Page 15 of Without Judgment

CHAPTER SIX

Mason

I needed a minute after leaving Avery with Koda. What she’d said about him had hit a chord. One I kept buried so nobody could see it—although it oftentimes manifested itself in my dreams. Or more like my nightmares. Visions of my last tour in Iraq would forever haunt me. So would the death of one of my friends and the guilt that I’d made it out alive while he hadn’t. Koda might wear his scars on the outside, but mine were there too, hidden just beneath the surface.

Melanie came up smiling. “You ready for a tour?”

“Yeah.” I loved dogs. And taking a tour with a pretty girl who had a passion for them was something I wouldn’t turn down. Yet I kept thinking about Avery. About her love for the ugliest, most troubled dog in the place. The fact I’d pigeonholed her into a spoiled-princess role bothered me. I wasn’t typically wrong, but she had surprised me.

By the time the tour was over, Melanie had handed me her card with her personal phone number on the back. But instead of being interested, I was thinking about a certain blonde and glanced over as she came into view. She was being bombarded with ten lab puppies in the middle of the training ring. She didn’t seem to care about her clothes, their licks, or getting dog hair everywhere. Instead, she seemed completely at peace as she giggled from their attention. I caught myself grinning at the vision and unable to take my eyes off of her.

Melanie spoke up. “Avery has a big heart. A lot of people make donations, but she actually puts in the time, too. Gives the dogs baths and grooms them. Cleans out kennels and exercises them. Plus, she’s the reason her brother has Rufus.”

She smiled again before excusing herself to meet with some people coming through the door.

I walked over to the ring to join Avery, smiling when two puppies came scampering up to me. I scooped them up in my arms and joined the melee, taking a seat beside her on the ground. We were both all smiles.

“Can’t stay in a bad mood around these guys,” she commented, petting all of them.

“You were in a bad mood?”

She sighed. “Guess a sex scandal will do that to you. But I didn’t mean me.”

“I’m not in a bad mood.”

Her laughter rang out. “Please don’t tell me the last two days haven’t been you in a good one.”

I had to relent. “You have a way of annoying me, princess.”

She exhaled a shaky breath. “It’s a gift, evidently. All right, gang, I’m leaving you in good hands. Don’t worry. His mood gets better once I leave.”

“Avery—”

She shook her head. “It’s fine. I’m just not your cup of tea. But Melanie—she’s probably one of the best people I know. Anyhow, I have a few more dogs to brush, and then I’ll end with Koda. You okay with meeting outside in thirty minutes?”

The thought struck me that perhaps the problem was she was more my cup of tea than I liked. “Yeah. Sounds good.”

***

After we returned to the house from the dog rescue, it was tempting to search out Avery and try to clear the air. But I didn’t. Part of the reason was self-preservation. It would be better if we weren’t getting along. That would keep the lines from getting blurry. This was a job. One which hopefully only had twelve more days to it before we’d both be moving on. So instead, I left her in her room to do whatever she was doing in there while I started to install cameras around the house to bolster security.

I found myself wondering what Avery’s future would be like. She was young and a bit naïve. Even though her ex had betrayed her, she’d no doubt search for a new man to take care of her someday. Although she brought out my own protective instinct, I reasoned it was simply because I was being paid to keep her safe.

My phone rang later that afternoon, giving me yet another reminder that she was merely a job. Caller ID showed me it was her brother.

“Hey, man.”

“Hey, yourself. I’m back in Dallas. How’s hanging with my sister going?”

“Not bad.”

“That’s not what she says.”

Fuck. Had I gone too far last night with my little dig about her ruining her manicure? “What did she say?”

He cracked up. “I’m kidding. She had nothing but nice things to say. Sorry I keep calling. Guess it’s guilt because I think I should be there. I worry about her.”

“Nothing to worry about.” I gripped the back of my neck, thinking she could’ve thrown me completely under the bus.

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