“Jas?”
Jas pulled his attention away from the domestic scene. “Offer them five grand.”
Bikram’s eyes bulged. “Five thousand dollars?”
“Ten thousand. Whatever they want. I’ll pay it.” He had enough money. With no lodging expenses, a lot of his salary was banked.
“Yeah, it’s clear you’re not cut out to run any kind of business.” Bikram patted Jas on the chest. “I’m going to offer them five hundred dollars on your behalf as a rehoming fee.”
“What if they don’t take it?” He’d be damned if he’d force Katrina to give her dog up.
“They’ll be delighted to have it.” Bikram rolled his eyes. “Love must have affected your eyesight, because that dog isn’t exactly a purebred, brother.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“DOODLE, SHOULD WEgo into his room, or stay here?”
Doodle hopped on Katrina’s bed and lay down, making it clear what her preference was. Between the excitement of having guests in the house and her full belly from all the food Jas had snuck her, the dog was visibly pooped.
Katrina should also be pooped, but she was way too wired to go to sleep. After removing her jewelry, she washed her face. Water dripped into her eyes and she groped for her washcloth. After drying, she braced her arms on the bathroom counter and stared at her reflection.
Coming to the farm had hurt Jas, and she hadn’t known.
Katrina gripped the counter. That was only the tip of what she didn’t know.
She hadn’t known why Jas had taken the job with Hardeep. She had only a vague sense of what he’d gone through in Iraq. She didn’t know the details around the testimony the Singhs had alluded to over dinner. She hadn’t realized how deep his lack of communication with his grandfather ran.
Let’s face it. You don’t even know what his favorite breakfast food is.
Jas’s reticence to talk about himself wasn’t new. He had always been an enigmatic creature. Sheknewhim. The important parts of him. His heart, his values.
Yet... phew. What a slap in the face this had been, to sit there at that dinner table, utterly clueless as to what was going on.
Katrina left the bathroom and picked up her phone from the bureau, then put it down again. She could talk to Andy or her friends, but she’d have to first navigate the fact that she had feelings for Jas, and she was too tired to explain everything right now.
There are things he doesn’t know about you.
Yeah, that was true. He didn’t know every little detail about her life, but he’d been around for so much of it. He’d seen her on the floor, stripped of all defenses. He’d protected her, knew about the threats she faced. It was literally his job to know stuff about her.
She took off her clothes and put on a camisole and yoga pants, despite the slight chill in the air. Guilt threatened to overwhelm her, but she tried to beat it back.You can’t control someone else’s actions, you can only control yourself.
She could be the best friend in the world to Jas, and she would make a more concerted effort to draw information out of him, but at the end of the day, she couldn’t force him to talk to her or anyone.
What if he’s never forthcoming? What if this is all you’ll ever know of him?
She bit her lip.
Footsteps sounded on the stairs, and she went to the door. She hesitated for a beat, then opened it.
He stood with his fist poised to knock. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
“Everything’s cleaned up downstairs.”
“Thank you for that.” She hadn’t argued when he’d sent her away after their guests had left. Cleaning up was much less fun than cooking was.
“Thank you for cooking for us.”
