Home Is Where Your Bark Is

Chapter 31

Still barefoot and with his heat cranked up to high, Jake drove around block after block, inching down alleys and occasionally pulling into parking lots to scan for tracks in the snow and rolling down his window to shout Seven’s name every couple of minutes. He didn’t know this area that well, but he drove in a grid, moving farther and farther out in each section before heading back to where he’d lost Seven’s tracks at 111th and Longwood to start over again in another direction.

Spying an empty parking space alongside the curb that was otherwise lined with cars, Jake pulled in and shifted into Park, then reached for his phone to pull up the map of the area that he’d been using as a reference. Leave no stone unturned. Seven was out here somewhere. Jake had checked with both animal control and the police; the dog hadn’t been picked up yet. Snowing as heavily as it was, it was likely he was hunkered down and waiting out the storm. If Jake didn’t find him first, someone would spot him tomorrow after the front passed and people ventured out again.

Alice’s comments about Lost Dogs Illinois had given Jake an idea. He only knew one person in Chicago who could be in instant contact with enough people around here to rapidly spread the word about Seven. The only problem was she couldn’t stand him. Setting his reservations aside, he’d texted Alyssa earlier that Seven was lost and out in the storm and asked if she’d be willing to post a picture and notification on her Instagram account for him.

She’d responded fifteen minutes later, asking him to send a few pictures and commenting that while Jake might not deserve any favors, no animal should be wandering the streets in this storm.

A few minutes later, she’d sent a screenshot of her post which included a close-up of Seven and its accompanying blurb, one that had given Jake a hearty laugh.

Hey friends, no need to tell me about turning the other cheek… My exxxx (yeah, the one I’ve told you about) lost his dog (yeah, the one he basically dumped me over). Karma talk aside, this poor pup is lost in this storm and needs our help. Text this number if you spot him please!

She’d posted a carousel of the pictures he’d sent and listed Jake’s number followed by the intersection where he’d lost track of Seven’s paw prints. Ever since, the texts had been steadily coming in, and a handful of calls too. Each time his phone dinged or rang, he glanced at his dashboard multimedia display, hoping to spot Jenna’s number or get a positive lead on Seven. So far, no such luck.

Jake figured this might prove to be the impetus he needed to finally get around to changing to a Chicago number. At the very least, once Seven was found, he’d need to keep his phone on Do Not Disturb for a couple of days until the popularity of this post died down. So far, he’d gotten at least a dozen “Asshole” texts and twice as many “Poor pup/Good luck” wishes. A clairvoyant had called after having a vision of Seven curled up by Garfield Park Conservatory. Four people had texted asking if Jake was on any dating apps yet and if so, which ones, and one person had texted simply “Marry me.”

Adding to Jake’s unease, Jenna still hadn’t called. “She’s with her family. Whatever this is, she’s okay.”

Still idling alongside the curb, Jake closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was close to twenty miles to his house from here. Seven had trekked the three-quarters of a mile back to his Jeep on his own. Was there any chance he’d try to get to Jake’s place next? Should Jake abandon his search here and head there instead?

Two or three inches of snow had already fallen, and the roads were a slushy mess but easy to navigate in his Jeep. Given how Jake hadn’t prayed in forever, it struck him as odd how the “Please, God” one-liners kept floating through his head. Please, God, let Seven be okay. Please, God, let me find him. Please, God, let me be heading in the right direction. Please, God, let Jenna be okay.

As his phone dinged with a new text, Jake cleared his throat before pulling it up.

You have the best smile. I’ve had such a crush on you forever.

Swiping Delete, Jake took a long breath. “This isn’t working.” The wipers pulsed, sending the new-fallen snow cascading off the windshield. He stared out ahead, hoping for a clearer answer than the indecision floating through his head. The snow fell fast enough to have a dizzying effect. Given the blanket of clouds and the snow, it was nearly dark already, even though sunset wasn’t for another forty-five minutes.

A hundred or so feet straight ahead, a solitary figure was headed down the sidewalk, the first person Jake had seen out walking in this in a while. At first, it was hard to tell if it was a man or woman or what direction they were walking, but something about the gait had him sitting straighter in his seat. A woman. Walking his direction. Then she passed directly under a streetlight—a woman wearing a small green hat and a light-colored coat or sweater with a blue strap hanging over her shoulder.

Jake threw open his door and bellowed out her name even though the dense falling snow sucked it right up. “Jenna!”

He unhooked his seat belt and, leaving his door wide open and the Jeep running, dashed out barefoot. After the first couple of strides, his bare feet no longer registered the sting of the snow underneath them, and he cursed his too-tight pants, but he kept running, closing off the distance between them. “Jenna!”

She stopped moving a few seconds as if registering that someone was running straight at her, then abruptly burst into a jog too. When they met, she fell into him, burying her face in his chest as he locked his arms around her. “I didn’t think you were real.” Pressed against him as she was, her words were muffled.

“You’re soaking wet, Jenna.”

“And you aren’t wearing s-s-shoes.” She said it with a laugh, but her teeth chattered wildly.

“I’ve been calling you.”

“I lost my phone.”

Pulling back a little, he lifted her chin so he could look her in the eye. He saw it then, how cold and exhausted she really was. “Have you been out in this the whole time?” As she nodded, his gaze fell on her lips. They’d gone entirely blue. “Come on, let’s get you warmed up.”

He lifted her into his arms without warning. She’d been walking this whole time; he didn’t need to carry her the last hundred feet, but he wanted to. She stiffened in surprise, but after a stride or two, she relaxed into the sway of his walk, her shivers reverberating against his torso. He pressed his lips against her temple, the sweet scent of whatever it was she put in her hair filling his lungs and comforting him better than any blanket he could’ve been offered.

“Why aren’t you wearing s-shoes?”

“Because my shoes and socks were soaked—like yours, no doubt. It’s warm in the Jeep. We’ll get you warmed up in no time.”

“That’ll be nice,” she said, her teeth still chattering. She lifted the blue strap off her shoulder, only it turned out not to be a strap after all. “I f-found this a couple streets over. Seven’s collar and leash. The handle got stuck on a fence p-post, and he wiggled free of it.” She pointed at a quiet pub not far past his Jeep. “I was heading in there to call you. Because of this.” She held up the dog tag he’d picked out earlier this week while waiting for the manager to finish his return of the kennel. “I almost had your number memorized, but not q-quite.”

Tears of relief stung Jake’s eyes, but he cleared his throat and blinked them back. There was a second spot now where Seven had definitely been. Added to this was the fact that Jenna had been in the area the whole time. They had to have been circling each other as they searched for Seven. Maybe he was hanging around here, too, and in one of these circles, they’d find each other just like this.

It was a hope worth holding on to.

***

“Let’s get that soaked sweater off before you get in, at least.”

Jenna lingered by the open passenger door of the Jeep. Jake was right. Her sweater was soaked through, the wool weighed down from the snow melted by her body heat. Teeth chattering, she started to pull it off but felt his hand on her arm and raised her arms, allowing him to pull it gently over her head instead. The leprechaun hat came off along with it; Jenna had forgotten she was still wearing it.

“I think I could wring this out, if I tried.” He smiled, then nodded toward the long thermal she was wearing underneath it. “How about that? Looks like it’s soaked too.”

Jenna looked down. Underneath her soaked thermal long-sleeved crew was nothing but a bra, one of her favorites even though she hadn’t expected anyone to see it, most especially Jake. “It’ll be f-fine.”

“My coat’s in the back seat. What about wearing that instead? It’s warm and dry.” As she was debating her options, he popped open the back door to grab it and deposit her sweater.

If she took a seat and stripped out of her shirt inside the Jeep, would he make it around to his seat fast enough to spy the little muffin-top that would undoubtedly form over the top of her jeans when she sat down? It’s not like he didn’t just carry you a hundred feet a moment ago, is it? He knows you like your grilled cheese with an extra side of cheese.

Not that there was much call for stripping down outside the car either. But it was dark and snowing heavily. Everyone in a hundred-yard radius was either home or tucked away inside the pub. Deciding to go for it, Jenna grabbed the bottom of her shirt and slipped it over her head. Afterward, she stuck out one arm, then the other, for Jake to slide his jacket over her shoulders.

Once it was on, she pulled her soaked braid out from underneath the collar. The jacket was too big, but soft inside and smelled of leather and pine, and Jenna never wanted to take it off. When she looked up at Jake, his gaze wasn’t even close to meeting hers. “Shouldn’t you at least be pretending not to stare?” With her shivering jaw, her words were broken into segments.

“Should I?” Blinking, he looked up from her breasts, his mouth quirking into a hint of a smile. “You’re so damn beautiful, whatever etiquette’s been engrained in me is conceding to all the blood draining south.”

A broken-by-shivers laugh erupted at this. “Mr. Stiles, if my teeth weren’t doing th-this,” she said, pointing her jaw, “I’d kiss you for that.”

The answering look in his eyes had her insides swelling with hope. He leaned in and pressed his lips gently against hers. He started to pull away but changed his mind and leaned in again, his mouth opening against hers and his hands closing around the bare skin of her waist inside the jacket. Jenna’s hands closed over his shoulders, her fingers melting the snowflakes collecting there.

The moment lasted just long enough for Jenna to marvel at how nothing had felt this unequivocally right in a long time as when they kissed. When they pulled apart, Jake pressed his forehead against hers. “If we didn’t have a dog out there who needs us, I’d warm you up and let you do a whole lot more of that.”

The warmth lighting inside her had nothing to do with the jacket she’d just been lent. “How about we take a rain check—or a s-s-snow check—because that s-sounds pretty good to me too.”

As Jenna stepped away to climb into the Jeep, he stopped her. “What about your pants? How wet are they?” His expression had grown serious again in light of the bigger concern they were facing of finding Seven. “Though I’m afraid the only thing I have to offer you in that department are the ones I’m wearing, but they’re god-awful tight in the crotch and pretty wet now too.”

Jenna laughed again. “My pants are fine, but I was absolutely going to ask the story behind y-yours.”

Jake pressed a kiss against her temple. “How about I tell you as I drive us to where you found that leash?”

“Sounds like a plan.”