I checked my phone one more time before driving off. No new messages, but the last one still glowed on the screen.
“WATCHING YOU.”
I deleted it and tossed the phone onto the seat beside me. Whoever was playing games would have to do better than cryptic texts to scare me off.
By the time I pulled into her driveway, the afternoon sun was already sinking behind themountains.
Her SUV wasn’t in the driveway. I checked my watch—3:15. She’d be picking up Nora from school about now. I used the spare key she’d given me that morning and let myself in, Scout greeting me with a half-hearted wag before returning to his bed by the fireplace.
“What’s wrong with you, boy?” I muttered, kneeling to scratch behind his ears. He whined softly, resting his head on his paws. He seemed listless, not at all like the energetic dog I’d seen yesterday.
I made a mental note to mention it to Ella, then got to work setting up the security system. I started with the doors and windows, installing sensors that would trigger an alarm if breached. The trail cameras went outside—one facing the driveway, another covering the backyard. Motion-activated lights followed, positioned to illuminate any approach to the house.
I was on a ladder installing the last light when I heard tires on the gravel. Ella’s SUV pulled in, and Nora pressed her face against the passenger window. I climbed down as they got out.
“What are you doing?” Nora asked immediately, staring up at me with undisguised curiosity.
“Putting up some lights,” I said, keeping my tone casual. “So your mom can see better at night.”
Ella shot me a grateful look over Nora’s head. “Why don’t you go check on Scout? He’s been feeling a bit under the weather.”
Nora ran inside, calling for the dog. Ella moved closer, lowering her voice.
“Any problems?”
I shook my head. “All quiet. Almost done with the setup.”
She nodded, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. “Thank you. I don’t know how to—”
“You don’t have to thank me,” I cut in. “It’s nothing.”
Her eyes met mine, steady and searching. “It’s not nothing, Jake.”
Something shifted in the air between us, a current I couldn’t name. Before I could respond, Nora came running back out.
“Mom! Scout won’t eat his treats! And he’s breathing funny!”
The alarm in her voice had us both moving instantly. Inside, Scout lay on his side, his breathing labored. When Ella touched his side, he whimpered but didn’t try to get up.
“How long has he been like this?” I asked, kneeling beside the dog.
“He was fine yesterday,” Ella said, her hand hovering over Scout’s heaving ribs. “Just a littletired. He didn’t eat all day yesterday or this morning.”
I ran my hands carefully over the dog’s body, feeling for injuries or swelling. When I pressed gently on his abdomen, he yelped and tried to snap at my hand.
“We need to get him to a vet,” I said, meeting Ella’s worried gaze. “Now.”
“Is Scout going to die?” Nora’s voice trembled.
Ella pulled her close. “No, honey. He’s just sick. Dr. Miller will help him.”
I carefully lifted Scout, trying not to jostle him. He was heavy, but I managed to carry him to Ella’s SUV and lay him across the backseat.
“I’ll drive,” I told Ella, holding out my hand for the keys. She passed them over without argument, which told me just how worried she was.
The nearest vet was in town, a fifteen-minute drive under normal conditions. I made it in ten, with Ella in the backseat holding Scout’s head in her lap and Nora sitting silently beside me, her small face pinched with worry.
Dr. Miller met us at the door, alerted by Ella’s call during the drive. She was a no-nonsense woman in her fifties who’d treated most of the animals in the valley at one point or another.
