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“Guess what Booker said we should really look into if we are serious about our security?”
Oh, shit.
I knew where this was going.
Because there was a golden rule in home security.
Cameras were great. Window grates, alarms, panic buttons, panic rooms, even a personal firearm.
But if you really wanted to deter someone, what you needed was a dog. A big one with a big bark.
“A dog! He said nothing scares people like a dog does!”
“It’s not necessary,” I butted in, giving Maeve an out if she wanted it, figuring it was probably easy for someone as larger-than-life as Triss to gently bully the softer Maeve into doing what she wanted.
“What? Are you kidding? Maeve has wanted a dog for freaking ever,” Triss said. “She was just worried about the garden. But Booker said that his guys could put up fencing too, if we want. You know, the low stuff. Just to keep a dog out. And we won’t be getting a puppy anyway. An adult, something chiller and trained. Hopefully less destructive. Come on. You know you wanna get one!”
“I, ah, maybe,” Maeve said, nodding.
I could nearly hear her thoughts then. Figuring out schedules and how close they were to a vet. All that practical shit. Because, whether she would admit it aloud or not, Triss was the impulsive one which forced Maeve to be the practical and responsible one.
While, yes, Triss would absolutely love the dog. Play tug and fetch with him. Dress him up for Halloween. Take Christmas card pictures with him. It would absolutely be Maeve who would be feeding him and cleaning up the yard and remembering to give him his heartworm pill and the tick preventative.
“If you decide, Remy and Lark will be able to hook you up with the perfect one,” Alaric said.
“Alright,” Booker said, clapping his hands. “My guys are going to do some measurements, and then we are going to go back to the office and work up the plans, so we all know what we are doing. We will get to work first thing tomorrow.”
“Thank you so much,” Maeve said, giving him a big, grateful smile.
“Don’t mention it,” Booker said, shrugging. “Any questions?”
“I think we’re set,” I said. “Go on. We don’t want to keep you from Ayanna and the kids any longer than necessary.”
“She’ll appreciate it,” he said, saying his goodbyes to the girls, then heading out as his men did all the measuring, then left as well.
“So, any idea what Eddie-man is cooking up tonight?” Triss asked, looking around.
“He’s not,” Maeve said, making her sister’s brows shoot up.
“What? Why not?”
“He’s working.”
“Well, you know what I am hearing then? Ordering in pizza and Chinese then having a party.”
“We aren’t partying right now,” Alaric reminded her. “Not with shit up in the air.”
“Honey,” Triss said, shooting him a smile, “anywhere I am is a party.”
“Fair enough,” he agreed, nodding, indulging her because it was kind of the truth. “I’ll text the guys and let them know,” he added. “And invite Teddy too.”
At the mention of his name, a horrified look seemed to cross Maeve’s face. But it was gone so fast that I could have sworn I imagined it.
I must have imagined it.
It wasn’t like Maeve could have possibly had anything to do with Teddy…
CHAPTER TEN
Maeve
There were a lot of things for my mind to fixate on during the drive back to the clubhouse.
Like Donovan going down on me.
Like all the upgrades being made to the house, and how as soon as they were finished, we were expected to move back in as though nothing had happened, like we weren’t scared out of our minds still. Or, at least, I was.
Like how much Triss was going to bug me about the dog. And how much I also wanted one, but was a little overwhelmed by what kind of a life change that might be.
We’d never had a dog.
Our parents had promised us one the year that they’d passed. But then my grandfather had been allergic. And we had the bird to raise.
Admittedly, he was no dog. But he was a responsibility. One I had been wholly in charge of because Triss, and our grandmother, were cut from the same cloth. Loving, but flighty. They would remember to talk to the bird every time they passed his cage, but seemed incapable of remembering to fill his food bowl or washing out his water dish. That sort of thing.
So while Triss would love on the dog, he or she would be my responsibility.
And I needed to make up my mind about if I was ready for that or not.
But I couldn’t seem to focus on any of those things.
Because Alaric had said something that had made my blood run cold.
Teddy was being invited to the clubhouse.
Teddy.
As in the Teddy.
As in Theodore Kane.
The man who had sent very fancy lawyers in my direction. Ones who had politely, yet firmly, demanded I take his name off of my website. Or else.
