Page 41 of Raging Fires

“Jake...” Kelli felt a pang in her chest.

“What?” He shrugged. “What happened, happened, and it was a long time ago. I don’t sit around brooding about it. I’m just pointing out that you can shoot straight when you have to. You should do it with your mother.” He turned back to the screen, clicking on the television again.

So. Apparently that was the end of that conversation. Kelli stood up. “You’re right. I should.”

She turned toward the kitchen. “I’m going to fix myself a sandwich. You want one?”

He glanced at her. “Aren’t you going back to work?”

“No. I took off for the evening. Naomi comes in at six, and Wilson can manage by himself till then.”

“Oh.” He turned back to the tv.

Kelli had the distinct impression that he would rather she did go back to work. Well, tough. She’d leave him to his sports shows, and she’d go to her room and read. And if he wouldn’t even deign to answer her offer of making a sandwich, then he could do without.

She went into the kitchen and started pulling out the things she needed for a sandwich. As she turned to get the bread, she saw the big sack of dog food sitting against the wall. Her lips twitched up into a smile. Jake could pretend he was uncaring all he wanted; she knew better.

She threw the snack together and stood at the kitchen counter to eat it, looking into the living room. Jake wasn’t really watching anything, flipping through the channels. He’d just ended the conversation because he remembered that he hated her. She knew she had hurt Jake. Yes, he’d been blind and insensitive and selfish, and anyone less oblivious would have seen what was coming, but she knew Jake had felt blindsided by her leaving.

She probably should have handled it differently, although she wasn’t sure how. There was no way she could stay with him in Miami once she’d decided to go; there would have been nothing but anger and recriminations that would have wound up destroying everything that had been good with her and Jake. At least she still had the memories of those first three wonderful years together. Even if the memories did make her want to cry.

Chapter Twenty

The next day Kelli couldn’t keep from looking out the back door of the Blue several times, ostensibly checking on the dog—that was not named Toby no matter what Jake said—but she couldn’t resist glancing across the lot at the house to see if Jake’s SUV was there.

Around three, she opened the door to find the dog gone, and when she looked across the lot, she saw Jake getting out of his vehicle and the dog dancing around his feet. Kelli watched, a little smile touching her lips, as Jake bent down to rub the dog’s head. Yeah, right, he didn’t want a dog hanging around.

Jake raised the rear door of the SUV, reached in and pulled out a large rawhide bone. Kelli’s grin widened as he tossed it to… Jasper? No. Maybe Scooter? That wasn’t right, either. The dog trotted onto the porch with the bone in his mouth, tail wagging, and Jake reached in to pull out a very large box.

Too curious to remain aloof, Kelli started over to him as Jake carried the unwieldy carton to the side of the house. As she passed the porch, the dog gave her a wag of his tail, but didn’t get up from his job of gnawing on the bone.

“What in the world is that?” Kelli asked as Jake lowered the box to the ground.

He started and whirled around. “God, Kell, give me a heart attack, why don’t you?”

She drew closer and looked at the picture on the side of the box. “A dog house? You bought a dog house?”

“What?” Jake said in an aggrieved tone. “I had to get Toby someplace to stay.”

“His name is not Toby.”

“Not Toby?” Jake repeated, shaking his head. “I don’t know, Kelli, Not Toby is kind of a strange name. The other dogs might make fun of him.”

Kelli rolled her eyes. “I’m really impressed that you’re trying so hard to get rid of this dog that you went out and bought him a house.”

“I had to give him a home outdoors or the next thing I know, you’ll have him sleeping in the house. And you know whose bed he would decide would be a perfect spot for him.”

“Oh. I see.” Kelli nodded wisely.

“I have to put it together, but look.” Jake pointed to the side of the box. “It’s insulated, so it won’t get too hot. I’m going to set it on this side of our house, where it’ll have shade in the afternoons. And you can prop these flaps open so air can circulate. It sits on little feet so it’s up off the ground, and it’s waterproof.” Jake looked so boyishly pleased with himself, it was hard as hell not to hug him.

“Oh, well, waterproofing is something you really need to have in Arizona,” Kelli teased.

“Ah, but best…” Jake swept his hand to the picture on the other end of the box. “It has a little solar powered fan.”

“A fan? Oh, Jake…” Kelli began to laugh.

“Yeah, well, I can’t let Toby get heatstroke, now, can I?”