Page 38 of Make Me Trust Again (Bluebonnet Creek #3)

He shakes his head before he finishes and shifts his gaze forward, tuning me out.

I open my mouth, but before I can say anything, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out, checking the caller ID before answering the phone.

“Yeah?”

“You seriously need to work on your manners, Williams,” Maisie chastises from the other side of the line.

“These are my manners, you can take it or leave it.”

“So damn stubborn.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Was there a point to this conversation?”

Any amusement she felt dies, her voice turning serious. “Can you come in? We found him. He’s in a pretty rough shape, and he’s not letting me check him out or anybody close.”

My shoulders tense. “How exactly did you ‘find him,’ Mae?”

There is some rustling in the background. “That’s not the issue. Can you come or not?”

I curse under my breath. I know that tone. Maisie has a big heart, and she hates to see animals suffer. When she starts to evade my questions, I know whatever she’s done is sketchy.

“Mae…”

“Can you come or not, Chase?”

I run my hand over my face, my gaze falling on the boy sitting by my side, whose eyes are now fixed on me, a little bit of curiosity reflected in his irises.

“I’ll be there.”

Hanging up, I push to my feet and open a new text message.

Chase:

I need to leave for a bit, but I’ll take Kyle with me.

Rose:

What?

Is everything okay?

Is Kyle fine?

Shit.

I quickly type back.

Chase:

Yeah. Just work.

You good with that?

A bubble pops up in the text thread, only to disappear, before it starts again.

Rose:

Okay.

I glance at Kyle. “Let’s go.”

“Where?” he asks, his eyes narrowing.

“You’ll have to wait and see.” I lift my brow. “So are you coming or what?”

Kyle huffs out, “Fine, I guess I’ll come.”

“Smartass,” I mutter as he slowly pushes to his feet. “Let’s go, Shadow.”

I make my way to the barn and pull open the back door. Shadow is the first one to jump inside. Seriously, this dog. Today, she doesn’t even insist on sitting up front like she usually does.

Shaking my head, I turn to Kyle, whose gaze is fixed on the seat. “You don’t have a booster seat. Mom’s car has my booster seat.”

“I don’t really drive kids around.” I eye him carefully, trying to figure out if this will be an issue, but he seems tall for his age. Just then, my phone vibrates with another text.

Rose:

I left Kyle’s booster seat back at the cottage just in case you need it.

Of course she did.

Chase:

Okay.

“Wait here, I’m going to grab it.”

I quickly make my way to the cottage, and sure enough, there is something that looks like a booster seat on the swing.

I take it and make my way back, where it takes me a few minutes to install it so Kyle can buckle in.

Shadow lets out a low huff the moment I sit in the truck, so I lower down her window.

“Why did you—” Kyle starts to protest, but then he sees Shadow, and for the first time today, I can see him crack a smile when he spots her head leaning out the window, her tongue lolling out.

Slowly making my way down the gravel road, I get onto the paved street. The drive to the shelter doesn’t take too long, and the bright-yellow house comes into view. Maisie claims the color looks more welcoming, whatever the fuck that means.

There are a few unfamiliar cars parked around as I pull my truck next to the shiny old Camaro. A knot forms in my throat, but I push it down as I kill the engine and get out.

“What is this place?” Kyle asks as he slips out of my truck, Shadow right behind him.

“An animal shelter.”

Kyle’s eyes widen, his mouth falling open in surprise. “Really?”

This time, a real smile starts to spread over his lips, and a weight that I haven’t even realized has been pressing on my chest lifts. I don’t like seeing him down like he’s been today. A kid shouldn’t be sad, shouldn’t know what disappointment is, not like he does. It’s not fair.

“Can I get a dog?”

Shit.

Forget about the booster seat, Rose’s going to kill me for bringing him here in the first place.

I should’ve thought this through considering I know the kid wants to have a dog of his own, but it’s too late now.

“No, we’re here because I have to work.”

If I thought that would deter him, I had another thing coming. “You work here?”

“I help out occasionally.” I tilt my head toward the entrance. “I thought you could help me out today.”

“I can help with dogs?”

“Sure thing.”

Kyle flashes me a grin. “That’s the coolest! Let’s go, Shadow.”

He waves her over as he starts running for the door. I hurry after them, catching up just as he pushes the door open, a soft chime of the bell ringing in the air as we step inside. The AC’s blasting on max, the cool air making the hair on my arms prickle.

Kevin, one of the students manning the front desk, glances up. “Hey, Chase. What’s up, man?”

The couple he’s talking to looks over their shoulders, and I can feel their probing gazes on my face, the scars there.

They’re with a little girl, probably around Kyle’s age, who’s holding onto a big orange cat.

The animal lets out a hissing noise when she spots Shadow, so the girl clutches it tighter to her chest, and her father stands in front of her, shielding her. From me.

Keeping my face impassive, I shift my attention to Kevin. “Mae called me about a dog.”

“Yeah, she brought in a young Belgian Malinois a little while ago. She should be in the clinic.”

Of course, she is. I nod absentmindedly. “Thanks. I’ll go look for her.”

I press my hand firmly against Kyle’s back, and he tilts his head. “We have to go through that door.”

Kyle glances in the direction I pointed. “That’s where the dogs are?”

“Yes, there are kennels there and a vet’s office.”

The loud barking greets us the moment we step into the dim hallway. Kyle steps closer to Shadow, his hand resting on her back.

“Those people were looking at you.” He turns to me. Those big blue eyes seem way older than they should be as he observes me and tilts his head to the side. “Is it because of your face?”

“Probably.” There’s no sense in lying.

Kyle nods once, his gaze drifting away, a pensive expression on his face. “They look at me like that sometimes. When I speak.”

Dammit.

My jaw clenches at his softly spoken words. I hate that he notices things like this because the same kind of behavior is directed at him as well. Because people are judging him for his voice. He’s just a kid, for fuck’s sake.

“They say I have a funny voice.”

“Who says that?”

He shrugs nonchalantly. “Some kids in school.”

Little fuckers.

Didn’t their parents teach them better? Although seriously, is it even surprising?

Adults are the first to give you a nasty look—the first to judge.

People are afraid of those who are different.

Of uniqueness. Of imperfections. Because by accepting it, you’re acknowledging the fact that we aren’t really so different from one another after all.

They think the judgment gives them power, puts them above everybody else, when in reality, it just shows how broken this world is, how we’ve lost our kindness. Our humanity.

I place my hand on his shoulder, waiting for him to shift his attention to me. “There is nothing wrong with the way you speak, Kyle. Nothing.”

“My father doesn’t like it either.”

The words are spoken so softly, I have to strain to hear them. Kyle nibbles at the inside of his cheek, that earlier vulnerability back in the open.

Motherfucker.

“He’s wrong. Your voice is beautiful and unique, just like you, and if he can’t see that, it’s his loss.”

Kyle’s lip wobbles a little as he watches me, his eyes shiny. My throat feels raw with emotion, but before either of us can say anything, the door slides open, and Maisie peeks her head out, a smile flashing on her face when she spots me.

“Chase.” She tucks a strand of dark hair that slipped from the mess on top of her head behind her ear. “That was fast.”

“Didn’t know how much trouble you got yourself into.”

“Oh, please.” She waves me off, her gaze darting to Kyle. She does a double-take, her eyebrows rising in surprise. “And you brought company.”

“Yeah, Mae, this is Kyle.” I shift my attention to the boy, who’s watching us with interest. “Kyle, this is Maisie, she’s the vet here.”

Kyle glances at her and lifts his hand in a little wave, his voice coming out low. “Hi.”

Maisie moves closer to him and crouches down, extending her hand, which Kyle takes. “Hey, there. I’m Mae. And what are you doing with this grump over there?”

Kyle’s eyes dart to me before they return to Maisie. “I’m Chase’s friend.”

The corner of her mouth twitches in amusement at Kyle’s serious tone. “Are you now? Well, I’m glad to see he has a friend. A real one, too. He’s usually so grumpy, he scares everybody away.”

“He’s still here, you know?” I mutter, crossing my arms over my chest, not that she cares one bit now that she’s in her element.

Kyle’s gaze meets mine over her shoulder, the corner of his mouth lifting. “He’s grumpy now.”

“See? I told you so. He gets these lines between his brows when he’s really annoyed.”

Kyle chuckles as he watches Mae trace between her brows, frowning exaggeratedly.

“Are you done? I thought you wanted me to check on that dog.”

Mae rolls her eyes, but she pushes to her feet. “Yes, I put him in a separate room. He…” She glances at Kyle, her face turning serious. “It was the best option for everybody.”

I nod silently. “I’ll go check him out.”

“Thank you.” Mae gives me a grateful smile. “How about I show Kyle around? Introduce him to some of our dogs? You love dogs, right? If not, I’m not sure we can be friends.”

“I love dogs, but…” Kyle shifts his gaze to me, some of that uncertainty rising to the surface. “Where will you be?”

“In a different room. I need to give a look to a new dog, but he’s not really used to people yet, so it’s better if I go alone.”

I watch as Kyle mulls over my words and nods. “Okay.”

“C’mon, Kyle, let’s introduce you around.”