He gave that half growl, half purr, and laid his head back down on the table.

"You're quite the manipulator. Maybe that's why Marrok dumped you." She turned and headed for the tent entrance. "I'll start the phone calls to Immigration while I'm on the mountain with Gracie. If you have any trouble here, phone me."

"I believe I can handle one dog," Nick said dryly. "Since I started my own clinic before you were born."

"Don't be so prickly. You know I'm not questioning your capability. But I'm the one who decided not to-"

"Get out of here," Nick said. "You're making it worse. Prickly? Old men are prickly. I don't intend to be an old man for the next thirty years or so."

"Longer than that." Her smile faded as she looked back at Ned. "I can't believe he left him. He seemed hard, but when he touched that dog, he was…" She hesitated, thinking about that moment.

"What?"

She tried to sort out the emotions she had sensed in Marrok. "Close. It was almost as if they were part of each other. Not dog and master. Not even friends. So close that…" She shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. I felt as if I could feel the bond between them. He was like a honed blade, hard and sharp and glittering, but with Ned he was gentle, incredibly gentle."

"Then he'll probably be back for his dog. You won't have him on your hands for long."

"If I decide to let him have Ned back." She said over her shoulder as she left the tent, "He hasn't proved that he's very responsible. Dammit, he got the dog shot, and heaven knows what Marrok was actually doing up on the mountain."

But they had found a little girl because Marrok had taken Ned to search those ruins, she thought as she moved toward her trailer to pick up Gracie. That miracle had happened.

So stop whining and accept the good with the bad. She'd take care of his dog and get him well and strong. After that she'd decide if Marrok was worthy of having her return Ned to him. She could have a battle on her hands. He didn't appear to be a man who would let anyone decide anything concerning him.