Mimi's Daddy Ch. 02: Temptation

Four Puppies and Temptation

Grateful for the covered area in front of the shelter's front door, Adam pulled his truck under the canopy and parked. Behind his seat, the puppies complained loudly until he got out of the vehicle. When he opened the door next to them, the momma dog flinched, and the puppies went quiet. "It's okay, momma. We're going to get you fixed up." As he drew the tarp and mother dog toward him, Lucky's eyes never left her puppies. "I got them, don't you worry. I've babysat before. Right after I get you inside, I'll bring them in." Careful of her leg, he picked her up. As he eased the cab door shut, her skinny body shifted in the tarp and she yelped in pain. "Sorry, momma." The lights were on. That was something. They better be open. "Don't worry, girl."

When he tried the door to the rescue with his elbow, it swung open. Walking in, he stared at the empty desk. "Hello," he called out, dripping on their mat. "Is anyone here?"

Out of sight, a sweet voice called out, "Hello. I'm Mimi. I'm around the corner." With the wounded dog in his arms, he followed her voice into a long hall of kennels. The barking caused the momma dog to shrink into his chest and whimper.

Sitting inside a kennel, holding a cup of coffee, was a plump, cute cupcake of a girl. With her curly red hair drawn back from her smiling face, she was a pretty picture. Tucked in the corner, the dog with her was so small that he almost missed her tiny body. He said, "I need help." As soon as she saw momma dog, the young woman was up and slipping through the kennel door.

"Oh my gosh, what happened to her?"

"A Chevy hit her and then took off. It was dark, so I didn't get the plates." Dripping all over their floor, he said, "I thought you might have a vet on your staff."

"We do, but she is part-time." Focused on the momma dog, she eased the tarp back and saw the twist in her leg. "Ouch. Did you find the puppies?" When she finally looked up at him, he smiled at her. Her lips parted to say something, but she just stared at him.

"Do I have mud on my face?" he asked.

Blushing, she said, "No... It's nothing, I'm sorry. Put her over here." He liked the way she kept looking at him. When she stepped toward the employee section, he followed. She led him to a tiny room labeled New Dogs. The cutie snuck two more fleeting glances at him. Within the small room, plenty of towels and blankets were stacked.

With her coat still on and her phone in her hand, a wispy blond came down the hall to join them. She smiled at him and the dog in his arms. When the cupcake saw her, she said, "Hey Jen. We have an emergency here. There was an accident down the road, and this gentleman picked up this injured girl and her puppies." The pretty redhead almost touched his arm as she turned to him, but her fingers drew back. She asked, "Do you mind if Jen takes a picture of you for our social media? Would that be okay with you, Sir?"

He felt an unexpected tingle at her word choice. "That would be fine."

Trying to hold the dog as carefully as he could, he posed for the photos as Jen captured a quick shot.

Patting the towels she had placed as a pad on the floor, Mimi said, "When you are ready, you can set her down here."

The blond nodded as she looked at the pictures she had taken. "Hero of the Day, perfect."

Adam said, "I'm not a hero. Only a monster would have left her."

Adjusting the towels, Mimi said, "You'd be surprised what people do." She glanced toward him and then quickly away. Standing up, she patted her skirt down. "I saw your truck. Would you like your company mentioned?"

As carefully as he could, he knelt and placed momma on the ground. "Sure."

When momma dog looked up at him with her big brown eyes, he reassured her. "I'm going to go get them."

Jen asked, "Have you thought of a name for her? We let heroes name the animals they bring in around here."

"Lucky."

...

With all five complaining puppies stuffed in his jacket, he supported their squirming lumps as he walked up to the cupcake.

"Oh my gosh, how many are there?"

"Five." He smiled down at her as he unzipped his jacket. A dark nose popped out, sniffing. "Should I put them with their mom?"

"Not until the vet sees her. I called and she should be here in half an hour." Mimi peered at the little face poking out of his jacket. "Were any of them hurt?"

He shook his head no.

Jen squealed at the cuteness. "One more picture." Lifting her phone, she snapped a shot of him and said, "I love puppies." Jen reached out her hands to claim one.

"They are muddy and wet," Adam warned her.

"We are used to that." Jen claimed a puppy and cuddled them to her chest. Its little tail gave a tentative wag.

The next one to pop a head up was complaining and calling to its mom. When Mimi laughed, her pink gummy bear earrings swayed against her peaches and cream throat. Such a cutie. As she claimed the vocal puppy, the back of her knuckles skimmed his chest, causing a frisson of sensation. Stepping back a step, she dampened her lips. Her retreat made him want to move closer. When she reached out her hand for another pup, he obliged her and lifted one free.

She said, "I've got the perfect spot for these guys. Jen, can you go get Nanny Fluff?"

"Already on my way."

Adam had a feeling the puppy Jen was carrying would not spend a lot of time on the floor, muddy or not. Curious, he asked, "Who is Nanny Fluff?"

The cupcake said, "The sweetest golden you will ever meet. She is unofficially our office dog. Because she has seizures, she needs expensive medication several times a day. It's been hard to find her a family."

Jen called out, "Can we keep them behind the desk with us?"

"Of course. They just need a little drying off. It's never too early to begin socialization. We can bathe them once we get momma sorted." There was a low-latched gate at the entrance to the workspace behind the front desk. After the cutie swung it open, she placed the two pups on a large dog pillow bed on the floor. As they complained, he began fishing their siblings out of his jacket. His wet shirt was trashed with puppy prints. Hearing her babies, momma Lucky whined in the other room,

The cupcake called out to the worried dog, "We will get them back with you as soon as we can."

When Jen returned, she brought with her a fluffy golden retriever, prepared to start her shift as a nanny. Her whole body wiggled when she saw the puppies. The dog pushed her way through the people to get to the squirming mass. With careful feet, she stepped in among them and lay down to clean them. The cutie smiled at him again with her pretty, kissable mouth and bright blue eyes.

Adam asked her, "Have we met before?"

"I don't think so." She wiped her hands on a towel and offered it to him.

"I'm at June's Coffee regularly."

"I've never been there," she said.

"It's near here." Her hands were ringless. It had been a while since he had had a fun, low-commitment hook-up and she was definitely his type. "Would you care, by any chance, to go get a slice of cake after work?"

She held up her hands like he was an eight-year-old offering her a lizard. "I don't date, but thank you."

"My apologies. You don't wear a ring."

"Oh, I'm not married. I just don't date."

He tilted his head. Women didn't turn him down very often. Amused, he fished out one of his cards and offered it to her with two fingers.

She looked at it like he had tried to offer her a cockroach instead of a lizard.

He said, "My info for the social media."

"Oh, gosh." She took it then, flustered and unable to look directly at him. "I'm sorry, of course."

"You aren't a nun, are you?"

His question startled her, confusion wrinkled her brow. "I'm not even catholic."

Adam zipped up his jacket over his ruined shirt and winked at her. "If you change your mind about the cake or you decide you want a fresh coffee, you can use my number for that too."

His card fluttered from her fingers when she looked directly at him, and she scrambled to catch it. "Thank you..."

Adam turned toward the door.

She called after him, "But I won't use it. I don't..."

He eased out of the entrance and back into the bad weather.

"Date."

***

When Doc Carol blew through the door, bag in hand, her ponytail had hay in it and she smelled like horses. Jen, Mimi, and Carl were each drying a freshly bathed puppy while their momma, Lucky, slept. They'd given her the medication Doc Carol had left them for this sort of situation. Coming to an abrupt halt at the desk, Carol asked, "What's the rush? Where's the emergency? Those guys don't look bad. A little thin."

"Not these babies. It's their mom. She got hit by a car during the rainstorm." Mimi tumbled Brown Foot into Jen's lap next to his sister. "I'll take you to her."

"I'm not surprised. It's still buckets and barrels out there. Luckily, the farm I visited this morning had both the horse and her new foal warm and dry in their barn. She had a perfect baby. I got here as fast as I could." Carol followed Mimi to the back room. "Is she in there? Did you need a muzzle?"

"No. She did fine. We've been keeping her apart from the babies. Her leg was broken in at least one place and she was pretty scared. We gave her a sedative and some pain medication, like you said." Doc Carol was fresh out of Veterinarian school, and her devotion to animals was without parallel. Mimi had fought hard with the shelter owners to hire her. They had worried about Carol's youth, but Mimi had complete faith in her. Wasting no time, the vet slipped through the door and went to kneel next to the wounded dog. Mimi's shoulders relaxed. Now she could focus on the family that was about to arrive.