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beautiful creature resting beside him.
    Her eyes were open, but listless, her breath shallow. She seemed not to care that I was in her space, but I passed my hand beneath her snout anyway. Her nose twitched and her eyes swung my way, then off in the distance.
    My experience with dogs was limited to Thor, who pretty much took care of himself. However, I could tellthat she was sick or injured, and I didn’t want to make it worse by examining her with amateur hands.
    Beyond the creek’s edge, Chance called my name.
    I popped up, waved a hand, and said, “Here.”
    He smiled, looking confused, the backpack loose in his hand. “Midnight dip?”
    If only we could. “Not quite. Come down here.”
    Chance was much steadier on his feet than I was and he made his way over to the three of us in no time.
    His forehead crinkled into concern. “Who’s this?” He knelt beside me.
    “I don’t know. She doesn’t have a collar. Do you recognize her?”
    Chance sat on his heels, studying the fluffy dog. “I don’t know anyone who has a collie. How do you know it’s a female?”
    Hmm. There was no answer to that. It was impossible to tell from her position on the ground.
    “I just…know.” I passed my hand beneath her nose again and gently stroked her cheek. Her eyes slid closed.
    “Is she hurt?”
    “I think so. I was afraid to touch her.”
    Chance chewed his bottom lip. “Well, the vet is closed at this hour and the closest emergency hospital is in Madison.”
    Madison, Wisconsin, was an hour and a half away. There was no way to tell what, if anything, was even wrong with the dog. I saw no blood, and she wasn’t whimpering or even cringing. She just looked…exhausted.
    “Oh, wait a minute.” Chance snapped his fingers. “Dr. Zimmerman is out of town until Monday. His mother is having foot surgery this weekend so he asked me to stop by and take a look at securing his porch.”
    “Well, I’m sure there’s someone taking his patients.”
    Chance smirked. “Yes, Doug Kessler. The kid usually works on my crew in the summer, but he’s interning for Zimmerman.”
    “Can you call him?” An intern had to be better than nothing.
    “Well, I could, but I just saw him down two beer bongs before all hell broke loose and now he’s helping Leo sort out the canine invasion.” Chance raised his eyebrows. “You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
    “I was just looking for Thor.” I circled around to my familiar. “Well, big guy, what do you think? Looks like there’s only one option.”
    Thor swung his head around and the collie lifted hers. He trilled softly and flopped his tail a few times.
    The sweet girl blinked her big lashes at Thor and put a paw on his hip. Prompted, she hoisted herself up and faced me.
    Chance and I exchanged glances.
    I took two steps back and said, “Come.”
    The collie perked her ears forward, but stayed put as Thor rose to his full height. He lowered his snout and nudged her gently.
    She took three seemingly painless steps toward me.
    I said to Chance, “She isn’t limping. That’s good.”
    I told her to sit and she did. A quick check beneath piles of fur didn’t reveal any lacerations or a collar so I asked Chance to bring the truck around to the curb closest to the trees.
    After he was gone, I knelt in front of Thor, patting his concrete shoulder.
    “Good job, boy. We’ll fix her right up.”
    Thor threw back his head and bayed. Then he leaned in and gave my ear a quick nibble.
    The collie cocked her head at me, her eyes like dull marbles that had once shone.
    “What happened to you, sweetheart?”
    In a way, I was glad Doc Zimmerman was out of town. This little girl needed far more serious care than any veterinarian could offer.

Chapter 5

    “Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.”
    —Groucho Marx
    The Queen Anne house was dark when we pulled into the driveway at eleven o’clock. One porch light was lit,