Page 19 of I Hate You More

Spencer shook his head in warning, but Lawson pretended not to see.

“Did he come with you?” Lawson glanced around the gym even though he already had the answer. If Caleb had been here, Lawson would have known it.Everyonewould know it. Like Ruby, Spencer’s brother knew how to make an entrance. “Trainers are always welcome at these events. In fact, we encourage it. It’s nice to know who’s working the dogs.”

Ruby wrinkled her nose. “I asked him, but he said he had plans.”

“Plans?” Eva shot Spencer a questioning glance. “What kind of plans?”

Spencer bit back a sigh. Although both Eva and Lawson knew about his tumultuous relationship with his brother—and their bizarre living arrangement—they didn’t know the reason behind it. No one did. That was the one thing Caleb had insisted on as soon as the judge issued his sentence. He didn’t mind if people thought he was an unemployed squatter with a strange reluctance to go out, just so long as they didn’t know the truth about what he’d done.

He wanted to look good rather than be good, play the hero instead of behaving like one.

“I’m not my brother’s keeper,” he said tightly. “What he does in his free time is of no interest to me.”

“That means he has a hot date,” Eva told Ruby. Spencer didn’t want to be interested in Ruby’s opinion of Caleb—and wanted even less to show it—but he couldn’t help watching to see how she reacted. If she was dismayed by the prospect of his brother wooing another woman, she was phenomenal at hiding it.

“Come on,” Eva added with a nudge of her elbow. “I’ll introduce you to a few of the other golden retriever owners. Maybe they’ll have some ideas about how you can whip Wheezy into shape.”

Ruby perked up. “You think?”

Eva eyed the animal in question. “No, I don’t. But you might make a few friends in the process.”

Lawson waited only until the two women dragged Wheezy toward a row of docile golden retrievers before pouncing. “So,” he said, a laugh rumbling low in his voice. “We’re letting any old mixed breed into the dog show now, are we? How interesting.”

Spencer felt his ears grow hot. It was the same thought he’d had the first time he’d laid eyes on the dog, but that wasn’t the point.Hewasn’t the one bending the rules for Ruby’s sake.He’dwanted to put his foot down from the start.

“Wheezy has all the right paperwork,” he said stiffly. “I checked it myself.”

“Staking our reputation for the sake of a few golden curls?”

“I made stipulations. He has to lose some weight and meet the basic training requirements first. I can veto his placement at any time.”

The rumbling laugh turned into an outright guffaw. Lawson clapped a heavy hand on Spencer’s shoulder, using so much force that it almost caused him to choke. The problem working with people like Lawson and Eva was that they knew him too well. Sometimes, a man just wanted to sit alone with his lies.

“I wasn’t talking about thedog’scurls,” Lawson said.

“If you were a real friend, you’d steal a sample of that dog’s saliva and get his breed tested for me,” Spencer grumbled, only half-joking. “I’d ask Eva to do it, but she has all the stealth of a militarized wombat.”

“Probably less,” Lawson agreed.

Spencer assumed his friend would issue more jokes along these same lines—look at Spencer relaxing his rules for a pretty face, watch as Spencer lost all his scruples—but he sobered instead.

That was another problem working with people like Lawson and Eva. They also cared too much for their own good.

“Everything okay with Caleb, by the way?” he asked. “He’s never missed one of these things before. He’s the first to arrive and the last to leave, and always with a smile on his face. I hate to say it, but the West Coast Canine Classic doesn’t feel the same without him.”

Spencer wasn’t sure whether this was intended as an insult, but it certainly felt like one. His brother had nothing to do with this event. He used it as an opportunity to peddle his training services and ingratiate himself with Spencer’s friends, yes, but that was where the overlap ended. Their parents bred border collies, so they’d grown up around pedigrees, but it wasn’t until Spencer had taken things one step further and started the West Coast Canine Classic that Caleb had shown any real interest in show dogs.

“He’s fine,” Spencer said. “He has his own stuff going on right now, that’s all.”

“Fine. Don’t tell me. I’ll get the story out of him eventually.”

“I’m serious. We’re not joined at the hip. He has his own life, and I have mine.”

That made Lawson laugh and slap him on the shoulder all over again. This time, it was hard enough to make Spencer wince. “Sure thing, Spencer. You’re just two brothers who can totally function independently of one another. I’ve known it all along.”

* * *

As far as dog-based social events went, the meet and greet was a success, mostly because no dog attacked one of its peers. No human did, either, and that was saying something when you were talking about a competition at this level. There was no cash prize for winning the West Coast Canine Classic, but since all three of the judges were qualified by the AKC, their scores counted toward an animal’s overall show points and champion status. These could be used for access to other, more grandiose shows and were therefore highly coveted.