"I'm pretty good," I said, knowing it would be silent again if I didn't keep the conversation going.
"Oh, yeah?" he said.
"Yeah," I answered, even though his question was rhetorical.
I had already made a fool of myself in front of this guy. Twice. Being attracted to him was not even a factor since there was no chance of anything ever happening between us. I didn't even know him. He could be married for all I knew. It didn't matter. All I wanted was to smooth things over and not ruffle any feathers with the people at this ranch for the sake of the series. I wanted to do a good job for Alex, and I couldn't have these people mad at me.
I wasn't just going to sit in the truck in silence, so I continued speaking, saying the first thing on my mind.
"Percy Jackson is his name, but we call him PJ. That's my dog. He's an Aussie mix. He looks like an Aussie with the colorations and everything, but he has shorter hair—maybe mixed with Cattle Dog. Anyway, he's amazing. We train with a frisbee. It's a popular thing with people, it's called Disc Dog."
"I've seen it," he said.
I waited for him to say something else, but when he didn't, I continued. "My goal is to open a dog training facility—like a glorified dog park with paid memberships. I want to have kennels for overnight stays, and a big indoor space for agility training."
"You must live in a big city to support something like that."
"I hadn't really considered that. San Francisco is big, obviously, but I'm not sure if I'll stay there when I graduate. Monterey is pretty big, too. I guess I just assumed any size city could use a gigantic dog training facility." I was joking a little, but he took me seriously.
"I'm sure it's a good idea," he said. "Especially if that's what you love."
"Really, it's just animals that I love. The business is just a way to have a job and also be around animals all day. I'm just trying to think of something I can do with animals that's fun for them—something that's not a vet."
"Why don't you want to be a vet?"
"Because I'm too sensitive to only see them when they’re hurting."
"But you started vet school?"
"I was taking my pre-vet stuff. I'm not going through with it, though. Much to the chagrin of my parents."
"They're mad?" he asked.
"Disappointed," I said. "Which might be worse."
"Did you tell them you wanted to start a business?"
"Yes, I did, but they have all sorts of real-life concerns, such as where I'm going to get the money."
"Where are you going to get the money?" he asked.
I laughed. "I thought from them."
"Do they have that kind of money?"
"Yes, they do. But they're dead set on Ty and me making our own way. They were so proud of me becoming a vet. They used to always talk about how I was setting myself up for a good life. Now my sister has taken the spot of the golden child… we've switched places. She was always the misfit, the wild one, and now she's got all sorts of goals, and the roles are reversed."
"You can have your goals change."
"I know but she's setting herself up to make money. Ty's amazing. She had no real plans, and I was the one who liked math and science had it all figured out, and now she's got a YouTube channel, and I've…" I hesitated, not wanting to seem weak. "We've switched places, that's all. At least in our parents' eyes."
"Now you're the wild one?" he asked.
I laughed. "Yeah," I said, obviously joking. "What about you?"
"Are you asking if I’m wild?"
"I guess. I don’t know what I'm asking. Are you wild?"
