“You’re welcome.” This was such a hassle; I had to put on clothes and wipe my face, but worse than that, I had to pretend I wasn’t a mess.In front of people!Ugh! “Do you want me to run home and grab my car?”
“No. I want to walk.” Mikayla was such a good friend, and I nodded to myself again before shuffling out of the kitchen. Marshal clung close to my heels, and my toes dug into the carpet as I made my way to my bedroom. “You know what, Marshal, I’m gonna quit my job. I’m gonna get another dog, and I’m gonna break up with Seth.”
He gave a littlewoofas if he understood, and I smiled small as determination seared through my chest.
This was what Mateo wanted, me to get back to my life, and I had to do it. I had to go the direction I wanted, and screw everyone else! I was going to be as happy as I could be, and if I ever saw Mateo again . . .
I wasn’t going to let him drive me away.
I shoved my butt into a pair of comfortable jeans and pulled on a plain, bleach-stained tank top, silently repeating those three things I was going to do. Of course, I wouldn’t do it today. Today, I had to go food shopping, I was going to the dog park with Marshal, and I needed to go to the police station. That was three things thathadto be done right now.
And tomorrow, I’d do three more things.
The next day, I’d do three more things.
And maybe I won’t feel so sad and alone.
11
Mateo
Nevada wasdisgustinglyhot and arid, and I pulled up in front of a nondescript house among a bunch of other nondescript houses to park and turn off my rental car. Staring at the wheel dazedly, I flexed my palms against my thighs as anxiety threaded my veins, but I was here. I couldn’t just not go in. Oran had told this guy to hold the dogs an extra few days specifically for me.
Unbuckling myself, I got out of the dark blue hatchback before I could think on it too much more, and I inhaled a huge breath and held it. Walking up the driveway, my heart pounded harder and harder, and I knocked gently before exhaling slowly in an effort to calm myself. The furious barking of a dozen dogs blared through the barrier, and my chest tightened as I raked my hand through my hair.
The door swung open, and I tensed as the hair on my face and the back of my neck stood up.
“Uh, Carson, right? I’m—”
“I know who you are.”He’s worse than Theo. Jesus Christ.If these two had a scowling competition, Theo would fucking lose, and I entered the house with discomfort stiffening my knees. “You want two of them, right? They’re in the kitchen.”
“Yeah. This is your last litter, right?”
“The dogs are almost nine years old.” As if that was supposed to make sense, Carson glanced back at me through narrowed eyes. “You’re shorter than your brothers.”
“At least I’m not a psychopath.” Carson paused at the entrance to the kitchen where all the puppies were clawing at a tall gate, and I climbed over it while he just stared at me. They were all gray and black, but one had a sandy patch on top of his head right between his ears. I knelt down to get bombarded with claws and licks. “They’re big for only eight weeks.”
“Their parents are big.” These dogs weren’t monstrous, twice the size or something of what they should’ve been, but it was obvious they got the big-and-tall genes in spades. Picking one up, it had to be about fifteen pounds, and he wiggled and craned his massive head to try to lick my face.
And he wasn’t even the biggest one trying to climb up my legs.
There were two that didn’t try to climb up on me, a solid all-black puppy and a gray and black patched one, and they seemed content just to sniff and wiggle and investigate. I held out my hand to the black one, and he sniffed my fingers before nibbling them with a little growl. The gray one was almost a dappled color when he rolled onto his belly, and I couldn’t help but smile as he wiggled against my leg.
“Do they have names?”
“No.”So personable.“I’ll go get their papers.” The gray dog squirmed into my lap, and the others just sort of wandered off into the backyard when they realized I wouldn’t pet them. I was going to get these pits trained, of course, but according to my online searches, it wasn’t that difficult. Pit bulls were a very trainable breed, and I hoisted them both up, one in each arm.
“What should I call you, huh?” They were both boys, but the gray pit seemedcuddlieras he tried to claw over my shoulder. He didn’t try to gnaw my fingers away, at least, and I sighed when he licked my face. “How about Ketchup and Sriracha? Because I lack creativity and can’t think of anything else.”
A silly kind of humor infected my tone, and I nodded absently to myself before Carson ambled into my line of sight. He handed me two plain letter envelops, one marked ‘Dog 4’ and the other ‘Dog 6’, and I took them before he jerked his chin to the door.
“Thanks. I appreciate it.” I clamored over the gate again, but Carson ignored me to show me out. The door slammed shut behind me, leaving me in the sweltering heat with these two puppies in my arms, and I shook my head viciously. “Whatever.”
Were these dogs’ yard trained? What did they eat? I didn’t have a chance to ask the most basic questions, but I guess I’d figure it out on the way to wherever I was going. I wanted to leave Nevada behind and never go back, and I set both dogs in the back seat before climbing into the front.
So far, so good. At least, I didn’t feel like this was a horrible mistake.
It didn’t take long for Sriracha to climb into the front passenger seat, and I gazed at him as he propped his paws on the window to look out quizzically.
