“Your house?” Wendy breathed. “And why do we need to take Peanut home? He can come everywhere with us.”
She had a point.
“If you take Peanut home, that means you’ll have to return.”
I didn’t miss the look he gave me.
One that clearly said, “You’d want that?”
I nodded.
He shoved his hands in his pockets, then said, “How about we go to the store to get stuff to cook for dinner, then we grab some ice cream sundae stuff. Then we go back to your place and cook? But we’ll need to drop me off at my place so I can get Peanut some food for dinner. He doesn’t do well with people food.”
“Can I ride with you?”
Odin again looked at me for confirmation.
I surreptitiously gave him a nod.
I liked that he was asking for permission.
But I found that I trusted him implicitly.
“Of course,” Odin said. “As long as you don’t mind Peanut sitting in your lap. He prefers the middle.”
“Of course!” Wendy’s high-pitched voice sounded. “I love dog butts in my lap!”
Odin looked to me. “Why don’t you go to your place. Get showered? I’ll run by my place with Wendy, get a change of clothes, Peanut’s food, and dinner.”
I leaned forward and caught his hand, not giving him a kiss quite yet because I still needed to have a conversation with Wendy first.
“I’ll see you at my place,” I said softly.
Peanut pranced off between two of my favorite people, and I waited until I couldn’t see them anymore to get into my SUV and head to my place.
When I got there, it was to pass my parents’ empty house.
I passed the rehab facility and still didn’t spot their car.
When I got to my place, I realized that someone was there. But it wasn’t my parents.
I got out of my SUV and rounded the hood, keeping it between the visitor and me.
“What are you doing here, Eustace?”
He looked properly chagrined.
“I just wanted to make sure that you were really okay.”
I gritted my teeth. “How did you get in here?”
We had a gate.
“I passed your parents on the road,” he said. “They were leaving as I came in.”
My hands clenched. “We have a gate for a reason, Eustace. You’re not allowed to come in here unannounced.”
“Why?”
