Chapter 3

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Even though it had been only a half shift, it had felt like a full one, and if she didn't know Chloe so well and like her so much, she would have sworn that she planned it that way on purpose. She forced her weary bones out of the car and stretched. She still had to take Huck for a walk, and she didn't want to.

She should have gotten a place with a yard, but it was hard to find rentals that allowed animals.

Her phone chirped, and she looked down at it, it was a message from Chloe asking her how the rest of the shift had gone.

Lia wasn't one to complain about a favor she was giving, so he sent a quick text back that said it had been fine. She had to laugh when Chloe sent back a heart emoji and the words 'that bad, huh?' Her friend knew her well too.

As soon as she entered her apartment, she threw her keys down on the kitchen counter and went to the fridge to grab a drink, and as she popped the tab to the soda her phone rang. When and she saw it was Faye's number she answered.

"Hey!" Lia greeted as she chugged her soda.

"Hey, how was the shift, but more importantly, how did it go with your neighbor this morning?"

"Chloe owes me big, it was horrible, there was a multiple vehicle collision with serious injuries. Why did she need the afternoon off anyway? Do you know? I forgot to ask."

Lia walked into the living room to see Huck asleep on his back with his paws up in the air and his head hanging off the side of the couch. Maybe he was broken or deaf; there was no reason he shouldn't greet her like a normal dog when she got home every day. He didn't even seem to care that she was there.

"Her father has a friend who is coming to do some research at the hospital, something about a book on how emergency medical care is handled around the world. His flight should be getting in about now. She's bringing him here to look at the apartment," Faye supplied.

"Good, that will be some extra money for you."

"Sure, but I have had to spend all day cleaning it, the previous renter trashed the place," Faye said with a smile in her voice. Lia had stayed in the apartment after her breakup with her fiancé. It had been nice to have Faye around during the worst of it.

"Ha-ha, funny girl." At Huck's continued lack of interest in Lia's return, she turned and went back into the kitchen.

"And the neighbor?" Faye asked.

"I got the tarp up, he couldn't stop me," she crowed a little.

"Did he try?"

"Not really, he came out and got in my face about it for a minute, but I didn't let him get to me." Lia bluffed for all she was worth. He may not have scared her, but he had most definitely gotten to her. She could still remember his warmth and his smell.

"If you say so," Faye agreed, sounding unsure. "I'm just glad you didn't get arrested."

"Nope," Lia assured her.

She and Faye talked a few minutes more before Faye said she had to do a few more things before Chloe showed up with her friend.

Lia finished her soda and, too tired to change before Huck's walk, reached for his leash then walked back into the living room, eyeing the mutt as he groaned when he looked up and saw the leash.

"You don't have a choice, come on." She snapped the leash on his collar then watched the drama unfold as he rolled himself off the couch, and it was the same story it always was when they reached the edge of the driveway, except for one minor difference. Lia hadn't snapped the leash on tightly, and as soon as he tugged forward, it came unhooked. There was a moment of stunned stillness between the two of them. Lia looked at Huck and Huck looked a Lia, and she swore at the grin that covered his face as he realized his freedom. Her dog actually grinned at her before he took off across the alley and up the steps of the mean neighbor's house.

"Huck!" she yelled. "Don't you do it!" Lia held still, hoping he would change his mind; she knew if she charged him he would take off running.

Huck paused and looked over his shoulder, considering the command. Then he made up his mind and darted around the side of the house, forcing Lia to take off after him. "Huck!" As she ran up the steps and rounded the corner she slowed, he was gone, and the dog door in the backdoor was flapping.

No! He had gone into his house! Lia groaned, her eyes darting around her, looking for a solution.

She slowly crept towards the back door and laid down on her stomach, lifting the flap to see if she could spot Huck.

She saw his four legs and his nose as he sniffed everything eagerly. "Huck!" she hissed, looking around for the man as Huck ignored her. When he took off through the kitchen door, she called his name louder. When he didn't return, she called one last time and added a few swear words, telling Huck exactly how she felt about him and what she was going to do when she got her hands around his mangy neck.

When the kitchen light turned on, and she saw a pair of bare feet with frayed cuffs come into view, she cursed again.

"Are you trying to attempt breaking and entering?" he asked, she could hear the amusement in his voice. "I hate to break it to you, but you won't fit through there."

All Lia could see was his feet, and she tried to angle her head a little more to catch a glimpse of him, partly to see if he was a big as she remembered.

"If you come in any further, you'll get your head stuck," he informed her.

"Then would you open the door so that I can get my dog!" she said between gritted teeth.

"Your dog?" he asked, still amused. It was almost as if he didn't believe her.

"Yes, Huck. He got off his leash and came in through here, I was trying to call for him, but he was ignoring me."

"Ignoring huh, seems to be a family trait," the man said before he let loose with a piercing whistle. There was a crashing sound and then the sound of what could have been a heard of dogs as Huck rounded the corner and entered the kitchen with his tongue hanging out of his mouth wearing the same stupid grin.

"Stupid dog!" Lia said, eyeing the happy creature who padded over to the man to check him out with a quick sniff.

"I guess that rules out deafness," Lia said bitterly as she looked at the man's large hand stroking Huck's head.

"Perhaps you would prefer to stand up, so I can open the door? I don't think Huck is small enough to pass through the dog door."

Lia gritted her teeth again as she threw the leash through the opening. "Here, put that on him just in case," she insisted then pulled her head out of the opening and stood up quickly, taking a quick look at her stained scrubs, wishing she had taken a minute to change.

When the door opened the man emerged, towering over her. He looked down at her scrubs, taking in the stains. "Rough day?" he asked.

"Not as bad as some," she conceded before reaching for the leash.

When he handed it over his hand brushed hers, and she felt a kick of adrenaline.

"Perhaps you should nail the dog door shut?" she suggested.

"I'm sure if I don't, you'll do it for me," he said as he withdrew his hand, watching Huck prance happily on to the porch.

"I don't think I've ever seen a dog smile before," he commented, looking down at the furry beast.

"Thank God! I thought I was losing my mind and imagining it," Lia said, taking a deep breath.

The man looked at her funny before he looked back down at the dog. "Why Huck? After Huck Finn?"

Lia looked confused before she remembered the book. "No," she shook her head, "after the movie, 'Tombstone,' "I'll be your Huckleberry, which I guess in a way is after the book." She hadn't ever thought about it before.

The man's eyebrow arched in confusion.

"Have you never seen the movie?" she asked.

"No, I don't watch that many movies. Goodnight." Then as briskly as he had disappeared that morning, he disappeared back into his house.

The man needed some serious work on his social skills. Tugging on Huck's leash, they started on their quick walk around the neighborhood. Thankfully, all of Huck's energy had been used in his little escapade, so she didn't have to tug too hard on the leash to control him

As they returned to their block, she saw a beautiful brunette with very long legs walking up the steps to the man's house carrying take away bags. He must have some social skills to get a visit from a woman as beautiful as she was.

Lia eyed the woman as she crossed the street, doing her best not to be too overt about it, but as luck would have it, as Lia passed the door it opened, and the man saw her immediately; shooting her a look of such anger that she almost felt it.

The woman on the steps saw it and turned to look curiously at Lia.

"I'm on public property, get over it!" she yelled and had to control herself from sticking her tongue out at him as she passed.

With another look, the woman joined the man at the door, lifting her cheek for a kiss, but never taking her eyes of Lia. The man said something, and the woman turned towards the man and laughed before following him into the house.

Lia had been staring so hard she was lucky she didn't walk into a tree.

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