He looked down at her with a serious face. “Don’t fall for it. Whatever they tell you. It’s a trap. They give you a dog and you’re never free. Even if they find a home for that dog, there’s another dog waiting in the wings. A sweeter dog. A cuter dog. It’s a never-ending cycle of dogs.”
“But I like dogs.”
“Jesus. Don’t ever tell them that.”
“Don’t tell us what?” Bree asked.
“That I like dogs,” Zoe said.
Tim threw up his hands. “Oh God. Now you’ve done it.”
Bree smacked him on his stomach with the back of her hand. “Quit it.”
“Oh, yeah,” Denise said. “That reminds me. We found a possible forever home for Mitzy.”
“Is it a retirement home? Because I’m pretty sure that’s the only place that will have the same energy level as that dog. If I couldn’t see her chest moving, I would have thought she’d died a couple of times.”
“Not quite. The person interested is a retiree. It’s one of Gran’s neighbors,” Denise said.
“I hope he isn’t interested in getting a dog to increase his activity level.”
Tim’s phone rang and he pulled it out of his pocket, glancing at the display. “Hey, man, what’s up?”
He stepped away from Zoe. “Do you need me to call a cruiser?…I’m about twenty minutes out…I’ve got Zoe with me…I don’t care if you don’t want to get her in trouble, you call a cruiser at the first hint she’s unhinged…I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Thumbing the display, he looked at the group. “We need to go. Kevin’s got a situation at his apartment.”
“Is he okay?” Zoe asked.
“Yes, but I think I know who the woman is who warned you off.”
* * *
He called a cruiser anyway.After almost losing Bree to a stalker a year ago, he wasn’t willing to take any risks, no matter what Kevin said about how Ashley was acting.
“So you think this girl likes Kevin and she thinks we’re an item for some reason,” Zoe said.
“You’ll have to take a look at her to know for sure, but I think so.” Tim took the corner faster than was wise, but he wanted to get to Kevin’s quickly.
Zoe grasped the handle above the door as she swayed with the motion of the truck. “But why does she think Kevin and I are together?”
“I think she’s been following Kevin. He mentioned she joined his gym and she somehow figured out where he lives, so maybe she saw you two together and thought you were interested in him.”
They reached Kevin’s apartment complex and he wound through the buildings, slowing down only as much as necessary for the speed bumps. He breathed a small sigh of relief when he saw two cruisers double-parked in front of Kevin’s apartment.
He parked behind one of the cruisers. “Stay here.”
“But—”
“Please, Zoe. You’ll be safe in the car.”
She sat back in the seat. “Okay. Be careful.”
“I will.”
He jogged up to the open front door.
“I can’t believe you called the cops!”
