Page 47 of Up In Smoke
My heart aches. I’m not sure why life has seen fit to throw nothing but assholes Jesse’s way so far, but that’s over now. Yes, it’s important to me that he gets financial support, a roof over his head, and a safe space to begin his recovery. But if possible, I’d also very much like to restore some of his faith in humanity, too. He deserves love and kindness, even if that’s just from me and a four-legged friend.
Obviously, I mean that Klaus looks like he already loves him. That’s the nature of dogs, right? Not that I…I mean, we’re friends now, sure. But any kind of love I feel for him would just be familiar.
Right?
I clear my throat and attempt to shake myself free from that thorny train of thought. “So that’s a yes to fostering?” I ask, already confident I know the answer.
“That’s a hell yeah!” Jesse cries, standing back up and beaming at me. “I’ll take good care of him, I promise. I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t,” I tell him warmly.
The moment stretches out as we just look at each other. Then Lili claps her hands.
“Okay, Flores! I think you and yourroommatehave this well in hand. I’ll see you in a couple of days, all right? Jesse, nice tomeet you. Klaus is going to love being your new best buddy, I can tell. Catch you soon. Auf wiedersehen!”
“Bye,” Jesse says faintly as Lili salutes and heads back to her car.Then he looks back down at Klaus, who smiles up at him and wags his fluffy tail. “Did no one else want him?” Jesse asks me.
Holy crap. I was so caught up in worrying about why Jesse was running late and if the responsibility of pet ownership was going to be too much that I didn’t stop and consider how I’d feel watching Jesse fall in love with Klaus right in front of my eyes. Of course he’d feel a connection with another creature in need of a home.
Klaus hasn’t been abandoned, though. Neither has Jesse.
Not anymore.
“It’s more like the department cares too much about finding him the perfect retirement home,” I tell Jesse truthfully. “He was with a foster mom while they looked, but she broke her hip. She’s going to be fine,” I quickly assure him at his alarmed expression. “She just can’t walk a big dog like this for a few months. So if you think about it, we’re helping both her and Klaus out if he stays with us.”
Jesse exhales and nods, leaning down to give Klaus some more fuss. “You might as well be running a halfway house for waifs and strays at this point,” he jokes to me.
I shrug. “I prefer to think of it that people know the One-Thirteen will always do everything they can to help those in need.”
Jesse’s big eyes meet mine again, filled with so many emotions. This time, Lili isn’t here to interrupt us, and something warm and tingly spreads over my skin, making me want to shiver.
It’s almost as if Jesse’s found a shortcut to something deep inside my chest where all my most delicate feelings hide. I’m notsure if I’m more terrified of what he might see there…or the fact that I want to let him in.
“Should we head home?” I ask, breaking the spell that was settling over us.
Jesse blinks and gives himself a little shake, grinning sheepishly at me. “Yeah, sure.”
Klaus rides on the back seat and Jesse insists on driving, saying I must be tried after my shift. It was kind of a busy one, but I’ve definitely gotten behind the wheel to take myself home after far worse calls and on way less sleep. It’s nice to have someone insist on taking care of me in some way, though, even if that’s just a ten-minute ride. It’s the kind of thing I hear other people’s parents doing when they visit their childhood homes. My parents haven’t behaved like that since…
Well, not in a very long time.
Ten minutes is enough for a tense silence to descend between us, however, and I’m back to fretting over why Jesse was late picking me up. Did he really oversleep? Am I getting guilty vibes off him or is that just me projecting my anxieties onto him?
“Oh, shit,” he says, glancing at me as he pulls onto my street, jerking me from my thoughts. “We should probably go get some stuff for Klaus, huh?”
Some of that apprehension eases in me as I smile fondly at him. The fact that he’s thinking about Klaus’s wellbeing already makes me almost giddy with pride and admiration. This is why it drives me crazy that he values himself so little. Why can’t he see how amazing he is?
“I actually placed an order yesterday to be delivered for today,” I confess with a chuckle. “I figured if this wasn’t going to work out, the next person could take the stuff. But I didn’t want to be unprepared just in case. I’ve also got a few bits in my work bag from the police captain when she dropped him off.” I kickthe duffle in the footwell, grinning at Jesse as he catches my eye before he pulls my car into the underground lot.
“You were pretty confident I’d say yes to this, huh?” he quips.
My smile gets bigger. “I hoped,” I tell him truthfully.
Padilla assured me that Klaus has been trained for so many stressful situations as a working dog that he shouldn’t be phased by many things. But I’m still relieved to see him trot happily into the elevator and ride up to my floor without incident. Jesse has him by the leash and has been guiding him ever since we left the firehouse.
Watching the two of them together is doing lovely, funny things to my insides that I don’t examine too closely.
As we approach my apartment, one of my neighbors is exiting the door up ahead. She’s an old Russian lady who was here when I moved in. All I really know about her is that she wears fur coats all year round, despite the steady Californian sunshine.