This was it. She was at his door and trying to make an attempt at knocking. She raised a fist, move it forward and then stop, chickening out. What she imagined to be Stella’s bark, her mind filtered through memories of being together and playing with their dogs.
I can’t do this… she thought as she slumped to her knees, hair curtailing around her. She had shown nothing but bravery in helping her friends but now.
It was all gone.
Thoughts and scenarios of how this would play out filtered her mind and in every one Jack pushed her away and said he was tired of being hurt by her.
Tears began forming at the corner of her eyes, mixing in with the dirt on her face. She just wanted to see him.
She might be too afraid to open the door, but Stella wasn’t. The young bulldog perked up suddenly, her ears flicking as she heard her mistress weeping out in the hall. Though she hadn’t shown it as much, the dog had missed Katelynn just as badly as Jack did. She jerked away from him as he was trying to put a leash on her, and ran to the front door, barking excitedly, her whole butt wiggling as she wagged her tail.
It took Roxy a moment to catch on – she wasn’t as close to Katelynn as Stella – but the little pug soon caught the scent and ran to the door as well.
“Hey, girls, come back!” Jack insisted. “What is it? What’s out there?” The dogs weren’t growling, so it probably wasn’t anything dangerous. Curious, he opened the door.
Her heart leapt in both fear and amazement at the door opening, Stella squeezing through to leap at her mistress and lick her face.
But Katelynn’s eyes were trained on the handsome blue man before her, her hair hiding the scar from his view. There he was in the flesh. It had felt like too long since she had seen him.
And more tears collected in her eyes.
For a moment, Jack froze in his tracks, his green eyes wide as he stared at her. He wasn’t sure what could have gotten the dogs’ attention, but … he hadn’t been prepared for this.
“K-Katelynn?”
But that was a good thing. Without time to think about it, it was easier for him to act on his feelings. He stepped over to Katelynn quickly and fell to his knees beside her. “A-are you all right? What’s happened?” He could tell by her torn, soot-stained catsuit that she’d been involved in something big and dangerous, and he wanted nothing more than to comfort her – no matter what she might have done.
Jack Maple 