“In California. I’m in Florida.”
“Oh, wow.” He drew the word out for an extra beat or two, managing to infuse it with genuine remorse. “I am so sorry. Totally did not realize you were out of state. Vacation? Nevermind, don’t answer that. I’ll let you go. Back to the sandman with you, my friend.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m up now.” She scratched her scalp. “What’s going on? Everything all right? Teddy didn’t…he’s okay, right?” She didn’t want to say “relapse.” She hated putting that kind of negativity into words without good reason.
“No way, Teddy’s great. Things are things.”
Jack said that all the time and she still didn’t really know what it meant. “Yes, they are. Glad to hear that Teddy’s good.”
“Hey, you said Florida. Are you at the house?”
There was only one house he could mean. “I am.” That might stir up a lot of feelings for him. Memories. Regrets. Longings. She’d tread carefully, but she wasn’t going to apologize. Arlington might have given her the house, but both of his sons had gotten their fair share of his estate.
“Cool, cool. How is it?”
“Beautiful. Peaceful. Just what I needed, really.”
“Yeah, I heard about how things went for you. Did my best not to give those lowlifes any clicks, you know? The press are vultures, man.”
She nodded. He understood. More than most. “Yes, they are. They were not kind.”
“You all right? Everything copacetic?”
A smile bent her mouth. That was Jack. Whatever his faults, he was well-meaning and kind-hearted. “I am. Thank you for asking.”
“Cool, cool. Listen, I’m sorry about waking you up. I had something I wanted to talk to you about, but it can wait.”
“I don’t mind.”
“I appreciate that, but sleep is life, man.”
She laughed. “Sleep is pretty important.”
“Then you get back to it, my beautiful, wise friend. I’ll be in touch soon. Cool?”
“Cool.”
“Peace, man.”
He hung up and she stared at the phone, wondering what that was all about. She imagined she’d find out tomorrow or whenever he called back.
She flopped back down, yawned, and stared at the ceiling, picking out the constellations by the tiny gold stars that glinted in the dim ambient light.
She hoped Jack wasn’t in any kind of trouble. She liked him. She’d never worked for him like she had his dad, Arlington, and his older brother, Teddy. But maybe that was why he’d called. Maybe he wanted to hire her.
Anything was possible.
She closed her eyes. A cold, wet nose nudged her fingers. She kept her eyes closed and whispered, “Go back to sleep, Archie.”
That got her fingers licked, followed by more nudging, which resulted in Archie’s head being under her hand.
With a weighty sigh that she hoped her beloved dog would understand meant she was only doing this for him—and to avoid a puddle on the floor—she pulled the covers back and swung her feet to the floor. The tile was cold underfoot. “You had really better need to go or I am not going to be happy.”
She put on flipflops with her nightshirt, grabbed his leash, clipped it to his collar, and plodded down the steps. Yawning, she took him out to the backyard.
To his credit, he immediately squatted to pee. She yawned again and wrapped her arms around herself.
Did Mitch realize what he was getting himself into with a dog? She hoped so.
