As he started down the hill, he thought of the tension between them. A current, a snap of electricity. Question was, would he do anything about it? He wanted to. He wanted to do a lot about it. But she had too much on her plate. She was vulnerable. Though, she hadn't seemed so vulnerable when she let him have it back at the house. Maybe Kate could handle herself just fine.
And maybe, just maybe, he could admit to himself that he was tired of being alone. Tired of working himself to the bone all day and evening, then falling into bed at night so exhausted that he was out as soon as his head hit the pillow. There was a reason he pushed himself so hard. Being exhausted meant no mental drifting before he fell asleep. Mental drifting usually led to nightmares. Sometimes being exhausted worked. Sometimes it didn't. Sometimes the nightmares came anyway.
And sometimes they came in the light of day, like a bloody freight train, fast and clear as day, without warning. He'd have to sit down where he stood. His body would shake and break into a sweat. And Hildie, beautiful brave Hildie—who'd walked in front of his unit sniffing out bombs, looking for trouble, doing her job without fail—would sit down beside him, lean into him, and lick his face until his arm went around her and he calmed down.
She knew. She sensed his distress and she cared. And it burned him that now, when she was obviously in need, he didn't know how to return the favor.
"We're a mess, aren't we, girl?" She glanced up at him, tongue lolling as he scrubbed the fur on her head. "So what'd ya say? You want to work? Give this a try? Maybe we'll find you a friend, too, huh? A brother or sister." She looked at him with such belief and loyalty. "We'll figure it out. You and me."
Chapter 5
Kate spent the rest of the day at the cottage. She took a nap on the terrace lounge chair, made lunch, dipped her toes into the loch, and refilled the Scottish Terrier's plate. 'Terry' had been lurking around her cottage all day, always on the outskirts, seeming like he desperately wanted to enter her realm, but didn't dare. She called to him a few times, set out the plate so he could see it, and waited.
By early afternoon, success.
The plate was on the stone threshold, the door wide open, so the dog could see her inside of the kitchen. As he ate, she sat down on the floor, to appear as un-threatening as possible, and waited. After he finished his meal, she was rewarded with a paw over the threshold and a whine. She knew he wanted to be friends. "Come on, boy. I won't hurt you."
It took a few minutes, but Terry finally came inside, sniffed her hand and knee, and then put his head against her chest. Kate was a goner. She returned his show of affection and was once again reminded of why she loved dogs and why she so often chose animals over people.
"You need a bath, mister." He was thin and matted and stunk to high heaven. "Thank goodness that's my specialty, eh?"
Soon, Terry was bathed, dried, combed, and trimmed. He was thin, but she could remedy that. "And you're gonna have a new friend. A pretty German Shepherd. Her name is Hildie. And she needs a pal. Okay, bud? How does that sound?" She gave him a good scratch behind the ears and decided now was as good a time as any to introduce them.
Terry didn't stray from her side as she closed up the cottage and began walking toward Devin's house. She only made it a few feet down the road before Hamish's old truck rumbled up beside her.
"I see you've made a new friend," he called, leaning his elbow out the window.
"Do you know him?"
"Haven't seen him before."
"He doesn't have a collar. Looks like he's been lost or abandoned. Was a mess before I bathed him."
Hamish regarded the dog for a long moment. "Where ye headed?"
"I'm taking him to Devin's. Another dog, a friend, might help Hildie I think."
"Ah. Fine idea, Kate." He scrubbed his beard, thinking. "But ye willna be finding Dev that way. He's clear across the estate, at the lodge. It's a ways… I can take ye."
Kate smiled. "That'd be great. Thanks, Hamish."
Hamish wasn't kidding.
The lodge was farther than she thought it'd be, and nestled deep in the wooded hills alongside a rushing creek. During the drive, Kate learned all about the estate, the glory days when the lodge was used by "The" MacLaren and his aristocratic friends. As the building came into view, Kate sucked in a breath. "Wow. It's gorgeous. Much bigger than I thought. It looks like Balmorie, the Victorian part of it. Just on a smaller scale."
"She'll be a fine sight when Dev's finished restoring her." Hamish parked out front. "Off ye go, lass. Dev'll be inside. I'm needed back at the main house."
Kate got out and Terry followed. "Thanks for the ride."
He laughed, his eyes flashing with pleasure and something else that looked a lot like mischief. "Anytime, lass."
Kate stepped back and waited for him to pull away, but he shooed her toward the house, content to wait and watch her go inside. With a wave, she called to Terry, and stepped through the lodge's open door. The smell of fresh sawdust hit her first. Flood lights lit the large hall. The floor was covered with canvas tarps and stacks of lumber sat in piles. Despite the construction chaos, Kate could see the lodge was something special.
It was quiet inside. Warm, too. No air conditioning in yet. Eventually, she made her way out back where the land rose into a steep hill covered in dense woods. A waterfall streamed down from the hillside and into a pool before continuing on.
Hildie was on a rock by the pool, resting next to a towel and a pile of discarded clothes.
Devin was in the water.
