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A petite, blonde woman about four inches shorter than Faith’s five-foot-eight stood up from her seat on the couch and offered Faith a nervous smile. She had big, expressive, blue eyes and an innocent expression that Faith knew instantly had won Michael over at first sight.
Faith smiled, trying her best not to look like a clown, and extended her hand. “Hi,” she said, “you must be Ellie.”
“And you must be Faith,” the blonde said with a nervous chuckle. She took Faith’s hand in her own and squeezed too hard, another sign that she was nervous.
God, was she that intimidated? What had Michael told her?
It occurred to Faith with a sudden flash of fear that he might have told Ellie of their argument about her. Faith wouldn’t put it past him. Michael was a sharer, especially when he was in love. Faith knew all about that.
Ellie turned to Turk and beamed. “And you must be Turk! Oh, Michael’s told me all about you.”
She reached forward to pet Turk, and Turk growled low in his throat. Ellie jerked her hand backward, and Faith said, “Hey! Stop it!”
Turk looked at her and stopped growling, but when he looked back at Ellie, his eyes retained a wary expression.
“It’s just because he doesn’t know you yet,” Michael explained. “K9s sometimes have trouble adjusting to new faces. Right Faith?”
He offered Faith a smile that stopped below his eyes. Faith nodded and said, “Oh yes. Sorry, I should have warned you. He’ll come around.”
Michael nodded approvingly and relaxed. Ellie looked at Faith again and said, “Wow. You’re beautiful. No wonder Michael liked you.”
Faith looked away and cleared her throat. Michael sighed, and Faith could see him prepare himself for a night that would be just as awkward as Faith’s. Ellie blushed beet red and looked mortified. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I said that. Umm. Welcome to our humble abode!”
“Thank you,” Faith said.
She looked questioningly at Michael, and Michael said, “Ellie moved in with me last week. We figured that there was no need for her to spend money renting that apartment when she’s in the middle of a divorce.”
“Michael,” Ellie said, reddening, “we don’t need to talk about that.”
“You’re right,” Michael said. “Sorry about that. Anyway, she’s here, and here is ours now. Thank you for coming over, Faith. Ellie’s been wanting to meet you for months.”
Ellie’s smile told Faith that was the opposite of the truth. Turk continued to watch her warily, and Faith noticed that he stood in front of her protectively, as though Ellie was a threat.
Turk never acted this way around anyone. K9 or not, he was basically a puppy when it came to strangers. She had seen him walk straight up to people he had just met and push his head into their belly for pats. The only time he acted like this was when he was in the presence of a killer.
Well, Ellie wasn’t a killer. The woman would probably lose a fight to a good-sized middle schooler.
But she was hiding something. Try as Faith might to avoid thinking that, it was as clear as the cute little button nose on her face that she was lying to Michael and to Faith. That could explain Turk’s behavior. He was protective of both Faith and Michael, and typically when someone was lying to them, it was because they were murderers. He probably sensed that Ellie was lying but also sensed that she wasn’t a threat, which was why he was suspicious of her but not aggressive.
It’s none of my business, Faith told herself.I’m here as a supportive friend, not a detective.
They sat down to dinner, and Faith was relieved to see Turk eagerly enjoy the steak Ellie had prepared for him. He relaxed slightly around her, and Faith felt her own suspicions ease.
“So, Ellie,” Faith said, “Michael here likes to tell me how pretty and nice you are, but he hasn’t told me anything else. So, tell me about yourself.”
Ellie reddened. “Oh, um … well, I work in a call center, so it’s kind of boring. You know, compared to whatyouguys do.”
“Really?” Faith said. “You don’t deal with hilariously irritating customers all day?”
Ellie giggled. “Well, I suppose so.”
“God,” Faith said, shaking her head, “how do you deal with that? I couldn’t handle people screaming at me all day.”
“People don’t scream at you?” Ellie asked.
“Well, yeah, but usually when they do, I get to throw them to the ground and handcuff them.”
Ellie giggled, and Faith didn’t have to look at Michael to know that girly laugh made him swoon.
