“Damn straight,” Sully agreed and gave Charley a stern look. She smiled at him, and his heart beat faster with love and concern.
Hearing a tiny bark a few vehicles away, Charley saw the puppy’s nose in the window of her Mini Cooper and said, “There’s Wyatt Earp.”
“Sully, you go with Charley,” Owen suggested. “If you give me that gun she found, I’ll take it straight to Burt Groves at the police department.” Sully handed the gun over to his dad, and then turning to Charley, Owen added, “Groves may give you a call because I’ll have to tell him how I came to be in possession of the weapon.”
“Of course,” Charley said. “No problem.”
“Take care of our boy,” Owen said to Charley with a nod of his head at Sully.
“I intend to,” Charley replied and looped her arm through Sully’s.
Owen got into his truck, and Sully slid his hand into Charley’s. With a wave, Owen was already gone as they reached Charley’s car a few spaces away. She carefully unlocked the driver’s door and scooped up the puppy. She held him, and Sully petted his head.
“I think you’re right about him being a Labrador retriever,” Sully said as he took the little puppy from her and scratched his furry head. “He looks exactly like the black Lab I had when he was a puppy.” The puppy licked Sully’s hand, and he gave him back to Charley. As she juggled the puppy into her arms, Sully suggested, “Let’s go home.”
“Good idea.”
Sully offered to drive. Though he fully trusted Charley to get them home safely, after his recent accident, he preferred to be the one behind the wheel. Charley, hugging the puppy, agreed and they got into the car. Sully backed out of the parking space, and once they had exited the garage, he headed away from the hospital. Driving east toward the country, he looked at the gorgeous girl and the cute puppy and grinned.
“Your cabin or my house?” he asked.
“I packed some extra clothes along with Wyatt’s food and dog bowls,” Charley said. Sully detected a blush on her cheeks. “Your house?”
“Yeah,” Sully agreed, reached across the console and petted Wyatt’s head before taking Charley’s hand. He cocked a brow and said, “Now, tell me how you happened to be in your apartment to get Vaughn’s gun and pack your clothes.”
Charley made a playful show of swallowing hard and then flashed him an innocent grin. When he fought back a smile and narrowed his eyes, she told him how she’d thought it would be safe to take a quick shower and grab what she needed at her apartment.
“It was broad daylight after all,” she explained.
“And crimes are never committed during daylight hours,” Sully scolded.
“Well anyway—” Charley held up a dainty hand to placate him as the Mini Cooper sped them toward home. “Right after Rod bailed off the sofa, Leon showed up on his scooter.”
“What?” Sully said. “You had to deal with both of them at once?”
“Yes, then Rod took off telling us both to go to hell.”
“Vaughn throws tantrums like a two-year-old,” Sully said. “I can’t wait to hear what CSPD ballistics says about his gun. What did Lerfeld want?”
“First, he told me that he was working on fixing up a car that belonged to his uncle.” Charley tilted her head and said, “He wanted to show it to me at his house, and I said no.”
“You told me you were on your way when I called you, but Lerfeld was still there?”
“Yes,” she said. “Leon said we needed to talk and asked me if I was serious about you. Apparently, he still has the little crush on me.”
“Thebigcrush on you,” Sully corrected and cocked a brow. “What did you say about being serious?”
Charley squared her shoulders, looked him in the eye, and replied, “I told him yes, I am serious about you.”
Sully grinned at her and said, “I feel the same about you, Charley.”
“Really?”
“Hell yes, really.”
With that and a smile, he turned onto the highway that led to the Triple C Ranches. When they eventually neared Charley’s ranch, Sully spotted the silver Mercedes on the gravel drive. The vehicle was facing the highway. “Well, well. Looks like Vaughn realized he lost his little gun. He must have returned to your apartment, but luckily you were already gone. So, he’s come looking for you out here. Just like my dad said he would.”
“Sully!” Charley sucked in a breath, her blue eyes wide. “What are we going to do?”
