Return of the High Fae (Vegas Fae Story Book 1) by Tom Keller

other thing; the most important thing. I may have just
stepped into a world of magic and mystical beings, but the rent really did
still have to be paid. I tried using magic to win a few bucks on the slots but
it hadn't worked, so I figured I was stuck being a P.I., at least for a little
while longer. So, with that in mind, I returned my calls and did what was left
of my paperwork.
    Finishing up just after 4:00, I said goodbye to Hailey and
went to my car. I left the office and headed for the freeway. I guess the
weather report was right after all. By the time I got halfway home, it was
pouring. The sun had already replaced the clouds by the time I pulled onto my
street. Welcome to the Las Vegas rainy season.

Chapter 8
     
    I unlocked the door and went into the house, putting my keys
and cell phone down on the counter. Opening the refrigerator, I grabbed a Diet
Coke and went into the back yard to sit on the patio. It had been a long,
strange week. I still didn't know what to think about it all. So I sat in my
rocking chair on the patio and watched as the last of the clouds parted.
    Charlie, of course, took this as a sign. He walked over and
dropped a ball in my lap. This time I wasn't surprised when I heard
"play," as he sat there wagging his tail. I looked at him in his
usual playtime stance, eyes wide, tail wagging like crazy. I held the ball up
high and watched his eyes follow it.
    "Do you want me to throw the ball?"
    His eyes never left it, but I heard him say
"ball."
    I don't know if "heard" is the right way to put
it. It's more like a wisp of something that appears in my head when he barks. I
tried some other words and ideas out on him. When I was finished, I had clearly
gotten some responses; ball, play, and happy, to name a few. He wasn't a great
conversationalist, but we could communicate. Things seemed to get clearer the more
we interacted.
    Let me clarify something. Apparently, dogs don't think like
humans. I didn't get full sentences from him. What I got were concepts and
images that somehow became words. But who knows? Maybe the longer I worked with
him, the closer we'd get to a real conversation. That made me laugh. I know
I'll be in trouble when I come home and he asks how my day was.
    We played ball for an hour or so. Let's face it. With a dog
like Charlie, we could do this all day and he'd never get bored. The look he gave
me the few times I made a bad throw was interesting. Everyone's a critic and
now my dog is, too. Yep, life was definitely getting weird.
    I sat back in my chair and threw the ball in the pool. I
knew this would give me a few minutes while he swam. Whatever had happened to
me opened up senses I had not been able to access before. I still didn't know
how to go into full mode, like I'd done with the Werewolves, but maybe that
would come.
    Charlie came back and dropped the now wet ball in my lap.
    "I don't know what to think anymore, buddy." I
said as I looked over at him. I ran my hands through my hair and tried to get a
handle on what was happening to me.
    Charlie laid his wet head in my lap and looked up at me.
"Sad?"
    "No." I said, patting his head. "Just confused.
I'm not sure you can help me with this one, but I'm glad you're my
friend." I rubbed his head and just tried to relax.
    Suddenly, Charlie lifted his head up and walked a few feet.
"Friend?" I heard him say. I could swear it was a question.
    "Yes, Charlie, you're my friend." I said as I
watched him.
    He came toward me, getting excited, then trotted to the area
behind the pool. "Friend," he said again, and went to the oak tree
I'd planted in the yard when we'd first moved in.
    The oak was one of two saplings I'd gotten from my Aunt
Cacilia. I planted one in the front and this one in the backyard. They were
saplings from my family's home in Bavaria and I had planted them in memory of
my grandmother. Oaks don't grow that fast, so they weren't huge, but they were
healthy and I loved the way they made the yard look.
    I watched as