Page 31 of Until The Stars Don't Shine

He stroked her head, causing her tiny body to tremble with excitement. She sank into him, sighing a big doggy sigh, tail whipping a mile a minute. He waited for her excitement to fade, but after several minutes had passed, realized it wouldn’t be forthcoming. Gently, he eased her to the back of the cage and started to sweep.

He kept one eye on Chris while he worked, his ears pricked for any sign of trouble. While he might joke around, he never lost sight of his real purpose. Putting folks at ease was a smart move, too — people had a habit of revealing their true intentions when their guard was down. So while Chris might only be an awkward teenager with a crush, he was a person of interest and Kane would make sure to keep him in his sights.

Chris left his cart with Lexi and went off. He returned moments later with an additional cart and also a cheap radio that he plugged into a wall. Lexi was given the choice of a station and chose one that only played classic 90s pop songs, saying that era was fun and didn’t take itself too seriously. She kept the volume low enough that it wouldn’t bother any of the dogs but would provide entertainment for the humans.

They worked in companionable silence for hours cleaning, when Chris disappeared off with a dog on a walk.

Seeing Lexi heading off with the friendly terrier in the opposite direction, Kane set his broom aside and followed a few feet behind, causing Bud to wake from his slumber. Shaking himself, he got in line behind Kane.

Lexi stopped after a few moments, looking over her shoulder with a bemused expression when she noticed the procession behind her.

“What are you doing?”

“I told you that I can’t let you out of my sight. Did you think that was a joke?”

She blinked. “No, but I thought… I’m just going around the block.”

“Which means I’m also going around the block.”

Behind him, Bud woofed, as if to say “Me too!”

“I can’t believe this. Who’s going to take pictures of me here, doing this?”

“No one, not while I’m standing right next to you,” Kane confirmed, not moving an inch on this.

The man was infuriating!

Across from them, Lexi caught a glimpse of two women openly staring at them. As luck would have it, they were the two who had taken her the longest to win around. They couldn’t have this conversation here, not without the women hearing — and if they knew what Kane’s real purpose was, the gossip would be flying around the place before the end of the day.

“Fine. I won’t walk them today then. Come on.”

Seeing how nervous she had become in front of their audience, Kane followed her back inside as they took up the cleaning again.

He tossed a bag of waste into Lexi’s cart. “Your dad mentioned your mom is allergic to animals.”

Lexi looked over the top of the head of a Corgi mix whose head she was stroking and nodded.

“She goes into anaphylactic shock if a cat even goes near her and dogs make her sneeze but they’re only a problem if she touches them.”

“So you’ve never had a pet?”

“No.”

A look of such naked longing came over her that Kane felt awkward for witnessing it. Bud had been there for him through thick and thin. The two shared an unbreakable bond unlike any other. It was something everyone should be able to experience.

“Maybe I’ll be able to have some pets of my own in the future. When I get my own place.”

“Is that in the cards?”

The question wasn’t idle curiosity. If Lexi intended to move out, he needed to know and allow for it in their security plans.

“Not with everything that’s going on.” Her eyes flicked over to Chris who, although working, his stiff body language showed he was very clearly eavesdropping on their conversation.

For a moment, she seemed as if she might have confided more, but then a wall came down over her eyes.

“Whenever you’re ready to, I’m sure these guys will be thrilled.”

He inclined his head at the row of dogs.

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