Page 82 of Raise Me Up

“Okay.Shit,” I mutter, glancing at Liam’s townhouse. We’ve covered it in mud once before, and he didn’t kick us out. Plus, he told me to make myself comfortable while he and Beau finish up work. Don’t think he meant bringing a random dog inside his house…butsemantics.

Patting my thighs, I lead the dog around the side of the house to the back door where Liam keeps his spare key. “Come on, boy. We gotta be quick about this.”

I usher him inside, cursing as he leaves muddy footprints on the wood floors. Not sure I’ve ever been accused of making good decisions. I’ll speed mop later.

Nails clack on the floor as the dog chases me upstairs to the main bathroom shower. As I turn on the detachable shower head, he sits down and wags his tail, looking up at me with far too much trust.

“You’re a good boy, aren’t you?” I coo, scratching behind his ears.

I give him more pets and encouragement as I wash him. At one point, while I’m reaching for the bottle of Dawn dish soap I’d snatched from under the kitchen sink, he shakes water all over me. Bubbles get into my eyes, and I have to take the sprayer to my face.

“Stas?” Liam’s voice echoes through the house.

Panic floods me.

“You weren’t supposed to be here when he got home,” I whisper to the dog. He simply nuzzles his wet snout against my arm.

I debate locking the bathroom door, but I doubt I’ll be able to sneak the dog by Liam when I’m finished cleaning him up.

Before I can come up with a plan, the bathroom door opens. I’m met with Liam’s confused face. I’m fully clothed, covered in mud and bubbles, hugging a random scruffy dog in his shower.

“What the fuck is that?” he asks.

It’s the closest to upset I’ve seen Liam, but even with the evident annoyance on his face, he manages to speak in his normal, calm, low tone.

I’m not sure it’s healthy that he rarely lets go. No one should hold everything in all the time.

“How did that get in here?” I say weakly, glancing down at the dog.

The dog wriggles out of my arms, covering me in another layer of bubbles. It pushes open the glass shower door and sits down in front of Liam, trembling with excitement.

That’s right. Win him over, boy.

No, I shouldn’t be thinking like that. With how well-behaved the dog seems, some nice family is probably missing him right now.

Liam stares daggers at the dog as it whimpers for his attention. “Why is this thing in my house?”

“I think he might be lost.”

Liam continues his staring contest with the dog. With each little tap of its paws on the tiles, I see him losing his resolve.

“Do you think he belongs to one of your neighbors?” I ask.

“Haven’t seen any of them with a dog like this.”

He lowers into a squat, reaching out to scratch the dog under the chin. The dog launches itself forward, and Liam ends up catching him in his arms with a grunt. I bite down on my bottom lip to hide a smile.

“Hello?” Beau pokes his head in the bathroom door.

The dog clumsily jumps over Liam’s shoulder to attack Beau with sloppy kisses.

“Woah. Hey there.” Beau laughs as he pats the dog’s bubbled head. “When did you get a pet?”

Liam’s gaze cuts to me. “I didn’t.”

Shrinking, I mumble, “I’m sorry. I’ll clean up. I was going to take him to the vet, but now that I think about it, there’s probably not a place open this late…”

Liam steps into the shower with me, ringed fingers gripping my jaw and tilting it up. “Don’t do that. Don’t ever cower to me.”