Chapter 60
“FAKE HAPPY” BY PARAMORE
My puffy eyes were all that was left of me. Unless someone was directly in front of me, looking closely, I could hide how much I was dying inside with some makeup and a smile.
It worked for most of my shift at work. Amanda had noticed for a while I wasn’t the same, but she thankfully only talked to me about what I was comfortable addressing.
Sometimes, I felt like she was that weird older sister I could go to if I had an issue, but other than that, they preferred I keep my drama to myself.
I opened the kennel doors and slipped down the hall with a hot pink icing bone behind my back. Quinntessa was off my radar, but that didn’t mean I had to forget about Mr. Sassy Pants.
“Hey, Scrabble!” I greeted him with a smile. It always warmed my heart to see his tail wag when he saw me now. “I heard you worked with Bear and Chums? Did you resist eating them?”
“No,” Amanda chuckled a few kennels down, sitting with one of the new intakes. She fed him chopped chicken through the kennel, ignoring his moody grumbles as he ate. “Mr. Scrabble decided he would take off Bear’s face today for getting too close to his place table.”
“Noooo.” I looked to Scrabble and pressed my finger into his nose, scrunching it up so I could see his little teeth. “Were you defending your place for treats? That’s naughty!”
My high-pitched voice fooled him. He sat at the kennel door and waited for the treat I usually slipped him at the end of my shift. Lukas was in the other room waiting for me, chilling in his assigned kennel, but he could wait.
“Can you sit?” I asked him, raising my brows when he stared at me. “You can sit! Can you sit?”
“Quinn . . .” Amanda warned me. “Command. No questions.”
I rolled my eyes and held up my hand. “Scrabble. Sit.”
His butt hit the ground, making me smile. His gray hairs were a little easier to see today, his coat a little wet from playing in the afternoon showers.
“Ah! Thank you, kind sir,” I teased him.
I pulled the pink and white iced dog bone from behind my back and grinned as Scrabble’s front paws started to pounce. He resisted jumping on the kennel door the best he could, pawing and whining.
“You only get this because you didn’t kill Bear,” I whispered, maneuvering the medium-sized treat through the bars.
Scrabble snatch it up quickly and struggled to chew on the hard bone. I pouted, not even considering his old teeth. It didn’t stop him from devouring the treat, though I made a mental note to grab something softer for him when I went by the small pet shop in Murdafest.
“I saw you requested a shift change for Tuesday.” Amanda arched a brow. “Wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain brunette coming in for a parent lesson, would it?”
I watched Scrabble, not taking my eyes off the dog as he licked the floor of any possible crumbs.
“Not really feeling the whole dating scene anymore,” I mumbled. “Figured it’s easier to just not run into her.”
“I see,” she hummed.
After a moment of silence, without confirmation if Amanda was going to let me switch off Scrabble’s lesson Tuesday, she continued making conversation.
“Are you heading home?” Amanda asked, checking her watch.
“Yeah.” I stepped back and leaned against the brick wall. “Have to go meet my papa at Memorial.”
“Fun.” She tossed more ham into the kennel beside her. “Hey, drive safe. I heard about those murders over near the fish streets. Don’t get caught up in anything.”
“I won’t,” I lied, giving her a stiff smile. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” She winked at me. “See you later.”
I tossed her a small wave and poked a finger through the kennel bars to touch Scrabble’s wet nose.
“Bye, Goob,” I cooed.
I heard Scrabble bark loudly at me in protest as I walked back down the hall. He usually barked when in his day kennel, not impressed by the other dogs trying to enjoy the in and out design of their private yards. He was a bit of a spoiled brat.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I skillfully pulled it out and dropped my training gear into the bin in the hallway. I rolled my eyes at the third message from my father, urging me to come to his office directly after work.
Papa (DO NOT CONTACT IN EMERGENCY)
I’ve finished up a surgery and expect you here after work. Come straight here.
I stopped in the hallway and looked around. Amanda must be spending the night here. The lights were all turned down for the night, and no one else was in sight. I guessed I didn’t really have an excuse to stay if she was hanging around on shift.
Sighing, I pushed the heavy door to the employee area open and leaned against the doorframe.
Lukas’ head perked up when he spotted me, his back end already going.
“You wanna go see Papa, Luke?” I asked. “You wanna go in and bite his ass for me?”
Lukas circled in the kennel. He jumped around and whined loudly when I approached.
“Only if you promise to bite him again.” I wagged a finger in his face before letting him out. He rubbed against me, and I leaned down to kiss between his ears. “Silly bastard.”
I guess the dog wasn’t that bad.
Especially if he’d bite my dad.