“What should we call you, huh?” She stroked him gently, and he simply collapsed onto her lap and rolled over. “You’re such a pretty boy, aren’t you?” She laughed lightly as she rubbed his belly, running through different names in her mind.
“How about Beau?” She decided impulsively.
He rolled over and sat up abruptly, licking her face.
“You like that, huh?”
He let loose a little bark and licked her again.
“Well, Beau it is.” She smiled, stroking his beautiful soft ears. “You want to go for a ride in the car?” He let out another bark, and she laughed as she pulled her boots on over her thick socks, watching as the adorable puppy tugged at the laces.
“No, little guy”—she lifted him up—“those aren’t for you.”
She was just zipping her coat up and pulling her hat over her head when Theo came back down the stairs and retrieved his own jacket. She pulled out a beanie and handed it to him.
“Here, you’re going to need this. We’re almost into winter, and it’s getting real cold now.”
Helping him to put it on, she tilted her head as she watched him. Damn it, he looked good enough to eat. He watched her with those dark, inscrutable eyes, his inky-colored hair curling at the ends and poking out from under the woolen hat.
Smiling at him, she hooked her bag over her shoulder and lifted Beau into her arms.
“Have you got your keys?” he asked, and she nodded before heading down the porch steps, leaving him to close the door behind them.
There was a thin layer of frost on her car as she pulled out her keys and unlocked it. Handing Beau to Theo, she climbed into the driver’s side.
“We really need to teach you to drive,” she mused idly as Theo climbed in the other side.
“Really?”
“Really.” She chuckled, turning the key in the ignition, listening as her poor car spluttered reluctantly to life. “Although you might be better off if Jake teaches you. I’m not known for my patience.”
Leaving the heater running, she climbed back out and scraped the thin layer of ice from her windshield. By the time they actually pulled out of her driveway and hit the main road into town, she noticed the tell-tale shadow in her rear-view mirror.
“I guess the mayor hasn’t dealt with Chief Walcott yet.” Theo turned to look behind them and noticed the police car tailing them.
“Fuck them,” Olivia told him, seeing the murderous glare on his face. “I’m not going to let them upset me. After all, at the end of the day, there’s a murderer on the loose and a demon in my woods about to break free that’s a helluva lot scarier than those misguided idiots.”
“I wish I could feel that way.” He scowled. “Right now, I’d love nothing more than to plant my fist in Chief Walcott’s face.”
“And I can’t say I wouldn’t enjoy that,” Olivia laughed. “But instead what we’re going to do is head into town and ignore them. The Baileys’ store should have everything Beau needs.”
“Beau?”
“Yes.” She nodded.
He held the puppy up and studied his adorable face as he tried to lick Theo’s hands. “I think it suits him,” he said after a moment.
“After we’ve got him a leash, we can take a walk down Main St. and stop by the bank. I’ll show you how to use an ATM. We haven’t had a chance to do that yet.”
“What’s an ATM?”
“It’s an automated teller machine,” she told him. “You remember I explained to you about your bank account and card?”
“Yes,” he replied.
“You use your card to get cash from the machine. That amount is then deducted from your bank account.”
“Okay.” Theo stroked Beau’s coat absently. “But why do I need cash? I thought you said I could pay for what I wanted with the card.”
