Page 4 of Break Away
That got her attention. Lucy lifted her head,gaze steady on the meat stick in his hand.
He tore off a hunk and held it out, waving itabout so the scent carried. Slowly, the dog rose to her feet,waterworks already started, a string of drool hanging from herjowls. Ears perked, she made her way over to him. He let her sniffthe treat before tossing it. She caught it mid-air. “Swallowed itwhole, good girl.” He glanced at the cottage. “Want more before weboth get in trouble?”
He took another bite before moving to theside of the driveway. Lucy followed and he fed her a piece of SlimJim. By the time the screen door on the cottage slammed, he’d luredher far enough he could drive by.
“We’re busted, Luce. Play it cool.”
“What are you feeding my dog?”
Earth-chick was still hot. Spirals of curlyblack hair stuck out in odd directions, a wide band in brightorange around her head controlling some of it. It should havelooked messy, but instead she hit the mark at sexy. And while he’dlike to think the rosy flush of her cheeks was because she likedhim, he might be mistaken about that. He held up the package in hishand. “Slim Jim. Lucy’s into it.” He bit off another piece. Notexactly what he’d wanted for breakfast, but it would do.
The horror on Zoey’s face couldn’t be faked.Slim Jims must be another no-no for the bear dog.
“You actually eat that?” She put a hand toher throat like she was trying not to gag. “Slim Jims aren’t food,they’re a processed product made of chemicals and god knows what.They’re not fit for dogs, let alone human consumption.”
Levi took another bite. “Yet they taste sogood.”
“Have you looked at the ingredients? Do youeven know what you’re eating?”
“This one is bacon flavored, so I’m guessingbacon.”
“Read the ingredients list. I bet there’s nobacon in it.”
Levi shrugged, then held up the wrapper,squinting at the tiny print. “Ha, looky here. It says ‘beef,’ whichis not bacon, but it’s meat.”
“Keep reading.”
“Okay. Next is ‘mechanically separatedchicken.’ I wonder what that means.”
“It’s chicken that’s been pulverized andforced through a screen to make a kind of chicken sludge.”
“So basically all the good stuff.” He glancedat Zoey. “Hey, you feeling okay? You look a little green.”
“That’s because I’m going to throw up.”
“Slim Jims are not for those with delicatedigestion. I bet you’re vegan.”
“You’d lose. I love eggs and cheese, and willoccasionally eat meat, depending on how it’s raised and sourced.But mostly, I eat a plant-based diet.”
He swallowed the last of the Slim Jim.“You’re missing out on the benefits of a preservative-baseddiet.”
“A sacrifice, I’m sure.” He thought he caughta smirk to go with the eye roll. Progress. She gave the dog a sternlook and pointed to the cottage. “Lucy, time out.”
“She going to doggie jail again? It’s not herfault she consumed the processed product made of chemicals and godknows what. I corrupted her.”
“Yes, you did. She should resist your manytemptations.” Her gaze flew to his and he gave her a wide smile. “Ididn’t mean that how it sounds.”
“Too bad.”
“Anyway, Lucy is on time-out for blocking thedriveway again. For some reason she likes this particular patch ofsunlight.”
“Who wouldn’t?” He caught sight of the bruiseon Zoey’s forehead again and felt the humor slip away. “Heard yougot hit by a car. How’s the recovery going?”
“I’m alive with no broken bones. I’mgood.”
Since she did indeed look good, he nodded.“Now that bear dog has freed up the driveway, I need to geton.”
He hopped into the Suburban and used therearview mirror to watch her watching him as he drove away.
