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She shrugged. “I’m not asking you to.”
“When the others arrive,” he said, “we should head out immediately.”
“Why?” His restlessness was contagious, but she didn’t have the energy to do more than watch him.
Dale’s eyes roamed the trees beyond them. “I don’t like this. We need to take some time and regroup.”
“I’d rather stay and help put the shelter back together.”
“I know.”
“You’re telling me it’s not an option.” That much was clear from his grim expression.
“It’s not.”
She could tell he wanted to say more and she couldn’t understand why he didn’t. Out of words, spent from her fury, the adrenaline crash was coming on fast. She contented herself with petting Daisy. “Can we at least get Daisy cleaned up and into a safe situation?”
“I suppose. We’ve already missed our flight.”
Ah, back to the cover story, she realized. She didn’t want to know why he’d employed it now rather than earlier, but she went along with it. His body language conveyed a fresh urgency. It seemed he thought they were being watched. For all she knew he was right. “Guess we’ll have to find another way to celebrate.”
“Any ideas?”
She assumed the tilt of his mouth was a half-assed attempt at a smile. “We could adopt a dog,” she teased, wishing her stab at levity had a little more power behind it.
“Wouldn’t that just remind you forever of this terrible day?”
“On the contrary.” She smiled, stroking Daisy’s soft ear. “It would turn this tragedy inside out.”
“Inside out?”
Did the man understand nothing about people or life? Maybe she was just that different from the rest of the population. “No matter what happens, I’m never going to forget today. It will take years, if ever, for the images to fade. Making a positive association with the same day will ease the pain.” His brow furrowed and she could tell he wasn’t getting it. “Call it the ‘Happy Thought’ theory.” She sighed when he gave her a blank look. “Losing my friend will always be the day after you proposed,” she said, playing along with the cover story. “Adopting a dog, expanding our family sooner rather than later, sandwiches the bad memories between two solid layers of good memories.”
“Our family,” he echoed.
He looked like someone had just bashed him over the head, yet this was how he’d wanted to play out the situation. This fake engagement was supposedly designed to keep her safe. “That’s what they call it when two people get married.”
“Your happy thought theory sounds like a very… youthful outlook.”
“Are you calling me childish?”
“No. Idealistic is a better word.”
That wasn’t much better in her opinion, but she didn’t want to argue semantics now. She held out her hands as she heard people approaching. Hopefully it was J.C. with the right officials in tow. “Help me up.” And if they were lucky, she would know if Daisy had any aversion to someone in a sheriff’s uniform. While Dale might not appreciate a dog’s reaction as viable evidence in the case, Daisy’s response could help point them in the right direction.
When he took her hands in his, she shivered with a new awareness. Adrenaline, she reminded herself. A sweet kiss for an audience was one thing—a manageable thing. Or it should have been.
Her attraction for Dale couldn’t go any further than this weekend. If the man didn’t have time for a dog, he’d never make time for a girlfriend.
And she had enough self-respect that she didn’t need to cling or beg for anyone’s attention. Besides, the man seemed to have a tendency for brooding. The trait would likely lose its appeal quickly in a relationship.
J.C. came into view and Daisy wriggled from head to tail. He knelt down and held out his hand for her to sniff and she greeted him, rolling over for a belly rub.
Obviously, she had not been traumatized by a man in a deputy’s uniform. Heather felt more than a small measure of relief at being able to rule out a deputy’s involvement in the dogfighting scheme.
Her brother introduced the coroner and the process of dealing with the body effectively prevented further discussion. After they each gave a brief statement, Heather and Dale were allowed to go back to the shelter, Daisy tagging along in their wake.
Dale was quiet and she was lost in her own thoughts, turning over ideas of how to help the dog.
