AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, that’s right,” I mindlessly replied. Taking in a deep breath, I was hit by the smell of the ocean.
Maybe I could take Flash to the beach and throw a ball and then take off running in the opposite direction.
“Dude, you know I never preach to you. But if you value your job, you’ll steer clear of her. No pussy is worth risking your job for.”
I heard the door to my condo open and close. Flash barked, causing me to curse.
“Oh, Flash boy. You’re a bery, bery bad doggy! Yes, you are handsome, boy. But look at this mess you caused.”
I rolled my eyes and snarled my lip.
“Dude? Is that her?”
Closing my eyes, I answered with a sigh. “Yes. She’s the only thing between me and the dog right now.”
“Look how smart you are! You kept the flour and sugar in the kitchen. Good boy.”
My mouth fell open as I turned to look at her. She had a trash bag in her hand and was cleaning up. When she squatted down and Flash started licking her, she laughed and fell back.
Something hit me hard in the chest. It was a feeling I’d never experienced before in my life. I couldn’t pull my eyes off her. As angry as I was, seeing her playing with the dog and hearing her laugh made me want to smile.
“I’ve got to go, Colton. Hey, do me a favor—keep this thing with Rory between you and me?”
“I will, Finn. But please think about what I said.”
With a nod I knew he couldn’t see, I replied, “I will. Later.”
Hitting End on my phone, I stood there and watched for a few seconds as Rory went about picking up the trash. I was stunned to see Flash putting pieces in his mouth and bringing them to her. Bastard was smart.
“See! You’re a smart boy.”
I walked back in through the sliding door. “He’s a dead dog. He ate my autographed Tom Brady football.”
Rory tried and failed to hide her smile. “I’m so sorry, but he’s just a puppy, and this breed is really known for being destructive.”
“And you told me this after we left him alone here?”
She shrugged. “He’s been to my parents’ house and they’ve never had a problem. Oh no.”
Furrowing my brows, I asked, “Oh no what?”
Chewing on her lip, she mumbled something about a crate.
Leaning in closer to her, I asked, “I’m sorry, what was that?”
“A crate. I forgot my folks have a crate they kept him in.”
My shoulders dropped, along with my head. Idiot! “We have one at the station we keep the beast in.”
“You’ll probably want to get one. Soon.”
My eyes narrowed as I took a step closer to her. She took a step back and bumped into the counter. “You don’t say.”
With barely a nod, she swallowed hard. “I’d maybe order one on Amazon Prime, quick.”
She covered her mouth, but lost it.
“I’m glad you find this funny. This is your fault.”
Her hands dropped, and the way she scrunched up her nose had my stomach dipping.
“My fault? How is this my fault?”
“You made us leave to go get all that shit!” I yelled.
Her mouth dropped open while her eyes turned dark. “You mean the food he needs to survive?”
I turned and walked toward my bedroom. Thank God the door had been closed. “He could have eaten the lunch meat in my refrigerator!”
“Oh, that’s nice. And then have him poop in here like he peed.”
I stopped walking and slowly turned around to face her. Her hands covered her mouth and her eyes widened with fear. Flash was hiding behind her.
Coward.
Pointing to her, I shouted, “I knew it! I knew I smelled cleaner!”
She stood there with the cutest damn smile while Flash whimpered and lay down at her feet.
I’m so screwed.
Chapter 6
Rory
Zero distraction zone
It took everything out of me to hold back how badly I wanted to laugh. Poor Finn. It was obvious he was a neat freak, and to come home with half his house in a mess really wasn’t funny.
Dropping the last garbage bag into the Dumpster, I peeked over at him. He still looked pissed. Flash walked alongside him like he didn’t have a care in the world. Truth be told, I was a tad bit worried about leaving him here with Finn.
“So, we worked good as a team. Got your place nice and tidy again,” I cheered him.
Finn’s eyes twitched as he glared at me. “Yep. Except for my new leather couch that’s torn to shit on one arm.”
Flash barked and jumped up at Finn.
Is that a vein bulging from his neck? Gesh, I didn’t know a vein could engorge that big.
Clearing my throat, I glanced between the two of them. I chewed on my thumbnail as I thought about leaving him with Finn.
“Do you really think I’m going to hurt him?”
