“Thanks, Tommy.” Standing, she pressed a kiss to her brother’s cheek then made a beeline for the backyard.
Bailey ran in a large circle around the fenced-in back yard.
Ollie laughed and threw a tennis ball, clapping his hands as the dog let the ball hit her in the face then bounced after it in the corner of the lawn. “She’s so silly!”
Cody chuckled. “That’s why I call her a dufus.”
“Hey, you two, I hate to break up the fun, but Tommy and I are finished. He wants to come out and play with you and Bailey for a little bit if that’s okay.”
“Bailey will love that,” Ollie said.
Cody turned for the deck steps. “I want to have a word with him really quick. Keep throwing that ball or Bailey will freak out.”
As he passed her, Katherine grabbed his shirtsleeve. “Can that wait? I’d love to have a conversation.”
Uncertainty danced in his eyes. “Let me get this out of the way first, then we can talk. If that’s what you want.”
“I need to talk, and I need you to listen. You know, every woman’s ideal situation.” She winked to let him know she was teasing.
A small half-smile cracked through his gruff expression. “Sounds about right.”
“Be quick.” She resisted the urge to press her lips to his, something that had become as natural as breathing.
He dipped his chin then jogged the rest of the way inside.
“Mom, come watch Bailey,” Ollie said. “She doesn’t know how to catch a ball.”
Pasting on a wide smile, she erased the distance to where Ollie sat in his wheelchair. “All dogs know how to catch tennis balls, silly.”
“Uh-uh.” Ollie shook his head. “Watch.”
He tossed the ball high in the air.
Bailey jumped up on her two back paws, her nose sniffing in the air as if trying to find the ball. The ball whizzed toward the ground and bopped her on the head. She barked, bounced around like a lunatic, then chased down the ball before carrying it back over to Ollie.
“See,” he said on a giggle. “She can’t catch.”
Katherine couldn’t help but laugh. She’d feel bad for the pooch if Bailey wasn’t standing with what could only be described as a smile and a wagging tail. “Maybe you threw it up too high. She likes to chase it better. Throw further for her so she can run more.”
“Okay.” Ollie drew his arm back and hurled the ball like a missile.
Bailey raced forward but was forced to stop at the fence and watch the ball land amongst the trees. She leapt up and down, barking like crazy.
“Oh, no. Mom, you have to grab the ball,” Ollie said. “She might jump over the fence and run away. Hurry!”
Although the dog had a great vertical, Katherine doubted Bailey could get her doggy butt all the way over the black wrought-iron fence. But the worry in Ollie’s voice hurried her to the gate. “All right, but then we’ll go back to teaching her how to catch. I’m not the one supposed to be playing fetch.”
She unlatched the gate and made sure to close it behind her. The last thing she needed was Bailey following her and getting lost, defeating the whole purpose of her coming back here in the first place. Fallen leaves crunched at her feet and the sun disappeared as she stepped between the large trees.
The snapping of a twig reached her ears and sent her heart racing. Goosebumps erupted on her arms and the hairs on the back of her neck stood straight up. Screw the ball. Cody had more in the house. He could come get this one later.
She turned to hurry toward the house. A hard grip on her arm pinned her in place.
“Not so fast,” a man said, his deep voice shooting bile up her throat. “You’re staying here with me. Don’t try to run. I wouldn’t want to hurt your little boy.”
19
Agun.
