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His head tilts the other way, still studying me closely. “You know your pictures are uncommonly good,” he says softly.
I shove another bite into my mouth, shrug. “If they were so good, I wouldn’t have gotten fired, would I?”
“Bullshit.”
I narrow my eyes.
“You don’t believe that.”
No, I don’t believe it, even though it’s a convenient excuse.
I’m good at what I do, and I enjoy it.
“You’re freaked after what happened yesterday.”
I freeze, a bite of pancake hanging off the tines of my fork.
Shadows coalescing into a person.
George’s angry face.
Pain shooting down my arms.
“Easy to solve,” he says, scooping the last of his pancake off his plate and into his mouth. “Just a matter of getting right back out there before the fear sets in.”
“Why do you sound like you’re familiar with that?” I ask softly.
He shocks me by actually answering. “I had a bad injury right after I made it into the league, nearly ended my career, and it fucked with my head during my recovery. The best thing my asshole of a coach ever did for me was sending me right back out there, letting my instincts take over, getting me right back into my groove.” He fixes me with a look. “So that’s what we’re going to do.”
Heart fluttering then squeezing hard.
“Why do you care if I get back into my groove?” I whisper.
He looks away from me for a long moment, long enough that I’m not sure I want to know the answer. So, when he looks back, I blurt out, “Steve can’t walk far.”
A pause.
Then, “You’ve got the crate”—something I retrieved from my car the night before—"But”—a nod behind me—“I think he’s happy where he is.”
I follow his stare, see that my pup is passed out in the nest of blankets.
My pulse speeds up.
I search for another excuse, another reason to not do this.
Lake doesn’t give me the chance.
He pushes up, takes my plate that I’ve somehow scraped clean without really noticing. “Get your shit, butterfly. We’re going to take some pictures.”
Thirty-Two
Lake
She’s self-conscious at first,glancing back at me over and over again.
Until I ask her to explain what she’s doing.
Then something unlocks in her, a brightness.
