Page 45 of Embracing James

“Love you.”

James hesitated. He wanted to say the words right back, but when he tried, they melted away. “I’m fond of you, too.”

Paul winked.

James collected his things and headed out to the garage. He packed the towels in the trunk, then left his bag on the passenger seat. He opened the garage door, then backed down the driveway. He left the condo, but most of his heart stayed with Doob and Paul.

He drove right to the salon and parked in the warehouse. He ensured the main door was shut, then carried the towels first to the salon. Once he had the towels put away, he retrieved his bag and locked his car.

Ky stood at his station in the middle of a haircut for a gentleman client. Ky nodded to James as he passed, but didn’t stop his work.

Lance dusted off his chair and arranged his tools on the counter of his station. He glanced over his shoulder. “Hi.”

“Good morning.” James carried his bag to his office, then locked everything but his phone up before returning to his own station. All he had to do was prep for his first client. “How did opening go this morning?”

“Well,” Ky said. “No problems. Casey showed up on time, so did Lance and I didn’t accidentally set off the alarm.”

“Good.” He liked being able to trust them. He’d only let Ky open one day of the week for now, but it still helped.

Casey rushed up to him. “Mr. Mason?”

“Casey. How are you?” James asked. He shook out the cape and arranged it on the back of his chair in advance of his first client of the day arriving.

“I’m fine, but you have a problem.” She squeezed at her fingers. “There’s a man in the lobby who says he knows you and he wants the dog.”

The dog?James dropped the cape. “Pardon?”

“There’s a guy named Craig?” She shook her head. “He says he’s owed a reward and he’s got the owner of your dog. Isn’t your dog…your dog?”

“Doob is mine.” He’d paid the fees for the dog tags, had Doob microchipped and up to date on his shots. It’d been over a year since he’d found the dog and, damn it, Doob was his.

“What do I do about the guy?” Casey asked. “He’s creeping me out.”

“I’ll handle it.” He strode up to the lobby and spotted both Craig and another man. He fortified his nerves and squared his shoulders. He hated dealing with Craig, but if there was even a chance Craig had found the original owner of Doob, then he’d have to talk to them. “Craig.”

Craig faced James and grinned. “Hi, love.”

James shuddered. Craig wasn’t his love. He never had been. “How can I help you?”

“I found the people who owned your dog.” Craig gestured to the other man. “This is Joel. He and his wife, Sadie, owned Doob. They named him after a song and their kids miss the dog.”

Joel didn’t say anything and didn’t appear all that broken up. In fact, he didn’t appear to want to even be there. “You had Doob?”

“They did,” Craig interjected. “They’d like him back.”

“I’d like to hear it from them, er…him.” James turned his attention to Joel. “Where did you lose Doob?”

“He ran out through the back door and never came back,” Joel said.

“Do you have photos of him?” James asked. Everyone had photos of their animals these days. Hell, he knew some people who had more images of their pets than their children.

“Uh…” Joel pulled out his wallet and opened it to a photo of a dog that could be Doob, but it could also be just about any black Labrador. The animal didn’t have the small patch of white fur on his chest like Doob.

James wasn’t sure what to do. For all he could tell, Doob could be Joel’s dog. Then again, he might not be.

“This is his dog,” Craig said. “I helped him find the dog and you need to cough it up. You also owe me. Wasn’t there a reward for information?”

“I didn’t offer up a reward,” James said.

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