Page 92 of Carver’s Craving

So he remembers he belongs to me?

Yeah, that worked. I’d never been a possessive guy. No one had ever brought out my protective instincts. If someone chose to leave, I’d make them a sandwich and thank them for the good time. Never any bad feelings. Never any drama.

The idea of leaving Carver twisted my gut into knots. Guess it’s a good thing you’re not going anywhere. True that.

I sat on the couch with a pooch on either side of me.

Walter had curled up against me while Poppin lay on her back with her four paws in the air. That position couldn’t possibly be comfortable, but that didn’t appear to deter her.

The knock at the door startled both dogs. Poppin hopped off the couch and began to bark her head off.

Glad to see some things never change. Has Carver ever considered a dog trainer? Something I might want to ask.

I strode to the door. “Poppin, hush.”

She stopped.

I opened the door to find Seth the RCMP officer on the porch. “Hey, come in.”

“That would be great.” He stepped inside, and I shut the door.

I noted, “It’s fucking freezing out there. Even Poppin didn’t want to stay out long.”

My girl hadn’t resumed her barking—but she eyed Seth with suspicion.

“Poppin, Seth’s a friend. You remember what a friend is, right?” I pivoted to Seth. “Can I take your coat?” I had no idea how to interact with a police officer. “Can I get you a coffee? Hot chocolate? Tea? Or something cold?”

“Coffee’s an option? I’ll leave my coat on.”

“Sure. We have that pod machine. Give me a minute? Do you want to sit on the recliner or at the dining room table?”

“If I sit at the table then I won’t have to raise my voice while you make the coffee, right?”

Clearly he had the lay of the cabin. All one big room with delineated spaces. “Yep. I’m assuming you have news? Don’t worry about your boots.” I moved to the kitchen area and set about organizing the coffee pod. Then I put a mug of milk in the microwave—intended to add hot chocolate powder for myself.

Seth pulled a notebook out of his jacket and sat. “Not really news. More I was hoping to ask you some questions. Try to fill in the blanks.”

“Oh?” This doesn’t sound good. “I don’t know what more I can say.”

“Perhaps we can talk about Baxter’s state of mind?”

Crap. “Uh, milk? Sugar? We don’t have cream—”

Seth waved me off. “Black is amazing. I’m easygoing.”

I pulled my mug out of the microwave, added the chocolate powder, and stirred. “I try to be as well. Easygoing. Baxter, though? He can be super intense. Other times, though, he doesn’t take anything seriously.” I brought the mugs over to the table and sat.

Poppin plopped at my feet.

Walter had his snout over the arm of the couch so he could see us.

“All good, buddy.”

He snuffled.

Seth smiled. “They’re adorable. I remember when Ulysses featured them in the paper. I already have a rescue husky and work crazy hours, so taking on another dog was out of the question.”

“A husky sounds like a handful.” Because chitchat is the correct thing to do…right?