The Secret (Watty Award Winner) | ✔️

Twenty Four - Talia

Ch24 - Talia

Talia was slowly stirring the aromatic sauce when she heard a soft knock at the front door. Instinctively, she knew it would be Charlie, but couldn't trust herself to believe the obvious. Would she always be so suspicious? Sadly, she resigned to the fact she would be looking over her shoulder for the rest of her life, terrified of being found. Of being caught. What would happen to her if she were? She could never allow anyone to know the secret she suppressed. Ever.

You're being silly! she reasoned to herself. Everyone thinks you're dead!

She stepped out of the kitchen and glanced toward the porch. Charlie stood there as expected, the late afternoon sunshine casting a warm glow around him.

He's so handsome, she thought, shocked by her own admittance. Pushing her unease aside, Talia smiled and waved him in.

"I brought Winston with me," he called out before entering. "I hope you don't mind."

"The more the merrier," she laughed, anxious to become better acquainted with the Labrador. She had always loved dogs, but Steven loathed them — she knew he harbored a secret fear. Dogs didn't seem to like him, either. Whenever Steven was in the presence of a canine, they always growled and bared their teeth viciously, as if in attack mode.

Such smart animals, she mused.

Winston walked into the house and happily trotted over to Talia, his yellow tail wagging behind him. She bent down and scratched him behind the ears, making his rear-end wiggle vigorously.

"You are so pretty!" she whispered to him. "Such a pretty boy!" He lapped at her face with his long tongue, causing her to giggle out loud.

"Hey now," Charlie playfully scolded. "He's a man's man. You're gonna give him a complex calling him 'pretty' like that. He might start to think he's too cute to go hunting."

Talia laughed. "But he is! He's absolutely gorgeous."

"He knows that and I know that, but we like to call him handsome. And rugged. Not unlike his owner," Charlie joked.

Talia rolled her eyes playfully and went to the sink to wash her hands. Returning to the spaghetti sauce, she asked with a sideways glance. "So, you and Winston hunt?"

"Sure do."

"What is there to hunt around here?" she asked, curiously.

Charlie ran a hand through his hair and sat at the table, with Winston settling in at his feet. "Plenty. Mostly I hunt duck, deer and wild boar. And Winston here is an excellent huntsman, especially when it comes to the waterfowl. He's a true retriever — don't let his looks fool you. I couldn't ask for a more efficient hunting partner."

"Really?" she asked, stirring the meat sauce. "That's pretty impressive. Was it difficult to train him?"

Charlie shook his head. "It wasn't too hard. A lot of it's instinct. Winston comes from a strong hunting and champion background."

At the sound of his name, Winston's large brown eyes looked up toward his master and he gave his tail a thump.

"How old is he?" Talia asked, looking over at him.

Charlie's face clouded over momentarily, as if his mind was raking over an unpleasant memory. Then, he smiled and glanced back at her, "He's about two and a half."

It happened so quickly, had she imagined the troubled expression?

Ms. Wilson had told her that Charlie's wife passed away two years ago. She wondered now if Winston had been hers. She didn't press the issue, instead she changed the subject.