Page 61 of Hostile Witness
Tia opened the hall-bath door in a cloud of steam. “Are you talking to Flynn?”
Ethan sighed. “Yup. He’s very displeased with me right now.”
“I know. He gave me the silent treatment, too.”
“What do you think we should do?”
“Wait him out. See how long it takes for him to change his attitude.”
Change his attitude?He stared at her, baffled. “And if that doesn’t work?”
“Treat him special, spoil him. Maybe we’ll tempt him with a bigb-o-n-e. A real one.”
“Do you have any, or do I need to run to the grocery store?”
“I’m fresh out of bones. You’ll need to visit Tony’s, bayside on Sixty-Seventh Street. They’ve got the best ones. Take Flynn with you. He needs to get out.”
“T, he won’t even look at me. How am I supposed to get him in the truck?”
She poked her head out of the bathroom again and gave him a big smile. “You’ll think of something. I guess if you have to, you’ll just pick him up and cart him outside. Our boy’s smart. He knows exactly what’s going to happen when you talk to the Italian guy in the stained white coat at Tony’s. I guarantee you his tail will wag full blast.”
“How many bones should I get?”
“Well”—she snickered—“if Flynn is going to be offended every time we’re intimate, I’d say get a bunch.”
Hmm.“A bunch. Is that like five?” Hopefully, Tony also sold a variety box of condoms.
“How do you feel this morning, Detective?”
He leaned back and smiled. “Freaking amazing. How about you?”
She cackled. “Like a brand-new person.”
“That’s good. So five bones or seven or eight?”
“I would buy as many bones as he’ll sell you. We’ll freeze them.”
“Does that mean you’re ready to make us permanent like we discussed last night?”
“Not yet. But it does indicate that you have first dibs on your side of the bed for the foreseeable future.”
Maybe he was moving too fast. “You’re going to make me work for it, huh?”
“Absolutely. I can’t have you thinking I’m easy.”
“Okay. Let me make coffee first. You want some?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
Ethan openedthe passenger window of his truck, hoping Flynn would enjoy the ride with his head in the wind and his tongue hanging out. Not this time. He tossed Ethan a disinterested glance and focused forward, ignoring the open window. It was baffling. Was Flynn really mad or simply having an off day?
“Did you do this to Margie and Guy Evans? Is that why they didn’t get married?”
Flynn’s head swiveled in his direction when he heard Margie’s name. Of course the K9 remembered her name. Guilt welled up in Ethan’s chest, and he kept his mouth shut the rest of the drive. Where was the happy canine he’d played fetch with yesterday?
He pulled into Tony’s Market and urged Flynn through the front door. The place smelled delicious, like fresh baked goods and rotisserie chicken.
The meat department was in the back. If a bone would soothe the dog’s hurt feelings, then so be it. He guessed it was kind of like buying flowers for a woman after a disagreement, although that sort of thing didn’t make any sense to him. Wouldn’t it bebetter to solve the disagreement first instead of trying to smooth it over with flowers and never discussing it? Yeah, whatever.