Page 34 of Pinch of Love
“You said the chipmunk was injured?” I asked.
“It tangled with the hose when I tried to water the plants Millie brought over.”
I turned to Millie with her familiar eye twinkle, and she shrugged. “Who knows how long Maya will be here in town? She needs something to make this place feel like home.”
Maya continued, “I’m only going to be here for a little while, Grandma. Anyway, her tail got tangled, and she made this horrible noise. Next thing I know, her tail is sideways.”
I turned around and bent down to look at the chipmunk who had one eye permanently placed on Chewie. The little rodent was as flat as a pancake, and its breathing was rapid.
The tail had a definite crook in it, but I highly doubted it had to do with the hose. I stood up.
As I readied myself, I heard a man’s voice tumble down the stairs.
“Millie, I came as fast as I could. Where’s your granddaughter? Where’s the chipmunk?”
My gaze flashed to the sound to see plucky Jack darting toward us with some sort of animal cage and a medic bag.
I turned to Millie. “What the hell is he doing here?”
She feigned innocence. “I didn’t know how long it might take you to get here, so I called in backup.”
“I never need a backup,” I grumbled, glaring at Jack.
He always had some dopey grin on his face, and today was no different.
Jack looked at me and nodded, setting the down the crate. “Makes sense since I am a volunteer EMT.”
Maya chuckled. “Thank you for coming over.”
What did she mean,thank you? I was enough.
“I have it handled, Jack. You can go back to surfing the waves of Buttercup Lake.”
His brows rose. “The lake doesn’t have waves, Cash.”
“Right. That’s the joke.” I grunted something nobody heard and snuck a look in Maya’s direction. She didn’t seem to be overly enthused about Jack, but what if she was good at hiding it? Maybe her grandma was playing us against each other.
“We’ve got it,” I told Jack and patted his back extra hard.
He wheezed and picked up the crate. “Okay. I’m off to pick up a shift at the hardware store.”
“You do that,” I snapped unexpectedly.
“Thanks again,” Maya called out.
I frowned at Maya, who was already busy studying her grandma.
“How did Chippy get out of that contraption anyway, Grandma Millie?” Maya glanced at her grandma, waiting for an answer. “She was in the dumbwaiter protected from the dog.” Maya glanced at me. “That is a dog, right?”
“For your information, Chewie’s life was on the line. I saved her, and she’s a teacup Pomeranian,” I explained, realizing my tone was still aggressive. So, I added a smile.
“Good hunting dog, obviously.” Maya grinned, making my pulse race.
I really liked Maya’s sense of humor.
“Obviously,” I said, a little gruffer than I intended.
Walking over to a closet where I usually stored cleaning products, I opened the door and found a cardboard box and a pink pair of rubber kitchen gloves.