When they got to Karin’s house, he was happy to see he liked her cozy little bungalow. It wasn’t big, but it was well-decorated and had a nice backyard for Babs. He greeted the dog with some scratches on the back of her neck while she danced around begging for his attention. “You’re lucky Buzz isn’t here. He’d be hogging all the attention, girly.”
Babs didn’t seem to mind that the German Shepherd hadn’t come along, but Karin admitted that she’d been missing the dog.
“Don’t you miss him?” she asked, putting a forkful of chocolate cake into her mouth.
“Yep.” He admitted it, but he was a little embarrassed by the fact. “I never thought I’d become so attached to an animal, much less one that technically belongs to the police force.”
“But he stays with you, right? I mean, for all intents and purposes he is your dog.” She seemed to understand why his connection with Buzz was so intense.
He took a sip of the dark, rich coffee, letting the flavor glide over his tongue. “Yeah, that’s why it’s so tough to separate it sometimes between personal and work. Luckily, Buzz doesn’t seem to have the same issue. He knows that when I put on the uniform, I’m at work. When that harness goes on, he’s at work. Playtime is over. Snuggles are over. He can turn it on just like flipping a switch.”
“It’s amazing how focused he is when you’re at work. Even in the vet clinic I could tell he knew what he was supposed to be doing. How did you get him like that?”
He thought for a minute. “Honestly, it wasn’t me. It was the trainers. They do awesome work and I was so appreciative to have them as a resource for Buzz, especially when I’d first gotten him. Every dog is different, so I wanted to make sure that I was doing the very best I could for him to ensure he flourished in this job. I owe him that. I owe him everything. He’s the best partner I’ve ever had.”
She swallowed. “Is it very dangerous? I mean, I know it must be. But are you careful?”
“It’s dangerous,” he admitted, trying to think of what he could say to play it down. “But we go through intense, rigorous training to make sure that we’re prepared for every situation that comes. We know what we’re expected to do, and that training kicks in subconsciously anytime we feel like we’re in danger. Buzz is trained to do the same. He knows what to do with bullets, and bombs, and in all sorts of precarious situations.”
He thought back on his last few months with the force. Reno was a city that brought in some unsavory sorts. Drugs were all over the place. His main job took him to the airport which tended to be a little less dramatic, but he’d had a brush or two with some difficult situations. And it was situations like those that made him want to enjoy his life to the fullest. He wanted to live without regrets, without missed opportunities.
Nick moved to the couch to sit beside her, wanting her to understand and feel the sincerity in his words. He wanted to look at her to make sure she comprehended that while he was in danger, it wasn’t something she should worry over.
“Karin, I’m careful. I’m well-trained to deal with anything that could come my way. You don’t need to be afraid for me. You need to trust that I can do my job and do it well, just like I trust Buzz with every fiber of my being. If I get scared, it affects him, and I want to make sure that I give him the confidence to do his job.”
She thought for a moment and then nodded. “I see what you mean, Nick. From what I’ve seen so far, if there was a situation that required a cool head, quick logic, and unfailing loyalty, you’d be the perfect man for the job. Even now, I’d trust you with my life, so it’s no wonder Buzz trusts you with his. I think it’s amazing what you do for this city.”
He didn’t even try to control the urge that made him lean forward to kiss her. He tasted her cake and the coffee and something more feminine that was just her. She responded to his kiss, and he pressed into it, absorbing the very essence of her. His arms surrounded her, pulling her even closer. Then he relinquished his hold and let her lean back. Smiling, he lightly touched her cheek.
Maybe it was the talk of danger or maybe it was just the intimacy of the moment, but he suddenly felt like he couldn’t get enough of her. He wanted her closer and share all his thoughts then hear hers in return.
He knew that two dates and a few phone conversations weren’t enough. This wasn’t a flash-in-the-pan thing. This wasn’t a date with someone he didn’t have a connection with. He wanted, needed, to know her on a deeper level. He pulled her closer, and before he could stop himself she was practically in his lap.
Realizing he’d taken it too far, he stopped. This wasn’t who he was and he knew the same about her. He blinked quickly. “Look, Karin. That wasn’t appropriate. I should have—"
She was blushing and she looked down as she leaned back. “I’m sorry, Nick, but I—”
He reached out and grabbed her hand. “No. You don’t need to say you’re sorry. That was all on me. I’m sorry it got out of hand. I just… Well, I’m not sure why I let that happen. I don’t want to scare you away, Karin.”
Her face softened, and she reached out a hand to his handsome face. “I’m not sure you could scare me away anymore, because I’ve been scared this whole time. I just need to feel and let this happen. I owe it to myself to see where this goes with you and me. I can’t be scared my whole life. I need to be strong and take a chance here.”
He felt his chest swell with hope. But he knew that he couldn’t test his limits any further tonight. “I should probably get going.”
Her face fell. “Oh, okay.”
“Karin, I’m not leaving because of what just happened, well what we just stopped. Um, I am, but not in the way you think. I just don’t want to move too fast and we both have values that are important. We both need time. And I also need to let Buzz out.”
She laughed. “Well, I guess that’s a good reason. Both are good reasons.”
“But this isn’t over,” he said, his voice low. He stood up, holding out a hand to pull her up next to him. He walked over to the door but turned before leaving. “You’re something really special, Karin Boling.”
She smiled, and he saw her heart in her eyes for a moment. “I feel the same about you, Nick.”
Sighing, he reached out and kissed her again, a soft, sweet kiss he knew he’d remember forever. She was becoming very difficult to say goodbye to. He hoped that one day he wouldn’t have to.
11
From the moment Karin woke that morning, she was already excited for her call from Nick. He seemed to call her every day now. On the days when he didn’t, she longed for the familiarity of his voice. She knew his call would not come until lunch time or possibly even later at night, but she still was anxious to hear his voice.
When she glanced over at the alarm clock on the bedside table, she realized that she was going to have to wait a while for today’s call, whenever it came. It was six thirty, fifteen minutes before her first alarm. At least she would have a little extra time to get ready before Dana turned up for their morning jog.
As though she sensed that Karin was awake, Babs appeared at the bottom of the bed, jumping up like a jack-in-the-box to race down the bed and jump on her.
“Whoa, good morning, girl.” Karin laughed as she pulled her dog in for a quick cuddle, nuzzling her face into Babs’ thick, white fur. Babs responded by covering Karin’s face and arms with wet puppy dog kisses. Karin couldn’t help but giggle at the ticklish sensation they caused on her skin. “Someone is extra happy to see me this morning.”
After allowing Babs five minutes of attention, Karin playfully pushed her away and jumped out of bed to throw on her workout leggings, a matching purple sports bra, and a loose-fitting white tank top. Slipping from the bedroom in her bare feet, she headed for the bathroom to give her face a quick rinse and brush her teeth. Her shower would need to wait until after she’d gotten hot and sweaty on her jog. Babs appeared in the doorway, wagging her tail, and when Karin didn’t move towards her right away, she began to bark.
&nb
sp; “Shush, Babs,” she scolded gently. “You’ll wake the whole neighborhood. I know you’re ready to go for our run but Auntie Dana isn’t here yet.”
With that, she stepped over the small pooch and went down the hallway to the living room that adjoined the kitchen. She was just about to flick on the coffee maker when the doorbell rang.
“Hmm.” Karin glanced over at the door, confused. “She’s early. That can’t be a good thing. She’ll be grumpy if she didn’t sleep well and had to get up early.”
With a shrug of her shoulders, Karin began to make her way towards the front door. Babs was hot on her heels, grabbing hold of the leash that was hanging off the edge of the shoe rack beside the door. Babs’ tail was already wagging, telling Karin how excited she was for their morning run.
The little Westie sat patiently as Karin pulled open the door and found Dana standing on the other side. “What’s up? You’re never early!”
Dana sighed, frustrated. “Girl, I am so in need of this run today.”
Karin laughed. “Oh boy. What’s going on? Are you sick or is it something else?”
Dana looked flustered as though she had already run all the way down the street to get to Karin’s house. Even poor Peanut was panting as though she’d been forced the whole way, her eyes still blinking slowly as though she was half asleep. Peanut didn’t enjoy their morning jogs as much as Babs did.
“Your boyfriend’s friend is on my very last nerve.” Dana scowled, clearly annoyed.
“Nick isn’t my boyfriend, if that’s who you’re referring to.” Karin protested automatically. However, almost immediately after she found herself thinking, but I wish he was. She quickly pushed the thought away, knowing that she was falling all too quickly. A few weeks was not long enough to invest emotionally with Nick even though she felt she already was.
“He may as well be,” Dana said, rolling her eyes. “Can we get on with this run, so I can let off some steam?”
“Just let me put my shoes on and grab my water bottle.” Karin forced herself not to roll her own eyes. She knew she was going to have to put up with a rant on whatever it was that Jack had done to upset her so much. She didn’t understand why Jack and Dana couldn’t admit they were actually very similar. Even Karin could tell that it was the source of their displeasure with one another. She suspected that Dana and Jack were both suffering from a little attraction even though neither one wanted to admit it. “Put Babs’ leash on for me, would you?”
“Sure,” Dana responded as she stepped into the doorway, holding her own dog’s leash awkwardly since Peanut refused to move an inch. Karin grabbed her sneakers from the shoe rack and leaned against the wall to pull them on and tie them up. Then she headed back into the kitchen, filled up a clean water bottle, and headed back out to take Babs’ leash from her best friend.
As soon as they left her house, Karin locked the door behind her and they began to jog as they always did. “I didn’t even realize you guys were talking! How did that happen without me knowing about it?”
Dana just grumbled under her breath. Karin decided to go about it a different way, knowing how Dana hated mornings. And Jack, apparently.
“What did he do?” Karin wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer. The closer she got to Nick, the more she felt like she was in the middle of a firing squad when it came to Dana and Jack’s love-hate relationship.
“I was in the grocery store last night, minding my own business, when he appeared with all that over-confident charm and decided he was going to help me to my car with my bags,” Dana said, enunciating the words as though it was the most inappropriate thing someone had ever done.
Karin couldn’t help but break out in laughter. She found it so funny that she had to stop and catch her breath. Dana didn’t seem to find the humor in it. “Oh, come on, Dana. Is that really such a bad thing? He’s just being a nice guy!”
“Karin, this is not a laughing matter,” Dana grumbled. “You know how much it annoys me when men seem to think women need their help. Like we can’t carry our own shopping bags to our own cars that we pay for ourselves with our highly paid jobs that are just as good as theirs.”
“Wow. That’s a big jump, isn’t it?” Karin put up a hand like she was backing away from a fight. Dana had always had strong opinions about guys that didn’t respect a woman’s strength, but helping to carry groceries wasn’t exactly trying to take away the right to vote. “I’m sure he was honestly just trying to help. I’m positive he didn’t mean anything negative by it. It sounds like Jack was just trying to get on your good side.”
“That’s exactly my point!” Dana threw her arms up in the air as though she was growing even more agitated. Clearly ranting was not easing the steam that had built up inside her, but Karin avoided pointing that out to her. Dana continued, “He’s being way too over-confident. Way too familiar. Trying way too hard. He thinks doing one nice thing is going to erase what I think about him. He thinks he can get whatever he wants if he’s charming.”
“What exactly do you think he wants from you?” Karin asked, actually curious at what Dana’s answer would be. She and Nick never really talked about Dana and Jack, so she didn’t really know what was going on.
“I think he wants me. In fact, I’m pretty sure of it based on his behavior.” Dana gave a quick nod of her head and jutted her chin out.
Karin couldn’t help but laugh at that. It appeared that Dana was starting to see the humor in this. “Oh really? And you think his over-confidence is out of control?”
Dana and Karin started to giggle together. Karin picked up the pace again and Dana and Peanut dropped into rhythm beside them.
“Oh, shut it! Being over-confident in front of your friends is nothing like being over-confident to a total stranger. Especially one you are trying to impress.”
Karin fell silent for a moment, listening to the padding of their feet. Finally, she said, “I guess I understand what you’re saying, but what exactly makes you think he’s trying to impress you?”
“What other reason could he have for being so overly and obviously charming towards me?” Dana looked over and shrugged.
“Maybe that’s just him.” Karin tried to alleviate some tension. She didn’t want her own relationship with Nick to take a hit if their best friends decided they really hated each other. “Some guys were just raised that way.”
“I don’t buy that for a second,” Dana said as she shook her head. “Jack Sondham is a man with an agenda and I don’t like it.”
“Just give him a chance, would you?” Karin asked with a sigh.
Dana looked over hesitantly, but didn’t respond.
“Please? For my sake. It would make things a whole lot easier for me and Nick if you guys could get along.”
“Fine, but I’m not making any promises that I won’t claw his eyes out if I catch him gawking at me with those googly eyes of his.”
Karin couldn’t help but laugh as she remembered how she’d caught Jack looking Dana up and down several times during their picnic in the park a few weeks earlier.
“Maybe you should take your own advice for a change and give the guy a chance,” Karin suggested. “He obviously likes you.”
All that garnered from Dana was a loud snort, but Karin could see that the wheels were turning in Dana’s mind. Perhaps she was going to get somewhere with easing the tension after all.
12
Karin said goodbye to Dana after finishing their run. She closed the front door to her house before she headed into the kitchen to grab a mug of coffee. Not long after, she heard the doorbell ring. Giving Babs a confused look, she padded softly back into the hallway and headed back to the door.
“I’m guessing you forgot to tell me something.” She spoke as she opened the door expecting to find Dana standing on her doorstep.
Her heart skipped a beat when she saw not Dana, but her ex-fiancé standing close to the door. He looked up from the point he’d been staring at on the painted door and smiled when he s
aw her gaping back at him.
“Brad? What are you doing here? In Reno?” She couldn’t believe her eyes. But here he was, standing before her. The urge to reach out and touch him just to see if she was going mad was overwhelming. She gripped hold of the door handle just a little tighter to control herself.
“Karin, it’s great to see you again.” She saw a flash of uncertainty in his eyes, but he quickly recovered with a bright smile.
He was the complete opposite of Nick in appearance. Brad had bulky shoulders, a thick neck, and he was about five feet ten inches tall. Karin found herself wondering instantly why she was even bothering to compare the two. There was no comparison at all and more importantly there was no reason at all to compare them.
It’s a natural thing to do, she told herself as she mentally shook her head. But just stop it right now.
“Look, Brad, it’s really nice to see you, too, but I’m headed out to work. It’s really early, you know. What are you doing in Reno?” Karin knew her tone was sharp but she couldn’t help it. She couldn’t help but be slightly annoyed that he had just turned up on her doorstep. A quick warning phone call would have been appropriate. She hadn’t heard from him since she’d moved here.
“Karin, I miss you. I had a meeting in San Francisco and decided to make a stop here. To see you.” His eyes filled with sadness and a little hope.
Her jaw dropped in surprise. “What? You stopped here?”
“Look, I regret what happened to us. I was so close to Reno, I just couldn’t skip the chance to come and ask if you’ll come to breakfast with me. It’s unexpected, but I don’t know. I thought it was worth a try. You should know I’ve been thinking about you a lot lately.”
When Karin looked as though she was about to refuse, he added, “I know you’re busy, but surely even a busy vet like you needs to eat before a long shift. All I’m asking for is half an hour of your time before work. I know there’s a little café around the corner from the clinic we could go to.”
All About Trust: K-9 Unit (Hero Hearts: Contemporary) Page 4