Page 15 of Love in Training
FIVE
I waitin the car while Theo walks the dog—my dog—around the parking lot to pee. It’s fully dark out now, and I stare into the blackness, letting my thoughts descend to a place I rarely let them visit. Some of my early memories of Kyle almost seem to have a soft filter, a hazy glow around them as if they were a dream and not something real.
Something I had.
If I close my eyes, I can almost trace my fingers along the line of his jaw. Feel him breathe into my hair. Hear the rumble of his voice, low and serene.I love you, Caprice—I always will.
My chest aches.
Theo opens the back of the car, which dips lightly as the dog jumps into his crate. He says something I can’t hear before closing up and sliding into the passenger seat next to me.
“Sorry about the drama with Forbes,” he says, hunting around like he’s looking for something in his pockets. When I don’t respond, he looks at my face, wincing when our eyes meet.
“Why didn’t you just tell me about Kyle's will?” I ask. “Why the surprise?”
He sighs. “If I had called and said you inherited a sixty-pound ex-military canine, what would you have said?”
“I would’ve hung up and changed my number,” I admit. Which, obviously, he knew.
I start the car and steer out of the parking lot, wary of the quiet beast at the back of Lydia’s SUV. She’s going to flip out when I tell her what the car was for.
“It took me a while to track Rufus down after Kyle died,” Theo says as I merge onto the highway. “Someone had placed him with a foster, and then I couldn’t locate Kyle's will. He was about to be adopted, but I managed to stop it. I still wasn’t sure they were going to let me take him until I got there.”
“You should’ve let him stay with whoever wanted him,” I say, shaking my head.
“I thought about it. I honestly don’t know why Kyle wanted you to have him.” He grimaces. “But then you started getting those threats, and I don’t know—it felt like something I could do.” He looks at me. “For both of you.”
“Well . . . thanks?”
In the back of the car, the dog lets out a low whine, punctuating how much I regret everything about this decision. What am I going to do with a dog? Abigone. Maybe not as large as Lydia’s Akita mix, Heartthrob, but I doubt I could lift him. Just his crate takes up the entire back of this SUV. And he smells.
When we reach my building on the north end of Washington Park, I find a parking spot and shoot Lydia a text asking if I can return her car in the morning. She’s going to hound me for details, and I will call her with them, maybe after Theo leaves. But I don’t think I’m ready to articulate what just happened. Not tonight.
“Caprice.” Theo calls for me from the back of the car. I shut my door and wander to where he stands under the liftgate, surprised when a curious snout comes in contact with my knees. I dodge out of its range with a frown, but then I notice mybrother is holding the end of a leather leash out to me. “Here. You walk him in, and I’ll carry the crate up.”
I swallow. “You want me to?—”
But then the leash is in my hand, and I’m looking down the length of it at... my new pet. I curl my lip. Under the streetlight, he’s sort of tall and skinny. His face and pointed ears are black, as is the tip of his tail, but the rest of his body is a sort of honey blond. I barely know anything about dog breeds, but I’ve spent enough time hanging out with Lydia that I would’ve guessed he was a German shepherd if Theo hadn’t told me he was... something else from Western Europe? No more appealing either way.
The dog stands in front of me, assessing my hold on the leash like he’s equally unsure about my virtues. I guess that’s fair. We’re off to a great start—I don’t like him; he doesn’t like me.
But then he steps forward and nudges my hand.
I step back, tightening my fist around the leash.
“Whoa, easy there.” My brother chuckles when I knock into him. “I mean, I’d say he won’t bite, but I’m actually not sure.”
“Great.” I hold the door of my building open for Theo and the crate the size of my queen bed. “What breed did you say this is?”
“He’s a Belgian Malinois. The military trains a lot of them. They’re smart and motivated. Highly trainable, loyal. But they can also be fierce.”
Once my brother is through the door, I look back to where the dog stands, still waiting outside at the end of the leash. “Why is he just standing there?”
Theo glances back and shrugs. “Not sure. He might need a command? I don’t remember all the ones Kyle used.”
I give the leash a small tug, but he doesn’t budge. Who freaking has time for this?
My brother digs into his pockets and hands me a small bag of bone-shaped dog treats. “Here. Try just calling him.”
