Page 31 of Wild Dreams

At this point, Oakley realized I was standing there, and his front paws were on my legs, his little butt wiggling.

I crouched down to pet him. "Hey, buddy, you settling in okay?"

Scarlett leaned over the table. "I heard you're responsible for this little ball of fur?"

"I just encouraged Marigold to get him. They were attached to each other, and she's been wanting a dog." When I stood, Scarlett's brow was raised. "How did you know that?"

I shrugged, realizing I'd stepped into a mine field. "We ran into each other at the harvest festival last week. She was trying to adopt this guy out when he was clearly in love with her. Then we got lunch with Joey."

Scarlett's expression softened. "I love that little guy.”

"I'll let you guys get back to your dinner."

"It was nice to see you, but I hope I won't see you any more tonight," Scarlett said with a pointed look.

"You know how Eli is. I'm not making any promises." I mumbled that last part.

"Bye, Chance," Marigold said with a smile, and I wished I could sit down and eat dinner with them. My reaction to her was one more reason why I needed to distance myself from her.

I headed next door. Eli was already seated at the bar. "I ordered your usual."

I slid onto the stool next to him. "Thanks."

"I'm happy to see you're off duty." Eli tipped his head toward my casual outfit.

I rolled my shoulders back. "I'm not even on call."

Eli raised a brow. "We'll see how the night goes."

Wanting to get his attention off me, I said, "I ran into Marigold and Scarlett eating next door."

"I knew they were there, so I walked the other way. I didn't want her to accuse me of following her."

"I didn't know, and I spotted the dog first. Then Scarlett saw me. She warned me not to hang around them."

Eli shook his head. "Way to mess it up for me. What's this about a dog?"

"Marigold adopted one of the rescues she's been working with."

"That's kind of the opposite of what she's supposed to do, isn't it?"

"Apparently, it's common for volunteers to adopt the dogs. And this is Marigold's first. She could use the company."

"I agree. But since when are you so concerned about Marigold?"

"She's Scarlett's best friend. I've always looked after her." The bartender delivered our drinks, and Eli thanked him, telling him to put it on his tab.

Eli gripped the glass. "You seem to know a lot about what's going on in Marigold's life lately."

I stretched the crick in my neck, not appreciating the scrutiny. "We keep running into each other. I saw her at the harvest festival with the dog. Then she heard about our biking trip being cancelled, and she offered to go with me." I shouldn't have said anything.

Eli's brow raised even higher. "Is that right?"

"We took the lake path. It was a friend thing."

"Is it now?" Eli asked, tipping his glass back. "You know you can't be married to your job forever."

"That was the plan." I hope he didn't catch onto the fact I'd used the wordwas."Besides you guys are always too busy lately. The only time I can see you is when Scarlett is out with her friends."

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