Page 66 of Sit, Stay

My heart stops. "Who?"

"Sophie. She's got lunch." Linda's expression is carefully neutral. "And she says she's not leaving until you eat."

Not Dean. Of course not Dean.

What was I even hoping for?

Sophie's in the waiting room with Thai takeout and a determined expression. "Eat. Talk. In that order."

We eat in my office. The food is good. The conversation is careful. Neither of us mentions Dean until the containers are empty and there's nothing left to do but address the elephant in the room.

"His deadline was yesterday morning," Sophie says quietly. "Maggie heard from Javi that Top gave him an extension to Thursday."

Yesterday morning.

"Do you know what he decided?" I ask.

"No one knows. He hasn't told anyone." Sophie's voice is gentle. "Have you heard from him?"

"No."

"Are you going to reach out?"

"I don't know." I lean back in my chair. "What would I even say?"

"How about the truth?" Sophie starts cleaning up the containers. "That you're scared. That you want him. That you need him to ask you again, properly this time, like you're an actual partner in the decision."

"What if he doesn't?"

"What if he does?" She meets my eyes. "What if he's been sitting at that base for three days trying to figure out exactly that---how to ask you properly? How to make this about both of you instead of just him?"

I grip my coffee mug tighter.

"I drove past the base this morning," I admit. "Almost turned in."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because I don't know what I want to say."

Sophie's quiet for a long moment. Then: "Maybe start with 'I'm sorry I sent you away.' And go from there."

She leaves me with that thought and an empty Thai food container.

Two more appointments, both routine. I finish early, close up the clinic, and sit in my car in the parking lot staring at my phone.

One call. One text.

Not yet.

But maybe soon.

I drive home the long way again. Past the base. Past the turn-off.

The guard shack is slower now. Evening shift. Quieter.

I keep driving.

All the way home, where Biscuit is waiting and the porch is empty and I still don't have an answer.