“It’s in the blue bag, but you don’t need it. He won’t go far.”
“Okay, we’ll be right back,” he said and opened the door. “Come on, Diablo, let’s go.”
Diablo dutifully followed Dice out of the room. I swallowed my pain pill and forced myself to get up and use the bathroom. When I was finished, I washed my hands and glanced in the mirror, painfully gasping when I saw my face. The minor redness and inflammation from earlier had darkened with significant swelling while I was sleeping. In short, it looked awful.
Sighing, I got back into bed and tried to make myself comfortable. At least I didn’t have to go to work for a few days. Even if I felt like it, there was no way I could meet new clients looking like I’d gone a few rounds with a professional fighter.
Dice and Diablo returned a few minutes later. “You were right. He did his business and came right back to me. I didn’t even have to call him.”
“He’s a good boy,” I said proudly.
“He really is,” Dice agreed. “Do you need me to get you anything?”
“Could you get me a bag of ice? I just caught a glimpse of my face, and this is not okay.”
“Sure,” he said and returned with a bag of frozen peas.
“Thank you.” I put the bag of peas on my face and sighed. “That actually feels good.”
“You should probably ice it for fifteen to twenty minutes every hour while you’re awake,” he suggested.
“With my dad being who he is, I know all about icing wounds. I can’t believe I forgot.”
“It’s understandable, given the circumstances.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“Well, I’ll let you get some rest.”
I’m not sure why, but I didn’t want him to leave. “You don’t have to go,” I blurted. “Unless you want to.”
He smiled softly and walked over to sit in the chair in the corner of the room. “I can stay for a bit.”
“Was there a lot of damage at Irene’s house?”
“It wasn’t too bad. The front door needed to be rehung, and the back door needed to be replaced. Other than that, I believe the rest of it was cosmetic.”
“That’s a relief. I was worried about it,” I admitted.
“I can’t speak for your other clients, but I can assure you that Irene was more concerned about you than her house.”
“She’s been great to work with. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know her.”
“You didn’t know her before?”
“Before what?”
“Before you started working with her.”
“No,” I said slowly. “Why would I?”
“Because your dad and Buck are regular customers of hers. Well, they were when her diner was in Cedar Valley.”
“Oh. I knew they went to a diner several times a week, but I didn’t realize it was Irene’s place. I never went with them, so I had no idea. It’s a small world.”
“You’re right about that.”
“We’ve only talked about me. Tell me something about you,” I said.