Chapter 3
three
*LEO*
Barkley is the size of a bear but has the peaceful mindset of a little lamb. The moment he is in my apartment, he drops down on his stomach and drifts to sleep. Whenever I walk past him, his tail wags slightly.
I always dread the evening hours between coming home and going to sleep, that is, if I manage to sleep at all. Tonight, however, there is Barkley with me to chase the monsters under my bed away. Or at least block them.
We watch TV first, a lighthearted sitcom.
I avoid watching anything too heavy or disturbing, especially before I go to sleep.
Once it’s past midnight, I know it’s inevitable.
I have to try to sleep. Barkley follows me to the bathroom first, watching me curiously, not even leaving when I take a shower.
Soren is right, he is truly human-focused.
Then he follows me to my bed. He stares at the bed first, then at me, then grunts and lies down on the small carpet next to it, like he is too lazy to heave himself up on the bed.
When I let my hand drop down, I can feel his fur.
I am not alone.
I can sleep safely.
It does take me some while to finally fall asleep, but for once, I don’t wake up constantly or toss around restlessly. For the first time in months, I sleep well.
Early in the morning, a persistent ringing startles me awake. Barkley is up, wagging his tail and slobbering over my hand. I can’t help but smile and cuddle him. “My cute little bear.”
He grunts.
The ringing continues.
“Oh shit,” I mutter, grabbing my bathrobe and throwing it on. “It’s probably Aspen,” I tell Barkley. “Huh? Yeah, he is an early riser.”
Barkley follows me through the apartment, down the staircase and to the door.
“Absolutely,” I nod at my pup. “It’s weird.”
Ripping the door open, I expect to come face to face with my brother, but I am looking right into a pair of deep brown eyes behind glasses and gentle curls that frame a handsome face. “You,” I squeak. “Soren.”
“Good morning,” he says with a smile, like I’m not a complete sleepy mess.
“Oh, my god!” I blurt out, closing the door again. My heart is in my throat. Did I just open the door, barely dressed with messy hair and sleep in my eyes!?
There is a gentle knock against the door.
“Sorry,” I exclaim while opening again. “It’s just—“
I don’t get to finish my sentence as Barkley runs past me, barking joyfully and running headfirst into a mountain of snow.
Snow?
Everything is covered in thick white!
“Where did the snow come from!?”
“Well, when temperatures are low enough, ice crystals form in clouds and—“
“I know how snow happens in theory,” I say, slightly annoyed. “I was just surprised because yesterday it didn’t look like it would snow.”
“I know,” Soren says with a smile, a twinkle in his eyes.
I feel my cheeks flushing again. He is teasing me.
Fortunately, Barkley chooses that moment to bark again and roll through the fresh snow.
The snowplow that cleaned the streets shoved little hills of the white mass to the side, much to his pleasure.
Watching my pup finally startles me fully awake. “Oh no, Barkley! Come back!”
In my slippers and bathrobe, I am about to hurry after Barkley when Soren’s arm catches me.
I am so close to him all of a sudden, my breath hitches.
“How about I catch Barkley and you dress in something warmer?” he offers.
He sounds warm and kind, but at the same time, like he is not going to accept any objections.
“I brought coffee with me. We can go for a walk with Barkley then. Don’t forget your winter jacket. ”
I nod, dumbfounded, and stumble back into my apartment to get ready. In my old life, it would take me ages to get ready, because appearance was everything. For work, I had to have the perfect face with the perfect hair and a perfect suit. Fashionable, but not too flashy.
Now, no one cares. Least of all me. I just brush my teeth, wash my face and don’t even comb my hair. I use my fingers to brush through it. Then I grab a pair of jeans and a warm sweater.
Oh, right, Soren told me not to forget my warm, winter jacket.
When I step outside, Soren is leaning against the wall, Barkley sitting next to him like the bestest boy he is, wagging his tail when he spots me.
“Here you are,” Soren smiles. “That was fast. Did you bring his leash?”
“Leash?”
Oh, damn!
I return to my apartment and grab Barkley’s leash, plus the small bag of treats and anything else that might come in handy.
Once outside, Soren shows me his warm smile again, which makes me feel flustered all over.
I put Barkley on his leash, so he won’t jump at every pedestrian in his overexcitement.
My brain has difficulties processing this morning, making it quite difficult to believe that I am here outside now with Soren and my pup.
I am still ogling Soren in awe when he hands me a still-warm cup of coffee.
God, yes! Exactly what I need!
*SOREN*
Aspen’s little brother accepts the coffee and takes a huge gulp, eyes shining happily.
I love that I just got him in a moment when his guard was down.
I only met him yesterday, but so far it’s obvious he is reluctant to talk to anyone or even look at them for too long.
All in all, he seems to be so quiet and often far away with his thoughts.
Robin is often somewhere in the clouds with his thoughts, too, but it doesn’t look like Leo is daydreaming… more like he is dissociating.
My chest churns slightly.
“Thank you for the coffee,” he says after a while, casting me a careful gaze.
He has these deep blue eyes, bluer than Aspen’s, and a beautiful, soft face.
His hair is a light shade of brown, and he clearly looks like he just got up.
He seems to have his guard down more in the morning when he is still sleepy.
Adorable.
I tear my gaze away. It’s not the right time to stare. “I am sorry for dropping by unannounced, but I wanted to check on you and Barkley.”
“It’s fine. I needed to take Barkley for a walk anyway.” He pauses. “I am not a morning person.”
“I figured.” I grin.
“I used to be up early. It’s because…” He stops his sentence abruptly and doesn’t finish it. “I really should consider Barkley more. He needs his morning walk.”
I chuckle. “His breed is quite the chilled one. He won’t mind much if you walk him later.”
“Still, it’s not good…” he says, again not finishing his sentence.
“I don’t mind picking you and Barkley up for a walk each morning,” I offer.
He turns to look at me, his eyes wide in surprise. Cute that this is what got me a reaction. “I am sure you are busy. Aspen told me you are a vet. I couldn’t possibly stop you from work.”
“You wouldn’t,” I assure him. “I open later, and I have an assistant. As for emergencies, I always have my phone with me. This is a small town; most of the time, I need to drive to reach my patients.”
“Barkley was your patient, right?”
“Yes, his owners got him as a birthday present for their child, but once he grew out of his puppy phase, they realized he is too big and too much work for their liking.” I can’t help but sound annoyed. People buying pets as presents is one of my major grievances.
“People suck sometimes,” Leo says quietly. “They just take what they want from you.” Before I can inquire further, he touches Barkley’s head softly. “He is the sweetest, and not just a random toy.”
“So, what do you say? Tomorrow at the same time?” I can see him struggle with my offer. While I am not so sure why, I don’t want to push it on him too much. “You don’t need to say yes,” I reassure him. “It’s really just an offer. I am going on a walk during that time of day anyway.”
It seems like my words just put him at ease. “Is that true?”
“Yes, it’s my daily workout,” I chuckle. “Though it’s barely enough to stay fit.”
His gaze moves from my face to my chest before he draws it away, clearly flustered. Okay, he is sweet. I am not surprised by how overprotective Aspen is.
“If it truly doesn’t bother you and if you promise you won’t go out of your way…”
So that’s what was bothering him. “I didn’t just make it up,” I reassure him. “I am going on a morning walk daily. Well, maybe not that early on Sundays, but you get the gist.”
He nods. “Thank you, Soren.”
I know Aspen already showed him around town yesterday, but I make sure to show him some additional spots that are busy in the mornings.
Leo seems to enjoy the walk. He doesn’t talk a lot, but he listens intently and looks at everything I show him.
Barkley’s presence really helps, too. Dogs have that therapeutic and grounding effect on a lot of people.
“Do you want to grab something from the bakery?” I ask when we walk past the small shop that sells freshly baked bread every morning.
Leo nods. “Yes, I would love to.”
In front of us, there is a mother with her two boys. One of them wears a baseball cap the other way round and is obviously in the preteen phase that he is too cool for everything and everyone, whereas the other boy tugs along behind him and copies everything he does.
I know the family. They are a funny and sweet bunch who saved a three-legged Pomeranian from getting euthanized. They also have a grumpy cat that always gives me a death glare when they take her to me for a checkup.
The mom says something to her two sons, and they dash off together. Sometimes the smaller one turns to wave at her, and she waves back.
Leo looks at the family. Something in his eyes seems to change.
“I should go home now,” he says, his hands searching for Barkley like he needs something to hold onto. He turns on his heels so fast I can barely react.
“Leo,” I call after him. “Wait!”
He doesn’t hear me, or maybe he is ignoring me; I am not sure.
Part of me thinks I should mind my own business and call Aspen instead, but that look of panic in Leo’s eyes doesn’t sit right with me.
I make a brief call to my assistant, asking her to take over the morning shift for me and only call me in an emergency, before I chase after Leo.