”

“Yes, but you do know how to do other things, and trust me, I don’t know how to do some of this stuff. Thank God for YouTube. I’m learning lots, but I’ve also messed up quite a bit.”

“That makes sense, believe it or not.”

Zion blinked at him. “Which part?”

“Well, it’s not like you’re a professional handyman or contractor or carpenter, right? Of course you’ve messed it up. Some of it you’re going to get correct, and you’ve learned a ton.”

Did he sound as much of a Pollyanna as he felt he did? Possibly.

“I do like you.”

He rolled his eyes. “I hope you do. We spent the night together.”

The dog drank some water, ate all the hot dogs, and crashed, laying sprawled out in a patch of sunlight. Poor baby, she was just exhausted, and it broke Nathan’s heart a little bit.

“She’s awful cute, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, if she does have a family, then we’ll get her back to them, and then we’ll go to the shelter and find you a dog, that is equally cute and desperate for someone like you.” Easy as pie. Zion deserved a dog, so Nathan would figure out a way to make that happen.

“That’s a good answer too. I mean I hope that I get to keep her because I saved her life, you know? But if I don’t, then it’s karma, and that means I’ll get a good dog.”

“Exactly.” Nathan grinned and took a deep breath letting the stress of the dog rescue wash away from him. “Now, how about you show me your house?”