“Anna? What are you doing here?” Thelma came out of her garage dressed in a brightly flowered sundress complete with a wide and floppy pink hat. Her knobby knees were bare over flip flops covered with colorful fish drawings.
“Anna?” Georgiana came next, her hair in a bun held together with chopsticks as she hustled across the road to us. She held a cute white kitten with big blue eyes against her denim shirt. “Look what we—”
Before she could get the words out, I saw the disaster to come. Snuffles barked. The cat hissed and escaped from Georgiana’s hands before she could stop it, twisting high in the air and landing on the police car to skid across the hood toward Bud.
He made a grab for it, but the little animal found purchase with the windshield wiper and scrambled up the window to the top of the car.
Snuffles barked enthusiastically and knocked into Bud, throwing the cop against the car. Then the dog leaped up onto the hood, its nails skidding and its legs sliding out from under it.
“Betty White,” Thelma called, her voice panicked. “You come back here right now.”
The kitten howled in protest as the dog tried to lever up the front windshield. Its front paws hit the roof, and the cat wailed, jumping over Bud’s head and straight for me. I yelped and made a grab for the cat, but it zipped by me, followed by the dog.
I jumped for Snuffles, hitting the canine mid-center and locking my arms around his body. We tumbled to the ground and rolled right into the hydrangea bush, fur shoving up my nose. The dog kicked against me, fighting hard, his sloppy tongue against my neck. I held tight, my body heaving. “Knock it off,” I snapped.
The dog struggled.
Then Bud was there, grabbing the dog by the neck and yanking it away from me. “You okay?”
I sat up and picked flowers out of my hair. “No.” Everything hurt. My clothes were once again ruined.
Thelma walked around the corner of the house, the kitten safely in her arms. “Snuffles only goes in the fenced back yard unless he’s on a leash,” she said, rather helpfully.
The dog saw the kitten, yipped, and bunched its back legs. Bud lifted the canine against his chest and strode for the front door, setting the dog down gently and shutting the door. Then he came back to me and lifted me by the armpits, much like he’d handled the dog.
I slapped his hands. “Don’t even think of kissing me.” Nick and Aiden were enough for one week. Now I had a date with Pierce later.
Bud reared back. “I don’t even like you. Not at all.”
Huh. I pushed bark off my pants, wincing as slivers dug into my already scratched palms. “Why not?”
“Seriously?” Bud gingerly reached out to tug a full blossom from my hair. “You’re a disaster. Every time I see you. It’s lucky I haven’t been shot somehow.”
I’d take umbrage or at least be a little irritated if he wasn’t a hundred percent correct. Still. Lately it seemed like most of the men around me were a mite interested. Not that it mattered. I wasn’t looking for romance at the moment, especially since I was a disaster, as Bud so kindly put it.
Thelma reached out her bony hand to pinch Bud’s bicep. “What about me? You have such nice arms.”
“I’m taken,” he croaked, his eyes nearly bugging out. “Nice girl. Been together forever.”
Bud really wasn’t a very good liar.
“Well.” Thelma fluttered her thick eyelashes. “In case things don’t work out, keep in mind that I used to be a gymnast. I’m very bendy.”
My phone buzzed, and I reached for it, but it wasn’t in my back pocket.
Bud shoved branches of the plant out of the way and drew it out. “Here.”
“Thanks.” I took it. “Albertini.”
“Hi, Anna. It’s Celeste. Your documents are ready, and Judge Hallenback is in his chambers, so you can catch him for the next hour or so. He usually works a few hours before heading off to parts unknown.”
“Thanks.” I clicked off just as a rumble of motorcycle pipes ripped through the peaceful community. Several bikes drove by, and I recognized Spider as well as Aiden. My chin lifted, and my body flared wide awake, even with the new bruises. How had they found me? Were they following me, or were they looking for Melvin?
Bud edged his way between me and the bikers, setting his stance wide and his hand on the butt of his gun.
Aiden grinned and opened the throttle, disappearing around the corner.
My lungs seized. I gestured toward Thelma. “Were you two going somewhere?”
