He Gave Me Hearing, Then Taught Me What Silence Really Means novel Chapter 93

Milo stuck out his tongue and gently licked her hair.

The vet staff standing nearby offered comforting words. "He's going to be just fine. His leg was crushed by something heavy, but with a week of rest, he'll heal up nicely. Given his age, you have to make sure he doesn't wander off alone anymore. There are too many shady people out there looking to snatch pets."

Zoe's throat ached—the kind of physical pain that only comes from overwhelming emotional relief.

She swallowed hard and finally noticed Juniper standing off to the side, completely drenched.

Juniper had used a towel to aggressively dry her own hair, leaving it a bit messy with a few stubborn strands sticking up in a rather endearing way.

She was leaning heavily on a single crutch, her injured, bandaged leg bearing a striking resemblance to Milo's current state.

Juniper offered a small smile. "Zoe, Zara told me you were looking for your dog, so I thought I'd come out and try my luck. I can't believe I actually found him."

She made no attempt to hide her underlying motive.

Zoe was a shrewd businesswoman; she knew exactly what Juniper was doing, and she instantly regretted how coldly she had treated her earlier.

A person willing to go to such lengths for a client—willing to drag an injured leg through the pouring rain for hours—couldn't possibly be a bad person.

On the contrary, that relentless drive to achieve a goal reminded Zoe entirely of her younger self.

Except Juniper was softer, kinder.

Having navigated the cutthroat corporate world for years, Zoe found herself completely speechless.

All those calculated boardroom schemes and betrayals seemed entirely pathetic in the face of genuine, raw kindness.

It had been years since she last found herself at a loss for words.

Juniper looked down, her pale face framed by lowered lashes. "Milo is all patched up. You should take him home. He's probably terrified from being out there."

Zoe knew Juniper didn't have a car. She tightened her grip on Milo's leash as his tail gave another happy wag, and she spoke in a raspy voice, "Juniper, let me drive you home."

Her eyes curved into a fond smile as she slipped into the memory.

"Then why only five years? Did something happen to him?"

A tight lump formed in Juniper's throat. Perhaps it was the freezing wet clothes clinging to her skin that made her carefully guarded emotions surface.

She had spent years avoiding anything related to dogs.

"Yeah. There was a sudden rabies scare going around our neighborhood, and a dog catcher came through. I had just gotten home with my backpack, totally clueless about what was going on. My mom told me to go fetch our dog. His name was Lucky. I had just learned a word in school that meant good fortune, so I named him Lucky, hoping the name would keep him safe. Cute, right?"

She let out a hollow laugh. "My mom told me to go get him, and I happily ran off. He was hiding up on a hill for some reason, but he always listened to me. The second I called, he came running out, and I brought him home like always. Then my mom and my uncle sold him to the dog catcher. I stomped my feet and cried so hard. They sold him for twenty bucks. To me, that was a fortune. My mom shoved the money into my hands, and I threw it on the ground, crying that I just wanted my Lucky. But they all just stood there laughing. I chased the catcher's truck down the road. Lucky's legs were bound, and he kept trying to lift his head to look back at me. I swear I saw tears in his eyes. I haven't touched a dog since."

Screech!

The car slammed to a sudden halt on the side of the road. Juniper wasn't crying, but as a dog lover, Zoe could feel the crushing weight of that childhood trauma.