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Foster’s stomach twisted, the desire to have the knowledge about as strong as the desire to want to cover his ears and never know. “Thanks for calling.”
“Do you want me to notify your parents?”
“No,” he said quickly. “Until you have something solid, let them be.”
“I understand. I’ll get in touch when I know more.”
“Thank you, Agent Long.”
Foster hung up the phone and tossed his sandwich in the trash, his appetite gone and a restless need to do something productive burning through him. Work. That’s what he could control. He couldn’t control whether or not Agent Long could find what they needed. He couldn’t control that his parents probably wouldn’t take his call even if he tried to contact them. And he couldn’t control how things had gone down with Cela Friday night. But this office, the people in it, the services they provided—that he had ultimate authority over.
He pressed a button on his phone. “Lindy, let the R & D department know that I want a briefing in an hour on where we’re at with the smartphone app.”
“An hour? But, sir, they said they’re not quite ready to . . .”
“Tell them to figure it out.” He hung up the phone, feeling a shred better.
Taking the reins always moved things back into place inside himself, whether it be at work or behind closed doors. He didn’t like variables and unknowns. Didn’t like surprises. And after all the surprises he’d experienced with Cela Friday night, he was desperate to do something that would put his world back into the right boxes.
He didn’t need a temptation like Cela shuffling everything around in his brain.
He’d talk to her. That was the right thing to do.
But it’d only be to say good-bye.
—
I sat on the top of the picnic bench in the grassy area next to my building, enjoying the sunshine and the very un-Texas-like seventy-degree day, and threw the rubber ball Gerald had handed me. Gerald’s Maltese mix, Sammi, took off like she’d been launched from a cannon to chase down the ball, her tail wagging so hard it was only a blur. I grinned. “I love that it never gets old for dogs. Same game over and over and they’re happy.”
Gerald smiled as he watched Sammi tumble in the grass when she pounced on the ball. “Yeah, she loves running. I feel bad that she’s cooped up most of the day. I’m hoping to be able to rent a house with a yard one day soon.”
“You could always look for a dog walker or a sitter for her while you’re at work. A lot of college students do it for cheap.”
“Do it for cheap, huh?” He turned to me, his blond hair falling into his eyes and the corner of his mouth curling. “You volunteering?”
For some reason, the question made the back of my neck prickle. I shook off the odd feeling. “Nah, I’m leaving in a few weeks, so I’m not a good candidate. But I can give you a few names of my classmates if you’d like. My friend, Bailey, has done it for a few families.”
“Leaving?” Gerald’s smile dropped. “Well, damn, I didn’t know that. I’m going to have to take you to dinner before you head out. Thank you for all the advice you’ve given me about Sammi.”
“Uh, I—”
“She can’t do that,” a firm male voice said.
I startled at the sudden interruption, then spun around to find its source.
Gerald turned with me, scowling. “Excuse me?”
Foster stood behind the picnic table, arms crossed, laptop bag slung over his shoulder, and a fierce expression on his face. “You asked her out. I said she can’t go.”
I stared at him, dumbfounded.
“And who the hell are you?” Gerald asked, an edge creeping into my neighbor’s normally affable demeanor.
“Not your concern.” His gaze slid to me. “Come on, Cela.”
I reared up at his bossy tone. All these days with barely a phone call and now he was going to order me around? Screw that. “I’m playing with Gerald’s dog.”
Foster’s mouth thinned. “I think he wants you to play with more than that.”
