Page 25 of Between the Lines

Sure, Paige’s online presence was managed and deliberate, but she’d turned herself into a brand. She’d gotten a sponsorship, for Pete’s sake. That wasn’t what Darcy was doing. With her, it felt more like she was trying to hide something.

Maude pushed up into cobra, shoulders rolling back, chest opening. The stretch felt good. With Robbie moving in, she’d neglected her usual routine. No more. She needed this. She stayed in the stretch for an extra breath, then sat back on her heels, exhaled, and reached for her water.

Her phone was on the floor beside the mat, screen dark. Still nothing from Cece about Darcy’s response to the interview request.

Maude wiped her hands on her towel and told herself to stop checking. Cece would respond when there was something to say. And Darcy would respond when it suited her. Waiting was part of it, whether Maude liked it or not.

She rose, positioned her feet, then moved into tree pose, one foot planted, the other resting against her thigh. Her balance wobbled for a second before settling.

Her phone buzzed. That figured. Maude stepped out of the pose and picked it up, expecting to see Cece’s name on the screen.

Instead, she saw Ollie’s. She smiled as she read his text. Beach walk? I just got home and Milo is eager to go. What do you say?

Getting out of the house felt like the perfect antidote to her thoughts, which had been circling around the same subject all afternoon.

I say yes, she typed. Give me a few minutes.

She set the phone down, rolled up her mat, and felt her shoulders drop another notch. Darcy could wait. Cece could wait. Whatever else was unfolding would still be there when she got back.

Right now, there was a walk to take. With her favorite guy. And his owner.

They reached the beach just as the sun was starting to slide lower, the light softer now, less punishing. Milo hit the sand like he’d been waiting for it all day, pulling ahead with happy determination before Ollie shortened the leash and laughed.

“Easy,” he told him. “You’ve got plenty of time. You don’t have to greet the entire beach all at once.”

Milo ignored that advice completely, nose down, tail wagging, already committed to whatever fascinating thing he might find next.

Maude smiled and fell into step beside Ollie. “How was the hospital today?”

Ollie exhaled through his nose, not quite a sigh. “Busy. Always busy. But I saw all the patients I needed to and there were no emergencies.” He glanced at her. “Still, it’s better on Mondays.”

“Because I bring my sparkling personality,” Maude said dryly.

“That, too,” he said. “But mostly because knowing you’re there changes the feel of the place.”

She raised an eyebrow. “The feel?”

“You make it feel less like a machine,” Ollie said. “People relax when you’re around. Patients. Nurses. Even me.”

Maude considered that as they walked, the surf washing up close enough to wet the sand underfoot. “I just do what’s asked of me,” she said. “Sometimes I don’t even do that much.”

“You do plenty,” Ollie said. “But it’s not about what you do so much as it’s about how you make people feel. You’ve only been there a short while and you already put them at ease. I’ve seen you do it.”

“Thanks. I enjoy being there.”

Milo stopped abruptly to investigate a clump of seaweed, then looked back at them as if offended they hadn’t stopped, too.

Maude crouched and scratched his chest. “You’re having a good day, huh? Happy to be outside?”

His tongue lolled, and his eyes went half-shut in a blissed-out expression, sand already clinging to his paws.

“He loves it here,” Ollie said. “I think he thinks the beach exists solely for him.”

Maude straightened. “Maybe it does.”

They walked on and Ollie let her take the leash. Milo weaved back and forth, content and busy. The sound of the waves gave them a nice background, and they were both content not to talk. Maude felt the tension from earlier ease.

Darcy was pushed to the back of her mind by the simple fact of being outside, enjoying the day and being with someone who made her extraordinarily happy. Two someones, really. Milo continued to be utterly perfect.