Page 39 of Chasing Justice
As Maya left the office, exhaustion washed over her. She stopped at the liquor store on the way home. She wasn’t supposed to in her Forest Service gear and vehicle, but she slipped in and out fast before anyone saw her. She was definitely going to need help sleeping tonight.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Maya woke up the next morning with sunshine glaring into her eyes. She’d left her curtains open. Her tongue felt like a cotton ball stuck to the roof of her mouth. Her head pounded. She couldn’t roll over.
She reached out, trying to figure out why she was stuck, and her hand landed on fur. She felt up and down the fur until she reached pointy ears. A groan came from Juniper.
Juniper.
Shit.
Maya sat straight up. Juniper lay on her side, taking up most of the bed. The dog had a content look on her face and stretched her legs, toes splaying apart.
“You’re supposed to be in your crate,” Maya said, throwing back the covers. “You’re not a pet and you don’t get the whole bed.”
Maya stepped down, her feet hitting the cold floor. She felt a little nauseous, and memories from the previous night flooded back. She’d bought a large case of beer and toasted to Doug—all night long.
Maya put her head in her hands. At least she was off today. That gave her time to sober up. How did Juniper get out of her crate? Or had Maya in her drunken stupor forgotten to lock the door or even put her in there?
“Time to get up, officer,” Maya said to Juniper, who now had edged over where Maya had been lying and taken up more of the bed. Juniper flicked open one golden eye and then shut it again.
“Really? Fine. Stay in bed. I’m going to start some coffee.”
Maya stood up. Her head throbbed. She shuffled her way to the kitchen, where she found a war zone-like disaster. Apparently, Juniper had decided to use up some energy while Maya was passed out. No wonder the dog was sleeping so well. Maya’s couch cushions looked like a bomb hit them. Stuffing was torn out and littered all over the floor. The one rug she owned had been chewed and ripped apart. Maya’s box of stuffed animals from her childhood had been broken into. Each animal looked like it was tortured by a serial killer. Except for one—a teddy bear.
“Great,” Maya muttered. If she couldn’t even take care of herself, how could she take care of a dog like Juniper? She was spiraling out of control and had no clue how to get things together.
As Maya took in the mess, Juniper slithered her way out of bed and sat by Maya, observing her masterpiece. Juniper strolled over to the teddy bear, gently picked it up in her mouth and went to her crate. She slunk inside, turned around, put her head between her paws, keeping the teddy bear in her mouth.
“This is my fault, not yours. I obviously didn’t lock you up last night. And I guess you can have Teddy as long as you don’t destroy him too.”
Juniper sighed and closed her eyes.
Maya made her way through the destruction, just wanting coffee. She couldn’t be too mad at the dog when she looked at her kitchen table, where beer cans littered the entire area.
“Looks like we both partied hard last night,” Maya said.
The only answer was dog snores.
Maya started the coffee and was in the process of picking up beer cans and putting them in the trash when she heard the crunch of tires outside. Juniper woke up, grabbed the teddy bear in her mouth and shot out of the crate to see who had arrived. She put her giant paws up on the door and peered out the window, tail wagging.
“Who the hell is here now?” Maya asked, going to the window to peer out. “Oh crap.”
Josh. Did I text him my address? Or did he have to get it from Pops?
She had forgotten that she had discussed having him come over to help work Juniper today. She turned away from the window and leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes. She better get over her hangover real quick.
She turned back and looked out the window again. Josh stepped out of his sheriff’s vehicle. Unlike Maya, he looked ready to tackle the day. Juniper tried to give a happy bark, but it came out muffled with the teddy bear in her mouth.
Josh strolled up the worn path to the door. Maya opened it, hoping she didn’t look too terrible. On the other hand, why did she care how she looked?
She didn’t want to admit it, but around Josh, she kind of did care.
“Hey there, sorry, running a little bit late,” Maya said.
Josh raised one eyebrow and Maya turned red, realizing she still had on her pajamas, which didn’t cover much. She crossed her arms as if that would hide her lack of bra and loose-fitting shirt.
“Yeah,” Maya said. “So come on in. I’ll be just a minute. Keep an eye on Juniper.”
