Page 26 of Here With Me (Paloma's Edge 2)

“Oh, poor Riley.” She disrobed right in front of me and started to put her jeans on.

I was starting to think that her course overload and work schedule coupled with her lack of sleep was draining her.

“Umm, Beth, who are you talking about? You mean poor Chase, because you haven’t seen him since Sunday morning?” I tried to clarify.

“I’ll see Chase tomorrow night before he leaves for his away game,” she replied and pushed her shirt down to her chest. “Riley is Hunter’s dog and her dog walker is sitting for a host of animals tonight and can’t take her for a walk.”

“Since when does Hunter have a dog?”

“He’s had Riley for a little over two months and she’s the kind of dog that won’t just relieve herself if she really has to go. She’ll wait and wait.”

/> I felt my chest constrict. I loved dogs and I was so sad when my grandparents had taken Pixie, my childhood Labrador Retriever back with them to Jacksonville, because Pete was horribly allergic to dogs. The only comfort my parents and I had had was that Pixie was loved until his final days.

“Yeah. Chase took her for a walk and fed her yesterday afternoon before practice, and I volunteered to go tonight.”

Beth was so sweet. She had so much to do for herself, but she was carving out some time for Riley.

“Do you have any photos of her?” I asked as Beth forced her feet into her sneakers.

She nodded. “Come with me. Riley loves female company.”

“I doubt that Hunter would want me setting one foot in his house. Especially if he’s not there.” I really did want to see Riley and I was also curious about how his house looked.

“I wouldn’t have suggested it if he wouldn’t like it.” She threw on her light sweater and her satchel.

As she opened the door, I followed her, without my own keys, or my tote, or my cell. My curiosity was too great.

***

“WAIT FOR RILEY TO come up to you first. She was in real bad shape when Hunter brought her home and, although she took to Annette and me instantly, she can be kinda skittish.”

I nodded, expelling a soft sigh, and my anxiousness tapered off to a manageable level. The argument with Hunter today and Jill’s request weighed heavy on me. I had no claim over him and she didn’t have to think about my feelings, but she did.

A beautiful dark brown lab laid on the couch when Beth turned the lights on to Hunter’s sparkling house. Did he pay for house cleaning? I didn’t even smell the scent of a dog in here. As many times as my mom and I had cleaned the house when we’d had Pixie, we hadn’t gotten rid of her scent.

“Hey, Riley!” Beth cooed as she bent her knees. Riley ran over to her, but I was a bit surprised that she hadn’t been faster. She wasn’t young, but she wasn’t old either. I watched as Beth ruffled her ears and Riley threw herself on her back, making whining noises.

“She’s gorgeous. How old is she?”

“The vets told Hunter that she’s four years old.”

Riley’s greenish-blue gaze darted over to me and minutes later she stood right in front of me. “Wanna go for a walk?” I asked her and looked at Beth, who had two small trash bags rolled up in one of her hands.

Beth had Riley’s leash in her pocket, but she told me that Riley didn’t need it.

When we were walking on either side of Riley down the long sidewalk of Hunter’s neighborhood, I began to see her relax more with my presence.

“When does he get out of work?”

Riley paused behind a big tree and I knew that it was her designated spot. “Probably one. Manny, his boss, has had the shop opened until two, for customers who can’t get out of work early in the evening. He started his shift at eight this morning.”

“Are his hours always like this?”

“It all depends,” Beth said and covered her hand with the two plastic bags. “He knew this week Manny needed him more, because he’s the best at doing sketches. And he doesn’t have the obligations like the other guys do. They have wives and children at home, so Manny accommodates them as much as he can. But there are just some tattoos that they do better than Hunter; they do have a shitload of experience.” She walked away for a second and cleaned up after Riley, who shyly dipped her head and sniffed my hand before she started licking it. I crouched down and rubbed the side of my face against hers, and she began vigorously licking my face.

Beth rubbed the top of Riley’d head and we started to walk again, in tandem with Riley’s gait. “Is Hunter better at drawing people than other things? What he did on your cake was really sweet, Beth.”

“Wasn’t that drawing literally the icing on that yummy ass cake? He’s actually very good at drawing and tattooing all kinds of stuff. Hunter wants to be able to do all the designs the other tattoo artists can do, using every machine, even the old school ones. He wants to open up his own shop by the time he’s thirty.”

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