Page 20 of Midlife Animal Rescuer Bear

She shook her head. Whatever the case, she was glad she knew the truth. She couldn’t imagine living in blissful ignorance of the fact that the man she loved was a—

It’s over, she reminded herself. Just don’t forget that. It’s all over.

So why didn’t it feel that way?

It took her less than ten more minutes to get to Dale’s. She considered heading into her house first and taking a shower before showing up at his place, but decided against it. She walked up to Dale’s and was about to knock on the front door when she realized it was slightly ajar.

“Dale?” she called.

There was no answer. Melissa debated for a moment, then pushed the door open, stepping into the house. She made her way into the living room. Empty. Dale was nowhere in sight. Neither was Leto. Where were they?

She couldn’t help feeling like she was snooping. After all, Dale hadn’t actually given her permission to come in. Then again, he’d employed her to look after his dog. That was what she was here for. Not to mention she was a concerned neighbor. An open door and no responses from within was definitely a cause for concern.

She swept her gaze around the living room, pausing near a corner. The white door she’d seen the other day wasn’t open this time, but Melissa felt a tug of curiosity as she stared at it. What was behind it, anyway? For all she knew, it was just a storage room.

It could also be something interesting.

Okay, now you’re definitely snooping, she told herself. You came here to feed the dog, remember?

Right. With a disappointed sigh, she turned away from the door—and found herself standing face to face with Dale.

“Didn’t hear you come in, Melissa,” he said with a frown.

She blinked at him. Leto appeared next to him, her tail wagging slightly.

“Sorry,” she said quickly. “The front door was open, and you weren’t answering. I figured I’d come in and make sure everything was—”

“I was pouring Leto her breakfast. You were supposed to feed her earlier.”

She glanced down. In his hand was a bowl of dog food. She lifted her gaze to meet his again, feeling her heart sink into the depths of her stomach.

“Dale, I’m really sorry,” she began. “I know I should’ve fed Leto. I just didn’t think I’d be away for long.”

His frown deepened, the jagged scar on the side of his face contorting slightly. “Away? Where were you, anyway?”

Melissa bit her lip. What was she supposed to tell him, that she’d failed to feed Leto on time because she’d all but dropped everything to work temporarily for someone else at the behest of her ex-fiancé? She couldn’t even begin to explain that.

“I...had an emergency,” she told him. “Some problem in Paradise Woods. But it won’t happen again; I’m sure of it.”

Dale stared at her for what felt like a full minute. Then he set Leto’s bowl on the floor, rubbing the dog’s large head as she ate.

“Leto’s very special to me,” he said without glancing up at her. “She’s practically family.”

Something about the way he said that filled Melissa’s gut with unease. Was she in trouble? She’d hoped he would be at least a bit more understanding of her tardiness today. But when he looked up at her, he looked far from it. Disappointment—and a bit of annoyance—clouded his features.

“You want to know how I got this scar?” He pointed to the scar on his face, holding up a finger as she started to respond. “Don’t pretend you haven’t wondered about it. Take a seat and I’ll tell you.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Melissa took a seat on a nearby couch. Dale sat across from her, keeping his brown eyes on her.

“I got this scar fifteen years ago,” he began, leaning back in his seat. “Long before I moved to Colorado. I went camping in the woods with a friend of mine—a really close one. Man named Tyson. He was a great guy, practically family. We were both ex-military. Anyway, we decided to head into the woods, camp out at this cabin Tyson’s friend owned.”

Melissa listened, unsure where this story was headed or why he’d suddenly decided to narrate it.

“So me and Tyson, we were hanging out at the cabin. Had a couple of beers, talked about our time in the army—we had a great time, pretty much. Then we ran out of firewood. That was the second day, I think. Tyson left the cabin to get some more that afternoon.”

Dale leaned forward in his seat, and she thought she saw his jaw tighten. “I figured he’d be back within the hour, but he still hadn’t returned by sunset, so I left the cabin to look for him. I searched the woods for my friend. Know where I found him?”

Melissa sucked in a breath. She’d figured his story would take a dark turn at some point, but it hadn’t occurred to her what the actual details might be.