Body Checked (Salt Lake Pumas #2)

by Camellia Tate

  After I left her, I headed back to Lacey’s place. I’d have enough time to figure something out, I was sure. Harlan looked surprised as he opened the door to me again, but before he could speak, I spoke first.

  “Let me buy Vega from you. Just name your price, whatever it is, I’ll pay it.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Lacey

  Every time I tried to say a final ‘goodbye’ to Vega, I felt a lump get stuck in my throat. I’d always loved her as if she were my own, but in the last few months, she’d become so much more important to me.

  Vega wasn’t just a dog. She was my family. The only family I had in Salt Lake. I couldn’t process the fact that Harlan had really come to take her back. He hadn’t given me any time to prepare!

  But I couldn’t refuse. If saying goodbye to Vega was this hard for me, it must have been so much worse for Harlan. He’d known her even longer than I had. He’d raised her from a puppy.

  A tiny, selfish part of my mind kept repeating that I hadn’t seen Harlan shedding any tears when he’d left her with me. But men often didn’t cry as openly as I did. Maybe he’d been hiding his pain from me all this time.

  And Vega had missed Harlan. She’d only just started to recover. And that was with Will taking her for a run most mornings. The responsible thing to do would be to admit that an active breed like a husky was too much for me.

  Except, Harlan’s Boston apartment didn’t even have a yard. Was he really doing what was best for Vega by moving her across the country?

  My thoughts were still spinning in several directions at once when I finally made it back to my house. My heart felt so heavy in my chest that I could barely breathe. And when Vega rushed off to take a drink from her bowl in my kitchen, fresh tears slipped down my cheeks.

  “I can’t believe this might be the last time I bring her home,” I said, my voice wavering all over the place. I tried to dash the tears away before I looked up at Harlan.

  I wanted to ask whether he was sure. But he wouldn’t have driven all this way if he hadn’t thought it through. Would he?

  “Are you going to have time to give her two hours of exercise?” I asked, genuinely concerned that Vega might be miserable.

  Harlan scrunched his nose up, as if my question was patronizing. I didn’t think it was. Living in an apartment and looking after a husky when you had a new job couldn’t be easy. But Harlan didn’t say that he found my question offensive.

  “She’s yours,” Harlan told me. It took me a moment to even comprehend what he had said. “Your boyfriend paid me ten grand for her, so yeah, you keep her.” That didn’t make sense. But realization quickly dawned on me.

  Will. How did he even know where to find Harlan? Not that that mattered. He’d paid ten thousand dollars so I could keep Vega.

  Emotions poured through me, so many at once that I had to lean against the kitchen counter for support. Relief that I could keep Vega. Fear that it would be selfish to let Harlan give her up. Shock that Will thought Vega was worth so much! But also anger that he thought my problems could be solved by throwing money at them.

  I had never been rich, like Will was. My job paid me enough, but I would never be a millionaire. I would never be able to buy my moms a house to live in, or pay them back for the money they’d contributed to my college fund.

  I’d grown up knowing that money wasn’t the most important thing in the world. That belief was baked into my very soul. It was important to me.

  Vega mattered to me in a way that money could never adequately convey. The thought of Will buying her love for me rubbed at me, leaving a raw kind of feeling in its wake.

  Did Will think he could buy my friendship, too?

  “Harlan.” I tried to focus on one thing at a time. This war of feelings that raged inside me had left me feeling like I didn’t know whether there was solid ground under my feet.

  I shook my head. “You don’t have to give up Vega. She was your dog first. If you want to keep her, I’ll… I’ll make Will take the money back. Of course I will.”

  “Why?” Harlan asked. “You love her. I know you do. I... Yeah, I miss her, sure, but you’re probably right. Vega’s better off here, you have a yard, there’s a park nearby.” It all made sense. But I couldn’t help the bitter edge at the thought that if it wasn’t for the money, Harlan wouldn’t have thought about any of those things.

  But maybe the fact that he was so willing to take the money also said something. It was a lot of money, sure, but I wouldn’t give up Vega for ten grand. I wouldn’t give her up for anything if I had the choice.

  But could I really let Will buy her for me? Part of me longed to wrap my arms around Vega and never let her go. I wanted to accept this chance, before it got snatched away. After all, it was Will’s money. I hadn’t asked him to spend it on Vega. If he chose to do so, part of me longed to just accept the good fortune.

  A bigger part of me worried. What did Will expect from me if he did this? And even if there was nothing that he wanted, how would it affect our friendship that I would always feel like I owed him one of the most precious things in my life?

  “I want to keep her, I do,” I admitted. “I love having her here. She’s been like a second best friend since you moved away.”

  Harlan had the grace to look a little guilty. I hadn’t really meant for him to. I didn’t blame him for moving to where he could do the work he loved. Even if it had hurt a lot to realize he loved the work more than he loved me.

  “I think I need to talk to Will.” I bit my lip. I couldn’t afford to offer Harlan what Vega was worth, even without taking into account how much I loved her. If I was going to turn down Will’s gift, then it would mean letting Harlan take Vega after all.

  Could I do that? I didn’t know. But I knew that I needed to see him before I made any decisions.

  “You’re not driving home tonight, are you? So maybe I can… let you know tomorrow?”

  For a moment, I thought that Harlan was going to say no, just because he could. But then he sighed, giving a nod. “Yeah, that’s fine. I’m going out with a few friends tonight anyway. Take your time.”

  I gave a nod. I would know for sure before long. And until then? Well, I got to keep Vega at least a little bit longer. My head was still in turmoil. I so desperately wanted to keep Vega, I loved her so much, but what sacrifices would I have to make to do so?

  “Just don’t be too proud, Lacey,” Harlan advised.

  My head lifted, eyes wide. Proud? It wasn’t, honestly, a fault that I considered myself to have. But Harlan knew me pretty well. Maybe he had a point.

  I wanted to be independent. I didn’t want to let Will solve all my problems for me.

  But the truth was, this wasn’t a problem I could solve on my own!

  “I think I see what you mean.” I sucked on my lower lip, nerves settling in the pit of my stomach. And not good nerves at the thought of seeing Will, either.

  I crouched down, whistling for Vega to come. “Good girl,” I praised. “Do you want to go see Teddy and Will?” If Harlan was going out, I wasn’t going to miss the chance to spend one more evening with Vega. She’d love seeing Teddy. I just hoped that talking to Will would help clarify things for me.

  It didn’t take long to get Vega back on her lead. I bid Harlan an awkward farewell, promising that I’d let him know as soon as I came to a decision.

  If only I knew what that decision would be!

  As soon as we reached Will’s street, Vega started pulling me towards his drive. She was so eager to see Teddy! And she probably wanted a break from me and Harlan and our very human problems. I couldn’t blame her.

  I felt wrung out, almost numb from the onslaught of emotions I’d already dealt with. But the closer we got to Will’s house, the more the anxiety burned inside me. And the anger.

  How could Will offer Harlan money without at least asking me? I couldn’t afford to spend as much as he had. But he hadn’t asked me if I wanted to buy Vega at all.

 
And taking Vega away from Harlan because Will had more money didn’t sit right with me. It shouldn’t matter who could afford it. Vega should stay with whoever would give her the best life. And even without Will’s money, that was me.

  But not without Will, himself. Without Will taking Vega for a run, I would’ve struggled to get her enough exercise. Would I have managed? For Vega? Absolutely.

  I knocked so hard against Will’s front door that my knuckles hurt. I didn’t think I was letting pride cloud my judgment. It was hard to say. The emotions swirling around my brain made thinking difficult.

  When Will came to the door, Vega almost knocked him over with her enthusiasm. “I -” All the words flew out of my brain. I didn’t know whether I was grateful or angry. Maybe both?

  “I need to talk to you,” I managed.

  Will stepped aside for Vega to dash in with such ease. I almost forgot I was meant to be annoyed with him. I loved how he just didn’t mind what havoc she might wreak. Before even stepping through the door myself, I could hear Teddy excitedly greet Vega.

  “I’ll let them out in the yard?” Will offered, almost like he worried that whatever I needed to talk to him about might not be suitable for dogs to hear. And maybe it wasn’t. I didn’t want Vega to know that Will was... what, buying her?

  Once the dogs were out, Will returned. I could see from the way his shoulder tensed that he knew this wasn’t a pleasant sort of ‘I need to talk to you’.

  “You can’t just -” I waved a hand, exasperation charging up inside of me. “I can’t believe I even have to say this. You can’t just throw money at someone else’s problem, Will!”

  I liked Will. He was genuine, intriguing, and passionate. But I didn’t know him well. I didn’t know how he dealt with other people’s problems. If it was going to be like this, then I had to put my foot down.

  “I’m surprised you don’t know that Vega’s worth much more than money! Would you let someone buy Teddy, if they offered you enough?”

  “No,” he answered with a frown. “But I didn’t try to buy Vega off you,” he pointed out. “I also asked Harlan not to tell you,” he added, rolling his eyes. I could hear frustration in his voice. Frustration with me? Surely not. I didn’t think I’d done anything to deserve him being frustrated with me.

  Shaking his head, Will sighed. “Harlan agreed to sell Vega. I just didn’t want him to take her away when she means so much to you,” he defended. “How can this be a bad thing? You get to keep her and... well, that’s it. You get to keep her.”

  “And I’m glad about that!” I really was. I just couldn’t ignore the way it had happened. The fact that Will hadn’t wanted Harlan to tell me somehow made it worse, like he’d been going behind my back.

  My hands balled into fists at my side, the anger rising in me. “It was my problem to deal with, Will.” I swallowed past a sudden lump in my throat. The truth was, I wouldn’t have been able to deal with it. That just made me feel more frustrated than ever.

  “You can’t just sweep in and buy a solution and expect me to see you as some kind of hero. You didn’t even ask me!”

  “I literally didn’t even want you to know! Why would you think I’d expect you to see me as some kind of hero?” Will asked with a frown. “What are you annoyed about? What should I have asked you for? So you could tell me how I couldn’t spend money?”

  He had a point. I would have said he shouldn’t spend ten thousand dollars on me. Or any sort of money on me. I didn’t need Will’s money.

  “Yes!” I snapped. “You should have told me because I would have stopped you. Now, I have to tell you that I can’t accept this and I have to tell Harlan that he can take Vega, and I have to tell him that he’s not getting ten grand!”

  It was all just so much, all at once. I wanted nothing more than to throw myself into Will’s arms, cry, and let him make it alright. But I couldn’t do that! Will and I didn’t have that kind of relationship.

  And even if we had, I still wouldn’t have wanted him to spend so much money on me!

  “This is why I told Harlan not to tell you,” Will sighed. “I don’t... Lacey, I just want you to be able to keep Vega. Yes, I told Harlan I’d buy her off him, but he let me. You just said you wouldn’t do that, you know that I wouldn’t do that. But he did. So why are you going to let him take her anyway?”

  There was an edge of frustration in Will’s tone. “What are you angry about? I just want you to keep Vega. So I bought her for you. Aren’t you happy she can stay in Salt Lake with you?”

  “Yes, of course I am,” I bit out. I was doing a terrible job of showing Will how relieved I’d been to think that I wouldn’t have to lose Vega. But if I couldn’t let him buy her, then maybe I would have to give her up.

  I just didn’t know anymore. It was all a swirling mass of confusion, and I knew I wasn’t explaining myself well.

  “I’m angry because you’re trying to buy… something that just shouldn’t be for sale. You can’t buy Vega’s affection! Or… Or my friendship. It doesn’t work that way. I can’t let you pay for Vega. That’s not what a friend would do.”

  And I wanted to be Will’s friend. Or more than Will’s friend. But not if he thought he could pave over every problem with money.

  “You’re being unreasonable,” Will sighed. “Harlan was perfectly happy to sell me Vega. Fuck, I don’t think he even cared if I wanted to take her or if I wanted to give her to you. He obviously came back for Vega because he wanted to hurt you. So what if I had to pay for her? Just keep her.”

  I barely listened to anything after Will told me that I was being unreasonable because I wasn’t. It wasn’t unreasonable to say that someone couldn’t - shouldn’t - just buy your dog.

  “And you’re perfectly willing to throw money at the problem!” I snapped. “How is that any better than Harlan being willing to take your money?” Obviously, Will had lost touch with how normal people felt about money. If he’d ever known in the first place!

  I was almost trembling as frustration and anger crashed through me. “Why did you even think it was your problem to solve?” I asked. “Vega isn’t your dog. And I didn’t ask for your help! What gave you any right to get involved?”

  My voice had risen a lot. It wasn’t until that last question that I realized I was shouting. I was glad that Will had put the dogs outside, but that feeling still wasn’t enough to quell my anger.

  And then Will snapped back, not as loud as I was but there was an edge to his voice that I’d never heard before.

  “Because I care about you! Watching you cry over something I can fix and doing nothing would make me a fucking asshole. So I did something. I made it so you can keep Vega!”

  Will made it sound so simple. But the real world didn’t work that way! “You made it so that if I keep Vega, then I owe you this huge debt that I can never repay,” I pointed out, taking a step back.

  I didn’t want to keep shouting like this. I wanted Will to understand where I was coming from, the impossible situation he had put me in. “You didn’t ask me if I wanted you to help me. You just… You just swept in and did what you thought was best!”

  If I wanted to be a good owner to Vega, I had to have responsibility for my own decisions. “You didn’t give me any say in it. That’s why I’m angry.”

  But I didn’t think we were going to solve the problem by shouting at each other.

  “I think…” My head ached from all the tension and uncertainty. “I wish I could just have a moment to think, to decide what the best thing to do would be! But Harlan needs an answer by tomorrow.”

  “So keep Vega,” Will told me like it was easy. “God, Lacey, it’s not like you don’t want to keep her. So just do. I want you to have Vega. I don’t...” Will shook his head. “I don’t want something from you in return, but fuck, like, you can pay me back if you want. Over time, whatever. I just...”

  Running a hand over his face, Will sighed. “I don’t want you to be sad. Please keep Vega. If you change your
mind, I’ll drive you and Vega down to Boston myself.”

  I knew there was no way I could pay Will back. Even over time, it would take me years to have that kind of spare cash. But fighting him wasn’t going to change matters. I really did just want to go home, cuddle Vega, and have a moment of peace.

  “Okay. I’m not - I haven’t decided what to do about the money. I can’t decide that right now. But I’ll take Vega home. And I’ll tell Harlan that I want to keep her.”

  I was trusting that Will really would take us both to Boston if I decided that was the right thing to do.

  And if I could trust him to do that, then maybe we could have a sensible conversation about all this. On a day I wasn’t already so emotional. I believed that Will and I could reach some kind of understanding, if we just both had cool heads to do it.

  I didn’t know what else to say. And it seemed like Will didn’t either. We moved awkwardly around each other as I convinced Vega it was time to go home.

  “We’ll see Teddy again soon,” I promised her as I fastened her lead. “Maybe not tomorrow, but the day after?” I needed a break, some time to myself to think things over.

  Will nodded. Gratitude tipped the scales away from the anger I’d felt. I was glad he was letting me walk away so that we could have a more productive conversation.

  But first, I really just wanted to go home and shut out everything complicated. Vega and I would enjoy a night and a day together, just the two of us.

  At least I knew she would always be there for me, with her easy, faithful devotion. Vega never made me feel such conflicting emotions at once and she never asked me difficult questions.

  So I headed home with mixed feelings, but a glowing gratitude that at least I didn’t have to face them all by myself!

  Chapter Fifteen

  Will

  I didn’t get why Lacey was so annoyed at me. Or well, not fully. I was telling the truth when I said that I hadn’t wanted Harlan to tell Lacey about me paying for Vega. All I wanted was for Lacey to be able to keep the dog she loved.