AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She hadn’t gone more than two steps when he said, “Hope?”
She turned back, dread infusing her. Was he having second thoughts? “Yes?”
“You want to meet Trevor?”
She smiled. “I’d like that.”
“This way.” He opened a side exit she hadn’t noticed previously, and she followed him out. He’d removed his hair and beard nets, which meant she could see a swirl of ink peeking above the collar of his t-shirt as he walked. The glimpses she caught made her curious, and she wanted to tug down the neckline to get a better look, but doubted he’d appreciate that.
He stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled. The brown mastiff’s ears perked up and he loped over the garden toward them, kicking up dirt and chunks of grass.
She bent over, hands on her knees, and called, “Here, boy. What a good boy!” When Trevor skidded to a stop and nosed her hand, she scratched behind his ear and laughed. “Aren’t you lovely?”
“Don’t encourage him,” Tione grumped. “That’s the last thing we need.”
“Ooh, but he’s got such a cute face,” she cooed, patting him until his tail wagged so powerfully that he was in danger of knocking someone over with it. She could already tell this was the kind of dog she’d always wanted. Lovable, adorable, and big enough to scare away the bad guys.
“I have to do the lunch service,” he said abruptly. “Don’t let him walk all over you.”
“Okay.”
“There are another three of them around here, somewhere,” he told her.
“Another three…?”
“Dogs,” he explained. “Pixie, you’ve already met.”
She frowned, trying to recall. “The Chihuahua who wanted to pick a fight with me when I arrived?”
“Yeah. The other two are Bella and Zee. A border collie and a bull terrier cross. If you see them, they’re friendly.”
“Thanks.” Sanctuary just got better and better. “You head in, I’ve got things under control out here.” She patted Trevor. “We’re going to be the best of friends.”
He might have smiled, but it was hard to tell. His expression seemed to change so little. These days though, she was acutely aware of even minor alterations in a person’s mood. She didn’t think he trusted her, but he didn’t dislike her either, and if she wasn’t mistaken, he was pleasantly surprised by her reaction toward Trevor. He swung around and returned inside, shutting the door behind him.
She scanned the garden and spotted a chew toy beneath a naked rose bush. She went over and no sooner had she picked it up than Trevor grabbed the other end and yanked hard enough to topple her off balance. She caught herself only a moment before she hit the ground. Her heart gave a painful thud. Man, that would have hurt.
“Maybe I’m not up to tug-o-war yet,” she murmured, and looked for an alternative. There was a tennis ball on the deck of Tione’s cabin. She strode over, Trevor on her heel, and grabbed the ball, which she lobbed as far as she could with her right arm. The ribs on that side were less sore. She suspected they were only bruised, not broken. The dog bounded after the ball, but before he could reach it, a shaggy black and white shape darted in front of him and snatched it from the ground. The border collie.
Megan couldn’t help but laugh at how disappointed Trevor seemed, big head drooping until his ears brushed the ground. He turned back to her, and she could have sworn his expression was hopeful.
“Sorry, boy,” she said. “No more balls over here.”
The border collie had stopped on the far side of the garden, and Trevor eyed her as if he were considering giving chase. She dropped the ball, taunting him. Trevor took a step forward, and the border collie took the ball in her mouth and danced backward. Megan was about to go after her when the guttural growl of an approaching car made her heart stop for what seemed like forever. When it started again, it thudded so hard she half expected it to beat right out of her chest. She recognized the sound of that particular engine. It was the rough purr of a flat-plane V8 Ferrari. The kind Seeley James drove.
But what were the odds it was him? Any number of people might drive a Ferrari like that. Still, the coincidence was a little too much.
The engine growled louder, and she dashed behind the cabin and peered around the end. A moment later, the noise quieted. She started counting and had reached twenty-three when the doorway from the parking lot into the lodge—which she could just see from her vantage point—opened inward, and Seeley James entered the foyer.
5
One minute Tionewas watching Hope play with his dogs outside, the next she was ducking for cover behind his cabin like the devil himself was after her. Opening the window, he leaned out and looked around. No one else was in sight.
“Excuse me,” a man called behind him, and he turned, spying the guy in the doorway between the dining hall and the foyer. “Does anyone work here?”
Frowning, Tione headed over. The man’s shoulders were thrown back, his barrel chest straining against the fabric of a gray suit. The kind of suit he knew from experience cost at least five figures. This was a man who wanted to look important. Was this who Hope was hiding from?
He offered a hand, and noticed the man glance at his tattooed forearms with scorn.
