Cassidy pulled Darlene toward the back as the older woman’s dimpled smile was directed toward her one customer. On the way back, Cassidy let Darlene know that Andy was working in the kitchen and likely losing his mind due to boredom. She stepped aside for her boss to precede her into the office.
“Right,” Darlene answered as she opened the office door, then let out a small shriek. “Lord fuckin’ hell, Cassidy!”
Fred was sitting in the middle of the office, tail wagging and tongue hanging out.
Cassidy looked at her dog. “Darlene, he’s been coming with me every time.”
“And he scares the shit outta me every time,” she said, stepping back. “He always looks like he’s about to attack.”
Cassidy tilted her head as she considered her happy dog. “He’s smiling.”
“I don’t like dogs. Ugh.” She shuddered. “Take him and go home.”
Cassidy lightly slapped her thigh. “Come on, Fred, let’s go home.”
Darlene dramatically threw herself against the wall as Fred trotted by her benignly, giving her a curious glance. “Beast.”
“The only beast in this joint is sitting at your bar,” Cassidy said dryly.
Darlene grinned. “I know what to do with that one.”
Cassidy playfully slapped the other woman’s arm. “Remember, Andy’s here.”
Darlene sighed out, “Lord! Andy!”
Shaking her head, Cassidy returned to the front of the establishment with Fred. Mac’s eyes were on her the moment she appeared from the back, giving her a charge she was beginning to become accustomed to. His dark orbs dropped as he let out a brief, sharp whistle. Fred went into a fit of excited frenzy, alert as his own dark eyes sought out Mac, paws slipping on the floor as he tried to find purchase to propel himself forward. Cassidy let out a disgusted sound.
Chuckling, Mac turned on the stool and leaned down to greet the excited canine. “Howya, boy?”
Fred answered in an overwrought yipe, his entire body shaking as Mac rubbed him down, Fred’s face and tongue moving over Mac’s as though he hadn’t seen him in forever.
Cassidy watched, mystified by how attached Fred had become to Mac. Fred hadn’t responded to Elijah with such elevated enthusiasm. Hurt and resentment punched her in the gut with the thought, compounding the guilt because she’d reacted to him similarly in her mind. Instead of analyzing it, she lashed out. “Leave my dog alone!”
Moving forward hastily, Cassidy grabbed Fred’s collar and pulled him aside. Fred followed her rough pull obediently, confused by the emotion. Her aggressive handling wasn’t customary, but Fred took it in halting stride, eyes wide. Mac made a gesture that calmed him and had him following her lead.
“Don’t command him!” she snapped. “You don’t command him to do anything! He’s mine! Mine and Elijah’s; you don’t get to do that!”
Mac straightened on the stool, holding his hands up, watching her warily, curiously.
“Just… stay away from us,” she ended bitterly, tears of humiliation brewing. She was on the verge of a breakdown, and she knew it; she could feel it. And only because he’d been petting her dog.
“Baby girl,” Darlene said softly from the end of the bar. “Elijah’s not here.”
Cassidy took several steps backward. She cast Darlene an apologetic look, acknowledging her words while raising a palm to her cheek. No tears had fallen, but the gesture was automatic. She turned sharply on her heel and headed toward the door. She didn’t need to look to know his eyes were on her as hotly as they had been earlier; the burn was palpable.
Ripping open the door, she welcomed the blinding light. Holding the door open for Fred, she ordered in a barely held-together breath, “Fred, now!” He came at a fast trot with his head partially ducked, feeling the weight of the moment even if he didn’t understand it.
She let the door slam shut as she hurried halfway down the sidewalk. She fell against a warm brick wall, struggling with the threatening tears. She’d held her own, she had, but the last straw was Fred, how easily both she and Fred had forgotten the one man who was the most important to them.
Not forgotten, but…
But what?
She’d looked at another man with sexual curiosity. That’s it. Was that a betrayal? What was considered a betrayal when her partner wasn’t here anymore?
Cassidy hugged herself in her self-soothing posture, head down as though the entire lake community knew of her humiliating outburst. She heard the bar door slam open behind her, and her heart slammed in her chest. Sucking in a breath, she closed her eyes and waited for him to approach.
The sound of footfalls ceased, and silence ensued. After a moment, she opened her eyes and blinked at the man before her: a thin, blond man who smelled vaguely of fry grease. A wave of disappointment washed over her, then anger because she shouldn’t be disappointed, and then another bout of guilt. Jesus, what was wrong with her?