Page 55 of Coach
“You think so?” he asked.
“Absolutely. He looks so much more relaxed and happy. I remember that when I brought my sweet Trix home.”
“She’s beautiful.”
“Isn’t she? She keeps me sane.”
“Know that feeling,” Rafe agreed, patting Steve’s head.
“I’m so glad we could get him for you. It’s good to see him back where he belongs.”
Trix chose that moment to let out a little rumble.
“Can we take her upstairs to your workroom? I don’t know how she does with other dogs up close.”
“Sure.”
“Nice seeing you guys,” she said to the guys before following me down the hall. “No, huh?” she asked when Trix grumbled and pulled back away from the elevator.
“Stairs it is,” I said. “I might be able to calm you down, but something tells me that dogs don’t do mindful breathing.”
The second we were inside the workroom, I unclipped Trix’s leash and Este closed the door.
“Okay. What the hell is going on in this town?”
Fuck.
I forced myself to turn slowly, face schooled in indifferent lines even as my heart started to race.
“What’s that?”
“Oh, come on,” she said, brows raising. “Seriously?” she went on, crossing her arms. “That’s Rafe Marsters down there. Escaped convict.”
Not wanting to lie, I said nothing.
“I mean, had I come here a few days ago, I would have been completely clueless. I’ve been kind of deliberately out of touch with the local news.”
“What changed?”
“I got looped in.”
“On purpose?”
“In a way.”
I wasn’t the only one being evasive.
The difference was that I knew what was at risk for me. What was at risk for her?
“Are you planning on going to the cops?”
“About Rafe?”
“Yes.”
She leaned back against the door, exhaling hard, seeming to grow smaller by the second.
“No.”
