I steeled myself for his reaction.
The sigh was audible. “I guess it’s too much to ask that you’d support your family, even though we were there for you when you decided to walk away from the business.”
I bit back the urge to remind him that he and Mom had never supported me. They’d made sure to let me know at every turn what a disappointment I was for not following them into the family’s real estate business, something I was even more glad of now given they were both doing their best to destroy it during the divorce.
Instead I said, “I can’t leave the clinic right now. I have commitments.”
There was a heavy silence. Then my dad said, “Fine. I’m selling the cabinet, though. See how your mother likes that.” And then he ended the call.
And then, like clockwork, my phone rang again just when I’d pulled up outside the clinic.
I drew a deep breath before I answered it. “Hey, Mom.”
And around and around we all went.
I slept like shit,which I decided to blame on the dog’s snoring, even though I could have taken him downstairs to his cage at any point. Instead, I’d lain awake staring at the ceiling, tired as hell but unable to stop my thoughts from racing. And they’draced to some shitty places, like compulsively going over every fault of mine in my relationship with Patrick and all the way back to the humiliation I’d felt in third grade when the whole class had heard me accidentally call the teacher Mom. When daylight finally arrived, my eyes were scratchy from lack of sleep, and I was hoping breakfast and some Advil would get rid of the headache that was beginning to make itself known right behind my eyes.
I was still in my sleep pants and T-shirt when Cash knocked on the front door.
“Don’t you sleep?” I asked him when I opened it.
He gave me a careful look, as though he was judging my mood. Between him now and the cowering dog yesterday, I figured there was a better than average chance I was coming off as an asshole in my daily life. Then he shrugged and smiled and shoved a coffee into my hands. I took it gratefully. He darted past me and the dog met him in the hallway, wriggling with excitement. Cash headed out into the backyard with him and I followed as far as the door, the coffee warming my hands.
The dog went and peed in three different spots, then took a massive shit in the corner. Cash crouched down and clicked his tongue, and the dog trotted over to him and dropped to the ground. Then the dog rolled over, presenting his belly and wriggling. Cash beamed as he petted the dog’s stomach before scritching under his chin where the E-collar was resting. His hand stilled, and he gave me a quizzical look, his smile fading.
“What is it?” I called from the back steps before remembering that he probably wouldn’t answer me. I took a sip of coffee then went out into the yard and crouched next to him.
“He’s all tangled,” Cash whispered. His brow creased with worry. “Will you have to shave him?”
I sighed and remembered that past me had been too busy to deal with the dog’s coat, which meant it was a problem forpresent me. “No, they’ll brush out,” I said. “I was planning on tackling them tonight.”
The look Cash gave me told me he didn’t quite believe me, but he didn’t say anything else. Of course he didn’t. He just took the dog into the kitchen and fed him, then put his earbuds in and started on the laundry. I put the dog in his cage while I went upstairs and showered, then spent far too long sitting on the side of my bed staring at the wall and questioning all my life choices. It was only when I noticed the time and realized I’d been sitting there zoned out for almost an hour that I managed to muster up the ability to move.
When I got downstairs, I could hear the dryer rumbling quietly in the background, and the smell of disinfectant was sharp in the air. I stuck my head in the treatment room, looking for Cash. The room was clean and ready to go, but there was no sign of him. I wondered if he’d left without telling me and felt an unexpected pang of disappointment. I hadn’t even thanked him for the coffee.
But then I heard noises coming from the kennel room. Cash was sitting in front of the dog’s cage, and I stood in the doorway and watched as he fed bits of kibble through the wire and murmured softly. I couldn’t quite catch what he was saying, but his voice was low and soothing, and for a split second I was actually jealous. What wouldn’t I give for someone who would talk tomelike that on the nights when my brain wouldn’t shut off.
I took a step into the room, my sneakers squeaking on the freshly mopped linoleum. Cash spun around, eyes wide, and his entire body tensed. Then he saw it was me and his shoulders dropped back down and he gave a sheepish smile.
“Hey,” I said. “Done for today?”
Cash nodded, and the dog’s tail thwacked against the floor of his cage in a staccato beat. Cash rose to his feet, then glancedat the dog, then at my shoes, then at the dog again. His brow creased, and he cleared his throat.
“It’s my day off,” he whispered, so faintly I had to strain to hear him. He turned his gaze back to the floor, fiddling with the kibble in his palm, before straightening up and looking me in the eye. When he spoke again, it was louder. “I was thinking I could stay and brush the dog’s coat out?”
It was the most I’d ever heard him say at once. He must have really wanted this to use that many words.
Something small and warm unfurled in my chest at the thought of spending more time with Cash. Besides, who could say no to those wide brown eyes of his? Cash had the same goddamn magical powers as the dog.
“Sure,” I said. “Tell you what, how about you give him the full spa treatment? You need help setting up the tub?”
Cash’s entire face lit up with a grin. “Hear that, dog?” he whispered, crouching next to the cage. “Gonna make you feel so good, boy.”
And damned if knowing I was responsible for that sunshine smile didn’t make me feel good too.
We took the dog through to the laundry room and I removed his E-collar while Cash held him to stop him from wriggling too much. Which was a fool’s errand, of course. Nothing could stop him.
I got the trough out of the storeroom and dragged it into the laundry. I showed Cash how to fill it up and found him some dog shampoo. I left him reading the instructions with such a serious expression that he might have been learning how to dismantle a bomb instead of washing a dog and went and made myself a bowl of cereal. I wasn’t hungry, but if I didn’t eat now, I might not get another chance. Kayla breezed into the kitchen while I was eating.
