all. Since she wasn’t equipped to psychoanalyze him, she focused on containing the rage that was frothing up inside her like magma in a volcano. Easier said than done.
“I cannot believe you didn’t tell me this before!” Her words rose in an angry crescendo in spite of her efforts.
“You think this is easy for me? This isn’t easy!” he responded, shouting her down. “To you it’s just history. But it was my life. It was my damn life!” He vanished before she had a chance to respond.
Rory was momentarily stunned by the emotion she’d ignited in him. She’d had glimpses of his dark side before, but she’d never heard the pure, sharp anguish that riddled his anger now. Still, one thing was certain, he wasn’t the only injured party and she was getting pretty tired of losing every battle simply because he up and left the arena.
“Maybe I should keep Hobo and send you off to the pound,” she yelled to the empty room.
Chapter 6
A t one forty-five Rory stopped in the bathroom to run a comb through her hair and apply a bit of lip gloss. She lingered for a minute, somehow still surprised by the adult woman who was staring back at her from the mirror. In the family, it was generally agreed that she had her mother’s sculpted cheekbones and her father’s straight nose and determined chin. But no one could figure out where she’d gotten the wide hazel eyes, with their blackringed irises, that her aunt Helene swore she’d pay good money to have herself. Rory had grown up imagining that one day a stranger with the same eyes would come to their door and introduce herself as a long-lost cousin. Smiling at the memory, she turned out the light. It was time to meet Tina Kovack.
She walked out the kitchen door with Hobo at her side. Leaving him alone in the house where Zeke might pop up at any moment seemed too much like animal cruelty. Besides, Tina Kovack had been a friend of the deceased, so the odds were that she already knew Hobo and probably wouldn’t object to having him there for the duration of their meeting.
As they crossed the backyard to her office, she wasn’t at all surprised to find Tina already pacing up and down the driveway. Rory had no intention of asking her how long she’d been waiting, nor was she going to apologize for that wait. It was still well before the time of their appointment and Tina was going to have to respect certain boundaries if Rory was going to take her case.
When she’d first considered having the office built on her property, rather than renting space in town, she’d written out a list of the pros and cons of each option. The only major con on the list was the fact that clients would know where she lived and might feel they had the right to intrude upon her private life. Based on their conversation that morning, Tina Kovack might well be the poster child for exactly that sort of problem.
Tina’s face lit up when she saw Rory and Hobo coming. She hurried back up the driveway to meet them at the office door. Rory immediately recognized her as one of the women in the group photo on Brenda Hartley’s mantel. She looked to be in her late forties, and she was tall, close to six feet at least, with the body of a one-time athlete that was just starting to go to seed. Her spandex tank top showcased a small potbelly and a bulge of excess fat beneath her bra line in the back.
Tina dropped to her knees in the grass beside Hobo and threw her arms around him. “Hobo, sweetie boy!” She kissed him loudly on the snout. “I had no idea you were here!” Hobo responded by happily slathering her cheek with saliva. Tina didn’t seem to mind in the least.
She looked up at Rory. “One of the neighbors told me she’d seen him get into a car with some stranger. I’m so glad that he’s okay. It’s bad enough that Tootsie’s missing. She’s one of mine, you know. Oh goodness, I’m sorry, where are my manners?” She stood up and thrust out her hand. “I’m Tina.”
Rory shook
“I cannot believe you didn’t tell me this before!” Her words rose in an angry crescendo in spite of her efforts.
“You think this is easy for me? This isn’t easy!” he responded, shouting her down. “To you it’s just history. But it was my life. It was my damn life!” He vanished before she had a chance to respond.
Rory was momentarily stunned by the emotion she’d ignited in him. She’d had glimpses of his dark side before, but she’d never heard the pure, sharp anguish that riddled his anger now. Still, one thing was certain, he wasn’t the only injured party and she was getting pretty tired of losing every battle simply because he up and left the arena.
“Maybe I should keep Hobo and send you off to the pound,” she yelled to the empty room.
Chapter 6
A t one forty-five Rory stopped in the bathroom to run a comb through her hair and apply a bit of lip gloss. She lingered for a minute, somehow still surprised by the adult woman who was staring back at her from the mirror. In the family, it was generally agreed that she had her mother’s sculpted cheekbones and her father’s straight nose and determined chin. But no one could figure out where she’d gotten the wide hazel eyes, with their blackringed irises, that her aunt Helene swore she’d pay good money to have herself. Rory had grown up imagining that one day a stranger with the same eyes would come to their door and introduce herself as a long-lost cousin. Smiling at the memory, she turned out the light. It was time to meet Tina Kovack.
She walked out the kitchen door with Hobo at her side. Leaving him alone in the house where Zeke might pop up at any moment seemed too much like animal cruelty. Besides, Tina Kovack had been a friend of the deceased, so the odds were that she already knew Hobo and probably wouldn’t object to having him there for the duration of their meeting.
As they crossed the backyard to her office, she wasn’t at all surprised to find Tina already pacing up and down the driveway. Rory had no intention of asking her how long she’d been waiting, nor was she going to apologize for that wait. It was still well before the time of their appointment and Tina was going to have to respect certain boundaries if Rory was going to take her case.
When she’d first considered having the office built on her property, rather than renting space in town, she’d written out a list of the pros and cons of each option. The only major con on the list was the fact that clients would know where she lived and might feel they had the right to intrude upon her private life. Based on their conversation that morning, Tina Kovack might well be the poster child for exactly that sort of problem.
Tina’s face lit up when she saw Rory and Hobo coming. She hurried back up the driveway to meet them at the office door. Rory immediately recognized her as one of the women in the group photo on Brenda Hartley’s mantel. She looked to be in her late forties, and she was tall, close to six feet at least, with the body of a one-time athlete that was just starting to go to seed. Her spandex tank top showcased a small potbelly and a bulge of excess fat beneath her bra line in the back.
Tina dropped to her knees in the grass beside Hobo and threw her arms around him. “Hobo, sweetie boy!” She kissed him loudly on the snout. “I had no idea you were here!” Hobo responded by happily slathering her cheek with saliva. Tina didn’t seem to mind in the least.
She looked up at Rory. “One of the neighbors told me she’d seen him get into a car with some stranger. I’m so glad that he’s okay. It’s bad enough that Tootsie’s missing. She’s one of mine, you know. Oh goodness, I’m sorry, where are my manners?” She stood up and thrust out her hand. “I’m Tina.”
Rory shook
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