AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Fuck. And I forgot it was this weekend.
The first weekend I had him, I brought him here to work more with him. Amanda was so mad. My girlfriend, at the time, didn’t understand the time and commitment it took to be a K-9 officer. She thought after graduation, we’d have more time together. I never promised her that. Secretly, I enjoyed my time with Riggs more than I did with her. I wasn’t sad when she left. But that weekend, Riggs met Mr. and Mrs. Dayton. It feels a lot longer than three years.
“Thank goodness you have me.” She rubs Riggs’s head, then walks into my kitchen to grab a plate. “This was made just for him. I found the recipe on Pinterest. I took a taste. You definitely don’t want any.” Her face contorts in disgust as she cuts a piece. Riggs sits, his tail sweeping the floor. He knows it’s his.
He can smell it.
We watch him devour the piece of cake until he licks the plate clean, which takes all of two minutes. It smells like peanut butter.
“Thanks for doing this. After his morning, he deserves the whole damn cake.”
“Oh, don’t do that. He might have some unfortunate runs,” she warns with a chuckle.
Noted.
“You mentioned this morning. I thought y’all got in last night.”
“Nope.” I flick my wrist to glance at the time. “We got here about an hour ago.”
Her brows furrow. “Well, I thought I saw some car lights in your driveway during the night. It wasn’t you?”
I shake my head. “Nope, I was home in Austin.” There was a bit more to my night, but she doesn’t need details. All that matters is I wasn’t here.
“It was probably someone lost.”
“Probably.” I pick up the plate and place it in the sink, then stash the cake in the fridge just in case Riggs decides on a midnight snack. “You have anything you need done this weekend, let me know. We head back to town tomorrow night.”
“No. You boys just enjoy your time off. I know how hard y’all work.” I walk with her to her bright red golf cart she rode over. She gives me a hug, and off she goes.
I look down at Riggs, and I swear he’s giving me the worst judgment expression a dog can muster. I bend at the knees and rub behind his ears. “Yeah, yeah. Happy gotcha day, buddy. Three years is a long time in dog years. I hope you still love me.”
He licks my face, pushing his way on top of me. I have to roll out from under him. He bows and barks once, ready to play.
“All right, buddy, you ready to play your favorite game?”
He perks right up.
“Hold on,” I say, running inside to grab my side piece from the dining table, double-checking it’s snug in the holster, and finish off the last of my cold coffee. He positions himself at my side when I walk back out, ready for my signal.
Let’s play seek.
“Ready?” His eyes lock on mine, and he lets out a bark. “Three…two…one…find her.”
CHAPTER 10
Kali
“Hey, Mom, you there?” My voice cracks as I lay perfectly still, my body giving up the fight.
“Ladybug. I’m here.”
“Will you be waiting for me?”
“With open arms.”
“Will Dad be there, too? Or will I be interrupting his golf game? Wait. Is there golf up there?”
She softly chuckles. “He wouldn’t miss this. And yes, there’s golf. What do you think hail is? It’s the guys playing tournaments.”
