7
Outside,the morning air was mild, the scent of pollen heavy from the flowers that were blooming in the garden. Striding along the path that wound between the flowerbeds, Kat stepped over an abandoned trowel, dodged a pile of dog poop, and gestured for Sterling to do the same.
Tione’s cabin was on a rise, nestled among the trees at the edge of the forest. Kat knocked on the door. It was between meal prep times, which meant he should be around.
“What’s up?” Tione asked, resting one hand on the doorframe while the other held his Chihuahua, Pixie.
“I wanted to properly introduce you to Sterling,” she said, stepping back so the two men were face-to-face. “He’ll be here for the next two weeks.”
Tione’s chin jerked up. “Hey.”
“Hi.”
They sized each other up. Then, macho posturing completed, Sterling stared at the cat-sized dog curiously.
“Who’s this?”
“Pixie,” Tione replied. “She’s a princess among dogs.”
Kat laughed. “Only because you spoil her.”
Sterling cocked his head. “She’s cute. Will she mind if I pat her?”
Tione gave Kat a look that said, “Is he for real?”, but shrugged. “Yeah, go on.”
Kat sighed. Clearly, they weren’t going to be best buddies, but perhaps they could find some common ground. Hesitantly, Sterling reached toward Pixie and let her sniff his hand, then scratched behind her ear. The tiny dog closed her eyes in bliss, and wagged her tail. Sterling’s expression softened, and Kat’s heart melted a little. Apparently, the corporate knight had a chink in his armor after all.
“Tione caters all of the meals we serve at Sanctuary,” she explained. “He keeps us well fed.” To Tione, she said, “Sterling is a businessman, down from Auckland. I’m hoping we can help him unwind a little.”
She crossed her fingers that her friend noticed the subtle hint to be nice—not his default setting. Tione looked over their heads, into the distance, probably wondering if he could escape down to the beach without her noticing.
Finally, his gaze settled on Sterling and he asked, with reluctance, “What do you do for work?”
“I’m chief operating officer at a property development company.”
He snorted. “Sounds like a glorified name for a paper-pusher.”
Sterling bristled, and dropped his hand from Pixie’s head. She huffed in protest. “These days, I’m responsible for the day-to-day running of the entire company.”
“How do you feel about big dogs?”
The question gave Kat a chill of premonition. Looking around, her jaw dropped at the sight of Trevor bounding across the garden toward them, kicking up lumps of dirt with his massive paws, ears flapping, tongue hanging out.
“I’m not really—”
Kat saw the exact moment Sterling heard Trevor bark. It was impossible to miss. An expression of horror passed over his face as he turned. His head recoiled, eyes wide. Then, Trevor sprung. His paws landed on Sterling’s chest, smearing mud down the white fabric. Spittle flew from the corners of his mouth, spraying Sterling’s face. The full force of fifty-five kilograms of dog transferred onto Sterling and his knees buckled. He went down, his butt hitting the ground, and Trevor pinned him, licking his cheeks and forehead, and sniffing his neck—where, presumably, he’d applied cologne. The entire scene was absurd. Kat exploded into laughter. She couldn’t contain herself. The juxtaposition between dog and man was too fantastic.
“I’m sorry,” she gasped, as Sterling shoved Trevor aside and climbed to his feet. She covered her mouth and suppressed another wave of laughter, her shoulders shaking with the effort. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. God, she’d needed to laugh. It had been too long.
Sterling glared at her, his eyes like shards of ice, apparently unable to see the humor in the situation.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Fine.” He brushed off his shirt to no avail, swung around and stalked away. She looked at Tione, who was patting Trevor’s head and holding the dog’s collar to prevent him from giving chase.
“Good boy,” Tione cooed in a ridiculously high-pitched voice. “Ka pai, Trevor.” He glanced at Kat and raised a black brow. “I reckon you should go after him.”
“Probably.” She jogged after Sterling’s retreating back. “Hey, wait up!”