Henry looked back again before turning forward and slowly ambling along. His hips swayed from side to side, more prominent than they should’ve.
Poor guy.I thought, my stomach knotting when I mentally calculated how much longer it would be before I could afford his hip surgery.
Our usual pace would typically see us do only a mile or so over thirty minutes.
“You’re right. I’m being ridiculous.” I started to put my phone back in my pocket when it rang. My heart jumped in my throat when I saw Chael’s name flash across the cracked screen.
“He’s calling me.”
Henry whimpered when I accidentally pulled on his leash as I stopped short.
“Sorry,” I said before answering. “Hello?”
“Reese.”
Damn. A tremor ran through me. That was the second time I heard him say my name, and it sounded so damn right. It was almost as good as peeling open the wrapper of my favorite milk chocolate bar from the specialty market, which I bought once a month.
“Chael.” God, I hoped he didn’t hear how breathy my voice sounded. I cleared my throat. “How are you?”
“Better now.”
My stomach jolted. Did he mean that?
I shook my head.Don’t read too much into his words, Reese.
I’d done enough of that in my past relationships. Wait. What the hell was I even thinking? This wasn’t a relationship.
“I’ve done some looking into Dr. Pines,” he said.
That was good. At least he was taking this situation with the nursing home seriously.
“Did you find out anything I should know about?”
“Not quite. But enough to make me question what he’s doing.”
“That sounds ominous.” I bit my bottom lip as I thought about what I knew about Dr. Pines. He was never particularly friendly. Even when my nana was under his care, I was just the relative of one of the residents at Creekview. I always chalked it up to him being so busy as the only doctor on staff at the nursing home.
I told Chael all of this.
“Have you gone back to Creekview this week?”
I pulled the phone from my ear and swung my head to toss a few of the faux locs over my shoulder, pushing them out of the way.
“Yes, I spend four to five nights volunteering there.”
“That’s generous of you. In my world, we always show respect to our elderly.”
“World?” Laughter spilled from my lips. “You say that as if you were from a different planet or something.”
An odd sound pushed through the phone, something between a snort and a grunt.
“Not that far out,” he commented cryptically.
A pinch found its way between my eyebrows as I tried to decipher his meaning.
“Have you had any recent encounters with Pines?”
“No.” I shook my head. “Not really.”
