Page 108 of Housebroke

“Hazel.”

“What?”

“Penny is my dog.”

She gripped the steering wheel for a few seconds, then got out and unhooked Penny, letting her out, along with a small bag of her favorite toys. She handed him the bag and her leash, then looked up at him, her eyes filled with tears.

“You... you take good care of her, okay?”

“You know I will. Please don’t go.”

She hesitated for a fraction of a second, then slid into the driver’s seat, buckled up, and pulled out of the driveway, taking his crushed heart with her.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Hazel grabbed a tissue—one of the thousand she’d already cried in over the past two days. She was going to need to buy Sandy several boxes to make up for the ones she’d used up.

She sat outside on Sandy’s porch. Her pups were running amok outside with Sandy’s fosters, having a fantastic time. For the dogs, it was like being on vacation. For Hazel, it was like being right back where she was two months ago. Broken and homeless.

And she desperately missed Penny.

The only good thing about her falling apart was that Sandy cancelled the meet and greet with the people who wanted to adopt Freddie. Hazel supposed Sandy figured she was already enough of a mess without adding to her sadness.

Sandy came out with lemonade, handing one to her before taking a seat.

“Thanks,” she sniffled.

“Still crying, huh?”

“Yes. Sorry.”

Sandy shrugged. “I have plenty of tissues. Cry away.”

Hazel shook her head. “Nope, I’m done now. No more crying.”

Sandy took several swallows of lemonade. “You sure?”

“Absolutely.” As soon as she said it, the tears bubbled up again, spilling over. And just the act of tears rolling down her cheeks made the pain feel fresh again, the waterfall coming in waves that she couldn’t seem to stop.

Sandy handed her more tissues. “I can see why you’d be blubbering. Walking away from all those millions.”

“Oh, shut up.” She blew her nose. “You know I don’t care about his money.”

“No, you don’t. You care about him.”

“No, I don’t. Not anymore. Not after what he did.”

“That’s true. After all, he was going to buy you twenty acres and renovate a dream house for you and all the dogs you wanted to foster. How awful of him. I can see why you left him.”

Hazel swiped angrily at her eyes. “Dammit. I didn’t ask him to do any of that. I was saving money to do it all on my own. How dare he assume—”

“Assume what? That instead of taking baby steps, he had the ability to give it all to you right now?”

She flipped her attention on Sandy. “Why would he do that?”

Sandy gave her a sympathetic look. “Oh, honey, because he loves you. That’s why.”

But he’d never told her he loved her.

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