CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CADI
“Holy shi—Cuba, no!”
The massive black dog lurched forward, pulling her leash taut and nearly yanking Cadi off her feet in an attempt to take off down the sidewalk after a cat.
Cadi widened her stance and wrapped the leash around her hand, holding firm to keep the canine in place and give the cat ample time to slink away.
Cuba looked back at Cadi, her tan eyebrows lifting as if she were trying to sweet-talk her into letting her go just this once, the cropped nub above her butt wiggling with excitement.
“I’m not letting you dismember the neighbor’s cat, sorry.”
Cuba’s answering huff told Cadi she didn’t much care for that answer, but seemed to accept it all the same as she turned back around and pulled Cadi forward again at a much more manageable pace to sniff at a potential potty spot.
It only took three trees before Cuba found one with the right scent profile. She then added her signature to the guest book before tugging them both back in the direction of Sera’s apartment.
Cadi jiggled the key in the lock, grumbling and trying to find just the right angle to make it turn. Sera had failed to mention that not only was the deadbolt stubborn as hell, but the door was also just slightly too big for the frame, forcing Cadi to shoulder check it just to get inside.
She stumbled across the threshold when the door gave way, then stooped down to unclip Cuba’s leash.
The dog immediately pounced on her toy shaped like a fox, thrashing her head back and forth in celebration of catching her elusive prey.
She then proceeded to drag the unfortunate item to the tan couch in the middle of the room, where she began to gnaw on its head in search of the squeaker.
Cadi looked around the apartment, at last able to fully take in the comfortable space now that she had handled the dog bathroom emergency.
The loft was small, with every wall made up entirely of exposed brick and dark wooden beams that extended across the ceiling.
The living room and dining room essentially occupied the same space, which must have made cleaning a breeze, with a small kitchen tucked in the back left corner.
The butcher block counters added a touch of warmth to the otherwise industrial area, since nearly every other cooking surface was made entirely from stainless steel.
Crossing to the kitchen, Cadi made note of the metal staircase to her left leading up to the bedroom, next to what appeared to be one of only two windows in the entire apartment.
If she craned her neck, she could just see the end of a bed, and decided that would be the next area to explore after she got Cuba her dinner.
Cadi read the note Sera had left on the counter, which she quickly realized had to be the most useless set of dog sitting instructions she had ever seen.
Bed is yours.
Leash by the door.
Food in the kitchen.
You’re welcome ;)
Cadi stared at the small piece of paper like she expected more instructions to magically appear if she focused hard enough.
Sera did say Cuba was pretty easy; maybe this was all she needed.
Stepping around the counter and into the kitchen, Cadi scanned the surrounding area for any sign of a dog food bin, but found none.
With a dog the size of Cuba, she assumed her food container would be proportional, not likely something that would be easy to miss, but she decided to search the cupboards anyway.
Maybe she was on some specialty diet that only came in small bags and had to be purchased several times a week from a specific store that would, of course, be on the opposite side of town.
Cadi glanced over her shoulder to where Cuba was wiggling like a fish against the couch, her tongue lolling out the side of her mouth as she grunted in pleasure from the back rub.
On second thought, she seemed more like a store brand kind of girl.
Pulling out her phone, she typed a quick message to Sera, hoping for a tad more guidance than she had received, only for her shoulders to slump forward when the text bubble immediately turned green. Wherever Sera had gone, her phone was off.
Tossing the device onto the counter, Cadi blew out a breath and tapped a frustrated finger against her hip. She didn’t even know if she was looking for dry food or wet food, how much to give her, or how often.
Sera was amazing and quickly becoming the best friend Cadi had ever had … but she really sucked at the whole “leaving instructions” thing.
Nobody was perfect.
Resuming her search, Cadi squatted down to begin checking the lower cupboards, pulling out pots and pans just in case Sera for some reason kept the food stashed in the back. Cuba did seem to have a crafty streak; maybe she had a bad habit of getting into things she wasn’t supposed to.
A distant sound made her pause. Cadi sat back on her heels, straining to listen to what sounded like jingling. Tilting her head, she tried to get a direction on the sound when—
Thud.
Cadi let out a surprised squeal at the sound of something slamming into Sera’s door. She shot to her feet just in time to see Elias stumble into the apartment, tugging on the key that was still stuck in the deadbolt.
She watched in shock as he turned to ease the door shut. Cuba gave an excited bark before she jumped down off the couch and trotted over to nuzzle her face against his leg in greeting.
“Cuba! How’s my favorite lady?” Elias crooned, bending down to scritch the dog behind her floppy ears, only for her to wiggle out of his grip, slipping away to the kitchen and around the counter where Cadi still stood.
Elias’s gaze followed her path, but froze when he saw Cadi. She quickly snapped her mouth shut, realizing belatedly that her jaw had been hanging wide open.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
Elias tossed his keys on the small table next to the door and stepped farther into the apartment. “I was about to ask you the same thing. Sera asked me to dog sit this week so I was coming by to pick up Cuba and take her back to my place.”
Cadi scoffed. “Well, she must have forgotten because she asked me to dog sit, too.”
Elias paused, staring at her for a second before he shook his head, chuckling softly. “Yeah. I guess so.”
He cast a pointed look down at the dog, who had emerged from the kitchen to find her fox toy and was now standing in front of him, her entire butt wagging with joy as she waited impatiently for him to play.
“Is that what happened, Cuba? Did Mom forget?”
Cuba only tilted her head in response. Elias laughed again, stepping forward to rest his palms against the counter. Cadi’s skin heated when she saw his gaze snag on the pots and pans littering the floor around her, his eyes lifting to hers in question.
“Do you need help with anything or … ?”
“Nope!” she answered, a little too quickly. “I have this handled.”
There was no way she was about to admit she couldn’t figure out how to feed a dog.
Plus, this apartment was tiny; there were only so many places kibble could be.
Elias watched her for a minute, and Cadi began preparing follow-up arguments in case he decided he didn’t believe her. But to her surprise, he just nodded.
“Okay,” he said, pushing off the counter and making his way back toward the door.
Cuba whined and followed him, still carrying her fox in her mouth, which she rested against his hand before giving him the saddest set of puppy dog eyes Cadi had ever seen.
They weren’t even directed at her, yet they still managed to break her heart.
Elias bent down, scritching her beneath her chin. “Don’t worry, girl, we’ll hang out next time.”
His keys chimed as he gathered them from the side table and reached for the doorknob.
A pit formed in Cadi’s stomach as the image of Cuba starving and miserable just because she’d been too stubborn to accept help flashed through her mind.
She had always been just fine handling things on her own, she had to be, but as she watched Elias tug the door open, his words from yesterday echoed in her memory.
But what if you didn’t?
“Wait.”
Elias paused in the doorway, turning to face her.
Cadi sighed, holding up the small piece of paper with Sera’s ridiculous idea of instructions.
“Sera left what is possibly the world’s least helpful note for how to care for Cuba, and I have no idea where her food is and I don’t want her to starve and I don’t know if she has allergies so I can’t just make her something and I—”
Cadi took a deep breath, cutting off her rambling to voice the only thing that truly mattered in that moment. “Can you help me?”
A gentle smile curved his lips. “Of course.”
Relief flowed through her when he stepped back into the apartment and crossed to stand next to her.
“Safe to say you’ve searched the kitchen?” he said, the corners of his mouth twitching as he eyed the chaos at her feet.
Cadi huffed a laugh. “What was your first clue?”
He shot her a sideways glance, the teasing glint dancing in his eyes stirring something in her belly that nearly made her break out into a fit of giggles. She sucked in a breath and forced down the giddiness threatening to rise up and make her look like a complete fool.
“I get the feeling Sera was in a bit of a cheeky mood when she wrote that note,” he continued, “so I’m guessing the food is somewhere completely illogical. I’ll keep searching down here if you want to check upstairs?”
Cadi nodded, scurrying away toward the metal staircase and taking in a deep pull of fresh air. There was no doubt she needed the help, but with the way her head had already started to swim just from standing so close to him, she knew she was playing a dangerous game.