Chapter 28 #2
“Damn. I had no idea it was this late.” Our one-hour training session has run closer to two, and when I glance out the windows, the unexpected peace I found here—with the dog, with Drew—evaporates like a mirage.
Thinking of you . . .
I pick up my belt bag, hastily fastening it around my waist, then take inventory of its contents: pepper spray, Taser, personal alarm. An individual arsenal courtesy of my brother. One that felt mildly ridiculous until it didn’t—when the mail came this afternoon. “Sorry, I just need to get home.”
Drew rises from the floor as I locate my keys. “Is . . . is everything okay?”
I look up, surprised by the soft concern in his voice. For a moment, I even think about telling the truth. No, nothing has felt okay for months. I can’t tell if I’m being harassed or truly threatened, but there’s a creep out there who wants something, and now he’s threatening my dog too.
Instead, I let out a slow breath, thinking back to my conversation with Randall. “Do you . . . do you think Rufus was ever trained to attack?”
Drew blinks. He clearly didn’t expect this question, and too late, I realize it was the wrong one to ask.
“Sorry. I meant, um . . . is there a way to call him off if he tries to bite someone?”
He stiffens immediately. “Has he tried to bite?”
“No, not exactly.” Oh God, I’m making this worse. “I mean, he freaked out at my neighbor and a coworker when they surprised him. But he didn’t bite. I just wondered . . . is there a command for that? Like, to literally call off the dogs?”
He studies me for an uncomfortable minute, then turns his attention to Rufus, who’s gone to sit patiently by his leash.
“He probably had bite training. I don’t know exactly what that looked like, but I doubt he’d ever attack without being given a specific command.
” He frowns. “Then again, he was discharged in part because he became unreliable in the field.”
“Can you tell me the commands?” I ask. “Just so I know what to say . . . or not say?”
He pauses. “They probably used something like go get him. I can find out for sure.”
My adrenaline surges with the phrase. Go get him. I curl my fists.
“But if he bites someone, it would be serious.” His voice is stern. “Military dogs are trained to do damage. Break bones. If he hurts someone, a judge could deem him dangerous, even order to have him put down.”
My mouth drops open. I look at Rufus, who gazes back stoically. Loyally. On some level, I like that he might sink his teeth into someone trying to mess with me. But if he hurt an innocent person? I don’t think I could handle having to euthanize Kyle’s dog.
“To make him stop,” Drew continues, “You could say out, or sit. Just anything that’s the opposite of what he’s doing. We should probably practice that too.”
“Out or sit, okay . . .” I make a quick note on my phone so I won’t forget.
When I look up again, his expression has darkened. “What are you afraid of?”
I look away, forcing a laugh. “Excuse me?”
“Come on, you’re on guard all the time. Always looking over your shoulder. For a while I just assumed you didn’t trust me, but tonight . . .” he trails off, and when I meet his gaze, his eyes burn into mine. “I don’t think it’s me.”
My heart thuds. He’s either been paying real close attention, or I’m a way worse actress than I thought. “Sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He arches his eyebrows over his glasses. “I know a scared animal when I see one.”
I snort, grabbing Rufus’s leash. “You spend too much time with dogs.”
“Caprice.”
I stop in my tracks. I can’t remember if he’s ever spoken my first name. Had he been calling me Ms. Phipps? Has he called me anything? And why does he have to sound so much like he cares?
“Look, I don’t know what you’re trying to do.
But just stop.” My voice is a low growl.
“We’re not friends. We’re barely acquaintances.
I’m never giving you the dog. I’m not even sure why I’m still here.
” I gesture around the training center. “Maybe Kyle planned all this out just to twist the knife a little harder. But I’m done. ”
A bitter laugh rumbles from Drew’s chest. “Right, because Kyle hurt you.”
My throat burns. “He sure as hell did.”
“You have got some nerve.” He steps toward me, malice lacing through his voice.
Tears prick the corners of my eyes. “Pretty sure I have the right. We were together ten years. I was planning to spend the rest of my life with him.”
“Until he got hurt. And things got hard.”
I snap my head to look at him. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I was there that day—I watched you run out of the church.”
A gasp slips from my throat. The air goes still.
“Is that what you think happened?” I close the distance between us, clutching the leash in my trembling fists.
For a second, his eyes flash between mine like he’s uncertain. Then he presses his mouth into a thin line. “That is what happened.”
Something fissures deep inside me. Not my heart, which has been in pieces far too long already, but something else. Something new and fragile that had just started to blossom. Until he wilted it with his words. I step back, away from him.
“So, you’re telling me you watched your brother’s bride leave him at the altar. And you turned around and left without offering him a word of support.”
Drew’s eyes narrow, but I don’t miss how his face pales.
“You’re right, Kyle changed after the second time he was hurt. Things got harder for him. Darker.” I shake my head. “I planned the whole wedding thinking we’d be okay if I could just hold him together.”
My voice breaks, but I force the rest of the words.
“Kyle never set foot inside the church, which you would have known if you were a shadow of the brother you pretend to be. I waited for him in my dress, convinced I could save him if I gave him my heart.” I swallow hard, leaning into Rufus for support. “But my love wasn’t enough.”