Page 46 of Rescue Me (Forget the Past 1)

“Would you have responded?” Martin asks.

“Probably not.”

He smiles triumphantly as if he somehow made a point.

My exasperated sigh mixes with another growl. Pumpkin whines and paces in front of me.

Breathe in. Breathe out. I’m calm.

“Go wait on the patio. We have a lesson to finish. If you behave, Imighttalk to you.”

I glare at Martin until he turns around and walks to the back porch, settling in one of the wrought iron chairs with its thick comfy cushions. He doesn’t deserve to be comfortable. He should be sitting in the dirt.

With a shake of my head, I do my best to ignore him and focus back on Dash and my dog. Unfortunately, my trainer seems distracted, his gaze locked on the man lounging like he owns the house.

“Ignore him. I’ll deal with him later. We have more important things.”

Dash moves his stare to me, silent for a moment before nodding.

“Now, just like with the other commands. Firm voice, and a hand gesture.” Dash demonstrates a closed fist, then spreads his fingers as if he were dropping some invisible object.

I try to mimic him, but he reaches out for my hand after I try the motion. “No. Your fingers should spread wider. When they’re closed it looks like you’re making the sign for sit.” His fingers press into the spaces between mine to spread them out.

A loud cough echoes from the patio.

We both ignore it.

I try again, and Dash gives a nod of approval.

For the next ten minutes we work on getting Pumpkin to understand the command, with varied success. Just when she seems to be getting it, a loud noise will distract her. Maybe it’s another cough, or the scrape of a chair being adjusted, or even a quick, called out comment.

In any other situation, I don’t think these things would throw my puppy off so much. But she’s clearly picking up on my discomfort. The past lessons have been fun and playful. This one is all stress.

There comes a point when both Dash and I realize today is going to be a bust.

“It’s okay, Paige. Some days are good, some days are bad. We’ll work on this again next week. When everyone is more relaxed.” One of Dash’s large hands smooths over my shoulder, then rubs a reassuring circle on my back.

“I’m sorry.” I shove the toe of my sneaker into the dirt after tossing a ball across the yard for Pumpkin, letting her run off her tension. I’m going to need the same outlet once everyone leaves me alone. “I’ll just grab my purse.” Disappointment that my brief time with Dash got interrupted wars with relief that once he’s gone, I can go madwoman crazy shouty on my ex for showing up unannounced.

“Don’t worry about it. Today was a bust. No need to pay me.”

I glare up at Dash. “Your time is valuable. You gave some of it to me and my dog. We’re going to pay you.”

For a moment he stares down at me, strange emotions flickering through his eyes, before he settles on one of his not-smiles.

“Nothing about me is valuable.”

The breath gets knocked from me at the amount of self-loathing conveyed in that statement. But I don’t have time to form a coherent response because there’s an asshole nearby.

“Your lesson all done now? Gotta say, didn’t look too productive. You know my aunt raises show dogs, Paige. I’ll give her a call and set you up with a professional trainer.” My ex saunters over to us, smirk heavy on his face.

I move to stand in front of Dash as if I can protect him from the cruel words. Then, out of nowhere, another level of defense presents itself. Pumpkin places herself just in front of me, hackles raised, a low growl rumbling from her barrel chest.

I let the satisfaction of seeing fear on Martin’s face roll over me for just a moment before crouching down and hugging my dog, whispering sweet soothing words in her ears. After a moment, she calms down enough to lick my face and trot back to Dash. As she snuffles his pockets for treats, I stand up to face my ex.

“Damn, Paige. If you wanted a dog, you should’ve talked to me about it. We could’ve found you something small and cute, like a Pomeranian. It’s not safe for you to have a violent dog.” Martin glares at my sweet, loving Pumpkin.

The combination of his words and expression breaks a damn inside me. Fury rises in a steady pressure, like a flash flood about to drown everything in the surrounding area. I have moments before the destruction begins.

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