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The pain of one might bring him to his knees, and the promise of the other might just give him everything he’d never believed he’d have again.
* * *
Mia leftChet sitting in the truck, talking on the phone to Cruz about what had transpired at the college, as she hurried up the walkway to her door. The sun sat low, lighting the sky in subtle shades of orange and pink. The earlier encounter had shaken her in multiple ways and left her with even more questions. Questions about the killer, and questions about her feelings for Chet—and his for her.
But before she could dive into any of that, she had to find out what kind of damage waited for her from Wrigley.
“All right,” she said to herself as she unlocked the door and pushed it open. “Here goes nothing.”
Wrigley bounded forward, tail wagging and tongue hanging from his wide-open mouth. He lifted his paws and rested them on her chest.
Laughing, she pushed him down. “I missed you, too, but you can’t jump. Now let’s look and see if you got into any trouble.”
She didn’t smell anything and prayed that meant he hadn’t made any messes in the house. They hadn’t been gone too long, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t had to relieve himself. She studied the floor with each step, but no puddles waited to be cleaned. “Looks like you were a good boy.”
Wrigley stood in front of her, shaking his butt in excitement.
“Now let’s check the bedroom.” She passed the living room and ducked into the bedroom. Dirty clothes from her hamper where strewn over the floor, a hole in her favorite pair of leggings. With her fists planted on her hips, she faced the dog, who lowered his head and cowered in the corner.
She shook her head, too soft-hearted to do anything more than wag her finger at him. “Bad dog. You can’t chew my clothes, or we’ll have some real problems.” She rubbed his head then gathered the clothes and piled them on a chair.
“Mia?” Chet’s voice boomed through the apartment.
“Back here,” she called.
Heavy footsteps proceeded Chet down the hall.
Wrigley jumped to his feet and stared at the door.
Chet stopped at the doorway, leaning against the frame and tucking his thumbs into the pockets of his jeans. “How’d he do?” he asked, dipped his chin toward the dog.
Wrigley rushed him and leaned against his legs, demanding Chet’s attention.
“Pretty good. No accidents, but my dirty clothes piqued his curiosity a little too much. I should have made sure the door was closed before I left. I feel like I set him up for failure. No toys to chew on. Nothing to keep him busy while he waited.”
“We’ll head into town first thing in the morning and get everything he needs.” Chet chuckled then studied her room.
Heat crept up the back of her neck. He’d never seen her bedroom, and there was something oddly intimate about him in her private sanctuary. Needing to stop thinking about how much she liked him in her room, she blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Is Cruz mad we went to see Professor Lipton?”
The side of his mouth ticked up at one corner, as if fighting off amusement. “Not too mad.”
She waited for him to elaborate but wasn’t surprised when he didn’t. “And how are you?” She held her breath. The whole ride home she’d kept her questions to herself, not wanting to upset him, but she’d explode if she didn’t ask now.
He dropped his head. “I’m not sure. I wanted it to be him.”
Her heart twisted at his words, the brokenness of his tone. “So did I.”
Lifting his head, he met her stare. “Thank you.”
She lifted a shoulder. “I didn’t do much.”
“You’ve done everything. And not just today. You’ve…” he lifted his hands then let them fall to his sides as his voice trailed away. “I don’t know what to say or how to say it. Don’t know how to make sense of the way you make me feel let alone explain to you. Damnit, I’m not good at this stuff.”
Warm appreciation burrowed into the pit of her stomach, arching outward until she practically glowed. “You’re better than you give yourself credit for.”
“I wasn’t earlier.” Frowning, he stepped further into her small room. “When I found that teddy bear. It wasn’t fair to treat you the way I did. I had so many emotions stirring around. Fear, guilt, sadness. I just wanted space. To be left alone.”
She offered him a sad smile. “That’s understandable, but I appreciate the apology.”
