Page 22 of Refuge for Ailsa

“Oh. Should we hang up so?”

“No! I mean, no. That’s okay. We weren’t talking about anything important.”

“Gotcha.”

“You have a dog?”

“Yeah. Her name is Starlight, and she belonged to a guy we arrested and sent to prison for poaching. He was frantic as he was being booked because he knew he was going to jail and he didn’t have anyone to take care of her. She was there in the house alone. I took his keys, went to his house and got her, and brought her home with me. She’s been with me ever since.”

“Was she already an adult?”

“Uh, about eight months old. I actually found her papers. He told me later exactly where to look for them, so I called the breeder to ask if they wanted to buy her back because sometimes they do when the home they’ve placed a dog in doesn’t keep them, but when they found out what I do for a living, they told me to keep her. Me and a couple of the guys helped pack up all his stuff and send it to his mother before the landlord carried out the eviction notice, and I put a check for the dog in an envelope and gave it to his mom.”

“That was nice of you, given he was a criminal.”

“Yeah, well, he was also a guy I went to high school with. He wasn’t a bad person. He was just doing some bad stuff and got caught. He finished his sentence and I saw him a few months ago. I asked him if he wanted her back, and he said no. Said mine was the only home she could remember, so I should keep her. Gave me five dollars to buy some treats for her. I thought that was really nice of him. Felt kinda bad for him, honestly. She’s a great dog.”

“What kind?”

“English Springer Spaniel.”

“They’re not cheap.”

“No. I gave him a thousand for her, but I think he paid about eighteen hundred dollars for her.”

“Wow!”

“Yeah. And I didn’t teach her to hunt, so that was way too much to pay for a pet. But whatever. She’s a good dog and a lot of company to me.”

“Can I meet her sometime?”

It got quiet for a couple of seconds before Tavish answered. “Well, I would hope you would want to. I just assumed?”

“I just don’t want to be too forward,” she said in way of explanation.

“I had my cock buried in you for an hour and you don’t want to be too forward? What planet are you from, girl?” he asked, laughing.

“I dunno. I guess… I dunno.” She could feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment and she was glad he wasn’t there to see it.

“I’m just messing with you. But know this: You can’t be too forward with me. Whatever you’re thinking, I want to know. And I hope I can tell you what I’m thinking too.”

“You can. Whatever it is, you can.”

“Then I can tell you that I’m hoping this afternoon is only the beginning and we have many, many more afternoons together. Hundreds. Thousands.”

Ailsa’s eyes filled with tears. “Me too.”

“Good. Now, you get some sleep. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Okay. I’ll… Wait. Are we going to dinner?”

“Oh! I’m glad you said something. Okay, tomorrow night is out. I have to work. But Tuesday night is open. Thursday is too, looks like.”

“Tuesday night.”

“Okay. What time?”

“I leave the office at five thirty.”

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