Thor’s jaw tics. “That’s different,” he growls.
“How?”
Casper gives a half-hearted laugh and waves his hand lazily. “I mean . . .”
Thor’s situation wasn’t anything like this. But still, he knows I’m right. He’s just pissed I thought of it first.
Thor glares at Casper and then me. “Why me?”
“Insurance.”
“If this ever?—”
“It won’t,” I assure him. “I give you my word.”
He gives me a long look. “You’re being fucking reckless.”
I shrug. He’s right, but that doesn’t change anything. “The ends justify the means. It stays between us,” I remind him. “I’ll owe you one.”
Thor pushes off the wall and nearly rips the door off its hinges when he yanks it open. “Yeah, you will,” he says, storming out and making the loose papers on my desk flutter. The door bounces off the wall and shudders while gently swinging.
Casper leans back in the chair and calls out the door. “That was your best dramatic exit yet!”
“I knew I shouldn’t have brought her up.” Mentioning her name was like tossing a grenade. It worked as I intended, but a dick move nonetheless.
“And yet you did it anyway.” He smiles. “So . . . you ready for this?”
I smirk, turning my chair toward my screen and getting back to work. “What do you think?”
“I think you might be crazier than me,” he says, grinning wider.Impossible.
I nod to the door. “Can you shut that? I have something else I want to show you.”
He leans over, grabbing the edge of the door and nudging it shut. As soon as it clicks again, I remove the folded envelope from my drawer.
“Billy tried reaching out to Kelly.”
I heard Kelly telling Thor she was staying late tonight, so I asked if she could watch the stray until I got back from running an errand. The more time they spend together, the better. I want her to become attached. Can’t imagine it will take much, considering I’m already bonded and it’s been less than forty-eight hours since I brought him home from the shelter.
The night Camden showed up with Chicken Salad, I was rock solid in my no-animals-allowed policy. But one look at Kelly with my dog and I’m bending the rules for her. Pathetic.
My “errand” is purchasing dog food, as if I didn’t just do it yesterday. However, with the sour mood Kelly’s been in the last week—which seems to have reached a crescendo today—it’s a no-brainer to pick up her favorite pad thai from the restaurant on the other side of town. Took me a bit longer, but she needs to eat something. It’s such a rare occasion to see her irritable.I’msupposed to be the grumpy one.
When I pull into the rear lot of Black Rabbit, I park next to the only car left—Kelly’s. I snatch the plastic bag of Thai food with one hand, tucking the kibble under my arm before hopping out.
The autoclave is noisily running in the sterilization room when I return, but as I walk down the hall closer to her station, her voice becomes more audible. It sounds like she’s talking to someone on the phone. I soften my footsteps and carefully set down the food in my office, then tiptoe closer so I can eavesdrop.
Even better, the mirror in Casper’s workstation across from Kelly’s offers a perfect view of her, but I don’t like what I see reflected back. Her eyes are heavy the way they are when she’s been thinking for too long. And she’s not on the phone, she’s talking to my dog.
Kelly sits on the backless stool and scratches behind his ears. “Over a week. No calls, no voice notes, no memes, nothing . . . I saw him at work, but I was careful to hold my boundaries and keep my space. It’s this cleanse thing I’m doing.” She speaks while signing at the same time. She’s made a lot of improvement in the last few months.
“I don’t think he’s even noticed,” she says.
I’ve noticed—every day, every hour, every fucking minute that passed has been done in misery.
I’ve played her little game all week. I kept myself occupied with work and went to bed early every night. It was easier to keep busy and sleep than admit she’s stopped talking to me, and seeing her day after day and wondering what she’s thinking.
“Thenyoushow up. And he decides he’s going to keep you. Not gonna lie, I was mad at first, but you seem like kindred spirits. Unfortunately, now it makes it harder for me too.”
