Page 61 of Love in Training
For a moment we just stand there, too close. Drew, me, and our mutual ghost.
Then the breeze shifts between the trees, and Rufus raises his nose to scent the air. I lay my hand on his head automatically, and I’m surprised by the near-immediate calm that settles over me. I step back, pick up my bag, and loop the leash over my thumb. “We’ll be here tomorrow. Same time.”
Wednesday, March 24, 20__, 11:59 PM
From:[email protected]
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: no subject
Dear Kyle,
Your brother is a bigger dick than I ever imagined. He’s a jerk and a bully and I guess I understand now why you didn’t want him to have Rufus. But did you really thinkIcould do better? What if I don’t?
I’m just so scared I’m going to screw up again.
C
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
“Doyou want me to come with you this afternoon?” Lydia asks through my earbuds as I exit my building. “It could be like a supervised custody visit. I could just sit and glare at Drew so he stays off your back.”
I exhale, simultaneously grateful for her fierce loyalty and determined not to ask heranymore favors. “Not necessary, but thank you. He can give me all the free training he wants. I’m not giving Rufus to him.”
She chuckles. “I’m just... still trying to wrap my head around you as a willing dog owner.”
I mutter under my breath, and for a second I want to tell her the rest. How Drew didn’t just try to take the dog again, but also insinuated that I abandoned Kyle.
“Is it helping at least?” Lydia asks. “Have you seen any progress?”
I glance down at Rufus walking right at my heel. Between taking him for early runs the last two mornings and his structured training every afternoon, hehasbeen more mellow. I caught him shredding the laces of one of my Hokas Wednesday night, but now that I think about it, no one even complained about him whining at work yesterday. “I mean, I hate to suggestDrew Forbes was right about anything, but the dog does seem happier.”
“Good. And if it means it might be safe to replace your couch, who cares?”
“Yeah.” My chest lightens. “I might actually be able to do that soon. The Vanderpool article has gone totally viral again. Last I checked, it was onBuzzFeedandHuffPo, andDenver Editorialeven reposted and linked back to my original article. Randall also followed through on the raise he promised.”
“Caprice!” Lydia squeals. “Iknewyou’d do it!”
“Eh,” I say quickly. “The trick is, I need tokeepwriting stuff like that. But it’s been nice, proving I could do it again.” Rufus’s head perks up, and I follow his gaze to a hooded person shuffling down the sidewalk. With a gentle tug on the leash, I cross the street to avoid them.
“Also, I hate to admit this, but I do feel safer with him.”
She hesitates. “With Drew?”
“What?No, Rufus.”
“Tell me more.” Her voice drops and somewhere in the background, I hear a door close. “Something didn’t happen, did it?”
I swallow. Both grateful for her best friend intuition and annoyed because I didn’t want to worry her with this part. “There were some nasty social media comments and a couple emails after the feature was published, of course. It’s creepy, but as the police told Randall, there’s no overt threat.”
“Are you okay, though?” Lydia says soberly. “You don’t sound okay.”
“I’m fine,” I say, relieved she can’t see my face. “I’ve got Cujo here. I’m totally safe as long as anyone who tries to mess with me doesn’t think to bring a Kong toy.”
She hums for a second like she’s trying to decide whether to believe me.
