The minute she made a move, he’d be all over that.
Buck cleared his throat. “Do you, umm, have an ETA?”
“Entering the new coordinates you gave me into my computer, now,” she told him distractedly, then… “Bingo. Ishould be there by eight-thirty this morning. Just over seven hours from now.”
“I’ll be waiting.” In actuality, he’d be counting the minutes, and…
Buck would actually make sure he’d be there well before the time she’d mentioned, just in case she found more favorable winds. He didn’t want her to have to twiddle her fingers while looking out for him. And besides, being honest with himself? The anticipation was killing him.
“Bobbie?”
“Yeah, Buck?”
“Please be careful.”
“Always.”
Damn. He hated to end the call, but at nearly two bucks a minute, they’d already racked up at least a thirty-dollar bill. Bobbie, he knew, wouldn’t let him pay for it, and she was trying to be frugal, so…
“See you soon,” he managed.
“Yes. You will, indeed.Allof me,” she added cheekily before the line went dead.
What the…?
Minx.
Of course she’d freaking done that on purpose.
Crap.
Now Buck was wide awake.
Cooper was making little whiny noises in her crate, so he figured, what the hell. He didn’t think he’d be getting back to sleep anytime soon. He might as well take the little bugger for a walk. He could only hope this wouldn’t set a precedent for middle-of-the-night duty calls from his four-legged companion in the future.
Buck swung his legs out of bed, pulled on a pair of pajama pants—since he’d gone to bed nude—then stuck his feet into flip-flops. There was no need to turn on the light. This trip would be a fast in and out, then hopefully he’d be able to lull his brain into catching a little shut-eye before morning.
“You want to go have a little night-time adventure?” Buck asked Cooper as he opened the crate and scooped up the little white furball.
Cooper yipped happily, but squirmed to get down.
Buck laughed.
“How about we wait before I let your paws hit the ground. I don’t feel like cleaning up any accidents in the middle of the night.” Not that Cooper had made many. He was a fast learner, and eager to please, so there’d only been some minor mistakes.
Walking silently to the front hallway, Buck grabbed Coooper’s leash from the rack in the hallway and clipped him in. He opened the door to stand on the top step, and breathed deeply of the clean, fresh Maine air, filling his lungs. Damn, he’d missed the pungent, pine smell he’d grown up with, having been at sea so long.
One more perk of being home.
As soon as Buck’s feet hit the top step outside, he’d let Cooper down. But instead of peeing or pooping right away after scrambling to the grass, the little guy’s nose immediately went low and he started sniffing. And sniffing.
“Can’t find a good spot?” Buck questioned quietly. Or maybe it was a stalling technique on Cooper’s behalf because the night was so fine?
He joined Cooper on the grass, and… The tiny dog raised his head and growled.
A shiver went down Buck’s spine. That wasn’t normal.
When Cooper not only emoted, but his scruff rose and he tugged hard at the leash, Buck went on immediate alert. He picked Cooper up and held him close to his side, ducking themboth down behind a small row of shrubs that grew on either side of the walkway.
