Page 51 of Yolo

“You and me both, child. You and me both.”

I waited until after I heard her flip-flops flipping away before making my way to the glass partition she’d spoken about.

When I got close, Rooster stopped me, and I waited until I was addressed.

My belly was a riot of butterflies as I waited for her to get off the phone.

Rooster sat and leaned against me, panting lightly.

“Can I help you?”

I stepped forward until the counter was under the palm of my hand.

Rooster stopped me with a brush of his side against mine. “Sure can.” I smiled. “Any way you can show me to a Mrs. Carter’s office? I have a meeting with her at two.”

There was some shuffling and then a woman’s voice as she said, “Hey, Officer Carter. This is Lindy from the front desk. I have a lady here that says she has a meeting with you?”

There was a pause and then, “Ma’am, is your name Bindi Howe?”

I nodded. “It is.”

“Yes, ma’am. It’s her,” the receptionist said. “Oh, okay. Sure, I can walk her back.”

There was the sound of a phone being hung up, then a door opening somewhere to my left.

“I’m about two paces in front of you,” the receptionist said, sounding less walled in when she wasn’t behind the glass.

“Thanks,” I said as Rooster started us forward.

The receptionist chattered and said hi to quite a few people as we passed, and I stayed silent and kept pace beside her, even though she was walking a tad fast for my comfort.

Luckily, Rooster kept me solid, and I arrived at an office that I would never be able to find my way back to, or out of, even if I wanted to.

“Mrs. Carter,” the receptionist said. “Your appointment.”

“Thanks, dear,” a sweet woman’s voice, with a hint of steel underneath of it, said. “You’re dismissed.”

I shivered at the tone.

No nonsense.

“Come on in, Ms. Howe,” Mrs. Carter said. “I have a couple of chairs directly in front of you.” She paused. “Do you think your dog would like something to drink?”

I relaxed completely then. “Actually, yes. It’s hot, and the poor boy’s had to do a lot of work to get me here today.”

“Oh.” She paused. “Was it very hard to get to from your apartment?”

I hesitated to answer before saying, “Yeah, kind of.”

“Let’s just say, if you get the job, I’ll be sending you a ride every morning,” she said. “We have officers that live in your area that are more than willing to grab you up, then take you home, if you’re okay with that.”

“That would be fantastic,” I shared.

She poured Rooster a drink into what sounded like a bowl she’d already had handy.

“My son’s dog comes in here a lot to…” She paused. “It’s like I talked about him, and there he is. He’s a sweet boy, aren’t you, big boy?”

An excited nose poked at my hand and I reached out, feeling pointy ears and long hair.

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