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"We’ll see about that,” Rafe replied, his voice dripping with confidence. “Are you at the shelter now?”
“Yes,” she replied, already annoyed with him again.
“Then I’ll meet you by the statue ofthat guyon the horsein about half an hour,” he teased, never once doubting that she would meet him.
The call ended abruptly, leaving Abbe with a mix of trepidation and curiosity. She knew she had to go if only to ensure Daisy's well-being. She stowed her phone in her pocket and looked at Charles.
“Can you get along without me today?” she asked.
“Go,” Charles said immediately. “And say hi to Rafe for me,” he added cheekily as he pushed her way through the front door.
Abbe couldn’t help but chuckle at that as she rushed out and made her way to the T station a few blocks away. Then she had a whole half an hour to sit there and stew about it. The longer she stewed the angrier she got. This was an animal’slife, and Rafe was using Daisy like she was a means to end. By the time she got off at Park Street and walked to the statue, she was livid again. Now more so because he had made her laugh. She’d been manipulated by a charming man before, and she wasn’t about to let it happen again.
Abbe was fast walking, every step turning her anger into determination. She came to the area in the park where they had agreed to meet and found Rafe sitting on a bench with Daisy at his feet.
She started stalking toward him, but when she got close enough to see some details she paused. Rafe had Daisy in a padded harness that fit her like a little vest. It was the kind that Abbe would have recommended for an older dog like her because it was gentler on a dog’s body. This area of the park had paved walkways, and he had laid out a mat for her to lie on so she wouldn’t have to rest her old bones on stone. Next to her was a collapsible water dish. Dogs with kidney problems, like Daisy, got thirsty often. Abbe had to admit it if only to herself, he'd thought of everything.
Abbe’s stride hitched and she came to a complete stop as she watched him. Rafe was reading something on his phone with one hand and with the other he was reaching down and petting Daisy’s head absently. She was in heaven. Abbe watched the slow and gentle way his hand trailed over the dog and wondered what it would feel like. Suddenly, Rafe’s eyes flicked up from his phone and met Abbe’s.
She was so flustered that he’d caught her fantasizing about him, she forgot for a moment that his piercing blue eyes did not have the ability to peer directly into her mind. She shook herself, blushing, and closed her gaping mouth with a snap. He smiled at her lazily and flicked a hand up in a desultory wave like he knew exactly how much he affected her.
Abbe didn’t know what made her angrier—his arrogance or her traitorous body. She marched right up to him and forced a chilly smile for him while he stood up to greet her.
“Sorry about the inconvenience, but my friend Charles made a mistake,” she said. “I’ll take Daisy now.”
Rafe’s expression went from surprise to chagrin. “Like hell, you will,” he said, then he laughed like all of this was some big misunderstanding. “Will you just walk with me for a little? Let me explain why I chose Daisy?”
While Rafe emptied and collapsed Daisy’s dish and folded up her mat, neatly stowing the items in his small black backpack, Abbe took a moment to quiet her pounding heart.
“Come on, girl,” he cooed at Daisy while she stretched.
Daisy's gentle eyes stared up at Rafe with trust, and Abbe couldn't deny that he seemed to care for her. But that didn't change the fact that she believed he'd made a grave mistake.
“We can finish the walk, but then I would very much like to get Daisy home before she gets too tired,” Abbe said stubbornly as they set out at a slow pace.
As they started onto the path that took them under some of the turning trees, Rafe glanced over at Abbe, and their eyes locked. "I don't understand why you're so opposed to this," he said, his voice laced with irritation.
Abbe couldn't help but roll her eyes if only to tear them away from his. "It's not that I'm opposed to people adopting dogs, Rafe.”
“I’ve owned dogs before, you know,” he said. “I grew up with retrievers.”
Abbe nodded, knowing this was going to be his argument. “Charles told me. But just because your parents had dogs when you were a kid doesn’t mean you were the one taking care of them.”
He huffed a laugh. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. My father—” he broke off suddenly, throwing a hand like he was pushing away something too complicated to consider now. “I was the only one who was expected to take care of my dog.”
“But Daisy is old and she has all kinds of health issues. She needs special attention,” Abbe replied, her voice rising. “I don't think you're prepared for it."
Rafe's jaw tightened, and he clenched his fists. "You don't know the first thing about me,” he retorted, his tone sharp.
"Oh, I know enough," Abbe shot back. "You waltz in, adopt a dog on a whim, and think you can handle it because you’re used to being in control. It's people like you who end up returning dogs to the shelter because you can't take the responsibility, and you don’t give any thought to how being passed around hurts the dog."
Rafe's face reddened with anger, and he stopped walking, causing Daisy to pause as well. "You have no right to judge me," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "You don't know a damn thing about my life or what I'm capable of."
Abbe felt a surge of anger coursing through her. "And you have no right to take Daisy when she could find a loving home where she’d be well-cared for just because you thought it would be cute to have a dog for a day!"
“Cute? You think I did all of this to be cute?”
“No, I think you adopted her to get under my skin!” Abbe hurled back at him.
