Hey. This is Matt! Got your number from Blinky… Anyway, it was really great meeting you this weekend, and I heard you were invited to come to the Ridge with us. This is me seconding that invite. I know we aren’t into each other like that, but I’d still really like to have you around as a friend. Man, this is getting rambly. Anyway, please say you’ll come. By the way, this is Matt.
And a second later: Oh, I already said that it was me. Darn it. Okay, I’ll go die of embarrassment now. Bye.
Sofia laughed, thankful for the texts from D-Man to distract her from the argument with Hunter.
Don’t die, she typed while chuckling to herself. As long as you’re going, I’ll be there, too.
At least she wouldn’t have to die alone. She had Wolfie and new friends that suited her recent, otherwise questionable activities. One day, when the time was right, there would be other boyfriends. Other men.
But would any of them make Sofia’s heart flitter the way Hunter did?
Finally, Wednesday arrived. Hopefully once she’d handed Foxie over to Elizabeth Jane, Sofia’s guilt would be at least partially abated. Together, she and Wolfie could make a new normal. They could spend time simply enjoying each other’s company—as a dog and his person were meant to do.
Despite all the drama surrounding Foxie, Sofia and Wolfie were becoming closer by the day. The large wolf hybrid had now taken to sleeping beside Sofia’s bed rather than his previous place under the dining room table. So, whenever she startled awake from a nightmare, she could calm herself in an instant by dropping her arm over the edge of the mattress and stroking Wolfie’s thick, downy fur.
Sofia’s friend Liz had always referred to her Akita, Samson, as her baby, but Sofia had come to think of Wolfie more like a partner than as her child. His constant presence reassured her that she had done a good thing by saving him.
Whatever happened with Foxie, Joe Collins, or even Hunter, Sofia was secure in the knowledge that she had done at least one thing right. Important.
And knowing this kept her going, even on the most difficult of days.
Especially as she passed the abandoned textile factory on her way to work each morning, remembered her time with Hunter—and the fact that it could never happen again.
He’d texted her several times since their date had come to an abrupt end the previous evening. Eventually she’d had to turn her phone off to avoid giving in to her intense urge to respond. She’d tried to lose herself in a reality TV marathon, but the show’s petty drama only heightened her anxiety.
If only she had such minor concerns as finding out who stole Jenny’s weave or hatching a plan to receive a charming bachelor’s rose. What had once been a guilty pleasure held no entertainment for her now.
Worse still, her hands trembled too much for her to work at the sewing machine. Ultimately, she ended up going to bed more than two hours early with the hope that she’d feel better after a proper night’s rest.
Instead, she woke up feeling as if her head were stuffed with cotton and her stomach filled with scorpions. These sensations further intensified when Preeti turned up in her store shortly after opening.
“Good morning,” Preeti said brightly, making Sofia feel guilty for wishing the other girl would simply disappear.
“Hi,” Sofia said, accepting an overly familiar hug from this acquaintance she hardly knew.
“Blinky said you could hook me up,” Preeti whispered in Sofia’s ear before pulling away and continuing the conversation at full volume. “I need a few new outfits for work and dates and stuff. You know,” she finished, tossing a subtle wink Sofia’s way.
Wait…
Is Preeti actually asking me to steal from my work?
This question was answered but a second later when Preeti dropped a pair of silk underwear into the large shoulder bag at her side.
Sofia cleared her throat and put herself between Preeti and the security camera that hung nearby in the rear corner of the store. She did not need this today. “What are you doing?” she whisper-yelled.
“Shopping,” Preeti said with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “Like I told you, Blinky said you could help me find what I’m looking for. You know, like he helped you with the supplies for your new dog. Where’d you get him again?”
Wow, this girl was clearly not Sofia’s friend—and she was beginning to doubt that Blinky ever had been either.
Still…
What could Sofia do besides look the other way and refuse to get involved?
If she turned Preeti away, then Wolfie would be at risk yet again. This all would have been for nothing. She couldn’t let that happen. Couldn’t let Wolfie down when she’d promised to keep him safe.
But she could stop fraternizing with Blinky and his gang of merry thieves. Maybe he’d been right about her. Maybe she was only a rebel in appearance after all.
And, you know what? That was just fine with her.
After work, Sofia packed up both dogs and drove the twenty miles to Liz’s ranch on the southern outskirts of town. She kept Wolfie in the backseat and let Foxie sit shotgun in hopes of avoiding any mid-journey dog fights.
And although Sofia and Elizabeth Jane had kept in touch, this would be Sofia’s first time visiting Memory Ranch. She found herself astonished by the enormous size of her former coworker’s ranch estate. Sofia’s entire neighborhood could fit inside the mostly empty piece of land. Just when she thought she’d reached the end of the drive, more would unfold before her. After what felt like miles and miles of fields, she passed a pole barn followed by a horse stable, and finally discovered the old farm house tucked into the very back of the property, the backdrop of foggy mountains stretching proudly across the horizon.
Sofia put her little red car in park, then opened the passenger door to let the first dog out. Foxie immediately sprinted toward the wrap-around porch where Liz and her fiancé Dorian waited with outstretched arms.
“Wow, what a pretty girl you are!” Liz cried, bending down to hug the big, fluffy Chow.
Liz’s Akita whined on the other side of the screen door and rattled it with his huge paws.
“You’ll get your turn, Samson. Just let us say hi first,” Dorian called to the whimpering sled dog in a high-pitched baby voice as he stroked Foxie’s soft mane.
Satisfied that Foxie was behaving herself, Sofia grabbed a leash from her glovebox and hooked Wolfie in. Gently she coaxed him from the car, which took more work than expected. The big dog stayed glued to her side, unsure of the new place and new people and still very much unsure about Foxie.
“Hi again, Wolfie,” Liz called, jogging over to offer Sofia a quick hug and Wolfie a scratch between his ears.
“This place is insane,” Sofia said, spotting a tiny speck on the rear horizon she assumed was the pole barn she’d passed on their way in.
Liz laughed and gave her visitor another hug. “We still have a lot of work to do, but it’s really coming along. By the way, this is Dorian.” She turned and gestured back toward the porch, but Dorian was too busy playing with Foxie to hear his name being called.
“We’ve met,” Sofia reminded Elizabeth Jane, but failed to mention the dark circumstances of their first meeting. Liz and Dorian had obviously moved on from that, which meant Sofia should, too. “Hi, Dorian!” she called with a friendly wave.
Dorian strode over with a panting Foxie at his side, a huge smile stretched across his face. “So, tell me again how you found this big girl.”
Sofia had prepared for this question and rehearsed exactly what she would say. Hopefully this would be the last lie she’d need to tell regarding either of her ill-gotten dogs.
She shrugged to lighten the mood, just in case any anxiety reverberated in her words. “She was just walking on her own in the pouring rain last weekend. I opened my car door to check it out, and she hopped right in on top of me.”
Liz and Dorian both laughed. Thankfully, they believed her recounting of events to be real. Maybe one day Sofia would be able to beli
eve this modified version of the truth, too.
“Didn’t you find this guy on the side of the road, too?” Dorian asked, giving Wolfie a firm scratch on the ribs.
Sofia’s breath hitched. Dorian had once been a private investigator and was now a student at the local police academy. Maybe Hunter couldn’t see past his romantic interest in Sofia, but Dorian’s judgment wouldn’t be similarly clouded. She needed to be much more careful here.
“Yeah,” she said with a fake laugh. “I guess I need to start driving some new roads. No more room in my apartment, what with this huge thing taking up all the space.”
Dorian nodded and returned his attention to Foxie.
“I’m going to bring out Samson to say hello,” Elizabeth Jane announced, turning on her heel. Foxie trotted after her, so the others followed, too.
“Samson,” Liz said, opening the door slowly. “Meet your new sister, Foxie. Actually…” She closed the door again, frustrating the dogs on both sides of the screen. She frowned and asked, “Sofia, would you be too offended if I renamed her? Not that Foxie isn’t great, but how perfect would it be if we called her Delilah?”
“Pretty perfect,” Sofia agreed.
Liz sighed her relief, then swung the screen door wide open.
All three massive dogs jumped into a vigorous sniffing session, red, gray, and black fur mixed to form a giant ball of waggly fluff. Round and round they went, until at last Samson dropped to his front paws, wagging his curved tail high in the air behind him. Foxie responded in kind, and soon the two new canine siblings were chasing each other down the dirt driveway and out toward the far reaches of the property.
Wolfie, on the other hand, stuck close to Sofia’s side despite no longer being clipped into his leash. He preferred to watch the action rather than be a part of it. Sofia couldn’t blame him, either.
“Best friends already!” Dorian cried, looping an arm around Liz’s waist as the two watched the happy dogs with a pair of equally satisfied smiles.
She closed her eyes and silently prayed that Joe Collins would drop his search and let Fanta-Foxie-Delilah live out her days here at the ranch with the new family that already loved her very much.
Otherwise, Sofia would never be able to forgive herself.
Sofia sat on the porch with Elizabeth Jane while Dorian worked on preparing dinner for everyone inside.
“I never would have guessed you’d end up here,” Sofia said as she watched Foxie and Samson lumber across the open field. Tongues hung out the side of each dog’s mouth, but still they ran and played despite their obvious fatigue. Wolfie remained uninterested in their antics as he snored peacefully at the base of her rocking chair.
“Where? With a man that cooks?” Liz asked, closing her eyes as she leaned her head back with a smile. “Yeah, that surprised me, too.”
“That, but all the rest of it, too. The ranch, going back to college, getting married. All of it.” Sofia realized for the first time that she was jealous of all her friend had. Maybe that was why she hadn’t made much—or really, any—time to visit her lately.
Liz leaned forward, placing an elbow on each knee and propping her chin in her hands. “I’m not lucky like you, Sofia. I never knew who I wanted to be until…”
“I know. You don’t have to explain.” The past year had been hard on Elizabeth Jane, and the last thing Sofia wanted to do was force her to relive all the horrible, ugly memories that had delivered her to this seemingly perfect place.
Her guilt returned, this time with a new flavor. How could she envy her friend’s happiness? Sofia’s troubles were caused by no one but herself, but Liz had been to hell and back at no fault of her own.
Sofia placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “And just so you know, I struggle with that, too.”
Liz looked up at her, a confused expression splashed across her freckled face. “With knowing who you are?”
Sofia nodded and prayed Liz wouldn’t ask for an explanation. She felt so close to cracking open and letting all her secrets escape into the world.
“No way am I buying that. You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met. Nothing gets under your skin. It’s like you never have to question who you are or what you want.”
Sofia swallowed back the angry laugh that bubbled in her gut. If Liz’s statements had once been true… well, they weren’t any longer. Sofia hardly recognized the woman she saw in the mirror these days. The passion she had once felt for life had gotten lost beneath the thick and overwhelming fog of guilt.
If Liz couldn’t see that yet, she would one day—and likely soon. Especially if the worst happened with her new Chow.
“Thanks for saying that,” she murmured. She had once been that strong person her friend admired. Perhaps she could find a way to be that person again.
“What have you been up to lately?” Liz asked, having no idea how her words pricked at Sofia’s already fatigued conscience.
She shrugged. “Oh, you know… Work, dog, life.”
Liz laughed. “Sounds about right.”
“Dinner’s almost ready!” Dorian called from inside.
A goofy smile lit up Elizabeth Jane’s face. “Have I mentioned how much I love that man?”
“At least a dozen odd times,” Sofia answered with a smile. Her friend deserved a partner who doted on her the way Dorian did. Sofia had once thought she deserved such a man herself, but now she knew better.
“How about you?” Liz asked as she rocked idly in her chair. “Seeing anyone special?”
Sofia shook her head sadly. In another life, one in which she’d made different decisions, she’d be gushing hearts and flowers as she told her friend every last detail about the dreamy Hunter Burke. In this life, however, she kept her mouth firmly shut. Hunter wasn’t hers to discuss, nor would he ever be.
Liz’s eyes flashed with the spark of an idea. “You know, Dorian has made a lot of hot friends at the academy. I bet—”
“What was that, my darling Liz?” Dorian asked, appearing on the porch wearing an apron and waving a spatula.
“I was just saying that maybe we could set Sofia up with one of your hot cop friends.”
“I didn’t realize you found my friends so attractive,” he said with a good-natured chuckle. “I guess that means it’s time for me to make some new, uglier ones.”
“Calm down,” Liz cooed as she crossed the porch and tucked herself into her fiancé’s arms. “You know you’re the only man for me. I was just doing some… uh, window shopping for my single friend.”
Dorian rolled his eyes and made a goofy face. “Wow, I feel objectified on behalf of my gender.”
“Oh, whatever. You like it,” Elizabeth Jane teased.
“Not sure I like it, but I’m one-hundred percent certain I love you.”
Sofia looked away as the engaged couple shared a long, lingering kiss.
Finally placing her jealousy aside, she truly felt happy for her friend. Unfortunately, the more time she spent with this lovey-dovey pair, the more she felt as if she’d been robbed at her chance to one day find the same happiness.
It was funny how one little decision could snowball into other bigger decisions, which could then change everything so fast that you no longer even knew who you were.
Sofia hoped that one day she would figure that out again.
But until then…
She’d have to take it one day at a time. Starting with finding a way to get through tonight.
Sofia didn’t know what she had done to deserve Dorian’s homemade chicken and biscuits. The creamy, buttery goodness tasted amazing going in, but quickly sunk like a rock in her bile-ridden stomach. This meal had become a unique blend of both ecstasy and torture, and apparently her hosts noticed.
“Don’t you like it?” Liz whispered when Dorian returned to the stove to fetch second helpings for himself and Liz.
Sofia puffed out her cheeks and put a hand on her stomach. “It’s delicious, but I’m trying to watch my weight.”
“What? Why? You’re perfect.” Liz stared blankly at Sofia as if this declaration was somehow impossible to believe.
She laughed at her friend’s befuddled expression. “If only I could just date you, half of my problems would be solved right there.”
Elizabeth Jane made a kissy face and batted her eyelashes, sending both women into a fit of giggles. It felt so good to laugh for a change.
“Hey, no moving in on my woman!” Dorian joked, setting a steaming plate of comfort food before his fiancée, then taking his seat at the head of the table.
As her two companions dug in to their generous second helpings, Sofia’s phone vibrated beside her half-empty plate. Expecting it to be Hunter, she was surprised when she saw that the text had instead come from D-Man: SOS!!!
“Everything okay?” Liz asked. Her eyebrows pinched as she glanced from Sofia’s phone back to her face.
“Umm, yeah, but I just need to take this. Be right back.” Sofia pushed her chair back and raced out the door just as her ringtone began to chime.
“What’s going on?” she said after pushing the accept call button.
D-Man’s breath came out in jagged bursts, making it hard for Sofia to understand the words between. “I’m… There was… I just came back from a deal, and—”
“Wait.” She climbed into her car and shut the door. It was the best she could do for privacy under these circumstances. “Matt, hang on. A deal?”
He groaned impatiently. “You know, the reason they call me D-Man.”
Of course. She felt like an idiot for not immediately understanding.
“Anyway…” He took another extended breath. “I saw this group of guys ducking into that old building on Eureka that has been abandoned forever, so I followed them.”
Sofia pinched the bridge of her nose. She could already tell this conversation was headed in a direction she would not like. “What? Why would you follow them?”
“I wanted to see what was going on. Thought I might be able to find some new clientele.”
Season of Mercy: The Sled Dog Series, Book 4 Page 7
