Lyn started into the bathroom and halted. Leaning back out of the bathroom she studied David. “We are safe for the night, aren’t we?”
David tipped his head to the side. “Like I told you before, I don’t have all the answers. But yeah, we should be safe tonight.”
Should be? It was one thing to go searching for pieces of a puzzle. This had all gotten exponentially more real. David’s reserved personality was somewhat frustrating all on its own but the way he hadn’t talked to her more about what had just happened or any precautions he might be taking wasn’t helping her relax any either. She did have faith that he was taking them, but she’d appreciate being part of the decision making. Which wasn’t exactly fair because she didn’t have the knowledge or the skills to be able to help in any sort of planning for this kind of thing. It was only for her pride, really.
She should be on equal footing with him. She should be actively a part of deciding their next move. Instead, she was asking if he minded if she took a bath. Her hard-fought independent nature had evaporated at the sight of a Jacuzzi tub.
She sighed, consciously relaxing her jaw and wondering if he’d been aware of her grinding her teeth. It wasn’t good for her to think in circles and wouldn’t be constructive to talk to him about it because he’d be damned one way or the other with the way her current thought process was stuck in a loop.
She just…needed to be away from all the strong personalities for a while.
“Okay.” She looked at Atlas. “You, stay out here and be his wingman.”
Atlas dropped his jaw open and let his tongue loll out.
She stepped inside and closed the door.
David’s voice called to her. “Better lock it; he can open doors.”
She turned and responded through the closed door. “You know, this is like a scene where a velociraptor looks down at the doorknob and…”
“He can do it a couple of ways. Use a paw, use his nose. He can even spring himself from most crates on his own.” David didn’t sound serious.
Nah. None of the dogs she’d worked with had ever turned a round doorknob. Maybe if it were a handle, something for him to get a paw on and pull down—like the velociraptor did in the movie—but this wasn’t likely. She left it unlocked and turned the hot water taps to start filling the tub. It wasn’t as if David was going to come peeping.
She trusted him not to. And to be honest with herself, the thought of locking herself away from the only other friends she had in a strange place triggered a tightness in her chest. Probably a reaction to the freaky car chase. She wanted some distance from them but not actual isolation.
All the more reason to soak in a nice tub and relax, work through some of these weird nerves, and get back to steady ground.
There was a lovely wooden tray on a small table next to the tub, maybe teak? A few packets of bath salts were arranged in a glass jar, labeled with ingredients. A small handwritten card warned to read ingredients carefully in case of allergic reactions.
“Wonder how many times that’s happened,” she muttered.
“You need something?” David’s voice came through the door.
She straightened and studied the door thoughtfully. How close was he to the door if he heard her? “No. Just reading a few labels out loud.”
“Okay. Holler if you need anything.”
“Thanks.” She was guessing she wouldn’t need to raise her voice by much. He must be sitting right next to the door. Odd…
A snuffling sound came from under the door. Atlas.
She paused and thought that through. No. David wasn’t lurking by the door listening and damn, she should know better. Atlas must be by the door waiting for her and had reacted to hearing her mutter. David was a very perceptive trainer. He must’ve been watching Atlas and seen the cue.
Mystery solved and significantly less creepy. But then, David wasn’t the type of guy to do such things.
Sighing, she picked out lavender bath salts and poured the contents of the little packet into the water. Definitely not thinking straight and a good thing she hadn’t lingered out in the bedroom to talk with David like this. She felt bad enough about the way she was jumping to conclusions inside her own head. It’d be horrible if he heard her.
Turning off the water, she tested the heat before getting in. About right. And when she turned off the main light switch, the little porcelain night-light on the wall above the vanity provided just enough to see by. She undressed, leaving her clothes in a heap on the floor and stepped in carefully. She’d gather her clothes up later and hang them up to air out. Right now, she wanted to soak. Desperately.