“My ex? No way. Why would I miss someone who paid me such little respect that he couldn’t be brave enough to tell me the truth to my face? Nope.” I shook my head. I hadn’t thought about Alton in close to the two years since we broke up. Sure, it hurt like hell to be dumped the way I was, but I realized most of my tears were over the embarrassment and not over him.
That was the one thing I needed to help me fully get over it.
“Anyway, what time are you coming back tomorrow? Please don’t say you’re staying for two nights.”
He chuckled. “Joel and Hound aren’t good company, huh?”
“They’re fine. But they’re not you.”
“I’m hoping to finish up by late morning and be on the road well before noon. I’ll call you before I leave.”
“Okay.”
“Go keep Joel company.”
“Bye.” I hung up, grinning.
“Get off the phone with my eldest, girl, and come pull up this movie you promised we’d watch,” Joel’s deep voice bellowed up the stairs as soon as I opened the door.
“Coming,” I responded. “You want some ice cream?” I asked as I re-entered the living room.
“A woman after my own heart.” He winked.
Smiling, I headed to the kitchen to prepare two bowls of the chocolate chip cookie dough I purchased earlier. Joel and I spent most of the night watching movies on Netflix.
While both Hound and Joel were entertaining in their own right, I missed Micah. I couldn’t wait to see him the next day. I made up my mind to talk to him about me possibly staying longer there in Harlington. We didn’t need to define anything yet, but my lack of enthusiasm to return to my job, and how much the thought of not seeing him daily hurt, coupled with the unsolved murder of my grandfather, pointed toward it only making sense that I remain in town. At least, for a little while longer.
Chapter Thirty-Two
I awakened the next morning to a dog licking the tips of my fingers. “Mm,” I groaned, tempted to turn over. Instead, I blinked one eye open. “You have to go out to pee, don’t you?” I questioned, staring Hound directly in the eye.
He was so damned tall that he was face-to-face with me as I laid in Micah’s bed. He whimpered.
“Okay, okay.” I tossed the covers and stretched, getting up and grabbing the workout clothes I’d thrown on the chair the night before. In the bathroom, I took care of business, brushed my teeth, and changed.
“Let’s get going,” I said to Hound, jingling the leash I removed from the wall mount next to the door. Within twenty minutes of my waking up, Hound and I were on one of the trails. We started at a slow pace, warming up while he did his business. Once we settled in, I sped it up to a light jog. I was almost shocked at how quickly I’d adjusted to running with Micah a couple of times a week.
“You miss him, too?” I asked Hound as he drank the water I poured into his foldable bowl after our short three mile trek. He whimpered a little. “He’ll be back today. Now, let’s go eat.”
I laughed when Hound barked as if giving me a resounding yes.
About an hour later, I pondered what to do for the day while I waited for Micah. I remembered that I needed to return to my house to pick up some papers I needed. I’d pretty much decided on keeping the house but renting it out if I wasn’t going to be staying in town. Also, I wanted to look around a little more to see if there were any other possible clues that I overlooked.
I promised Micah I would wait for his return to go back to the house so he could accompany me. Being a woman of my word, I opted to put that task off until later.
Instead, I chose to open my laptop and check my work email to see if I had any responses from Lena. She’d posted the statement I gave her weeks ago and had responded to one of my emails. She hadn’t said much beyond letting me know she was okay. Seeing as how she was one of the only clients I truly cared about, I figured I’d keep an eye on her, to check-in.
Micah called around eleven, saying that he’d been on the road for half an hour. He was going to stop by LS Investigations once he arrived back in town and then make his way home. That truly was the best news I’d heard in over twenty-four hours.
Choosing to show off my cooking skills, finally, I headed out to the grocery store with Hound to buy all the items to make lasagna. Oddly, I wasn’t in the mood to go out for dinner that night, as Micah had suggested. I wanted him all to myself.
“Let’s see. It’s been a while since I’ve cooked this much,” I said to Hound. Frowning, I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. “I probably should also have chosen something that didn’t need to spend hours in the oven, huh?” I sighed.
He whimpered.
The temperature outside was nearly the mid-nineties. And we hadn’t officially hit the beginning of summer yet.
Finally, by around five, I’d finished with the cooking, and gladly exited the kitchen, to head to the living room. Instead of taking a seat on the couch, I found myself making my way to the door. A knock from the opposite side prompting me.
