Chapter 1
Someone was knocking on the door.
Oh, perfect. Molly was on her hands and knees in the kitchen scrubbing the floor; hot, dirty, and looking a mess, she did not need company.
And who could that possibly be? Her cabin was down a dead-end dirt road with a closed gate. Anyone who needed to reach her would call her cell. No oneevercame to her door. She’d spilled a pitcher of syrup that morning and mopped it up, but the floor was still sticky when she came home from work, so there she was with a pan of hot, soapy water and a stiff brush.
She stood up, reluctant to answer the door. First, she looked like a train wreck, tired from a rough day at work. On the schedule were a hot shower and a cold beer by the lake. Second, she lived alone in an isolated setting and didn’t like strangers at her door. And this would be a stranger. Any friends or employees would have called.
The second round of knocks got her moving. Better check it out. They were polite raps, but the second set was a little louder. She moved quietly, pulling the loaded pistol out of the drawer in the stand by the door, and peering out her discreet peephole. It was a man. A mountain man. A man she’d seen before at theresort but only from a distance. A very hunky mountain man. She’d definitely noticed that part. She’d never seen him in the store or restaurant. He was usually with a loaded mule and a handsome German Shepherd.
What was he doing at her door? He’d knocked twice and backed down off the steps so he was standing in the yard. That suggested he didn’t want his presence to be threatening. Molly slipped the gun back in the drawer and opened the door, stepping out on her porch.
“Can I help you?”
That was when she saw Shadow, her own German Shepherd, sitting respectfully behind the man next to his dog. Two beautiful German Shepherds sitting politely side by side. Molly’s heart sank. Crap. She knew exactly why he was at her door. How could this have possibly happened? Normally, Shadow would have run to her, but she was choosing to sit next to her new friend.
“I’m very sorry to bother you.” His voice was masculine but non-threatening. He seemed genuinely sorry to be there. “I see you’re living behind a gate so you’re probably not expecting people at your door.”
“That’s right.” She was neither friendly nor unfriendly. She knew why he was there but asked anyway. “What’s up?”
“Our dogs have become friends.”
“I can see that.” Molly was upset but tried not to show it. It wasn’t the man’s fault. She hadn’t done right by Shadow. She’d tried so hard to protect her from exactly this situation and she’d failed. Utterly failed. Double crap.
“Did you see them?”
“I’m afraid so. I was tending to business down at the corral and not paying attention to Bear. When I looked around, he was gone. I asked, and a girl pointed down a trail so I went lookingfor him, calling his name. It’s very unusual for Bear to not respond when I call him.”
“Oh boy. What were they doing when you saw them?”
“They were locked up.”
Triple crap. When dogs were tied, it maximized the chances of conception. She said politely with a smile, “The correct term is tied.”
“Tied?”
“Yes, it’s a breeding term for dogs.”
“Well, then, they were tied. It looked very uncomfortable to me. Glad it doesn’t work like that with humans.”
She chuckled. How could she laugh at a time like this? “Yeah, think about the female.”
“Ouch.” Then he got serious. “I’m really sorry. I had no idea your dog was even around. If she’s in heat, Bear would have picked that up a mile away and gone to investigate.”
“She’s definitely in heat. I have an appointment this week to have her bred.”
Mountain man didn’t know what to do with that. Finally, “I’m really sorry.”
She walked down the steps and knelt in front of Shadow, giving her a good scruff. “You’ve been a very bad girl, do you know that?” Shadow didn’t seem unhappy.
She then turned to Bear. “And you’ve been a very bad boy.” She gave Bear a scruff, and ran her hands along the beautiful dog’s neck and back, and around to the chest. He was a magnificent animal. No wonder Shadow was interested. She had excellent taste in everything.
Molly was tired and ready for her shower and beer, but her visitor had information she needed, and she was embarrassed to ask about it right now, so her invitation just rolled out.
“It looks like our dogs want to be together. I was about to have a beer. Would you like to join me?”
He looked surprised, then nodded, “Sure.”
