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It wasn’t like me to eavesdrop, and I had full intentions of walking straight down those steps, but when I closed the door, I heard her speaking to Rufus, and the sound of her sweet, fragile voice had me frozen in my steps.
“Ahhh, Rufus. I’m so scared. What’s going to happen to me? If they find Troy’s body, they’ll surely put me in jail. I know he would have killed me this time. I don’t think they’ll believe me. Do you believe me, Rufus?”
Who was Troy? And did she kill him? If so, it must have been self-defense. But then why was she running?
I pictured her hands on the dog’s face, looking at him square in the eye, and Rufus licking her chin. I knew my dog, knew he’d nuzzle up against her leg with a diligent look to his deep-set eyes as if he understood every word she said.
“You’re a good dog, aren’t you, Rufus, boy? Yeah, you like that, don’t cha?”
Realizing I stood frozen and riveted over each and every one of her words, I forced myself down the steps to retrieve the promised but almost forgotten clothes. After rummaging through my drawers searching for those small grey sweat pants I had back in high school, I finally found them in a corner, on the floor of my closet. When and how they got there, I had no clue. Less than ten minutes later, I raced back up the stairs, juggling a couple of long sleeve thermal shirts and the grey sweat pants in my arms. I didn’t walk right in, though. I knocked before opening the door about an inch. “Is it okay to come in?”
“Yeah, sure. Of course.”
“I have a pair of sweat pants that are small on me and might fit better than my others, and a couple of shirts.
“Thanks.”
“I’ll see what I might be able to come up with from one of Brodie’s girlfriends, but in the meantime, these should work.” I handed her the clothes as our furry gray and white cat slinked her way past me and rubbed up against Lena.
“That’s Rosie. She’ll rub the heck out of your legs if you don’t pick her up and pet her for a few minutes, but you should go ahead and change. I’ll be back in a few and get you set up with some clean bedding.”
She picked up the cat, stroked her head, and smiled as she looked up at me with a bemused expression. “One of his girlfriends?”
“Yeah, that’s Brodie. Anyway, you can go ahead and change if you want. I’ll be back up in a few.”
“Jackson ... if it’s okay, I think I’d like to bathe first. I um ...”
“Oh yeah.” How inconsiderate of me. Anyone in their right mind would want to shower after what she’d been through. “Of course. Sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Let me make sure that there’s some soap in there. Then, I’ll run down and get you some towels and stuff.”
