Page 73 of The Weight Of Falling
Joel sighs, long and loud. A little judgy too. “Come with me.”
He digs out his keys and unlocks the door to his studio. I pick up the beagle so he doesn’t cut his paws on the glass and Owen and I follow Joel inside. He leads us to a back room and flicks on the light. I put the beagle down and cast a glance around the room. Against one wall is a bowl filled with kibble and, beside it, another bowl filled halfway with water. A dog bed with a folded fleece blanket is positioned in one corner. On the opposite side of the room, a neat, thick square of newspapers has been taped down.
I take a step back in surprise, remorse rolling through me. “You bought all this?”
Joel nods. “The all-night convenience store on Elm had everything I needed.” He rubs the nape of his neck. “I was planning to come back first thing in the morning and take him to a shelter.”
The beagle noses past me, gives the water a polite sip, sniffs the kibble, then circles once and settles on the blanket with a contented sigh.
Embarrassment sweeps through me. I can’t believe I got it so wrong.
Owen’s shoulders loosen a fraction. “Well, that solves that part of the problem.” His tone turns serious. “Now for the other part. The broken window and unlawful entry.” He turns to Joel. “Do you want to press charges?”
My mouth goes dry. I feel the blood drain from my face. Surely he can’t be serious?
Joel gives me a long, measured look. Finally, he says softly, “I won’t be pressing charges.”
My shoulders drop with relief.
Owen narrows his eyes at me, no hint of humor on his face. “Given the circumstances, I suggest you cover the cost of the window repair.”
I nod hastily. “Absolutely.”
His eyes move to Joel. “You have anything valuable in here?”
“No,” Joel replies. “Just the dog stuff.”
“Okay, then.” Owen hitches up his belt and lets out a disbelieving huff. “In all my years as sheriff, this is one of the strangest calls I’ve taken. Definitely one for the books.” He turns back to me. “Next time, Kenzie, instead of jumping to conclusions and breaking a window, how about you give me a call first?”
“I will,” I promise, my throat thick with embarrassment.
The beagle thumps his tail against the blanket like a drum, as if to say no harm, no foul. I wish I could believe him.
Owen’s gaze flicks between the two of us, sharp with meaning. “And you two might want to work on your communication skills.”
Joel skewers me with a look. “Oh, that’s something we’ll certainly be working on.”
“All right, I’ll leave you to it. You two take care.” He rubs his chest as he heads off, grumbling, “I’m getting heartburn just thinking about what the two of you will get up to next.”
The moment we’re alone, I reluctantly meet Joel’s gaze. “I’m so sorry.”
Joel sighs. This time, a resigned sort of sigh. “As soon as I saw you here, I was surprised and not surprised.”
I blink. “What do you mean?”
He runs a hand through his hair and stares at the floor, as if searching for the right words. “There seems to be a bizarre truth playing out here,” he says slowly. “Call it fate, serendipity, whatever, but every time I try to stay away from you, fate creates another moment like this.”
An unsettling sensation steals over me. “What are you saying?”
“Out of all the store windows in Brown Oaks you could’ve broken, you broke mine.”
“A coincidence.”
“Is it?” His mouth twists. “Think about it. All the times our paths have crossed, starting with the kiss in the storeroom and Kate practically stage-managing our dance at her wedding.”
The memory of a whole string of other moments unspools between us: the movie night that led to a fake engagement, me fainting in his arms at the gym, the wedding cake fiasco. Each one catapulted us together and kept us in the spotlight.
My head is spinning, but I try to laugh it off. “All I know is the more we try to keep this low profile, the more high profile it gets.”
