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“Any so-called agreement you had with Cliff left the farm when he did. So...bye.”
Her heart-shaped face went pale, her brown eyes wide with alarm. Zayne frowned. He didn’t mind pissing her off, but he didn’t like whatever this was. It looked too much like fear. Then he remembered who he was talking to. Andrea Wentworth had never shown fear in her life, as far as he knew.
Her looks had hardly changed at all. Long, straight red hair falling just past her shoulders. Trim and pretty, with nothing out of place. He’d always thought she’d looked like a porcelain doll, and she still did. Then he remembered dolls didn’t have souls.
“I’mbusy, Andrea.”
“Zayne...please.” Her need sounded genuine. Not his problem.
“Go away.”
“Are you still mad about high school?” Anger sharpened her words again. “MyGod, aren’t we both supposed to be grown-ups by now?” She moved around the car and stalked toward him, her blood clearly boiling. Color was rising on her cheeks. “The least you could do is listen.”
The passenger door opened behind her. A small child hopped out of the back seat. The boy was making a beeline for the big red barn, yelling about seeingthedoggy.
“Wait... Hudson! No!”
Oh, triple shit.
He ran after the kid and heard Andrea give a small cry of alarm before she followed.
Duke, the bullmastiff, was snoozing in the shade near the barn doors, unaware of the three humans rushing his way. Duke didn’t like surprises. And Zayne had no idea what the giant dog thought of children. He was fine with his nephew, Anthony, but Luke and Whitney’s child was a baby. Zayne called out for the boy to stop, but it was too late. Duke looked up, blinked and jumped to his feet faster than any hundred-and-seventy-pound dog should be able to move. The boy slid to a halt when he realized he was basically eye to eye with a dog that outweighed him three times over.
“Duke,sit!” Zayne shouted the sharp command.
The dog’s butt hit the ground, but his eyes were on the child in front of him. His massive head moved forward, and Duke took one big slobbering lick up the side of his face with enough force to set the boy back on his heels. The kid started laughing.
“Good dog,” Zayne gasped as he reached them. It hadn’t been a long run, but it had been a fast one—uphill—and his left leg was already telling him it had been a bad idea. He patted the dog’s head and couldn’t help smiling at the goofy look he got in return. “Thank you for not eating the tiny human.”
“Is that supposed to befunny?” Andrea grabbed the boy by the shoulders and pulled him back against her, eyeing Duke through narrowed eyes. “Why isn’t that monster on a chain or something?”
Zayne and Duke both turned their heads toward Andrea.
“Thismonsteris on his own property and knows how to behave.”
“Then why did you run as if you thought Hudson was in danger?”
“Uh...” He realized he’d probably scared her half to death. “Look, your kid should know better than to run up toanydog like that. As far as Duke goes, when this dog barks in your face, it’s enough to scare an adult, much less a baby.”
“I’m not a baby!” the child yelled angrily, yanking his shoulders free from Andrea’s grip. “I’mfour. I’m a young man!”
Zayne’s eyebrows rose, and he looked at Andrea. “Let me guess—he’s yours.”
She grabbed the boy’s collar and gently pulled him back toward her. She wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. “Yes.” She blew out a long breath. “Hudson, I think you should apologize to Mr. Rutledge for scaring his dog.”
Zayne began to cough violently. Andrea was trying to teach her son a life lesson, so he didn’t want to point out the large brindle-colored dog had already lay back down and was almost asleep again now that there was no actual threat.
“Sorry, Mr. Rudd-idge.” Hudson stared wistfully at Duke. “Your dog was just so...special.”
Zayne dropped to one knee to look Hudson in the eye. “Heisspecial. And he’s a very good dog.” As if knowing what was being said, Duke opened one eye and looked up at him. “But notalldogs are good, especially when someone runs up to them. That’s why you should never do that.” Hudson was staring at him with solemn eyes. “In fact, you should always ask for an adult’s permission before touching any animal, okay?”
“Okay.” A mischievous gleam appeared in Hudson’s eyes. “Can I touch your dog again?”
“No,” Andrea answered quickly. “Hudson, I told you that you had to behave today. What you just did wasnotbehaving. Now, Momma needs to talk to Mr. Rutledge.” Andrea turned to Zayne. “I’m sorry about bringing him along, but my babysitter bailed at the last minute. Once he settles in with his tablet and a few games, you won’t even know he’s around.”
Hudson shrugged away from her grip, skipping back down the hill toward the car. Zayne gave Andrea a pointed look.
“I won’t know he’s around if heisn’taround. Take him home, Andrea. Please.”
