Page 44 of Coach
“Not a single bark. I’m impressed. Were you cooking, or expecting a serial killer in the middle of the day?” he asked.
My hand had fallen from behind my back, and the big chef’s knife was on full display.
“I never get drop-by visitors,” I told him, moving aside in silent invitation. “So, what brings you by?”
I was kind of hoping he might say to finish what we started the last time he was in my home.
But nothing about his body language said he was ready to ravage me.
“I actually wanted to see if you wanted to come on an adventure with me.”
“An adventure. That’s mysterious. Is it to a new home improvement store?”
“It’s to a dog shelter.”
“A dog shelter?”
“A buddy of mine has fallen on some hard times, and his dog ended up in a shelter. He’s fucking sick about it. I wanna go and adopt him, so he can have him back.”
“That’s really sweet.” I placed my knife down on the coffee table. “But why do you want me to come?”
“I’ve never adopted a dog before. Not sure how it’s gonna go. Wouldn’t mind an expert.”
“I mean, I’ve only done it once. But I’d be happy to come. Do you want to go now?”
“He’s chomping at the bit to get his dog back.”
“I bet. I can’t imagine. Let me just find my… there you are,” I said, finding my shoes and shoving my feet in. “How long do you think we’ll be gone? Trix is usually fine for seven-ish hours. Though on slow shifts, I do sometimes rush home just to let her pee.”
“The shelter is only about forty minutes away. So back and forth, plus however long it takes to adopt him.”
“Is he in a normal kind of shelter? Or one of the private rescues?”
“Normal shelter. Why?”
“Because it’s much easier to adopt from a shelter. They don’t usually insist on the home visits and such. Typically, if they’reokay with your form answers, and you have the money, they will let you take him home today.”
“That’s the plan. Any sneaky questions I should be aware of?”
“Well, I sort of lied to get Trix. I claimed I owned a home. Bad, I know. But I knew she’d have a better—and longer—life with me than in a tiny box with a clock counting down to her destruction because she was labeled aggressive.”
“Homeowner. Got it.”
“They ask for a vet’s name too. We can use Trix’s vet. That’s another thing Shady Valley really needs. Their own vet. It sucks having to go out of town.”
I grabbed one of Trix’s extra leashes. “Okay. I’m ready to go. You be a good girl, alright? I won’t be too long, I promise.”
We made our way to the front door. “She’s going to sleep the whole time. I never realized just how much dogs sleep until I got one.”
If Saul thought my three locks on the front door were weird, he said nothing, just waited patiently for me before leading me to the car.
“So, who are we? Am I your sister? You know, to tell the shelter employees.”
Saul’s gaze slid down me, making each inch of skin goosebump. “Sister?” he asked when his eyes were on mine again.
“Yeah, that probably wasn’t too convincing.”
“We have to be together,” he said. “If that’s not a problem,” he added, pulling open the door to his truck for me.
