Page 18 of High Density

I get the feeling that’s not the whole story, but it clearly affected him, and I’m not going to push it.

“Part of the job,” he states dismissively as he retrieves his hand.

But he doesn’t fool me. Euthanizing animals is part of my job, taking care of animals who have been badly abused is too, but that doesn’t make any of it easier to deal with. It doesn’t mean I don’t lie awake at night, agonizing over some of the things I deal with in my line of work.

I don’t interfere when he gets up and gathers the dishes and the empty beer bottles. Not even when he starts washing the plates and the cutlery, even though I have a perfectly functional dishwasher right next to where he’s standing over the sink. He rinses the bottles and leaves them sitting on the counter, and stores the leftover food in my fridge. Then he turns to me.

“I best get going.”

“You don’t have to go.”

A smile briefly tugs at his mouth.

“Yeah, tonight I do. Walk me to the door?”

I do as he asks and follow him to the front of the house. He opens the door, but before he steps outside, he turns around to face me. My breath catches in my throat when his hands come up to frame my face. His thumbs brush my cheeks.

“Gonna kiss you now,” he warns.

“Okay,” I whisper, as his head lowers.

My eyes stay locked on his as his mouth covers mine, but drift shut as his kiss deepens. I’m lost to everything but those lush lips and his skilled tongue.

Oh my.I’m in trouble.

Chapter Six

JD

I gruntwith the impact when she throws herself at me.

“Hey, you,” my sister says, beaming as she leans back in my arms.

“Hey.”

I pull her closer for another hug.

She looks good. Strong and healthy, although I miss her long shiny hair. She’s cut it short, wearing it in a messy pixie. It suits her, but I still miss the long braids she used to wear. I guess it’s easier in her line of work. I remember when we were still living at home, it would take forever for her hair to dry after a shower.

When I let go of her, her eyes narrow on me.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I brush her off.

“I can see something is,” she insists.

Despite sharing a meal and a kiss that lingered until I hit my bed last night, the dream I woke up from, in the early morninghours, was far from pleasant. In fact, it was pretty gruesome, every detail still etched in my mind.

“Leave him alone, Una,” my father mumbles from his chair.

I’d hoped to delay showing up at my parents’ house as much as I could, but Una was blowing up my phone from the moment she arrived.

“Am I not allowed to ask what’s wrong with my brother?” Una immediately reacts to our father’s words.

Pa was there yesterday; he saw what I saw. Hell, we had to stand guard over that poor woman’s body for hours—making sure no wildlife could get at her—before law enforcement could get their crime team in. I’m sure her image has been swirling around his head as well.

So, I know why he made that comment, but my sister doesn’t, so all she hears is criticism and rejection. I understand both, stuck in the middle again, so no matter what I say or how I react, it’s gonna piss someone off.

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