Game Trail: A Jessica Anderson K-9 Mystery (The Jessica Anderson K-9 Mysteries Book 7) by D. L. Keur

Author:D. L. Keur [Keur, D. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: D. L. Keur
Published: 2023-11-04T16:00:00+00:00

24 – Jessie’s Heart

LANDON INSISTED on getting lunch, not just ice cream. He also insisted on paying for it.

Jessie let him, but drew the line on hamburgers for all the dogs. “They’ve got their dog jerky.”

Eyebrows twitched. Landon groaned. “I’m glad I left Britta in the unit. She’d feel so deprived.”

Perfect opportunity. “And about that—”

“Don’t start on me, Jessie. Oli told me it was okay, except for grapes, potatoes, chocolate …stuff that’s toxic to them, especially anything containing xylitol. I’ve got a huge list of forbidden foods. I’ve got a printout on the wall and a copy on my phone and on my laptop, plus I’ve pretty much committed it to memory.”

“Yeah, well, how about Britta getting fat?”

“She’s not. She runs with me, does chores with me, comes to work with me….”

“Yeah. And lays around on the floor while you sit around on your butt.” She watched him flinch. Shouldn’t have said that …again. She was not doing her ‘treat Landon like a very sensitive dog’ handling very well since Britta abandoned her. I’m so angry at him! And had no reason to be. The dog herself had decided whose dog she wanted to be, and Britta was really happy, now.

Lucky for Jessie, despite her barb, Landon fought back. “She does not. She has a nice dog bed, plus she’s allowed on the couch.”

And Jessie couldn’t resist the temptation. “You mean your day bed.”

Another groan met that. “I needed it when I first got back. I thought it was nice of Martin to donate it to my cause.”

She chuckled, remembering the hassle of getting it in and situated. She’d helped. “He just didn’t want to be acting sheriff anymore. You never heard so much grousing!”

Now, though, she was baiting him. Again on purpose. Like she had her brother when he got all moody. Of course, Landon wasn’t her brother, and he was not at all like Erik. But he was a man, and men, when they got down in the dumps, got destructive. In Landon’s case, by all the research she could find on brainiacs, he could get very self-destructive. The Bitterroot did not need that. She didn’t need that. Mental health and well-being were as important as the physical. She felt responsible. We should have asked and explained the fist sculpt. But it would have never happened. And it was perfect. It was making money to fund Landon’s charity projects. It was for the Bitterroot and its needy, the ones that slipped through the cracks—Landon’s self-appointed crusade.

“I’ll meet you at The Soda Shop,” he grumbled.

“Done.”

*

“SO, YOU AND Jedidiah are …an item, now?” Landon asked, trying to move the discussion to something safe once Jessie finally quit picking on him, which only happened once their sandwiches and ice cream sodas came.

She gave him a look like he’d just slapped her, and that confused him. “What? What did I say?”

“No. We’re not in a relationship, Landon. Just friends.”

He wondered if she’d made that clear to Jed. Sighed. Another touchy subject …but, then, what wasn’t a touchy subject when it came to Jessie, unless she chose it.

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