He shrugs and bends to stroke her as she runs up to him. “I’ve been trying to teach her a couple of commands for you. She’s pretty good at sitting already, but her recall still needs practice.”
“Thanks, I appreciate it.”
“She has a lovely nature. She’s going to be a good therapy dog.”
“Yeah, it’s been a long time since Hamlet. I’m looking forward to having her.”
“You’ve got all her gear and food and everything?”
“Yeah.” I straighten, watching Queenie as she wanders up to the other cages and touches her nose to the dogs behind them as if saying goodbye.
“I saw Beth last night,” Jude says.
“Yes, she told me.” As soon as I say it, I wonder whether he thinks I’m making the point that she called me to talk about it, but he doesn’t react.
Instead, he says, “I dropped her off at the cottage with most of her stuff. She didn’t want to take anything from the house.”
“I think the cottage is fully furnished, so she doesn’t have any space for it at the moment.”
“Yeah. I wandered around after I got home, thinking about all the stuff we’d bought together.”
My brows draw together. He’s still my best friend, and he’s clearly as sad as she is about their breakup, even if they both accept it was necessary.
“We rarely go into a relationship assuming it’s for a limited time,” I say.
“I guess.” He puts a brush away in a drawer. “She asked me if I’d ever loved her.”
“What did you say?”
He turns and shoves his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “I said ‘I don’t know.’”
“Ouch.” Poor Beth.
“She deserves better,” he says. “I hope it works out for you.”
I stare at him, surprised by his declaration. “Thank you,” I say softly.
He clears his throat. “How’s the work coming along at PAWS?”
“Yeah, good, I’ve okayed the renovations with Isaac, and he reckons we might have the place up and running in a couple of months.”
“That’s great. Cullen mentioned keeping my eyes open for any dogs that might be suitable therapy dogs in case any of the staff want to adopt one.”
“Yeah. Natalie Price has talked about getting one. And I’m seeing Tyr Donovan tomorrow. He might be coming on board.”
“I heard he was out of the Navy.”
“Apparently, yeah.”
It’s odd to be talking as if the past few days haven’t happened. As if he doesn’t have a growing bruise on his jaw from where I hit him.
“I’d like to come down and have a look around at some point,” he says. “I haven’t seen the building yet.”
“Of course. I’ll be there tomorrow afternoon around two to meet Tyr and Natalie, and you’re welcome to drop by.”
“Okay.”
I go over to Queenie and clip the leash onto her collar. “Well, I suppose it’s time to take you home, young lady.”
