Chapter 32

“I wasn’t pretending anything, Baily. Ask Ginger.”

“Ask Ginger?” Baily picked up my food dish. “Suddenly, you think Ginger speaks or even likes you?”

“Maybe he does. I like him. I like…never mind.”

Baily scraped what little food I’d left into the trashcan, and then went back to the sink. “Don’t play the victim, here, Del.”

“I’m not playing. The more I thought about it all, I decided you were likely pushing me away for the very same reasons I doubt myself, a lack of self-confidence, scary feelings, heartbreak, uncertainty…But this morning, now, it feels like something completely different.”

“Well, some people are just better with animals than they are with people, that’s all. I know I am.” Baily shut off the water and dried his hands. “I guess the same holds true for you. As for all this, the house, the business, the money, take it. Take it all. I’ll tell the lawyer I don’t want a thing. I’ll tell him by email or phone or whatever, because I’m out of here.”