Page 66 of Interference

She shook herself, then looked up at me, panting happily and wagging her tail.

“Good girl.” I tousled her ears. To Monica, I said, “Just let her come to you. Don’t reach for her or anything—let her sniff you, and she’ll let you know when she wants you to pet her.”

Monica stiffened. “Don’t reach for her? I thought I was supposed to let them sniff my fingers.”

I shook my head. “No, it’s kind of like shoving your hand in a person’s face. It makes them tense. She’ll let you know.” I smiled. “Trust me, you’ll know when she wants to be petted, and she definitely will.”

Monica nodded.

I gave Lily’s leash some slack. She looked around, taking in her environment like she often did when she was off duty and could pull her focus away from me. She was always in tune to me, and if I needed her, she’d be right back at my side even when she wasn’t on duty, but without her vest and with the stand-down command, she could just be a dog for a few minutes.

For a moment, she checked out our surroundings—happily sniffing the ground, a couple of flowerpots, and a rock. In no time, though, she zeroed in on Monica. Ears and tail up, she approached. She sniffed Monica’s shoe, then her knee, then looked up at her and started panting, wagging her tail even more. She sat down and put up her paw.

Monica tensed a little. “Does that… Can I…?”

“Go ahead.” I smiled. “Pet her neck and shoulder. And she might jump up, but if she does, she’s just being really friendly.”

Lily was way too well-trained for that. Despite what everyone in the house thought they’d seen, she never jumped up unless she was alerting. But she was still an animal, and it never hurt to give someone a heads up. Especially someone who was this afraid of dogs.

Monica tentatively reached for Lily’s neck. As soon as she started petting her, Lily leaned against her leg, tail thumping hard on the deck. Monica glanced uncertainly at me. Right then, Lily slurped her hand. Monica jumped, but she laughed and wiped her hand on her jeans. “She really is a sweetheart, isn’t she?”

“She’s amazing.” I almost started rambling about what a lifesaver Lily had been. How she’d come into my world when it was incredibly dark, and when everything had turned a whole lot darker, she’d often been the only thing to keep me going. There’d been more than a few periods where the only thing stopping me from slipping into complete nihilism had been the drive to take care of her.

But I kept all of that to myself. I didn’t want to trauma dump on this total stranger, especially not when she was trying to overcome a deep-seated fear. Monica had clearly had to psych herself up for this, and she was making a hell of a breakthrough. The last thing she needed was me to ruin it by awkwardly spilling my life story.

So I just watched the two of them interact, and I quietly let the moment be.

Chapter 17

Anthony

I was on my way through the kitchen to grab sodas for me and Chip, and I paused to check in on Wyatt. At first, I couldn’t find him, which made me nervous. Was he all right? Had the crowd bothered him more than he’d expected?

But then I found him, and I halted, staring out the sliding glass door.

He was sitting on the deck, and so was Young’s wife, Monica.

And Monica… was petting Lily.

My jaw went slack. I wasn’t at all surprised that Lily was being sweet and gentle with her, wagging her tail and panting happily. But everyone knew Monica was terrified of dogs. That she was petting a dog—especially one that was a breed a lot of people were afraid of—blew my mind.

I glanced into the kitchen, where Young was opening himself another beer. “Hey, Young?” I gestured at the slider. “Have you seen this?”

“Seen what?” He stepped out of the kitchen and looked in the direction I’d indicated, and he almost choked on his beer. “Is she…” He blinked. “Is she… petting a dog?”

“Looks like it, yeah.”

He stared for a moment, his eyes huge and his jaw hanging open. I even thought he might’ve been getting a little misty-eyed, but before I could be sure, he opened the slider. Both Wyatt and Monica turned, though Lily stayed focused on Monica.

“Honey, are you petting a dog?” Young sounded absolutely awestruck as he stepped outside.

She actually giggled, tousling Lily’s ears. “Yeah! She’s so sweet!”

“But she’s…” Young shook himself, and he laughed. Not like he was making fun of her, but like he was just so overcome with disbelief at what he was seeing. “How did you even…”

As I joined them on the deck and shut the door behind me, she excitedly explained that she’d asked Wyatt if she could sit near Lily. “Then he asked if I wanted to pet her, and…” She beamed as she scratched behind Lily’s floppy ear. “I feel kind of stupid for being this scared. She’s so gentle.”

Young sat down beside her and kissed her cheek. “You had a bad experience. It’s okay to be scared after that.”

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