“Interesting.”
“You think so?”
“Very much.”
He stood, and Herqueles stood with him. All I could do was shake my head because my dog was doing the most with this man.
“I’m going home, buddy. Maybe your mama will let me sit with her again sometime soon,” he said as he rubbed Que’s head.
That damn dog had the nerve to whine, and I was close to telling Graham to take his traitor ass home with him.
“I seriouslycannotwith him. Let’s go use the bathroom.”
I stood, went down the steps and to the side of the yard. Surprisingly, Que acted like he knew who his mama was and followed. He emptied his bladder and was back on the porch next to Graham before I gave him a directive.
“Don’t get comfortable. It’s time to go inside.”
I opened the screen door and shooed Que inside. He had the audacity to hesitate until I snapped my fingers and pointed into the house. Once he was inside, I closed the screen door and he pressed his face against it. The smirk on Graham’s face let me know he found us humorous.
“What’s funny?” I asked.
“Nothing. German shepherds are great dogs once they’ve been trained. Que reminds me of Sampson, one of our police dogs. It took a while to partner him with one of the officers because he didn’t fuck with so many of them.”
“Yeah. Que is a great judge of character. He goes crazy when my ex-husband comes around. If I let him loose, he’d tear Victor to shreds.”
“Sounds like he might deserve it.”
“He most definitely deserves it, but he’s not worth it.”
I pushed away from the door to retrieve my empty wine glass and .22.
“I guess that’s my cue to leave.”
“I mean, you can stay out here as long as you want, but you’ll be alone.”
I opened the door and damn near tripped over Que, causing me to fuss at him under my breath as he moved away from the door.
“Thank you for letting me join you. I hope it’s not the last time.”
“You’re welcome. Good night.”
I didn’t address the last part of his comment, but I knew it wouldn’t be the last time. I’d probably come out here more often, hoping he’d join me.
“Good night.”
I slowly closed the door, secured the locks, and turned on the alarm. Que followed me down the hallway until we reached his bed, which was stationed between my and Keelan’s rooms.
“Good night, you little traitor.”
After a quick shower, I fell asleep with thoughts of Graham racing through my mind.
“Hi, Trey. I’m Keelan’s mom, Naryah. It’s nice to meet you,” I greeted.
“You too, Ms. Naryah,” he said as he shook my hand.
“Keelan tells me you invited him to your birthday party.”
“Yes, ma’am. It’s on Saturday. Can he come?”
