Page 43 of Coach
We all nodded our agreement to that.
“I’ll get on the dog angle,” Rook offered. “See if I find a direction to send you in tomorrow.”
Detroit went to the kitchen, ready to make a good meal for our little guest. The others started to clean up. I went to grab the film and some supplies to bring up to the third floor.
All the while, I had a little idea forming.
About who I might bring with me to save a dog from the shelter.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Este
“Oh, boy,” I said when I heard a drilling sound coming from the other side of the duplex. “I guess we have a new neighbor, huh, girl?”
Trix growled toward the shared wall, but it was a half-hearted sound. She was still beat from a long game of fetch—her new favorite thing in the world we both discovered once the fence went up. It has been great to start to curb the boredom and excess energy that led to a lot of her barking and reactivity.
“I’m kinda hoping it’s another woman,” I told my dog as I went to the kitchen to check for baking supplies. New neighbors meant I had to offer baked goods. I didn’t make the rules. “For your sake. And therefore mine.”
I’d just gathered all the dry ingredients on the counter when there was a knock at my front door.
Despite knowing I was safe, that there were no signs that I needed to have my guards all the way up, my whole body tensed, my blood froze, my heartbeat started to beat hard and deep.
I didn’t realize my hand had gone automatically for the knife in my drainboard until I felt its smooth handle in my palm.
There was another knock, and I heard Trix’s nails click as she made her way toward the front door.
She wasn’t barking.
So it was probably just the mail lady.
I hadn’t ordered anything, but maybe there was some sort of mail for the landlord she needed to drop off.
I slid my hand behind my back but kept the knife in my palm as I made my way toward the living room.
It wasn’t until I was almost at the door that I heard a voice call through it.
“You home, Este?”
Saul.
I tried not to notice the way my heartbeat thrummed, how my blood warmed, how desire pooled.
I slid the locks and pulled open the door.
“Hey, Saul,” I said, shooting him a smile.
“Fence looks great.”
“It killed me to go with black paint,” I admitted. “But it did kind of make the whole thing blend in.”
“You made up for it with the hammock.”
“I was so happy when I came across that one at the thrift store. It’s perfect. Well, aesthetically. It’s kind of uncomfortable.”
“Looks like it might be pulled too tight. If you loosen the links, it might be better. Hey, girl,” he called.
Following his gaze, I saw Trix trying to wedge herself between me and the doorway.
