Page 17 of Honor ’N’ Duty

“Ashley’s the best neighbor a guy could ask for. You might recognize her. She’s been on the cover of Vogue and Vanity Fair.”

Figures. Kade’s neighbor just had to be a supermodel.

“Speaking of which,” Ashley said, “I have to run off to an evening shoot. Catch you guys later. Bye, Rosa. Nice meeting you, Laia.” With a long-fingered flourish, she waved and strode—no, make that glided—oh-so-gracefully back to her house, as if she were walking off a runway.

“Bye, Ashley.” Rosa’s hand waved back and forth like a metronome.

“Later, Ash,” Kade called out, and Ashley threw him a sultry wink over her shoulder, leaving Laia wondering just how neighborly he was with her.

“Mommy, I like Ashley.” Rosa tugged on Laia’s hand. “Can we eat now?”

“Yes, baby. We just have to cook you a hot dog and wash your hands.” They walked back to the deck where Kade began cooking the burgers and dogs. Smoke circled several times, then settled in a corner.

“Ashley seems very…nice.” And, if Laia guessed correctly, had set her supermodel sights on Kade.

He closed the lid on the grill. “She is nice.”

“She’s really pretty,” Rosa said, then took a slurp of juice from her cup.

“Your mommy’s really pretty, too.” Kade sat next to Rosa on the bench and picked up a pickle slice from the plate, shoving it into his mouth and watching Laia as he chewed.

“I know.” Rosa mimicked Kade and picked up a pickle slice.

Under Kade’s scrutiny, Laia’s face started to heat. Please stop looking at me. The more he did, the more uncomfortable the bench she sat on became, making her shift and squirm.

Smoke seeped from beneath the grill lid, and Kade stood to attend to the burgers and dogs, then disappeared inside the house.

“Do you like Uncle Kade, Mommy?” Rosa popped the pickle slice into her mouth and chewed.

Laia opened her mouth and closed it, drowning in confusion at the many ways her mind tried and failed to answer that one simple question.

Yes, I like him. I more than like him. I always have, but I’m still angry at him. His words on her wedding day had stung and still did.

“Of course I do, sweetheart. He’s your uncle.” And the man I lusted after before you were born.

Lust was one thing. Letting herself get emotionally invested in him would be stupid. He’d already shown that he couldn’t be trusted to be there when she needed him. He’d come this time, but that didn’t mean he’d stick around or that he’d ever be in her life again. For him, this was all about the job.

Kade came back outside, carrying a small plastic container of sanitary wipes that he put on the table by Rosa and a bowl of water that he set on the deck. Smoke scrambled to his feet, again calling attention to his limp as he raced to the bowl and began lapping away.

He popped open the tub of wipes, plucked one out, and handed it to Rosa. “Clean your hands before we eat.”

“Why?” Rosa asked, cocking her head.

“Because it’s procedure,” he answered in a clipped, military-type voice. “Every good little soldier cleans her hands before eating.”

“Oh,” Rosa answered simply and began using the wipe.

“Did you know he was limping?” Laia asked Kade, pointing to Smoke.

“Yes,” Kade said. “You’re very observant. I thought I was the only one who saw it.”

“To me, it’s pretty obvious. I noticed it back at my house.” She waited for Smoke to finish drinking, then knelt in front of him and held out her hand. When he raised his paw, she took it, feeling around gently for swelling or tenderness, none of which she could detect. “He’s what, about three years old?”

“Three years and one month.”

“Too young for bone degeneration, and there’s no swelling or tenderness. I think it’s a ligament sprain in his knee, which equates to a human wrist. Did he have a hard landing recently?”

“Yeah, he did. How did you know that?”