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"You keep asking that question," Manny said He sounded amused "Ask the butler"
"I aned than offended "I thought you ht want to see him, Bryn And I was a bit afraid that JaneWell, you understand The rest of the estate dogs wereyou quite a bit I thought it orth bringing him He’ll stay on the plane, of course"
"Did you have to put down a pet deposit?" she asked, and laughed through her tears "Oh God, thank you, Liam Thank you I--I really needed hi that hadn’t becoh she knew that he could tell she wasdifferent But he was sensitive to her, and she knew that he was an excellent judge of character--her character If she found hi at her with doubt, she would need to check herself
And if he growledshe’d need to stop
"Stupid dog," she whispered, and rubbed his ears He made a contented sound in the back of his throat, almost like a purr, and flopped limply across her lap "God, I missed you, mutt"
He opened one eye to look at her, as if to say that he hadn’t missed her at all
Liar
The takeoff was bumpy, but once the plane was in the air the ride was se still looked clear, but as the plane moved north, snow appeared--patchy at first, and then solid, then hardpacked Not winter yet, but winter was co with an iron, icy fist to smash all the unprepared fools who tried to cross it
Like her
This will be fast, she told herself We land; I find this scientist; I grab the stored saone and headed for San Francisco She had no doubt that Manny was right that his trail was clear--he was a past master of evasion and misinformation--but they’d left Reynolds behind, and Reynolds could be a fatal problem
"Patrick," she said, "Dr Reynoldswe should have brought hiave her a long, unreadable look, and then put his head back against the seat and sighed "Do you want ave the order I didn’t want you to be responsible for it Youbonded with him; I could see that You felt sorry for him, and I understand that But I couldn’t leave hi the way"
She sat upright, pulling against the seat belt Mr French huffed in agitation and had to adjust his comfortable slouch on her lap "What did you do? Patrick?"
"What you would have done if you’d been thinking straight," he said "The driver has what he needs"
"You had hi, or like such a betrayal; it shouldn’t have, really She’d ; it was exactly what she knew Reynolds wanted What he’d asked for But solared at him with so much fury that she felt Mr French stir in her lap and put his paw on her hand, clearly trying to get her attention She patted him, and felt some of the fury recede "Patrick, why didn’t you--"
"You think I had hiave her a very strange look "I made sure the driver had a supply of Returné and took hiht need his infor What I ht, of course, and in retrospect she couldn’t understand why she’d thought so intensely about ending his pain, instead of getting him a palliative treatment--another shot of Returné It wasn’t a cure, but it would stop his suffering
But she knew that just delayed it, and that was the proble off the inevitable
"I just wanted it to be over," she confessed, and concentrated on petting Mr French’s warm, short fur "For hientle and soft, and was alines He took her other hand "Bryn"
"Maybe," she whispered "Maybe I did mean that I just--it’s so much At first it’s adrenaline; it’s determination; then it just becoet this moment, this mooing to become, andI don’t want to be that I love you, but I can’t be that We’re fooling ourselves that this is soed Death isn’t a disease, Pat It’s what cures it"
He’d paled during that short speech, and his hand had tightened on hers "Don’t," he said "Please don’t"
"I’et better, Pat," she said "I wish I could, but we both kno this will end It isn’t just the PTSD that accumulates from all thisresurrection It’s more It’s worse Ittwists what I am, inside Like it did Jane Promise me--"