Chapter 18 #3
“She’s so mortified she’ll probably never look your way again.
” Zona was tempted to add that he could hardly blame her mother for thinking the worst about him after what they’d heard coming from his house, but it was best to keep her mouth firmly zipped.
It was hardly the time to point an accusing finger his way when there were so many pointing in the direction of her house.
“She’s got it in her head that I’m the devil.”
“Are you? I’m sorry, but it hasn’t exactly been quiet over at your house,” Zona added. So much for keeping her mouth zipped.
“If you’d known who I had over there, you’d understand. Anyway, she’s gone now. But not dead,” he added, making Zona feel foolish by association.
She blushed.
“By the way, when are you taking her dog to obedience school?” he asked.
Oh, yes, the other thorn in his side. “It’s on my to-do list,” Zona lied. They were going to have to get Darling signed up soon.
“Dogs need to be trained from a young age. That saying about old dogs and new tricks is true. And I’m not mansplaining. It’s just a fact.”
“I know. We’ll keep him off your yard from now on,” Zona promised. “I’m not letting him out unsupervised and I’ll try to get him signed up for some training. It’s just hard with everything going on.”
“Bring him over here one night and I’ll help you whip him into shape. I’d offer to come over there, but your mom probably doesn’t want a killer on her property.”
Zona’s cheeks burned. “I really am sorry about that. She’s been watching all these true crime shows. And then there was that man in LA who—”
He cut her off. “I know. I watch the news.” He took a deep breath. “Look, we all got off to a bad start. I’ve trained a couple of dogs. I’ll help you train yours. We can work out front. That way the whole neighborhood can keep an eye on me.”
Okay, he could stop rubbing it in anytime. She frowned.
“Sorry,” he said. “I mean it though. I’ll help you with your dog. Just to prove I’m not a dog-hater.”
“Good to know.” The scenes they’d overheard had been awful. “How do you feel about people?”
He frowned. “What do you mean?” Understanding dawned. He rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Oh, yeah. The shouting, right? We keep coming back to that.”
She didn’t say anything. Just waited for him to elaborate.
“She’s a spoiled drama queen and manipulative. I finally had enough and kicked her out.”
“But didn’t kick her.”
He scowled. “Or hit her. What’s with women these days? Do they really believe every man out there is garbage?”
“Of course not,” Zona said, trying to keep her voice sympathetic. “Sometimes you hear things.” Why on earth was she nosing around in this man’s life, antagonizing him? If she got him mad enough, maybe he would sue them.
“Okay,” he said wearily. “What exactly did you hear? It must have been real good for your mom to decide I cut Angela up into pieces.”
Zona bit her lip. Nothing. Say you heard nothing.
“Come on, out with it. I really want to know.”
Zona took a deep breath. “The woman said, ‘You’re hurting me.’” Actually, she hadn’t simply said it. She’d cried out.
He looked like he’d just drunk vinegar. “Yeah, that’s her favorite when I’m grabbing her by the arm.”
“Why were you grabbing her by the arm?” Now Zona sounded like a detective interviewing a suspect. Good grief. Law & Order, Special Snoop Unit. This was not going to go over well. She swallowed hard.
“She was totally out of control. I was trying to get her back in the house and deal with her issues in private before the whole neighborhood heard and decided I was beating on her.” He made a face. “I guess they did.” He studied Zona. “Maybe they still do?”
She took a step back. “Everyone’s got problems,” she said, not even sure what that was supposed to mean.
“There’s problems and there’s problems. And there’s reasons when people get mad.”
And reasons why they grabbed other people by the arm?
He held up the container. “Thanks for these.”
That signaled the end of a conversation that had seesawed back and forth between normal and creepy. “You’re welcome,” Zona said. She left his front porch and heard the door shut behind her and realized she felt relieved.
“How did it go?” Louise asked as soon as Zona was in the house. “You were over there a long time. What did you talk about? Is he going to sue us?”
Zona settled on a chair in the living room and tucked a leg under her. “I’m sure he thinks we’re both cuckoo birds, but I doubt he’s going to sue us. Still, it was awkward. Honestly, I can’t figure that man out.”
“What do you mean?” Louise asked.
Zona shared the gist of her conversation with Alec James. Louise was doubtful on hearing his claim to be a dog lover and more horrified than impressed by his offer to help Zona train Darling.
“I think that’s downright sporting of him, all things considered,” said Martin.
“That man is too cold to be a dog lover,” Louise insisted. “And do you buy his explanation about that argument we overheard?” she asked Zona.
“I don’t know,” Zona said. “Maybe it happened just like he said. We’ll never know.”
Louise frowned. “One thing I do know. I made a fool of myself.”
“It was an honest mistake,” said Martin.
Zona doubted he believed that, but it was kind of him to say.
“But I still think something was not right over there,” Louise declared.
Something’s not right over here, either, thought Zona.
And the something was her. There was no way she should have been attracted to that man.
“But we’re not having anything to do with him from now on,” she said firmly. The less she saw of Alec James the better, and that included turning herself into a watcher.
“IT SOUNDS LIKE you don’t know the whole story of what went on over there,” her friend Gracie said when Zona took her to lunch the next day. (At Taco Bell, which fit Zona’s budget.)
“I don’t think I want to.” Zona shook her head. “The man unnerves me.”
“But free dog training.”
“Nothing is free. Everything comes with a price,” said Zona, the newly minted cynic.
And she suspected that if she got to know Alec James any better she’d wind up paying for it. Her best bet was to stay away.
Gambling metaphor. Aack!