Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 36478 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36478 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
My thoughts were all but confirmed when Sterling did finally decide to take a walk. He insisted that I join him (which I was happy to do), but he didn't speak much during the stroll. He and Cooper were both on high alert, and Sterling asked me about every sound, from twigs snapping to leaves rustling. I knew that in time, his fear would subside, but it was difficult to watch him struggle with something he enjoyed so much.
I wanted to help his comfort and confidence in any way I could, so I ordered a ridiculous amount of security equipment online, and installed it all around the house. We now had cameras, lights, window alarms, and motion sensors on each entrance. Sterling was relieved to know that I could check the cameras from my phone, so I could always watch and make sure he got home safely, even if we weren't together.
That helped comfort Jackson and Charlotte as well. They were understandably devastated when they found out about what happened. As soon as Sterling told them, they drove over to make sure that he was okay. Jackson actually helped me install the motion sensors, and Charlotte had brought us dinner twice the past week. I was grateful that Sterling had such wonderful people in his life.
“What would you like for dinner tonight, sweetheart?” I asked as I opened the cabinet to look for something to cook. We’d missed lunch as we stayed busy all day hanging up the rest of my clothing and situating our bedroom closet, and now my stomach was growling loudly.
“What do we have?”
I frowned as I looked through the mostly bare shelves. "Not much." I hadn't had time to go to the grocery store. Sterling usually placed an order online with his tablet and had the items delivered, but even if he'd had his device, we'd been distracted lately.
I had the ingredients to make grilled cheese sandwiches, but I had a much better idea.
"May I take you out to dinner? We haven't gotten out of the house much all week."
Sterling squished his lips around before asking, "Do you think Cooper feels up to it?"
"I think it will do him a lot of good to get out and have some fresh air." I turned my attention to the pooch and asked, "Do you want to go for a drive, buddy? Do you want to go bye-bye?" At the question, Cooper spun in a fast circle, breathing heavily and slapping his tail around.
Sterling chuckled at the sound. "I guess that answers that question." He whistled and Cooper snapped to attention to get fitted into his working harness.
When we loaded into the car, Cooper didn't make a fuss about getting into the backseat. He was comfortable leaving space between himself and Sterling, which I took as a great sign; not only was the pup feeling better, he could sense that his master was as well.
"What would you like to eat?" I asked as we drove towards town. "Do you want me to check if Bocca Felice has an empty table?"
Sterling shook his head. "I think I need a break from Italian food." Both meals Charlotte delivered to us were pasta, since she knew it was her son's favorite.
"Would you like to go to Shake Shack?" It wasn't a fancy place, but it had great burgers, hot dogs, and milkshakes. Plus, there was lots of outdoor seating, which would be nice on this mild spring evening.
"That sounds great! After we eat, can we get Cooper a cup of ice cream to take home?"
"Only if we get him a hot dog too," I replied, and Sterling beamed from ear to ear.
I parked in Shake Shack's lot and helped Sterling and Cooper out of the car. It looked like lots of people had the idea to enjoy the nice weather with some ice cream, judging by the long line at the ordering window. But I didn't mind; as long as I was with Sterling and holding his hand, the wait didn't matter.
We took our spot in line and I asked, "What flavor of milkshake would you like? I think I'm going to get peanut butter. Ooh, I wonder if they'd put some chocolate syrup in there and make it taste like a Reese's cup."
I looked over at Sterling to see what he thought of my brilliant idea, but my heart dropped at the sight of him; his face was pale and his jaw was slack. His breathing was quick and shallow, and he squeezed my hand tightly.
"What's wrong?"
Before he answered, a low growl rumbled between us. I looked down just as Cooper positioned himself in front of Sterling. The scruff one the back of his neck stood upright, and his ears were tucked tightly against his head. He never acted like that, especially while working, so I knew something wasn't right.