It wasn’t long before Pops promoted him to undersheriff, but Josh still did random tests to prove he’d remained drug-free. He’d continued attending AA and NA meetings. While he made friends, he was careful about who he hung out with, and even though plenty of women around town had thrown themselves at him, he hadn’t wanted a relationship. Then Maya came home after her military service. When he saw her, it was like lightning struck, but the irony of it all was that she wasn’t interested. Over time, that changed, and now he was the happiest he could ever remember.
Amber had almost ruined that for him. When he left Illinois, he swore his past was behind him. But it seemed like it kept finding him and haunting him.
She still wasn’t here and Josh wasn’t going to wait any longer. Putting his vehicle in Drive, Josh turned it around and left. He was done with Amber. He’d only agreed to meet her so that his past demons would stop chasing him. Right now, as far as he was concerned, she was out of his life and he was finally free.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Headlights illuminated the backyard where Maya was supervising Juniper and Finn playing together. Juniper loved Finn and would run circles around him, but the Lab just wasn’t certain that he wanted to play at Juniper’s level. Now the Malinois was down on her front end, butt up in the air, tail wagging trying to entice Finn to reengage and have some more fun.
Finn ran to the back door. Juniper’s pointy ears drooped slightly in disappointment.
“I don’t blame him,” Maya said. “He’s probably exhausted. And you did have lots of fun time at the cabin. You should be tired too. Come on. Josh is home. Let’s go say hello.”
Juniper’s answer was to zoom around the yard one more time and then jump up on the back step. Hitting a patch of ice, the Malinois flew off the step and landed in the snow, leaped to her feet and then raced back up the stairs again. Maya shook her head. Her dog had had a quiet winter, which was why Maya had been taking Juniper to the cabin to burn off energy.
And to also see if her father had left her any more notes. Maya had stared at the picture Eric left her before getting the dogs out. She loved seeing her mother holding her and appearing so happy. Nana had told her that her mother loved her, but somehow, this made it more real.
But going to the cabin so Juniper could burn off energy was important, especially for the survival of the kennel area in the house. Juniper would be happy to tear things up, including her crate, and Finn would be happy to eat whatever Juniper tore up. Maya and Josh had made plans for a nice kennel with plenty of room when they rebuilt the cabin.
“Working dogs,” Maya muttered under her breath, walking inside as Josh came in the garage door. Both dogs ran over to him, tails wagging. Juniper started jumping up and down yipping in joy. Finn sat in front of Josh, staring adoringly.
“I’m glad to see you too,” Josh said to the dogs. Then, looking at Maya, he said, “And no offense to these two, but I’m really glad to see you. I missed you.”
Maya grinned and, with the dogs between them, leaned over and kissed Josh, taking a while before parting, savoring the moment with him.
“I missed you too,” she said. “Let me put these two away.”
Hearing the wordsput away, Finn went to his bed and lay down. Juniper bounded over, lifted a paw, and smacked it down on Finn’s head. Maya knew the Mal wanted to play, but she felt sorry for Finn. “Come on, Juniper. Go kennel.”
Juniper tilted her head and then sighed, taking her paw off Finn, and meandered over to her kennel.
“Way to take your time,” Maya said.
Juniper’s ears drooped some more as she entered her kennel area and then turned her back to everyone, peering over her shoulder until she knew that despite her sulking, Maya wouldn’t be opening the gate.
“You too, Finn,” Maya said, opening the other kennel door. “You’re a working dog too.”
Finn went to his spot without any trouble. Maya figured after his certification and Juniper’s pestering, he was ready to rest.
“How about me?” Josh asked with a grin, exposing his dimple that Maya loved. “Do I have to go kennel?”
“Maybe. Depends,” Maya said with a chuckle as she went over and, without dogs between them, gave Josh a better kiss. Her heart rate increased as she smelled his cologne and his arms wrapped around her. “I missed you. A lot. I figured, rather than go out to the Black Bear Café, we should stay home. I don’t want to leave tonight. I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of picking up our favorites from the café and bringing them home. I’m keeping everything warm in the oven because I’m hungry for other things first.”
“No complaints here,” Josh said, pulling her close and nodding toward the bedroom. “But before we go in there, I need to talk with you. Maybe we should eat first.”
“Sure,” Maya said. “I need to tell you about the latest note from Eric too. I’ll get our food while you fill me in.”
Josh sat down at the table and didn’t speak at first.
“What’s wrong?” Maya asked, now starting to feel concerned.
Josh let out a big sigh. “Amber called me today.”
“What? Why? She’s not back in town, is she?”
“I don’t know. Has she contacted you?” Josh asked.
“No, what did she want?” Maya started plating their dinners.
