Page 42 of Smoky Mountain K-9
She shook her head as she fastened her seat belt and started the engine. “No, but I’m just following the vet.” She pointed out the windshield.
“Holler if you lose her, and I’ll get you there.”
“Yep.”
He shifted forward as she put the truck in gear and pulled away from the curb. Bracing himself, he stroked a hand through Maverick’s wet fur, trying to calm the animal. He could tell from the dog’s wide-eyed look he was still scared. Carter would be too if he struggled to take a breath without coughing or wheezing. He was scared for him.
Rubbing his temple, Carter said a silent prayer Mav would be all right. He couldn’t lose him. Not like this.
Twenty-Three
Mara stood in the doorway to the kennels at the vet’s office, watching as Carter gave Maverick’s head one last stroke before rising and backing out of the cage. The dog didn’t move, too worn out from his ordeal to care that he was somewhere foreign.
Metal clinked as Carter shut the door and latched it. When he turned and headed toward her, Mara sucked her bottom lip between her teeth and bit down to hold back the tears pressing against the backs of her eyes. His weary, dejected expression tore at her heart. She could tell he didn’t want to leave the dog, but there was nothing more he could do here tonight. Maverick would be okay, and they all needed to get some rest.
Without a word, Mara took his hand. Squeezing it, she offered him a tremulous smile, then turned and headed for the exit. Cold night air blasted them in the face as they pushed through the door. She was glad she’d started the truck a few minutes ago. Carter was still damp and had to be freezing.
She unlocked the doors and climbed into the driver’s seat. He got in beside her and quickly pointed the air vents at himself and turned on the seat warmer.
“Where do you want me to take you?” Mara turned in her seat to look at him. “You can’t go back to your house. Do you want to come home with me?”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Can you run me to the station first? I have a change of clothes in my locker.”
“Sure.” Mara clicked her seat belt into place, then put the truck in gear, heading for the sheriff’s department.
Silence reigned in the cab as she drove, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. After the craziness of the last couple of hours, they both needed to process things.
She pulled into the lot at the station and parked near the rear entrance.
“Do you want to wait out here or come inside?” Carter glanced at her, one hand on the door latch. “I might be a bit. I want to talk to Ben.” He pointed at the black SUV parked two spaces over.
“I’ll come inside, then, if you don’t mind? I’d like to hear what he has to say too.”
Carter nodded and pulled on the door handle. Mara followed him from the truck and into the building. They stopped long enough to get her a visitor’s badge, then he led her down a long hallway to the ready room.
“I’m going to run in and change.” He pointed to the locker room door markedMen. “You can hang out in here.” He gestured to the couches in the common area. “I won’t be long.”
Mara nodded and wandered over to sit down as he disappeared through the doorway. She glanced around, taking in the basic, office-style décor. A small kitchenette took up one corner, the smell of stale, burnt coffee wafting her way from its direction. She hated that smell. It reminded her of the hospital consultation area she’d been sequestered in just before the doctor came in to tell her Blake had died.
Getting up, she paced to the door and glanced through the window inset into the wood. The station was quiet at this hour, so there was little to see.
The door behind her swished open, and she turned to see Carter walk through, dressed in black tactical pants and a department t-shirt. He held his balled-up soggy clothes in one hand and carried his coat in the other.
“Better?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Much. Let’s go find Ben.” He walked toward her and pushed the door open.
They wandered further down the hall and made a turn before he stopped in front of Ben’s office. When they peered in, Ben looked up.
“Hey.” The pensive expression turning his brows down lifted. “How’s Maverick?”
“Exhausted. But he should be fine. Kay put him on oxygen and gave him an antidote to the tear gas. He was resting when we left. We’ll know if there were any permanent effects in the next couple of days.” Carter tucked his clothes under his arm and stuffed his hands in his pockets, his muscles tense.
Mara curled her hands into fists to keep from reaching out. Everything about his posture screamed that he was walling himself off so he could hold it together. She didn’t want to do anything to undo him here. He could fall apart later, when they were alone.
Ben blew out a breath. “Good. Hopefully, he’ll make a complete recovery. He only spent about five minutes in the gas. I looked it up. It’s not lethal to a dog his size until after about thirty minutes.”
“Yeah. I’m just thankful we got that camera system up when we did. We wouldn’t have known about it until it was too late.”