When she turned the corner, her heart tripped a little to see Lola’s gate open. Taking a few steps, she found Garrett exactly where he’d been this morning, on his knees, only this time he was holding a peanut-butter-covered finger in front of Lola’s mouth.
“How’s our girl doing?” she asked.
He didn’t look up but kept his attention on the dog, who was a few feet away, flat on her belly, chin on the floor. She looked up at Jessie and lifted her head about a quarter of an inch, then dropped it again. Too much trouble, Jessie thought sadly.
“Not good,” he finally murmured.
“You’re really worried about her, aren’t you?” She came into the kennel, far more certain that the two-legged creature would snarl at her rather than the four-legged one.
“She’s going to starve herself to death.” He sat up, grabbed a rag, and wiped his finger.
“Oh my God, no.” She lowered down next to him, achingly aware of her arm brushing his shoulder, bracing for a warning to get out. “Maybe I can help again.”#p#分页标题#e#
He turned to her, so close she could see the dark bits of navy in his blue eyes and the thick, thick lashes as he narrowed them at her. “I doubt she’d interest you. She’s not on the A-list.”
Damn. He knew. “I wanted to tell you.”
“Really.” He stared her down. “Before or after your exposé ran?”
“I planned to tell you immediately. Now.”
“Too late. Somebody really smart invented search engines and, what do you know, you’re all over the Internet as a crackerjack writer of tell-alls.”
“I really intended to tell you why I came.”
He turned away as if disgusted. “That’s why you sneaked onto the tour and into the classroom? Came slinking in here ready to ask questions that seem like small talk, friendly conversation from a family friend? Cozied up to a dog I need help with?”
Each word was like a razor blade over her heart, but that last accusation really hurt. “I told your father ten seconds after we sat down together.”
“Except I’m willing to bet a lot of money—which you no doubt will write about exactly how much I allegedly have—that my father is not the subject of your smarmy interview.”
“It’s not smarmy!” she shot back.
“Not telling me was.”
“I really didn’t have a chance. We talked for less than ten minutes, then I told your father and he thought…he thought I should…”
He held up a hand. “Save it, Jessie. I have absolutely no time or respect for liars.”
“I didn’t lie. And I told your father I wouldn’t lie. Ask him. He wanted me to see the facility, take a tour, and talk to you.”
“Done, done, and done. You can leave now.” He pushed up, but she honestly didn’t trust her legs to hold her, so she did exactly the opposite and lowered herself all the way to the ground and started petting Lola’s soft fur. Dogs were stress relievers, right?
“He thinks a better, kinder, more honest profile of you that focuses on what you do now and why you do it would be a good thing,” she said.
“Does he now?” He shifted from one booted foot to the other, but didn’t walk away.
She looked up at him. “If you read my work, you’ll see that I don’t write smear stories. I let readers see what makes a person tick, what motivates them, what inspires them. This place, this job you have, it’s inspiring. People think of you as some kind of dot-com millionaire recluse, and here you are…trying to get a rescue dog to eat peanut butter out of your hand.”
He just closed his eyes, silent.
“It’s not something you walk up to a person you’ve known since childhood and say,” she continued. “I wanted to establish a connection, but…” She snorted. “I’ve been told I’m not very good at that. Maybe he’s right.”
He loomed over her, his teeth clenched so hard she could see his jaw tense. After a long moment, he nodded, turned, and walked out. Again.
Man, he was good at the dramatic exit.
She sat very still, one hand on Lola’s head. It was time to leave Waterford again, but she didn’t want to yet.
“Hey, girl,” she whispered, lowering her head so that her forehead touched Lola’s. “I know how you feel.” She stroked her fur over and over again, the act as comforting to her as she hoped it was to the unhappy dog. “I know exactly how you feel.”
Chapter Five
Garrett needed to talk to Shane. Not Dad, who didn’t know what he was up against, but Shane. But his older brother was nowhere to be found at the moment and not answering his text. In the meantime, then, Garrett needed to tell his father to stop trying to fix things, because he didn’t even know why they were broken.#p#分页标题#e#