“Let me rephrase that. It’s not for me, it’s for the operation.”
The twinkle in Lach’s eyes dwindled, then disappeared. Gina hated herself for it, wanted to take it all back, just to see that spark again.
“Operation?” he scoffed. “Look, Gina. I’m out. I’m washed up. Can't you see?” He lifted his arm and flicked his hand, indicating and dismissing his apartment at the same time.
“No, I can't. I see a man who's down but not defeated. Not yet.”
She walked to the kitchen and poured a glass of water. She took out a bottle of aspirin and shook two pills into her hand. Then she walked back to the bed and set the glass and the pills down on the bedside table.
“Take the aspirin. Drink the water. I can't take a piss for you, so you're on your own for that. And this is the last time I'm doing anything for you. The rest is up to you.”
She turned and walked toward his beat-up old recliner and forced herself to sit down. “But you aredefinitelyquitting smoking,”
Lach made a sound somewhere between a grunt and a groan. He sat up.
Fleur got up from the corner where she’d been napping beside the new dog and trotted over to Gina to be petted. The new dog lifted his head and sniffed the air. He looked at Lach with hope in his eyes.
“Yeah, bet you’re still hungry.” Lachlan stood and stretched, and despite his stated need for a cigarette, went to the kitchen instead. He opened the fridge.
What? Does he expect food to magically appear? Gina thought.God, I hope he’s not planning on feeding him whatever’s in that container.
To her dismay, that was exactly what it looked like when Lachlan first took the pineapple then the container out and set them on the counter.
“Patience, boy.” He crouched and took the dog’s face in his hands. The tender look on his face as he stared into the dog’s eyes softened Gina’s heart. “Life’s gonna be a lot different for you now, got it? Regular food, lots of love, no more getting left out in the rain and the heat.” Then he ran his hands over the dog’s head down to his haunches and stood up. So did the dog, tail wagging a million miles an hour. Lachlan picked up the container.
“You’re not going to feedthatto him, are you?”
Lachlan stared at her for a few seconds before he started laughing. “Oh hell no.”
“Good. I?—”
“This isourdinner.”
Gina couldn't stop her eyes from widening as he grabbed the pineapple and carried both to the door.
“AndI’m gonna grab one last smoke.”
* * *
Gina took another bite of the freshly grilled huli-huli chicken and tried not to moan. It was absolutely delicious. Lach had cooked it along with the pineapple on one of the community grills behind the apartments. He reduced the chicken’s marinade down to a rich, salty-sweet sauce and made a big pot of coconut rice to round out the meal. Despite telling her it was their dinner, he shared a couple of thighs and some plain rice with the dogs.
“You like it?” That old twinkle was back in his eyes as he studied Gina across the table.
“It’s good.”
He chuckled. “It’s better than good.”
Gina grinned in spite of herself. “Yeah, it is.” She took another bite and watched the dogs. “So, do you know his name?” She pointed with her fork at the rescued dog.
“Yeah, and I’m changing it. Asshole just calls him Bastard.”
Gina winced.
“He’s Sam now.”
“Good name. That fits.”
Lachlan swallowed a bite of rice. “So, how’d you find me?”
