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Sawyer studied the bag a moment and then reached in and tossed his own small handful to Apollo. As he watched the dog, I watched Sawyer. The falling sun cast his hair in various shades of reds and oranges. It was all I could do not to reach out and push a stray curl behind his ear.
“He’s only eating the pink ones,” Sawyer said in amazement. “They have to all smell the same and dogs can only see shades of gray, blues, and yellows, but he’s specifically going for the pink ones. That’s incredible!”
The man beside me turned to look at me, his eyes wild with excitement. “That’s incredible,” he repeated though he kept his voice low so as to not startle Apollo. “How did you figure it out?”
“Pure luck,” I said. “Newt was eating them this morning and when his fathers called him to the house, he left the bag here and threw what was left in his hand into the enclosure for Apollo. I figured he’d just ignore the marshmallows but when he ate one, I was shocked. So I threw more handfuls in. But he’d only eat some. Then I finally realized it wasn’t some, it was one. The pink hearts.”
“Do you know what this means?” Sawyer asked, his hands moving wildly. I had my own guesses, but it was more fun to watch him react to the positive step forward. “It means someone either taught him to only eat the pink hearts or someone who didn’t like to eat the pink hearts themselves gave them to Apollo. But more importantly, it means he can be reached. This is our way in,” Sawyer exclaimed as his hands clasped my face.
Right before he dropped his mouth to mine.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
SAWYER
“He’s not coming down?” I asked Dallas as he approached the enclosure where Apollo was quietly sitting about ten feet from the fence line.
Dallas shook his head. “Said he’s busy.”
Since Jett had spent the last three days hiding out in his room, I found it hard to believe he’d found some task in there that would count as keeping him busy.
He was avoiding me.
And who could blame him?
I’d practically thrown myself at the man after learning about the marshmallows. The kiss had been quick and fleeting and as soon as it had ended, all hell had broken loose.
Mumbling excuses that he needed to leave, Jett had gone to reach for his wheelchair which had been sitting next to him. In my effort to help, I’d thrown the blanket off of both of us and darted around the tree to grab the chair for him. Jett had repeatedly said he had it and was fine, but I hadn’t picked up on what I so clearly heard now as I played the scene over and over in my head.
He’d been embarrassed.
As he’d struggled to pull his body, including his exposed legs, into the chair, I’d been standing there asking how I could help him. Not only had I been physically towering over him, but I’d also treated him like he was an invalid. One or the other on its own would have been bad enough but both? I might as well have said, “Hey, look at me standing here nice and tall on two legs but oh, let me help you get into your chair since you aren’t so lucky.”
“Fuck,” I muttered.
“You really are going to send that kid to college,” Dallas said with a laugh.
I automatically looked around before remembering Newt had gone to town for a playdate with some friends.
“No kidding,” I murmured. I looked hopefully at the path that led to the house, but it was empty. “I guess we should just get started.”
Dallas nodded in agreement and gave Apollo a signal to lie down followed by the stay command. He tossed some pink marshmallows into the enclosure so that they landed just inches from the animal’s paws. Apollo stayed perfectly still. Even better, his eyes were glued to Dallas as he awaited the next command.
I should have taken more pleasure from Apollo’s behavior, but I was too fucking focused on the one person who should have been there but wasn’t.
“I’ll be right back,” I practically growled at Dallas and then I hurried up the path. It was a taste of déjà vu, but last time I’d been in a panic that Jett had hurt himself. This time I was just pissed. Every time I thought I’d managed to get past one wall, the man put up twenty others. I’d told him things from my childhood that no one else besides Marcus knew and here he was acting like we were strangers again.
Unlike the last time I’d gone to Jett’s room in a rage, this time I politely knocked.
“I told you—”
That was all I needed to hear before I threw the door open.
