9. Ashton
ASHTON
I can’t believe I let Lynn talk me into this.
I set a brisk pace at the park for Teddy and me, hoping to exercise out my nerves before the training session with Griffin.
The California spring weather today is perfect—sunny, with a light breeze, putting enough chill in the morning air for me to grab a light jacket.
I zip it to my neck as protective armor to keep me from jumping out of my skin.
This scenario is exactly what I’ve tried to avoid all these years.
Okay, not this exact scenario. The training part is wonderful actually.
A dream. But the client? The opposite of who I’d like to be around.
But per Lynn’s prodding—shoving the phone into my hands—I agreed to this training session.
She insisted having such a client would provide connections and referrals I wouldn’t otherwise get.
Meaning funding to get my rescue foundation started.
The ridiculous amount he agreed to pay me via our text exchange yesterday nearly made me weep. Five hundred dollars? It’s ludicrous, really. But he set the amount. Who am I to argue?
The overwhelming brightness of this unique opportunity overshadows his fame so long as we can maintain a low profile. It’s my one condition. Well, two, if you count being allowed to bring Teddy.
“Good boy, Teddy. One more lap.”
I increase our speed. Since Roxy’s still uneasy around other humans, I hope having a canine friend will help make her more comfortable.
We reach our destination, a park bench. I sit, pull out my water, and pour Teddy a drink in his collapsible bowl. He eagerly laps it.
From my peripheral vision, a man dressed in black from head to toe approaches.
I cup my hand to my forehead to guard against the sun.
My eyes travel up from a pair of charcoal cross-trainers to black joggers—snug against muscular thighs—to a fitted black sports tee, stretched across a chest with distinct swells, up to the brilliant grin of a man who looks like a boy about to open a giant birthday present.
“Here and ready to learn, Teach.” Griffin claps his hands together and rubs them back and forth.
I raise my eyebrows. “Is the all black supposed to make you stand out less?”
He glances at his attire and then looks at me. “You think I stand out?”
“Uh, yeah. Kind of hard not to when you’re…well…you.” My cheeks heat, and I avoid his gaze by grabbing Teddy’s bowl.
“Well Ms. Reid, I do believe there’s a compliment in there somewhere.”
“Yeah, well, don’t let it go to your head.” I stand and scan the surrounding park. While I doubt he announces his outings publicly, I’m also very familiar with the paparazzi’s ability to be extremely stealthy and resourceful.
Griffin leans sideways, blocking my view. “You okay?”
“Aren’t you forgetting something?”
His brow creases.
“Roxy?”
“Oh, right, of course. I had trouble getting her to leave the car, so I recruited some help.” He shifts to the side.
The man from the shelter parking lot walks up.
He’s dressed in casual jeans with holes in the knees and a white crew-neck T-shirt.
He’s carrying Roxy. I’d guess he’s close to Griffin’s age.
He possesses the same kind of tall, dark-hair, handsome look.
However, it’s hard to read his expression with such large aviators covering most of his face.
Roxy wriggles in his arms, nearly climbing over his shoulder to escape. Poor girl.
“Ashton, this is my cousin, Luke. You sort of met him the other day.”
“I remember. The man who almost hit me with the fancy SUV.”
“Right. That’d be the one.” Griffin rubs his forearm where claw marks are visible. “He’s filling in as my personal assistant for a while.”
I wave. “Hi, I’m Ashton.”
Luke’s lips pull to the side in what I assume is his version of a smile. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.” His southern drawl is extremely prominent. He holds on to Roxy’s midsection, attempting to keep her still. “I’d shake your hand, but it’s a bit difficult with this girl squirming all over the place.”
Before I can respond, Griffin steps closer to me.
“And who’s this big fella?” He stretches his hand toward Teddy like he wants to pet him but hesitates.
Teddy remains at my side, waiting for my signal on what to do. I nod to him, and he moves from his sitting position to approach Griffin, quietly sniffing him.
“This is Teddy Bear.”
Griffin continues to hold out his hand, allowing Teddy to get a good whiff. “Teddy Bear, huh? Bear seems fitting for this tough-looking guy. I don’t know about the Teddy part. I’d expect him to be a bit more...soft, or fluffy at the very least. This guy is a beast.”
I laugh. A German Shepherd can look rather intimidating. “He’s my protector—when needed. He’s supposed to look menacing.”
Griffin takes a step back, eyes on me, a hint of a smile teasing his lips. “Oh, I see. Guardian of the lady. I can respect that.” He turns his attention back to Teddy. “I promise not to hurt her. Okay? Are you going to be cool if I get close to her?” Griffin stands a good five feet away.
My heart races at the mention of getting closer. “He’s a gentle dog and well-behaved. I promise he won’t be a problem. Teddy, sit.” He does as I command, and I pat his head and reward him with a treat from my training pouch. “Good boy.”
Griffin’s eyes widen. “Impressive. I can’t wait to see what you can do with Roxy.”
Me too . This is my first test of training outside the shelter dogs I’ve worked with. Hopefully she’ll be receptive to my training techniques.
I step toward Luke. “You can put her down now.”
Luke places her gently on the ground and hands me her leash. “Good luck.”
I smile and attempt to infuse bravado into my voice. “We’re going to have a great day aren’t we, girl?” I let her stretch as much distance as the leash allows her. “I brought you a friend. Teddy, come.”
He heeds my command. I hold my hand out to him, signaling to approach slowly.
I ease into a squatting position. Teddy allows Roxy to sniff him.
Once they meet each other’s approval, both of their tails wag, and their paces circling one another increase in excitement.
I stand, comfortable with their interaction with one another.
Griffin leans toward me. “Well, it’s nice to know Roxy likes someone.”
“Some dogs are more trusting of humans. Some dogs are more trusting of other dogs. It just depends on their experiences. As I said before, Roxy was probably abused or, at the very least, neglected by her previous owners, and therefore suspicious of strangers. You’ll have to earn her trust. She appears to have no previous trauma from other dogs.
I think she’ll learn more quickly by seeing Teddy follow commands as well.
Also, by having Teddy here, Roxy will witness how accepting he is of you, and in turn, perhaps you’ll earn some of her trust today. ”
He arches an eyebrow. “Just some?”
“Yes. A wound doesn’t heal overnight—especially the internal kind. Those run deep, and for a long time. They’re the hardest to heal from.” I would know. “Now, shall we begin?”
“First, I’d like to pay you.” He strides toward Luke, who hands him a small, folded envelope from his back pocket. “I also added a tip. If you don’t feel like it’s sufficient after the session ends, just let me know.”
I resist the urge to bug my eyes out. As if five hundred dollars an hour isn’t enough already?
“It’s plenty sufficient. Thank you.” His fingers brush mine as he hands me the envelope.
I clear my throat and slip the envelope into my back pocket without looking at the contents. Part of me feels icky taking it. It’s too much, especially for my first official session as a dog trainer. What if the session doesn’t go well? Would it be fair for me to take this much?
Roxy stares up at me with her almond eyes.
If this money means helping other dogs like Roxy, then yes, it’s absolutely worth it.
“Let’s get to it then.”
Once our hour is almost up, we give Roxy a small break and have Griffin practice his verbal and visual commands on Teddy.
“Lie down,” Griffin says, while holding his hand up like he’s halting traffic.
I chuckle. “No, you want to make the motion of lying down.”
He starts patting an invisible drum. “Like this?”
“Slow. Make the motion slowly.” I wrap my fingers around his hand and mimic the movement. “Like this.”
Our arms align along one another, his heat along my back. His breath brushes my neck.
“Like this?”
Shivers play chase along my skin, and I step away. “Yup. You’ve got it.”
Teddy immediately complies with Griffin’s command.
Griffin rewards him with a treat and kneels down, giving his face a good scratch. “Good boy, Teddy.”
My heart melts a little at the sight.
Teddy takes advantage of the moment and leaps toward Griffin with his giant tongue.
“That went into my ear!” Griffin wails, and he swipes his face and ear with his shirt sleeve.
I cackle and squat to pet Teddy too, with Roxy by my side. “He likes you!”
Griffin’s kneeling in front of Teddy, holding the sides of his head, preventing Teddy from giving him more kisses. “Love me less, bro. At the very least, buy me dinner first. I’m not that kind of guy.”
I crack up even more. I need to be around more people who rarely interact with dogs. This is entirely too much fun. Honestly, I need to be around people more in general. Our brief hour together flies by too quickly.
Griffin bumps his shoulder into mine, his gorgeous blue eyes twinkling in the morning light. “I’m glad you find this entertaining.”
“Immensely.”
We brush the dog hair from our thighs and stand.
“What’s next?”
More people have filled the park than I’d noticed earlier. And they’re starting to stare. In multiple directions, phones pop up aimed at us.
“I think that wraps it up for today. You guys did great.”
“If by great you mean epically failed? I held her leash and she walked with me—sort of. She ignored almost every single one of my commands, choosing instead to lick her hiney and give me the side-eye.”
“But she stayed calm with you. That’s progress.” I briefly glance at him, though my focus is anywhere but him.
Is that a zoom lens near the bushes? I’m probably being paranoid. Wait, no, there’s definitely someone by the tree to our left. Is that a camera or a phone? My body tenses, my heart pounding faster against my ribs, imagining their thoughts.
Is that Griffin Ford? Who is she? Doesn’t he have a girlfriend?
Why did I think this could work? It’s too close to my old life. The wound I thought I’d patched is starting to crack open again.
Griffin touches my arm. “Hey, I was just joking. Today’s been great.”
“No, it’s not that. It’s them.” I gesture to a couple not far away, their phones pointed at us.
“Give me just a sec.”
He walks to Luke, who’s been reading on a nearby bench under a tree. After some quick words are exchanged, Luke hands him his aviators and pulls a baseball hat from his back pocket.
Griffin slips them both on and returns to me. “Sorry about that.”
My stomach clenches. I dart my gaze around. “I’m not sure that’s gonna make much of a difference.”
“The other day you said I was a regular guy. I’m just blending in.”
“I said you deserve to be treated like a regular guy. That’s different.”
“So, you’re saying I’m special?” His lopsided smile and dimple are entirely too cute.
“You’re ornery is what you are!”
He laughs. “Thank you. And for the record, I like that about you. That you treat me like a normal guy.” His teasing tone fades. “I don’t get that very often.”
“Well, you’re welcome. It’s the least you deserve.” A common courtesy in my experience. I brush a loose wisp of hair from my face. “Regardless, I’d like to wrap up our session.”
He might not mind the extra eyes on us, but I have no desire to be recognized. The last thing I need is someone taking our picture, putting it online, and the world connecting me to the Blakes. I would end up being painted yet again as the other woman. Frankly, I’ll be doing him a favor as well.
Griffin takes a step closer to me. “I get the impression you don’t want to be seen with me.”
“You’d be correct.”
“And you don’t care to elaborate as to why?”
I meet his eyes, my voice calm and measured, as I keep the turmoil starting to boil under my skin in check. “I chose this park because it’s small and fairly private. I’d hoped we wouldn’t draw too much attention this early. But that seems impossible where you’re concerned.”
He takes off his sunglasses, clipping them on his shirt. “It’s part of the gig, I’m afraid. But I’ll always make sure you’re safe.”
I huff, wishing that were true. I know exactly how pushy fans and paparazzi can be. They feel entirely too entitled to people’s personal lives.
“I don’t like to be photographed, and I don’t want to be in tabloids.”
He scratches his cheek. “I’ll try to keep that from happening, but unfortunately, I have no control over the media or paparazzi. I do my best to fly under the radar, but sometimes it just can’t be helped.”
The thought of the repetitious, bright, invasive flashes over the course of my teenage years twists my gut, and my throat tightens. “Let’s call it a day.”
“Okay, sure. We can pick up where we left off next time.”
I pass Roxy’s leash to Griffin, my hands shaking. “Yeah. Next time.”
He takes the leash and bends his knees, meeting my eyes. “Which will be…?”
“I don’t know.” I look away, clinging to Teddy’s leash.
“What’s your schedule like?”
My brain is a scrambled mess. I just need out of here. The last thing he needs is me being photographed with him and tarnishing his image. That’s about all the media is good for anyway—twisting truths.
“I’m not sure. I’ll…I’ll text you.”
He steps closer, his voice soft. “Everything okay?”
“Yup, great. Just really got to pee.”
He laughs. “Okay, I’ll walk you to the restroom.”
“No, you stay. All good here.”
I spin on my heel, unable to bear his baffled face. “I’ll text soon,” I call over my shoulder, tugging Teddy’s leash alongside me.
I hate my abruptness, but the thought of facing the relentless, intrusive paparazzi again is just too much. It’s not worth the risk.
We need an alternate plan. One that doesn’t include me getting caught in the spotlight again.