Page 132 of Sit, Stay, Love
‘If it wasn’t for Ernie…’ Ethan said.
‘Good old Ernie.’ She sighed.
He put his arm around her shoulder and drew her closer. ‘I’m sorry about Toby. I could see he was drunk. I shouldn’t have poked the bear.’
‘I don’t want to talk about him. I don’t want to talk about any of it.’
‘Sure. But can I ask one thing?’
She nodded, knowing exactly what it would be.
‘Are you really coming to LA?’
‘Yep. I am.’
‘I don’t want you to make a decision because of Toby. I know you must be—’
‘It’s nothing to do with him. It’s a good opportunity. I’d be an idiot not to take it.’
‘Right. Um… great! That’s great.’ He pushed off the couch with a groan and rubbed his back. ‘I’m going to go. Give you a bit of space.’ He leaned down and kissed her on the nose. ‘I’ll call you tomorrow.’
And when the door closed behind him, Sera curled up and bawled.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sera put the heels of her palms in her eye sockets and rubbed roughly. Her eyes were crusty and gritty, her nose was raw and her stomach hurt as if she’d done a thousand push-ups. A night of sobbing will do that to a stomach.
She counted the petals of the moulding around the light hanging from the ceiling above her bed. When she returned from LA, she would renovate her bedroom. Or, at least, finally replace her grandparents’ old furniture.
When she returned from LA.
With a sigh, she rolled out of bed and scuffed towards the bathroom, cringing at her face in the mirror. The last thing she wanted was to look as if she’d been crying all night, even if she had.
She splashed cold water on her cheeks then rummaged through her medicine cabinet and retrieved a bottle of Visine, squeezed a few drops into her red eyes, blinked and took another look.Better.She shrugged off her pyjamas and stepped under the stream of soothing water.
‘Morning, Tia,’ Sera nursed a coffee as she walked down the hall.
‘Are you okay?’ Tia asked.
‘A little tired. I’ve never done so much schmoozing in my life.’ She flicked the young woman a forced smile. ‘But hopefully it worked. I’ve got a few calls to make today to follow up with some people so, um…’ She took a sip of coffee. ‘Can you ring Jess at the surgery and see what’s a good time to pick up the dogs, and then go collect them? I’ll hold down the fort.’
Tia chewed on her lip for a moment. ‘It wasn’t all his fault, you know. Dr McManus tried to walk away. Ethan knew he was drunk, and followed him.’
Sera held up her hand and shook her head. ‘I don’t want to talk about it. But let’s set up a time where you and I can discuss how you’ll manage things while I’m gone.’
Tia nodded, her eyes full of sympathy. ‘You’re still going then? I thought maybe last night you said that in anger?’
‘No. It’ll be good. Exciting, just as you said.’ She ran a hand through her damp hair, tugging as her finger got caught on a tangle. ‘And it’s nothing to do with Toby. Or even Ethan. This is my choice for me. And the shelter.’
Tia nodded again. ‘Okay. I’ll call the surgery and see when’s good to pick up the dogs. I’ll take the other three with me, so I can walk them on the way back.’
‘Leave Buff. I’ll walk her myself.’
A walk with Buffy always made things seem better.
‘Thank you, Mr Jarvis. I cannot tell you how much Rose’s Rescue appreciates your support. I’m planning on placing an ad in theBeaches Dailylisting all our sponsors, so I’ll be in contact soon.’
Sera hung up and clapped her hands. Rose’s Rescue had four official sponsors, and all day she’d been receiving alerts of donations being lodged on their website. The shelter was going to need a proper accountant. She and Tia wouldn’t be able to handle it anymore.
