Chapter 3
Rhonan
One Week Later
Chasing Dogs & The Shock of My Life
“Good morning.” Joanne’s voice carries through the house as I walk past her into the kitchen, desperately in search of coffee. I didn’t get home from work until after one in the morning, but I still have to look alive for Ellis’s career day today.
My only response is a grunt as I take a mug from the cupboard and pour in the sweet nectar of life.
“Is something wrong?” Joanne asks, her voice closer now than it was before.
When I peer up over my mug, I find her standing on the other side of the kitchen counter, brow furrowed.
“Just tired.”
“Are you sure that’s all it is?”
“What are you trying to ask me, Joanne?” I don’t mean to sound irritated, but lately, that’s just how I feel.
Her look of concern morphs into one of annoyance. “Forgive me for wanting to know what died and crawled up your behind this past week.”
I’ve been asking myself the same thing, but I’m not sure I’m ready to face reality. “What do you want from me?”
“Well, for starters, more than a grunt when I greet you in the morning.”
Sighing, I set my mug on the counter. “Look, I’m just…in a funk. I can’t explain it.”
Can’t, or don’t want to, Rhonan?
“Well, your daughter has picked up on it, so you need to snap out of it.”
Fuck.
I try really hard not to project my emotions onto my kid.
Everything I’ve read about parenting suggests being honest about your feelings with your child, but Ellis is also five.
She doesn’t need to feel like her world is off balance because I feel that way, and there’s only so much I can share with her that is age appropriate.
Truth be told, I’ve been off balance since Sarah died, and I’m not sure if that will ever change, but this past week has been a little more overwhelming than normal, to say the least.
“What did she say?” I ask.
“She asked if you’ve been hanging out with Uncle Elliot. Said you started acting grumpy like him.”
“And what did you tell her?”
“That you’re probably just tired from work and our trip to Charlotte last week.”
After my night out, I slipped into dad mode for a few days while Ellis was on spring break from school and made sure to get some quality time with her.
We made a trip to Charlotte to visit the science center and zoo.
Fletcher and Laney joined us, since he still owns a house there that he uses during the NFL season, and Joanne took advantage of the trip to visit with her daughter.
But four days was all I got before I had to report back to work.
Being a sheriff in a small town like Blossom Peak isn’t very eventful, which is ideal, but it also means that our staff is small.
The station has six deputies total, and only three of us on shift at any given time.
So that means we all have to take turns taking time off, and certainly for long stretches of days all at once.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know why I’m in this funk, all right? But I’ll try to keep it in check.”
Joanne nods. “That’s all I ask. Now that that’s settled, I’ve been meaning to ask—have you met our new neighbor?”
I’ve been in such a daze that I completely forgot the house next door has a new tenant. “Not yet. Have you?”
“Well, she just moved in yesterday. I caught her while she was unloading a few things from her car. Seems nice. Definitely not from around here.”
“How can you tell?”
“Her car.”
“What about it?”
“Let’s just say she’s entirely unprepared for the snow we get with the Mercedes she’s driving.”
“Ah, so high maintenance. Anything else I should know?” I ask, picking my mug back up from the counter.
“She has a dog.”
“Okay…”
“Doesn’t seem to be trained.”
“How do you figure?”
Joanne chuckles. “It looked like the dog was taking her for a walk instead of the other way around.”
“Daddy?”
My daughter’s sweet voice pulls my attention to the hallway where she stands, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes while clutching her blanket.
“Good morning, sweetie.”
She walks toward me, slowly. “Are you mad today, Daddy?”
My eyes meet Joanne’s as she arches a brow at me, knowingly.
Crouching down to her level, I beckon my daughter toward me. “No, baby. Come here.” When she finally lands in my arms, I give her a squeeze, letting the guilt plaguing me melt away from her warmth. “I’m sorry Daddy has been grumpy lately.”
“You’ve been acting like Uncle Elliot.”
“I know. But you didn’t do anything wrong, okay? Daddy is just tired.”
“You’re always tired.” She leans back and studies my face. “Auntie Laney has cream you can use to make your face look better. You should get some from her.”
Joanne snorts and then heads toward the sink to deposit her mug while I mentally make a note to talk to my sister about what she discusses with my five-year-old.
“Thank you, but I’ll be okay. Are you excited for today?”
Ellis’s eyes light up when she remembers what today is. “It’s Career Day!”
“Right. Everyone will be there, just like you asked.”
“Even Uncle Fletcher?”
“Yup. And he’s bringing Carolina Thunder stickers for everyone.”
“Yay!” She bounces right out of my arms. “I can’t wait! I’m gonna get dressed!”
“What do you want for breakfast, Ellis?” Joanne asks before she runs to her room.
“Can I have pancakes with rainbow sprinkles today?” The look of desperation she gives me with pouty lips and batting eyelashes feels like a warning of what the teenage years will be like.
“Since it’s a special day, I think that’s all right,” I reply.
Joanne nods before pulling dishes from the cabinet.
When my daughter is out of earshot, I ask my nanny, “Does she give you that look every morning?”
“Nope. She knows better than to try that if you’re not around.”
“So, you’re telling me that my daughter knows I’m a pushover?”
Joanne smiles as she heads toward the pantry. “Yup and just wait until she gets older and really wants something.”
“Great,” I mutter as I bring my mug to my lips again and move into the living room, intent on enjoying my coffee in front of the bay window while making a mental list of the tasks I need to get done in the front yard this week.
My truck needs a wash, the grass is ready to be mowed, and I promised Ellis that we’d repaint the mailbox together.
As I glance out the front window, movement next door catches my eye. A woman with blonde hair in a red dress briskly walks to her car, tossing a few bags in the passenger seat. When she heads back toward the house, my eyes land on her face and my stomach drops.
It can’t be.
My head whips between the kitchen where Joanne and Ellis are chatting and back in the direction of my new neighbor’s house, wondering if my eyes are playing tricks on me.
She hustles back down the driveway and dips inside of her car, cranking the engine and barely waiting for it to start before backing out onto the street.
I try to catch another glimpse of her face through her window, but she speeds out of her driveway before I can, taking off like someone’s chasing her.
I rub my eyes because I have to be seeing things. There’s no way that the woman I’ve been thinking about all week is now my new neighbor.
Right?
***
I’m in my bathroom, getting ready to put gel in my hair, the glob resting in my palm, when a scratch from outside makes me freeze.
“What the fuck was that?”
It happens again, this time followed by a whine.
Like lightning, I race out of my room, down the hallway, and out to the backyard deck, searching the yard for the source of the noise.
And then I see it.
A German Shepherd puppy is digging up one of the rose bushes on the side of my house.
“Hey, you little shit!” As soon as the dog hears me, its head pops up, tongue lolling and a nose covered in dirt. “Get out of here!”
It doesn’t budge. Our eyes stay locked, each waiting for the other to make the first move.
I’m supposed to leave for Ellis’s career day in five minutes.
Joanne took her to school this morning so I could take care of a few things around the house before heading for the school.
I don’t have time for this shit. If I’m late because of this dog, and my daughter thinks I’m not going to show up for her, I’ll never hear the end of it.
“Come here, puppy,” I say sweetly, slowly walking toward the dog. Once I’m within five feet of it, it takes off.
“Oh no you don’t!” I run after it, darting around the patio table as the dog weaves between the chairs.
I chase it through the flower beds, kicking up more dirt in the process.
And once I think I have it cornered beneath Ellis’s playset, it fakes me out and slips through my hands as it darts right between my legs.
The dog races to the waist-high fence before sliding through the hole it must have dug to get here, straight into my new neighbor’s backyard.
The same neighbor who might be the woman I wanted to kiss last week, but I don’t trust my eyes when I’m this fucking exhausted.
Apparently, Joanne was right about the dog. It’s definitely a menace.
I grab a few bricks from a pile in the corner of the yard that I’ve been saving for a project and toss them in the hole, hoping they’ll prevent the dog from returning to my yard for now, and then run into the house.
I grab my keys and scrub my hands clean of hair gel, dirt, and dog fur.
Then I rush to my truck, hoping I don’t make a scene when I inevitably show up to my daughter’s school later than planned.
***
I jog through the doors of the cafeteria, barely catching my breath before I hear Ellis’s voice.
“Daddy!” She wiggles out of Fletcher’s arms and runs across the room to me.
My entire friend group is already here for my daughter’s first career day, and I’m the one who’s late.
Stupid fucking dog.
Fletcher and Henley are mid-conversation with Laney and Elodie, and Elliot and Dilynne are standing off to the side, not arguing for once. But Ellis has her hands on my face, forcing me to lock eyes on her. “You made it, Daddy! I thought you weren’t coming.”