Page 38 of Nate

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. She left when I was just a baby. I wouldn’t know her if I fell over her.”

Markie didn’t know what else she could say, so she didn’t say anything. When her number was called, she got up and smiled at Caysen when he got to his feet.

“It was nice talking with you, Agent Anderson. Have a good day.”

“Yes, ma’am. You do the same.” He waited until she walked away then resumed his seat.

Some of the men around here knew their manners and it impressed the hell out of her. Nate wouldn’t sit until she did and stood whenever she did.

Even when she was engaged, her fiancé never opened doors for her, stood when she entered a room, or walked on the outside of the sidewalk and she’d bet her last dollar that Nate would.

She remembered the first time Sydney had taken her to Dewey’s, the local cowboy hangout and she told her she wasn’t into cowboys. She was more into white collar men, but after seeing and meeting some of the local cowboys, she quickly changed her mind. When she saw Sam for the first time, she was sure her mouth dropped open. Not only was he tall, dark, gorgeous, and had amazing blue eyes, he was so polite. He removed his hat when he shook her hand.

She thought about Nate removing his and wiping his feet on the welcome mat last night before entering her apartment. That was manners and that seemed to be the cowboy way.

As the day wore on, she finally headed home, then decided to check on Bobo to see how he was doing. If all was well, he’d be able to go home tomorrow.

She walked around to the back door, unlocked it, and quietly entered the hospital and smiled when she heard the dogs barking.

“Who needs an alarm system?” she muttered as she entered the code to turn off the silent alarm, locked the door, then headed toward the recovery room.

Pushing the door open, she laughed when she saw Bobo wagging his tail when he saw her. She knelt in front of the cage.

“Hi, baby. You look so good. I know you hate that cone of shame.” She smiled when he licked her fingers. “I bet you can go home tomorrow. Your mommy and daddy will be so happy to have you home. I know you miss them. Let me check your pain meds.”

She checked the bag and decided to give him a little to take the edge off. He still had to be in pain, though dogs rarely let someone know. After using a syringe to add the medicine, she watched as he leaned his head against the side of the cage and fell asleep. It was best to keep him calm, so he didn’t try to do too much. She really hoped he could return home tomorrow.

As she made her way toward the back door, she set the alarm, opened the door, then locked it behind her and made her way up the stairs to enter her apartment.

When she got inside, she immediately kicked off her shoes, headed toward the bedroom, and changed into sweatpants and a T-shirt. She planned to be lazy the rest of the day. She wondered what Nate was doing and had been hoping he’d call her today, but she hadn’t heard from him.

When her phone buzzed from the end table, she picked it up and groaned when she saw Jarrett’s number, but she had to answer in case there was something wrong with her mother.

“Jarrett?”

“Hello, Markie. I just wanted to make sure you were going to make it to your mother’s birthday party.”

Markie clenched her jaw. “You know I am.”

“I had no idea for sure. Your mother didn’t say.”

“That’s a lie. I told her and since she tells you everything, I know you’re aware that I’ll be there,” she snapped.

“I look forward to seeing you,” he said in a low voice.

“Fuck you.”

He laughed. “Anytime. Goodbye for now, Markie.” He hung up.

She wanted to throw her phone. How could her mother not see what a creep he was? It did Markie no good to tell her, she refused to listen to anything negative about Jarrett. How he’d wormed his way in, Markie didn’t know but hoped that one day, it would come to a head and her mother would finally kick his ass to the curb.

When the phone buzzed again, she thought about ignoring it, but she knew he wouldn’t call back. She picked it up to see Sydney’s number.

“Hey,” she said.

“You didn’t tell me how last night went, or is he still there?” Sydney asked.

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