Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Diana
“Goodness, you need a bath.” I wrinkle my nose as I pet Teddy’s soft head. “You know, I have a friend named Teddy. We should probably change your name.”
Sheesh. What are we going to do with a dog? Will our hotel even allow dogs? I quickly pull up the website on my phone to verify that yes, they do allow dogs. But we’ll have to pay an extra fee.
No problem. But is this hound even housebroken?
One look into his big brown eyes, though, and I know I’m going to take care of him.
“We’ll get you some food, and a collar and leash. And of course you’ll have to go to the vet and get your shots. I live downtown in a penthouse. It’s not the best place for you. Dragon will have to walk you several times a day.” Then I laugh out loud. “Or I can, since I no longer have a job.”
Teddy’s ears perk up when Dragon opens the car door and gets back into the driver’s seat.
“How did it go?” I ask.
“She’s a mess.”
I lay a hand on his arm. “We can help her, Dragon.”
“I don’t want to help her.” He stares at the steering wheel. “She wasn’t there when I needed her. So fuck her.”
“What about your dad?”
“Heart attack a couple of months ago. He’s dead.” His voice is monotonal and noncommittal.
Should I tell him I’m sorry for his loss? Except it’s not a loss, really.
“How’d she end up here?”
“Didn’t ask. Don’t care.”
“Didn’t she work when you were a kid?”
“No. I mean, she sold cosmetics.” He squeezes his eyes shut and rubs at his forehead. “This is all like over twenty years ago, Diana.”
“What did your dad do?”
“He was a plumber.”
“Plumbers make good money. You lived in a house, right?”
“Yeah. A small one, but it was a house with a yard.”
“Then how?—”
“Like I said. Didn’t ask. Don’t care.”
I draw in a breath. “All right. The good news is that our hotel takes dogs, so Teddy here won’t be a problem. But he needs a bath really badly. And he needs some food. And water.”
“Yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking, taking him.”
“You did the right thing. I can’t watch any animal suffer.” I do a quick search on my phone. “There’s a Target on the outskirts of town,” I say. “We can get him some food and a leash and collar. Once we get home to Denver, he’ll have to go to the vet.”
He raises his eyebrows. “You mean you’re going to let him stay? In the penthouse?”
I let out a short laugh. “What did you think I was going to do? Make you both leave?”
He shrugs.
I frown. “You really don’t know me at all, do you?”
“No, I don’t,” he grumbles. “And you don’t know me either.”
“I think we know each other pretty well in one way,” I can’t help saying.
Dragon screeches the car to a stop on a side street before we’re even out of the trailer park. He turns to me, his eyes filled with fire. “Did you see that woman? That’s what I come from, Diana. I don’t come from ranches and riches. I come from that tired old lady living in that dilapidated mess. That’s who I am. That’s who I will always be.”
I huff. I’m so sick of this tired old song and dance. “Fine. Have it your way. That’s who you are and who you will always be. Be that way. But I want you to know that I think you’re more than that, Dragon. Do you think I would’ve fallen into bed with you if I thought otherwise?”
“I think you wanted to take a walk on the bad side. I think you wanted to get into sin.” He shrugs. “Maybe you want to be my salvation. There is no salvation for me, Diana. There isn’t, and there never will be.”
I’m not sure how to respond. I could say what I always say, but the words don’t seem to be sinking in. My actions aren’t helping either. Dragon is convinced he’s evil. He’s silent a moment. Until?—
“She offered me a shot of whiskey,” he says.
Fuck. He didn’t fall off the wagon, did he?
I don’t smell any whiskey on him, but then again, maybe he’s not close enough to me.
“I see how you’re looking at me,” he says. “I see the questioning look in your eyes. You think I took a shot.”
“Did I say that?”
“You inhaled.” He looks away from me. “Trying to smell alcohol. You don’t have to say it for me to know.”
“You’re just convinced, aren’t you, that no one could actually care for you?” I let out an exasperated sigh. “It’s getting really old, Dragon. Take me to Target, and let me get the stuff to take care of this dog. If you don’t want to take care of him, I will. Because that’s what I do.”
“Oh, I get it now.” He rolls his eyes. “This dog is a metaphor for me . You feel like you have to take care of me because I don’t have anywhere else to go.”
I drop my jaw.
Wow.
This is what he truly thinks of me.
I say nothing. What else is there to say?
“I see you’re not denying it.”
I close my eyes and rub my temples. “I can’t keep repeating myself, Dragon. I can’t keep trying to convince you that you’re more than what you think you are. You’re going to have to convince yourself from now on.”
He turns back to the windshield, starts the car, and continues to the discount store.
When he gets into a parking spot, I reach for the door handle. “You stay in the car with the dog. I’ll be back in a minute.”
He doesn’t move to follow me, and I’m grateful. I’m angry right now. Angry that he thinks so little of me. But even angrier that he thinks so little of himself.
I walk into the store, grab a cart, and fill it with things like dog food, pet toys, dog shampoo, treats, and a leash and collar.
I love dogs. Always have. I haven’t had one of my own, though, living in the penthouse. But I’ve missed caring for an animal. Teddy may be exactly what I need.
I pay for my purchases, including two reusable shopping bags, and then bring the bags back to the car.
I have to knock on the window so Dragon will unlock the doors with my key fob which is still in the car. I shove the bags in the backseat with Teddy.
“Let’s go,” I say.
We get back to the hotel, and I grab the leash and collar out of the bag. Teddy squirms, but he doesn’t give me a lot of trouble.
He’s simply too weak.
I give the leash to Dragon. “Take him up to your room. I have to stop at the counter and pay the dog deposit.”
“You take him up,” Dragon says. “I’ll take care of that. It was my idea to take the dog.”
I take Teddy’s leash and one of the grocery bags. I hand the other one to Dragon. “Have it your way. Bring this up as well.”
Teddy seems to know how to walk on a leash, which is good. I take him to the elevator, press the button to our floor, and then take him into my room.
Once I take off the leash, he runs around, sniffing every corner of the room.
I take out the dog bowl that I bought for him and fill it with water.
“Come here, boy,” I say.
Once he spies the water, he darts toward it, lapping it up quickly.
I got him some basic kibble and some dog biscuits. I know enough about animals to know that when they’re starving like this, you can’t give them a lot of rich food all at once, so I leave the canned dog food alone for now.
Once he’s done drinking, I take out a dog biscuit. “Are you hungry, Teddy?” I hold the biscuit in my hand, making a fist around it, letting him smell it in my hand first. He’s probably so hungry, he might snap my hand off otherwise.
Then I open my hand gently, and he takes the biscuit from me, crunching it between his teeth.
“I bet that’s nice for your belly, huh?” I measure out a cup of kibble and place it in his bowl.
He gobbles it up.
I don’t like to see him eat so quickly. Some dogs have sensitive tummies and will throw up when they snarf down food like that. But Teddy seems fine after he finishes, so I put him back on the leash and take him downstairs so he can do his business. I grab the doggy waste bags that I purchased.
As I wait for the elevator, the doors open, and Dragon walks out. “All taken care of,” he says.
“Great, thanks. I’m taking him down to go to the bathroom.”
Dragon simply nods.
I get into the elevator, and as the doors close, I lean down and pet Teddy’s head. “You’re going to get a bath tonight. I know you’re going to hate it, but you’ll smell so much better when we’re done. You’ll feel better too. As for Dragon?” I sigh. “I guess it’s just you and me, Teddy. And I have to be okay with that.”