19
N ot without regret do I follow Leo outside. Part of me wants to stay in the kitchen and learn everything I can about him, but another knows I’m better off removing myself from the temptation.
“They like you,” he says once we’ve let the dogs loose. Boris stays by our feet, but Cap, Cholula, Tilly, and her siblings are running laps. Cap with his bowed legs falls behind but still lets out happy barks every few yards. I throw him a stick, and he brings it straight back for a repeat.
“It’s mutual. And I haven’t had a meal like that in forever.”
He grins. “Get used to it. If we’re going to practice here, Diane will insist on feeding you.”
He’s standing close enough to me that I smell the minty floral notes of his aftershave.
“So, how are we going to work this?” I ask, putting another yard between us. “Cholula is going to need a lot of training, but I don’t want to get in anyone’s way.”
“You’ve decided to run her in the show?”
“She’s the fastest.” Hardly a qualifying trait on its own, but I have to work with what I’ve got.
“I’ll probably come out here a couple times during the week, plus the weekend.” He looks away. “We can coordinate, or you can come alone. It’s up to you.”
He’s different out here, his voice deeper, calmer. I glance at his profile as he laughs at something the dogs are doing. Could it be that I have judged him too harshly? “We may as well coordinate,” I say. “Our schedules are pretty similar.”
His perfect teeth gleam in the sun at that. “True. Okay cool.”
This doesn’t mean I’m letting my guard down again. If anything, it will give me a chance to gauge the competition—that’s why I’m not putting up a fight. In case anyone was wondering. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
“Dawn said she put some cones outside the shed.” He points and veers left. “Do you have a plan for what to start with or do you not want to say?”
I’m supposed to have a plan? “I don’t. Do you?”
“Of course.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
“There’s nothing wrong with being prepared. How do you know what direction you’re going or how to measure your progress if you don’t have set goals?”
I stop and turn to the sniffing wolfhound who’s making me fall behind. “Come on, Boris. Pick it up.”
“Watch your step.” Leo skirts a water-filled tire track.
“If Cholula does what I tell her, I’ll know I’ve made progress. And my goal is for her to be the best.”
“That’s it? Personally, I prefer more detail.” He pulls out a small notebook from his pocket and shows me the list of dates for the training sessions leading up to the contest and what he plans on working on each time.
“You are such a nerd.” I laugh and grab the notebook from him. “Day one: recall.” I look up. “Good choice. I think I’ll be doing the same.” I scan the rest of the page, tension brewing. “You’re not playing around.”
He takes the book back. “It’s for a lot of money.”
Ain’t that the truth? I’m going to have to step up my game.
After the dogs get their zoomies out, Cholula, Cap, Boris, and I move to one end of the field, and Leo and Tilly to the other. Cholula and Tilly’s love for each other works in our favor because every time we let them go, they run to each other, allowing us to call them back. I’m equally thrilled and surprised that Cholula does a lot better than Tilly, who could not care less about Leo’s company while her tiny BFF is nearby.
“Would you mind if I stand on the same side as you?” Leo asks when we’ve been working for twenty minutes, and the dogs are getting a break. “Maybe she’ll listen better.”
“That’s fine. I’m going to see what Cho thinks of the cones.”
“Already?”
I like that he sounds impressed. “Too bad your schedule will only let you do recall today. Written in ink—pretty set in stone…” I give him a cheeky smile.
“That’s hilarious,” he says behind me as I head to the shed. “So funny.”
“Tilly does kind of look like she needs the practice.”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re not wrong.”
While Leo keeps working on getting Tilly to stay and come when he tells her, I lead Cholula on a leash through a set of eight cones, back and forth, spacing them closer and closer together to introduce a weave. Boris is sleeping, and Cap waddles around exploring the outskirts of the field, occasionally returning to check on us.
“How much longer do you think you’ll be going?” Leo calls eventually. “I think Tilly is done.”
“Cho, too.” I let my soon-to-be champion off the leash and instantly she heads for Tilly. The two dogs bark with elation and take off.
“Looks like you made great progress.” Leo picks up two of my cones and stacks them.
“Yeah, she’s a quick learner. It’s easy to underestimate her because of how she looks, but she’s super smart.” I reach for another cone, but Cap gets to it first. He’s decided to help with cleanup, and the orange plastic wobbles between his jaws as he happily struts away. “No, you little stinker. Over here.”
“I think he’s jealous Cholula got to have all the fun,” Leo says.
“Cap.” I sharpen my voice. “That’s not yours.” I follow him, but he feints every time I get close. “Oh, you…” I straighten and put my hands on my hips. “Captain Spots von Puppington, get back here right now!”
Leo comes up next to me. “Now, that’s a mouthful.”
“Works, though. Look, he dropped it.”
Cap stares at us, a string of drool still connecting his lips to the cone on the ground.
“Are you going to let me have it?” I ask, but as soon as I take a step in his direction, he shoves his whole head into the cone, and… it’s stuck. He lifts his conehead in the air and makes a run for it, heading straight for the side of the barn, as blind as Boris.
“Shit.” I take off after him, followed by Cholula and Tilly, who also want to be part of this new fun game. They dance around my legs, and I sense more than hear Leo yell out a warning before I trip and go flying headfirst into one of the muddy puddles. It’s my loud “Aaaaah!” that finally makes Cap slow down—and right on time, too, or he’d have hit the barn wall head-on.
Leo reaches me a second later. “Are you okay?”
I roll over to sitting and shake out my mud-soaked sleeves. A laugh bubbles up my chest.
“What’s so funny? You just fell. Your clothes are ruined.”
“But he looked hysterical running. Poor thing must be terrified.” When Leo remains unconvinced, I add, “I’m fine. Please go get the faceless unicorn over there before he takes off again.”
Cap has plopped down on the ground, the cone swaying back and forth as if he’s searching for a radio signal.
“On it.” Leo leaves, and I heave myself off the ground. “Coming to help you, bud,” he calls on approach.
The pant legs of my jeans slosh against each other as I join them. “What were you thinking, you goof?” I rub Cap’s ears. “You could have gotten hurt.”
“Here.” Leo hands me a monogrammed handkerchief from his pocket, because of course he carries one of those around. “You have some…” He gestures to my face.
“Thanks.” I try as best as I can to clean the splatters off my cheek. “Did I get it?”
“Let me see.” He steps into my space, stirring up the air with faint traces of chilled leather. With a flick of his head, he prompts me to tilt my face up. “No, there’s still— Hold on.” He takes the handkerchief from me and then pauses, his hand inches from my chin. “May I?”
His jacket is open, and the zippered hem sticks out just enough to brush against my sweater. The jagged edge scratches the wool as if it wants to grab hold, a minuscule tug that makes my belly flop. I give him a small nod.
Very gently, he braces the right side of my jaw with his fingertips so that he can wipe my left cheek. His skin is cool, his touch steady as he adjusts his grip and tilts my head for better access. When his pinkie slips down to my throat, I feel it all the way up my scalp. The prickling sensation makes my eyelids heavy. It’s very confusing.
“There,” he says, finally. “Better.”
“Thanks.” I push my hair behind my ear and look up at him. He’s still close. Too close? I take a step back.
“But it’s hardly going to be enough.” He smiles and shoves the muddy fabric back into his pocket. “You’re soaked.”
I look down at my abysmal figure. “I am, aren’t I?”
His grin widens. “Come on.” He nods toward the house. “Let’s get you properly cleaned up.”
Diane springs into action, offering a shower and a change of clothes, and I gratefully accept. I have a feeling Leo wouldn’t let me back in his SUV if I didn’t.
I emerge fifteen minutes later, freshly scrubbed and dressed in someone’s old high school sweatshirt. Go Falcons it reads in maroon across my chest behind tangles of wet hair. The sweatpants are equally oversized and so comfortable. The dogs are resting in a heap in the foyer, and Leo and Diane are in her office with the French doors closed. I pause on the stairs at the serious expressions on their faces. Diane hands him something flat and white. A letter maybe? His shoulders slump.
“There you are.” Dawn peeks out from the kitchen. “Everything go okay? I’ve put your clothes in the washer. They’ll be ready for you next time.”
I jog the last few steps down. “You didn’t have to do that.” I look at Leo again, and the question is out before I can stop it. “Do you know what they’re talking about? He looks upset.”
Dawn waves it away. “He’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
Leo sees me through the small windowpanes and straightens. He says something to Diane and opens the door. “I’ll be right there. Ready to head out?”
“I’m ready.”
He shoves whatever Diane gave him in his back pocket and kisses his aunt on the cheek. “I’ll handle it,” he says.
“Handle what?” I ask, innocently, when he joins me.
“Just some, um, paperwork. Nothing important.”
Hmm… I believe I’ve found a new task for Jaz.