AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Braden: HEY!
Christian: Ahahahahahaha. I bet you were focusing on your game footage now.
Braden: I will not tolerate any slander with regards to my behind. It’s a satisfying shade of gold.
Logan: It’s January. Your tan has worn off.
Braden: Shit.
Me: I still like your asses, no matter how pale they’ve gotten! I’ll see you two tonight. And I’ll call you, Logan, to fill you in.
Logan: I wish I was filling YOU in.
Braden: Holy shit, did Logan just make a joke?
Logan: I make jokes. I’m funny.
Braden: Ahahahaha
Christian: LOL
Me: HAH!
Logan: Fuck all of you with a rusty hockey stick.
The conversation brightened my mood. That was a good sign. When I was with Trip, he always had a way of taking my emotional funks and making them worse. Yet whenever I was stressed out or worried about something, my threenewboyfriends instantly cheered me up without even trying.
That’s how a real relationship should be. A partner—or three of them—needs to lift you up when you need it, not bring you down.
Two cars came rolling up the driveway soon after. One of them was Princess’s owner; she was dropping off the dog for her daily daycare, and was running late because of an emergency at home. The other woman stood to the side, waiting patiently for me to finish up. There wasn’t a dog with her.
If she’s another journalist…
Once Princess was situated, the newcomer approached. “Hi. Are you Beth Foster?”
“I am. You’re not a journalist, are you?”
She chuckled. “Maybe in another life, but no. I’m not.” She smiled warmly and extended a hand. “I’m Kathy Polk. I’m a case worker with the Missouri Department of Social Services, Children’s Division.”
I shook her hand. “Why would you…” Then it hit me. “Oh.Oh.” Relief poured into my chest. She wasn’t a journalist; she was just here to see Claire.
“I’ve been assigned to Claire Kelenic’s case,” she explained. “I was led to believe she might be here?”
“Yes! Claire is such a sweet girl. It’s just awful what happened with her mother.”
“Yes. I’ve read her file.” She shook her head. “Sorry it has taken us so long to check on her. There was a lot of paperwork involved when her case was moved from the Canadian system. May I ask where Claire is right now?” She gazed around the property.
“She’s over in the kennel right now,” I said, leading Kathy through the gate. “I hope you like dogs.”
“I’m more of a cat person, but I appreciate dogs,” she said carefully.
We walked through the gate and four dogs that were playing in the field came loping over to us. Kathy tensed up, giving off the body language of someone who expected to be bitten at any moment. But the dogs only sniffed her for a few seconds, then went back to playing when they decided she didn’t have any treats.
“Is the kennel where Claire is studying?” Kathy asked.
“Oh no, she studies in my grandma’s house.” I pointed. “Sorry, I meanmyhouse. I inherited it when she died, but I keep calling ithers. She just passed away last summer, and I’m still getting used to the change.”
“Then what is Claire doing in the kennel? Is she playing with the dogs all day?”
