The cracked sidewalk almost had her landing on her face when her sneaker got caught in the uneven pavement. Damn tree roots. If she had superhuman strength, she’d rip the thing up and put it through someone’s front window.

Her car was still in the driveway from where she’d left it yesterday.

So was Brody’s.

The sight of him leaning against his truck, as though she should have been expecting him, almost broke up the black clouds swirling around her. Almost.

Had she asked him to come by and forgotten about it? No, she would have remembered—because she would have made an effort not to be home.

She stopped in front of him, barely being able to hold on to Brinkley because he was so damn heavy.

“What are you doing here?” she asked point blank because she was not in the mood for bullshit.

“I told you’d I’d help you with this,” he said in that wonderfully deep voice of his, which she still wasn’t dreaming about.

“Thanks, but I’ve got it,” she replied, and stepped around him to her car.

“Elisa, wait.”

Like hell. She kept moving around his truck until she reached her car. Somehow he beat her there and was able to open the back door for her. It was a good thing, because she hadn’t thought about how she was going to do it while holding a dog.

“Thanks,” she muttered while gently sliding Brinkley into the backseat. She’d just opened the driver’s-side door, hoping Brody would get the hint and leave, when he stopped her.

His hands were warm and sure on her shoulders when he turned her to face him. “I know I’m the last person you want to see. But you’re barely hanging on right now. And if you can honestly tell me you can handle this by yourself, I’ll leave.”

The familiar sting of tears puddled beneath her eyes. Only by a miracle was she able to hold them back, because she would not cry in front of him. The last thing she needed was Brody knowing how deeply in love with him she still was. And he’d still come here after she’d asked him to leave the other day. Why was he making it so hard for her to stay away from him?

Why couldn’t he walk away without looking back like most men did?

“I told you, I don’t need your help.” She said the words without looking at him.

Oh, why are you lying to yourself? You know you can’t do this without him.

“Right,” he said in a tight voice. “Give me your car keys. I’m driving.”

Because it was pointless to argue, and also because a tiny part of her mentally sagged with relief at his presence, she handed the keys over and walked around to the passenger side. As soon as she was in the car, Brody backed out of the driveway and headed toward the vet’s office.

They didn’t speak, mostly because Elisa wasn’t in the mood to shoot the breeze. It seemed Brody wasn’t in the mood either if the hard set of his jaw was anything to go by. Maybe he wasn’t as happy to be around her as she was with him. Fine. Whatever. They’d get this done and go their separate ways. Her work at the restaurant was finished, and Kelly was back in town. There was really no need to see him again.

The sooner she got away from him, she sooner she could start the healing process. As soon as she got to Mongolia, she’d put her house on the market and never have to see him again.

They pulled into the vet’s office ten excruciating minutes later. Brody offered to carry Brinkley, which Elisa didn’t protest. Her arms felt like rubber from carting him around. And also, the look on Brody’s face wasn’t so thunderous when he made the offer. The way his eyes briefly touched on hers almost reminded her of when they’d first met. And how she’d been blindsided by him.

The technicians inside were overly nice, probably because they knew what Elisa was about to go through. Although she appreciated the effort, she wished they wouldn’t bother on her account. Their friendly smiles and sympathetic looks didn’t soothe her. The only thing that would ease her suffering was knowing that Brinkley was no longer in pain—and getting away from Brody.

Under normal circumstances, the intoxicating scent of his manly shampoo would have had her toes curling. Now it just made her feel even more on edge.

The young technician in a blue uniform led the two of them to a back room with all sorts of equipment and a metal table. The sight wasn’t reassuring. In fact, it only made her feel worse. It was so impersonal, like they trucked animals through here all day long, ending their lives.

You know that’s not true. Stop being so cranky.

Brinkley whimpered when Brody laid him on the table. The tech told them the vet would be with them in a moment.

“Would you like to stay with him?” she asked Elisa.

For some strange reason, Elisa tossed an unsure glance at Brody. He grabbed her hand. His palm was warm and so much bigger than hers. The feeling of his fingers entwined with hers eased her nerves slightly. As though just being with him could get her through anything. Even the heart-wrenching experience of losing a pet.

“I’ll stay with you,” he said with a reassuring smile.

The way his lips curved reminded her of the look he’d given her after they’d made love the first time. Her heart had turned over in her chest and had landed at the bottom of her stomach with a resounding thunk. Oh man, how could she ever have thought she could erase him from her subconscious? Elisa nodded to mask the need she had for him. “I’d like to stay with him until it’s over,” she answered. Brinkley deserved to have someone next to him until the end.

She and Brody sat in hard plastic chairs next to the metal table where Brinkley lay on his side. The dog had barely moved. In fact, it looked as though he was barely breathing. Elisa couldn’t bear to look at him. She knew she was doing the right thing, yet she felt like the worst possible person in the world.

“You hanging in there?” Brody whispered. His grip on her hand tightened.

He was too close, yet too far away. She wanted to crawl in his lap and bury her face in his neck. Then maybe she could inhale the scent that was so quintessentially Brody and forget everything. Forget about ending Brinkley’s life, an animal she’d spent so little time with but loved with all her heart. She could forget that she and Brody didn’t have a future together and that, when she left, she’d be leaving her heart with him.

She inhaled an unsteady breath and settled for returning the squeeze he’d given her hand. “I just want to get this over with.” Brinkley didn’t move when she touched his soft ear and stroked it. One eyelid opened and he gazed at her out of a soulful brown eye. A single tear rolled down her cheek, which Brody swiped with the pad of his thumb.

Shit, why did he have to touch her like that? Like he still cared? “Thanks for staying with me,” she said.

He slid an arm around her shoulders and pulled her tight against him. It felt so good to be near him again and feel those solid muscles beneath the fabric of his shirt, muscles that had been pressed intimately to every inch of her body. Now they were reassuring and still so strong but comforting at the same time.

“I told you I would stay,” he responded in a low voice.

I told you I would stay. Not I’m here because I want to be with you.

His presence was just an obligation, merely following through with what he’d told her. The realization should have devastated her. However, she was too numb to feel much of anything.

A moment later in walked the vet, a middle-aged man with thinning black hair and a slight paunch. His white doctor’s coat was immaculate and had his name and the acronym DVM stitched in blue.

His eyes softened when they landed on Brinkley. He whipped the stethoscope from around his neck and pressed the listening part to the dog’s midsection. “How are you doing this morning, Ms. Cardoso?” he asked while moving the device over Brinkley’s stomach.

“I’m okay.” But not really.

“You’re going to stay in here with him?” He directed his kind brown eyes at her.

“Yes.” She watched the doctor move around Brinkley, examining or looking for something, Elisa wasn’t sure. He wound his stethoscope around his neck. “Will it hurt him? I mean—he won’t feel any pain, will he?”

The doctor smiled. “It’s very fast—it happens in a matter of seconds. The first injection will make him fall asleep. He won’t feel a thing.”

That was a small reassurance that made her feel slightly better. Over the next few minutes, the vet and his technicians moved in and out of the room, bringing equipment and various supplies with them. They murmured to each other in soft voices, using terms she didn’t understand. She sat quietly in her chair with one hand on Brinkley’s head and Brody’s comforting presence next to her. Touching her. An arm around her, a hand tucked in hers, a thigh pressed along hers. Anything he could do to take away her doubt and pain.

Then the doctor slapped on a pair of examination gloves and held up a needle. “This is going to make him go to sleep. After that, I’ll inject him with a solution that will stop his heart.”

Elisa could only nod as a sick feeling formed in the bottom of her stomach. Brody leaned in close and pressed a soft kiss to her temple.

Just a few seconds later Brinkley’s eyes dropped closed as though drifting into a deep sleep. She didn’t want to watch but couldn’t tear her eyes away. His stomach still rose and fell with shallow breaths. She wanted to call off the whole thing. Was it too late to whisk her dog away from here and spend just a few more hours with him? It took every ounce of willpower she had to remain seated in her chair, to keep from yelling at the vet to stop the process.