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bed. She liked him right were he was.

“Toys.” She nodded and headed down the isle. “That’s what my boy needs, toys.” She didn’t like the way he had been eyeing her sneakers. Even though he

was older and a fully trained guard dog, he still got that mischievous puppy glint in his eyes, especially when she rubbed his belly at night when they

watched TV.

She was looking at a large rawhide bone when a very familiar voice got her attention. “Don’t buy him rawhide.”

She looked up to find the coach standing on the other side of the isle. “No?”

“No.” Dylan shook her head. “It’s bad for them.” The woman walked around and handed Cat a large black object looked like a cross between hard rubber

snowman and something vaguely obscene. “It’s called a Kong. It’s nearly indestructible against those teeth.”

Cat smiled and took the toy. “Ugly thing.”

“No uglier than the shredded remains of your lucky playing shoes.”

“Mm. You’ve got a point there.” She tossed the toy in her basket. “Thanks.”

“Not a problem. I was getting food for my beasts and saw your truck in the lot. Nice one, by the way.”

Cat grinned. “Thanks. It’s the first new car I’ve owned. Of course, it’s nothing like yours, but…”

“You’ll get there.”

“Someday.” She looked down to her shoes as a blush crept up her cheeks. “Thanks by the way.”

“For?”

“Everything. The talk. Taking me to get Hamlet. Being my friend.”

Dylan sighed and handed her yet another toy for what she knew was going to be a rambunctious Doberman. “It’s easy being your friend Cat. I hate it that

you got hurt, the least I can do it try to help a little.”

“You’ve helped a lot.”

“I’m glad to hear it.”

“Hey,” Cat fingered the toys in her hands. “Can I buy you lunch?”

“Do you promise not to eat something that looks like it’s going to crawl off the plate?”

The blonde chuckled. “I promise. No rare steaks.”

“Thank you.”

Sitting across from each other, Cat’s thoughts were in a whirl, and spent the first twenty minutes at the table running her finger over the rim of the glass.

Dylan sipped her tea and finally broke the silence.

“Are the bad dreams easing up?”

Yeah,” she nodded. “I still have them but I wake myself up before it gets too bad.” She smiled. “And Hamlet’s a big help. Just knowing he’s there…well…it

helps a lot.”

“Told ya.”

“Yeah, you did.” She took in a breath and blew it out slowly. “So, have you been having problems with the head office over this?”

“Nothing I can’t handle Cat. Don’t worry about it. Mac and I have it under total control.”

“If there is anything I can do, let me know.”

“You just keep on your game and I’m happy.”

“I’m doing my best.”

“I know.” Dylan picked at her salad and finally sighed. “Look. Johnson is a bigoted, small minded son of a bitch, it’s true. But he’s also a slave to the

almighty dollar. As long as we keep pulling money in, he’ll back off.” Her tone softened. “I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

Cat smiled. “Thanks, Coach.”

Dylan looked vaguely embarrassed, and she took a moment to sip her tea. “Have you always been ‘out’?”

Cat blinked at the unexpected question. “Um…yeah. Pretty much. I mean I always knew, there was just something different. It took me years to figure it

out, but once I did there was no hiding.”

“And your folks have always been supportive?”

“Well my Dad was a little wigged at first, but he came around pretty quickly. My mom gave me the, ‘it’s not what I would choose for you, but if you’re

happy’ lecture and we just went from there. My oldest brother told me I wasn’t allowed to scope out his girl friends.”

Dylan nearly choked on her tea at the mental picture that went through her mind. She grabbed her napkin, managing to keep it in and swallow, with some

effort. “That’s priceless.”

“That’s my brother.” Cat sighed. “I’ve had small run ins with a few small minded people before, but nothing like this. For me it’s just never been an issue. I

didn’t make it an issue, so it wasn’t. Any particular reason why you asked?”

Dylan shrugged. “Just curious, I guess. If I stepped over the line, I apologize.”

“Hey.,” Cat reached over and patted Dylan’s hand. “It’s okay, you didn’t pry. It’s always better to ask rather than carrying around a lot of misconceived

notions.”

“Oh I don’t think you have to worry about that. I’m pretty worldly you know. Been around the block a few times,” Dylan teased, smirking.

Cat returned the smirk. “I’m sure you have.”

The two locked glances for a long moment, and the air between them grew almost palpable. Cat finally cleared her throat and took a sip of water. “So….my

turn. Answer a question?”

“Sure. Turn about is fair play.”

Caught out, Cat asked the first question that came into her mind. “Why are you alone?”

Oh, dear god, I can’t believe I said that!!!

Dylan’s eyebrow crawled slowly up her forehead and stayed there. “What makes you think I’m alone?”

Oh well, in for a penny… “Well, Hunter just doesn’t seem to be your type.”

“And why not? He’s a good guy.”

Because he’s a good guy, you stinker. “I’m sure he is. But he’s so, so…”

“Tall?” Dylan smirked.

“Yeah, tall. Come on.”

“Tan?”