Page 61 of A Wife's Duty

He stayed silent and Lucia nodded, stepping out of the room. She was outside the closet when he spoke.

“One day, I will tell you who I am, what I did, who I was, but right now is not the time. I’m a good man, Lucia, but I am also a bad man. All I hope is that you trust me.”

“I do trust you, Boone. I just hope one day you can trust me as well.”

Chapter Twelve

The house was beautiful, stunning even. It was the perfect place to raise a family. The bedrooms were all ready and waiting for children. The main bedroom was still bare, no pictures, nothing. There was no real history here, but the love and dedication built into the property was clear.

Then there were the safe/panic rooms. They showed a man prepared for all eventualities, but they also showed a man with a lot of enemies to consider. This was not unusual to her.

She imagined, back home, her father had panic rooms, only none of his children, or at least herself, was aware of them. In the event of a home invasion, she would surely be dead.

Before Frank came back, she and Boone removed all the furniture covers and started to open up the house, airing it out. There was some dust, but it was easily managed, as they both coughed and spluttered. They were in the process of cleaning as Betty got herself comfortable on one of the large sofas they uncovered.

She looked toward Boone to see if he minded the dog being on the furniture, but he didn’t even glance in Betty’s direction. She had always wanted a dog. Even when she was little and she saw them on the street, she had wanted a dog. They were so adorable. Her father couldn’t stand them. Whenever he was near, they made him have uncontrollable sneezes, which is why they were never allowed a dog. Totally unfair and uncalled for, but that was her father.

Frank finally returned, only he didn’t just have dog food, Frank had come with toys, a bed, a bath, and all the essentials of raising a dog.

“You thought of everything,” Lucia said.

“Yeah, well, pieces of shit were hurting her, so I think it is only fair we treat her like a princess,” Frank said.

It would seem between Boone and Frank, they both had a soft spot for Betty.

“Come on then, let’s get you a bath ready. What do you think?” Lucia moved toward Betty’s side, and she didn’t even have to ask Boone for help.

He reached down and cradled the dog in his arms, as if she was so precious. In that moment, as he held a dog, a stranger to him at the start of the day, Lucia couldn’t help but fall in love with him. This made her stop as she looked at him.

Falling in love. It was the impossible thing to do, yet as she looked at him, she knew that was exactly how she felt. She had fallen in love with her husband, although this hadn’t been any kind of love match. This had been arranged. Was it possible for Boone to have feelings for her?

“Are you coming?” Boone asked.

He was already heading out toward the kitchen.

“You okay?” Frank asked.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”

She was not ready to talk about her feelings with him, or with anyone. She had fallen in love with Boone. It didn’t even seem possible to her. There was no way she was in love with him. That would be crazy.

She watched as he lowered Betty to the floor and ran his hand down the dog’s back. The bathtub Frank had purchased was behind him, and Frank was already filling it with water.

There was more to Boone than met the eye. She understood that, but what did it mean exactly?

She felt so compelled to watch him. He was so gentle with the dog, and she didn’t imagine for a second he’d been nice to the men who had kicked Betty. She had done as he asked and not turned to look. Lucia heard the commotion, but she trusted Boone, no one else. She had kept her gaze forward, although the temptation to look back had been so strong. She had refrained from doing so. That had been hard.

Boone looked up at her. “Are you coming to help? I don’t think she has ever been cared for, and she has gotten really attached to you.”

Lucia didn’t hesitate and got her ass moving closer to Boone. She sat down, running both of her hands either side of Betty’s face. “I’ve got you, sweet girl. I’ve got you, and you don’t need to worry about a thing.” She leaned down and pressed her face against the dog’s head. “I love you. Yes, I do. I love you.” She didn’t quite know if she was telling the dog she loved her, or trying to let Boone know she had developed feelings for him. What would he do? What would he say? She pushed it out of her mind because there was no room to be thinking about any of that.

Working as a team, they were able to get Betty into the warm water. She started off shaking, but Lucia didn’t stop talking to her, soothing her. All she did was give directions and talk to Betty, without panicking. She focused on the dog as Boone took the soap and began lathering up the dog. The scent was so adorable.

Lucia kept kissing the dog’s nose, and for her efforts, she would randomly get licked. It wasn’t long before Betty relaxed.

“You don’t think they punished her in a bath or anything, do you?” As she spoke, she did so in a singsong voice, so as not to raise Betty’s alarm and have her panicking.

“I fucking hope not, otherwise I’ll go back and kill them,” Frank said.

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