Grady ran a hand over the back of his neck. “Let me follow up on the retrievers and then I’ll be over in a fewdays.”
As he hung up the phone, he noticed a car turning up the dirt road and recognized Tami King behind thewheel.
Tami waved at him, then parked her car in front of the rescue center and opened thedoor.
“What can I do for you?” She bumped her way through the door. “Linx said okay on the two retrievers, but you never got back toher.”
“Well, I’m here now, is Linxaround?”
Tami wrinkled her nose and shrugged. “She said she had to take care of some personal business. I thought she was withyou.”
“Me? Why would you thinkthat?”
“Because you’re not at the office this morning, by coincidence.” Tami winked. “Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me. I know you and Linx have the hots for each other, and I’m sure it’ll all workout.”
“Not if she’s keeping secrets from me.” Grady lowered his voice and noticed Tami’s facial featuresfreeze.
“Secrets? What secrets?” Tami fanned herself and crossed over to her desk. “If you’re trying to find out if she’s in love with you or not, sorry, I’m not going to give you ahint.”
“I want to know why she won’t let me step into this cabin.” Grady glanced around at the décor. A comfy sofa sat against the front window and a large, plush doggie bed lay next toit.
A child’s playpen filled with towels and chew toys held a tiny puppy, the one that was on the center’s website and social mediapage.
Could this have been used for a babybefore?
“You’re in here right now,” Tami said, shrugging as if there was no issue. “I hope you find what you’re lookingfor.”
There was no evidence of toys or children’s books, if that was what she was referringto.
“Mind if I have a glass ofmilk?”
“Uh, I’m sure it’s okay,” Tami said. She glanced at the clock. “I have to be goingsoon.”
Grady wandered over to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. Orange juice. Milk. Chocolate milk—the kind kids liked todrink.
But no cookies and no icecream.
He opened the pantry to grab a glass. The only cereal Linx had was muesli and granola. Didn’t children eat sugary cereals with marshmallows andleprechauns?
“What are you looking for?” Tami’s voice closed in on him. “Linx isn’t here. I’ll let you know when she getsback.”
“I’ll wait. Got all day.” He flashed her a charming smile. “She texted me that she wanted to talk, so I’m giving her theopportunity.”
“Fine, but when I have to leave, you’ll have to wait outside.” Tami huffed and stomped back to herdesk.
Was it Grady’s imagination, or was Tami trying to hurry him from the office? In that case, she didn’t know him atall.
The more someone tried to push him, the slower he got. He poured himself a glass of milk and sipped it as he wandered around the living room. The mantel over the fireplace was made of a quarter hewn log, and held familypictures.
“You really don’t want to be caught snooping around,” Tami yelled from across the room. “She could be back any minute. Believe me, you wouldn’t want to get on her badside.”
“As if I haven’t seen every side of her,” Grady mumbled and scanned the family pictures. No children of any age, not one, appeared in any of the pictures. He stopped at the end of the row and picked up a picture of Linx and herdog.
“She’s not going to be happy,” Tami warned as she stalked to hisside.
“What’s this?” Grady brought the picture close and narrowed his eyes. Her dog looked exactly like Sasha—down to the white crest on her chest and the orange-red patches over her eyes—one more pronounced than theother.
“I’m sorry, but I have to leave,” Tami said, grabbing him by the arm. “We’ll be open later once Linxreturns.”
