Page 44 of Tainted Empire (Sins of Our Father)

“You okay, Ali?” Rob asks as I slowly turn to him and offer a fake smile.

“Yeah, I’m perfect,” I say, lying to both him and myself.

34

I’m startingto go insane with not having a lot of work to do, so I decide to help Marley at the clinic for the rest of the week. It mostly just consists of unpacking and counting inventory, but I’m glad to just keep my mind busy instead of pacing around the house.

“Don’t think too hard, your brain might explode,” Marley teases, grabbing a box from the stockroom in between clients.

“Sorry, guess I just got lost in thought for a second,” I say, unpacking a box of treats and putting them away on the shelves.

“Wanna let me in on your secrets?” she asks, waggling her brows at me as she leans against the shelving unit.

God, Marley, I want to tell you every secret, but I’m trying to forget them.

“Just wondering what I should do with all this free time I have now,” I say, taking the easy way out even though I want to unleash all my thoughts on her.

She’s been busy with the clinic and coming to check on our animals at the ranch, and I don’t want to burden her with my bullshit even though she asked.

“Well, I could always fire the receptionist-”

“Don’t, Jane is great and clerical work isn’t really my thing, not that I don’t love spending time with you.” I wink, unloading more boxes and avoiding her eyes so she doesn’t catch my lies. She’s good at that. Way too fucking good at it, actually.

“Jane is great. Plus, Friday has no appointments and my tech will be here to close, so I actually might have a night off this week. Wanna do something?” she asks and I start to shrug, but an idea rushes to the front of my mind.

“You know I would love to, but…”

“But what?” she asks, an eyebrow raised as I bite back a smile.

“But I was talking with Rob yesterday, and he’s been thinking about asking you out on an actual date, so maybe you should do something with him?” I suggest and she sighs, twirling her blond ponytail in between her small fingers.

“What is it?” I ask.

“Nothing, it’s just I would like for him to actually ask me, you know? For years I’ve watched that man pick up women from Danny’s without any hesitation, yet with me, he acts fucking clueless,” she gruffs out, frustrated.

“Maybe it’s because those girls were nothing but hookups, and he wants you to be more than that.”

“What makes you say that?” she asks, meeting my eyes.

“Because he told me, Marley. I swear, both of you must be blind. He’s completely enamored with you. I’ve never seen a grown man blush like he does when he talks about you or looks at you. I think you’re the first serious thing to ever walk into Rob’s life, so you might have to grab him by the balls and guide him,” I laugh, and it makes her smile.

She blushes slightly, a rare occurrence for the strong-willed spirit that lives inside her.

“You really think so?” she asks, and I nod with a smile.

We stand in comfortable silence for a moment, until she decides to fucking ruin it.

“Speaking of grabbing men by the balls, have you heard from Hunter recently?” she asks and I groan, resting my forehead on some of the merchandise.

“I knew you were gonna go there.”

“I just want to know what happened, Ali. You and I both know that there’s something you’re not telling me and you’re clearly down. I know you can’t sit still by nature, but you’re extra restless this week and I know he has something to do with it.” She frowns, searching my eyes.

I have to stop and wonder if being a vet is truly her calling, because she might be a psychic. Or a therapist, since she’s an expert at reading people. Either that or I’m just wearing my hurt all over my face.

“We just decided that it was best we didn’t see each other. Our lives and history will always clash, and I just don’t have it in me to get hurt right now. I know it’s inevitable in life, but I just need a break since my dad. I just want to breathe normally without my heart aching,” I say honestly, even though my heart aches without seeing Hunter.

“And you’re sure about this decision?” she asks, searching my eyes once more as I give her a weak smile.

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