Page 84 of Shadow Justice

Holly wiped her hands on a towel and came around the counter. “Do you really have a place?”

“I really do.” Roni’s smile widened until it broke through the professional realtor act and became pure sisterly excitement. “Close to the shop. Fenced yard. Needs work, but not in a haunted way.”

“That’s reassuring,” Reid grumbled, clearly not reassured.

Roni’s hands went to her hips. “It has character.”

“That’s realtor code for ‘money pit.’”

“Some of it is code,” Roni admitted. “Some of it is original woodwork.”

Holly’s heart gave a hopeful, nervous squeeze. She and Reid had been talking about moving for several weeks, not because they were trying to rush a relationship that had already taken the scenic route through heartbreak, murder, concussion, and espresso training, but because her apartment above Sanctuary had become too small for the life they were building. Too small for Holly, Reid, Blue, Reid’s overnight bag that had slowly become half a closet, and the future they kept discussing in pieces while brushing their teeth or walking Blue after dinner.

They wanted something close to the shop with a real kitchen and a room Reid could use as an office when he worked from home. Space for Holly to breathe when Sanctuary was full of other people’s needs. Most of all, they wanted a fenced yard where Blue could run without treating the leash as an injustice.

Roni had passed her real estate exam the week before and had immediately declared them her first official clients. She wasn’t giving up the doggy daycare. She had explained this at length, with charts no one had asked for. Real estate would be supplemental income, a part-time expansion, a way to use her people skills on humans while still reserving most of her affection for dogs. Mostly, she wanted the income to start her own dream—a dog sanctuary.

Holly loved that for her. She also suspected Roni would be terrifyingly good at anything she put her mind to.

“Can Maya handle the shop for an hour?” Roni asked.

Maya straightened behind the counter. “Maya can handle anything for an hour.”

Reid looked at the line near the register, then at Holly. “I can stay.”

“No,” Holly said. “You’re coming. We’re not buying a house based only on whether I like the kitchen and Blue likes the yard. You get a vote.”

“It’s only fair since you’re going to have to handle the renovations,” Roni said.

“Thank you,” Holly told her.

Reid looked from one woman to the other. “How many renovations?”

Roni just grinned and waved Holly toward the door. “Let’s go, brother, and don’t forget our hero dog.”

Linc rose from his seat, grabbing his coffee and his cane. “I’m coming, too.”

Hank, seated next to him, said, “Don’t forget cards Thursday.”

Linc nodded. “Be prepared to lose again.”

Reid closed the short gap between him and Holly and pressed a quick kiss to her temple, just above the faint line where the stitches had been. He did that often, not in a way that made her feel fragile, but in a way that reminded them both she’d healed. He still watched her too closely when she was tired, and she still complained when he was fussing. They were figuring out the difference between care and fear, between protection and control, between staying close and holding too tight.

Most days, they got it right. Some days, they got coffee and tried again.

Reid held the door, ushering all of them out and keeping an eye on Linc without making it obvious. Blue spotted Roni from the patio and gave a bark of greeting so deep and joyful that two tourists turned.

Roni glanced toward him. “Of course you’re coming. I’d never show a house without the primary decision-maker.”

Roni gave Linc a paper copy of the listing while he and Blue climbed into the backseat of Reid’s truck. “This is only two blocks from my place,” Linc said.

Holly leaned over to scan the sheet. “It’s between you and the shop. A nice central location.”

CB Briggs still occasionally stopped by to see Linc under the guise of checking on the neighborhood and accepting whatever baked goods Linc pretended not to have set aside for him.

“Location is important,” Linc said. “Structural integrity more so.”

Blue immediately rested his head on Linc’s thigh.