All through our meal, amid the laughter and good-natured teasing, I’d been aware of her, from her cinnamon-and-vanilla scent to the heat of her body. I’d pressed my leg against hers, keeping it there. Touching her both calmed and excited me, if that made sense.
What struck me, sitting in this booth with people whose company I truly enjoyed, was that I hadn’t come here expecting to make friends right away. I especially hadn’t expected or planned to meet a woman who would catch my interest the way Jenny had.
All I’d really wanted was to get the hell out of Chicago, where I hadn’t been able to find peace of mind since Christine’s death. I was beginning to believe I’d found my little slice of heaven here in the valley.
As we were walking out, my phone pinged with a text. “Sean Lamar has been downgraded from critical to serious,” I said after reading it. I’d asked Tommy to keep me posted on Sean’s condition. Turned out Tommy and Sean had been high school buddies, and Tommy had spent today at the hospital, keeping vigil with Sean’s parents.
“That’s great news,” Jenny said.
Brian and Autumn headed to his car. I walked Jenny to hers. “Want to come over to my place?” Now that she was here in front of me, I didn’t want to let her go.
She slid her hands up past my shoulders, wrapping them around my neck. “Have you ever spent an entire day with Autumn?”
“Can’t say I have.” I put my hands on her hips, pulling her against me.
“She’s a force of nature. A whirlwind. An energy suck.”
“I take it you’re telling me you’re tired?” I tried not to let my disappointment show.
“Dead on my feet. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.” I kissed her, loving how she melted into me. We finally came up for air, and I put my hands on her shoulders, turning toward her car. “Go home and get some sleep, Red. I’ll see you on Sunday, if not before.” What I really wanted to do was take her home with me, and even if all I could do was watch her sleep, I’d be happy.
When she was inside her car, I tapped on the window. “Remember, you have permission to call this boy anytime you want.”
Her eyes turned soft. “I just might do that.”
I watched her taillights until they disappeared. As I approached my car, a black dog crawled out from under it. I’d never had a dog, so I was wary of them, especially one as big as this creature. He or she was pitifully thin, and I hoped it wouldn’t come at me. The thing was blocking my car door, and I took a slow step back. The dog whined, then rolled over onto its back. Although I didn’t know much about dogs, I recognized the submissive gesture and saw that it was female.
“Ah, hell.” At the sound of my voice, the dog’s tail swept back and forth across the pavement. I crouched and held out my hand. She flipped back over and stretched her neck, sniffed my fingers, then licked them.
“Ah, hell,” I said again. No way I was going to be able to leave her here to starve or get run over. “Hey, girl.” She scooted closer. I wasn’t sure what breed she was, but she wasn’t someone’s lap dog. And she stank to high heaven.
I stood and opened my car door. She jumped in, parked herself on the passenger seat, and looked at me as if to say,Let’s go.
“You’re really not the girl I wanted to take home with me tonight,” I told her. “The one I had in mind smells a lot better than you, let me tell you.”
I would swear the dog’s mouth lifted in a smirk.
Turnedout she was a purebred Labrador retriever, and according to the animal doctor I’d taken her to the next morning, she was a dog that was as loyal to her owner as they came. “She’s maybe a year old and has been on her own for at least a few months now, if not longer,” the vet had said. “She’s not wearing a chip, and I doubt you’ll find her owner, if she ever had one.”
When the veterinarian had offered to find her a home, I’d put a protective hand on her head. “Then I’ll keep her.” At hearing myself uttering those words, I decided that the mountain air had screwed with my brain. Back in Chicago, if I’d found a starving dog, I would have taken it straight to an animal shelter.
There in that sterile white room, the dog had grinned up at me as if I’d made her the happiest creature on the face of the earth with that statement. Apparently I was a sucker for mountain girls.
I’d left her at the vet’s for the day to get a flea bath and whatever shots she needed. When I’d stopped by that afternoon to pick her up, you would have thought she had won the lottery the way she barked with joy at seeing me. I was kind of happy to see her, too, especially since she no longer stunk like last week’s garbage.
I named the damn—always grinning—dog Daisy because daisies were cheerful flowers, so the name suited her. At home she’d stared morosely down at her empty bowl after chowing down, then lifted her black head and grinned hopefully at me. She could eat like there might not be a meal tomorrow, but I couldn’t blame her. I didn’t know how long she’d gone hungry, and I couldn’t resist pouring a second helping of the food the vet had told me to give her.
“New police dog,” I said the next day to each raised eyebrow I passed as Daisy trotted loyally next to me through the police department. The only person who had anything to say against her was Moody.
“The fuck a dog’s doing here?” he said.
“My office. Now,” I snapped.
When I sat at the chair behind my desk, Daisy parked herself with her back against the wall where she could see both Moody and me. Her chocolate-brown eyes were trained on him, and it was the first time since finding her that there wasn’t a grin on her face. Smart dog.
I pulled an envelope out of my drawer and wrote his name on it, then turned it to face him. “Captain, this is your last warning. The next time you utter a curse word while on duty, you’ll either put a hundred dollars in this envelope or face one day’s unpaid suspension. Your choice.”
