by L. P. Maxa
Another scraping sound, and he peered under the deck he’d recently finished. There, huddled in a corner and barely visible in the shadows, was a dog with its head in one of those cone things.
“Hey, guy. Come here.” The dog ignored him. “Damn.” Rocking back on his heels, he gave it some thought. The dog had to belong to someone in his neighborhood. The miserable cone things were used to keep dogs from messing with bandages or stitches. He peered at the dog again. It stood and began rubbing its head against a joist for the deck, making the scraping sound. The cone was loose, and with a few more swipes, he managed to work it off his head. He grabbed the plastic in his teeth and pulled it from under the deck.
Once out, the dog whipped the cone back in forth to kill it, then began chewing the plastic enthusiastically, his eyes on Diego. “I bet someone paid good money to put that thing on you. You ought to be grateful.”
The dog trotted over and deposited the mangled cone at Diego’s feet. He stooped to stroke the dog’s head and he promptly dropped and rolled onto his back, all four paws in the air, making the reason for the cone readily apparent.
“Sorry, dude, your balls got whacked off. Better you than me.” He rubbed the dog’s belly in sympathy.
The dog had a collar, but no tag. “How the hell am I supposed to find your owner if you don’t have tags?” He scooped the dog up in his arms to carry around to the front of the house. All six of the houses on his street were on the north side, with his the last in the row. He knew most of his neighbors and thought he’d recognize the dog if it belonged to one of them. Except for the house next door where the elderly Mrs. Donahue had lived until her recent move to live with her daughter in Sacramento. The house was being rented, and the tenant had moved in a couple weeks ago. He’d been working so much lately, he’d yet to meet him or her.
A woman’s voice called, “Finn, where are you?”
The little dog pricked his already pointy ears but seemed content to be carried. Diego guessed he was about to meet his new neighbor.
Chapter Two
Eva wiped the sweat from her forehead with the edge of her t-shirt. She’d been groaning through her routine on the evil torture device called an elliptical trainer that her aunt had given her when Eva had discovered Finn missing. She’d left him alone for twenty freaking minutes and now he was gone. She wasn’t sure if he’d escaped because he disliked the cone of shame, or if this was normal behavior.
Finn had been in the fenced front yard, lying under the shade of the little cluster of aspen trees. Until he wasn’t. Eva took the band off her wrist to pull her hair back in a messy ponytail and noticed that sweat had made damp spots in places that would be embarrassing if there was anyone to see. Like around her boobs. Why did her boobs sweat more than the rest of her? She stood on her miniscule front porch and called again. “Finn, you sneaky bastard. Come here, boy.”
Finn came from her neighbor’s yard, but not under his own steam. Eva stifled a heavy sigh when she spotted him cradled in the arms of…Firefighter Hottie. Oh god, was he her neighbor? And who wouldn’t want to be cradled in those arms? Resisting his charm over the past week had been a mighty endeavor.
Finn was certainly enjoying the ride. His head, now sans the cone, hung over thickly muscled arms, his tongue lolling, all four paws dangling in the air.
“Hey there, Eva.”
“Mr. Jones.”
“It’s Diego.” He smiled, showing that killer dimple. “You lose this guy?”
“I don’t know if it can be called losing him. I think I adopted an escape artist. Where’s his cone?”
“He managed to get it off, then killed it.”
“Killed it?”
“Shook it until it was dead, then chewed it. He promised he won’t lick his not-balls if you don’t put it back on him.”
“Great. Okay, thank you for bringing him back.” She opened the gate. “You can put him in here, though I don’t think this fence even slows him down. I’ll have to look to see if he’s dug under somewhere.”
“He needs tags.”
“I ordered tags with all the appropriate information. Hopefully they’ll come in the mail soon. I got him only a couple days ago.”
“He chipped?”
“Yeah.” She resisted the urge to pull her t-shirt away from her sweating chest. Firefighter Hottie appeared to be making a heroic effort to keep his gaze away from the boob zone. “Um, thanks for bringing him over. I guess we’re neighbors. I’ll try to keep him from bothering you.”
“No bother.” He dumped Finn in the yard, then joined her on the other side of the gate. “What breed is he?”
“The shelter said he’s a terrier. My cousin thinks schnusky.” She didn’t even wait for him to ask. “That’s a husky/schnauzer mix.”
“Huh. I can see that.’”
A man with tousled brown hair walking on the road raised his hand and called, “Hey, Eva.” She frowned.
“You know that guy?” Diego asked.
“I don’t think so. Maybe he’s a customer from the café. He must live around here because I’ve seen him walk by before.”
Finn ran to the fence, barking furiously, and she heard the unknown man mutter, “Fucking dog.”
“Charming.”
Diego’s gaze narrowed on the retreating figure, his expression shifting from friendly to serious. “If you keep seeing him, let me know. Guys can get weird.”
Since the man knowing her name had kind of creeped her out, she shrugged and replied, “Okay.”
Those delicious chocolate-brown eyes focused on her again. “I’m serious, Eva. If you need anything, call me. You got an iPhone?”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to airdrop my number to you.”
“Okay, but just saying, my cousin Brad is police chief of Hangman’s Loss, and my cousin-in-law Logan is ex-FBI and currently a captain with the county sheriff’s department.”
“That’s good to know, but I’m right next door.”
Chapter Three
Eva unlocked the back door of the café, charged inside, and quickly flipped the locks again. She couldn’t be a hundred percent sure, but she thought there had been someone in the shadow of the building across the alley. There’d been that whiff of tobacco smoke and then the faint glow of a cigarette as someone took a drag. At six a.m., the sky was starting to lighten with dawn. No one should be hanging around.
She pushed back the unease and started the morning routine. She was learning all the jobs of the café, with the plan that she would take over as manager when Maddy got too far along in her pregnancy to continue working full time. Having lost her restaurant job, the offer from Maddy had been a godsend. It had also gotten her away from her hometown of Truckee where the poor Eva looks were getting annoying. Her fiancé had dumped her. Big deal.
She took dough from the refrigerator, dividing it into bread pans to let rise, then put together the basic batter for muffins to which different toppings and mix-ins would be added to make a variety for the bakery case.
Mariana, the other early shift person whom she’d warned to park out front, came in, and they worked together with the radio on low. With fifteen minutes before the eight a.m. open time, a loud knocking sounded from the front. Eva went through the swinging door, Mariana right behind her. Her breath backed up in her throat when she saw Weird Guy. The same guy who’d called out her name when she’d been talking to Diego, whom she’d now seen several times passing by the café or her house. He motioned for her to unlock the doors.
She whipped out her cell phone and put it on video, shoving it in Mariana’s hands. “Keep him on video, I’m calling Brad.”
Weird Guy shook the door, then he caught sight of her through the window. “Eva, let me in. I want to talk with you.” His longish brown hair was tied in a ridiculous man bun on the top of his head, his face pale in the early morning light.
With trembling fingers, she grabbed the café phone. Her cousin picked up on the first ring.
“Gallagher here.” The squeal of a toddler sounded shrilly in the background.
“Brad, I’m at the café. There’s a guy banging on the door. I think he was across the alley when I got in this morning. He’s yelling for me to let him in. I’ve seen him around a lot lately and he’s giving me the creeps.”
“I’m sending over a squad car now, and I’ll be there in a minute.” His deep voice sounded calm and reassuring.
She hated pulling him away from his family, but she was too upset to argue.
“Doors are all locked?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Don’t even think about opening until I get there.”
“Thanks, Brad.”
A commotion drew her attention to the front of the store.
“There’s someone else out there. It’s that fireman who likes you.” Mariana’s voice remained steady.
“Keep taking video in case we need evidence.” Maddy moved to the window, and sure enough, Diego stood between Weird Guy and the door.
Diego’s voice rumbled and whatever he said, the other man didn’t like it.
The threat in his tone carried through the door. “Get out of my way. That’s my girlfriend in there. I can talk to her if I want.” Diego crossed his arms over his chest, his back to the door. As a physical barrier, he was impressive.
Weird Guy let out a stream of obscenities. “Get out of my way. You think you can stop me, fucking fire monkey?”
“Yeah, I’ll stop you.”
Where he’d been all motion before, shifting his weight from foot to foot, hands moving, head cocking from one side to the other, now Weird Guy went still, his gaze on Diego with an uncanny gleam. “You Eva’s boyfriend?”
Diego hesitated a moment too long. “Yeah.”
“Ha. You’re not. You want to be but you’re not. You want to be her boyfriend but she hasn’t picked you. She likes me.”
Maddy drew in a sharp breath. Where had this guy come from? She didn’t remember ever talking to him, but suddenly in the past week he was waving to her, calling her by name, and now was trying to get in the café.
Weird Guy changed tactics. He lowered his voice, lifting his hands in a placating gesture. “Look, all I want is a cup of coffee.”
“Get your coffee somewhere else.”
Belligerence returned. “Who the hell are you to tell me what to do?”
Eva thought he’d take a swing at Diego, but a cruiser pulled up with flashing lights. The door swung open and Officer Monica Valdez stepped out.
Weird Guy’s demeanor immediately changed. He began backing away. “Hey, no big deal. I’ll come back later.”
Brad arrived in his official SUV, and after several minutes of discussion, Weird Guy was cuffed and made to sit on the curb.
Diego stood, hands on his hips, shaking his head in obvious disgust. Eva unlocked the door to let in Brad and Diego while Monica stayed with the cuffed man. Eva handed Brad her phone. “Here’s a video of what he was doing before you all got here.”
“This guy is stalking her.” Diego’s voice held an edge.
Brad watched the video, then raised a brow at his cousin. “That right, Eva?”
“Maybe.” She glowered at Diego.
“Why am I only now hearing about it?” Brad tapped on the phone screen to send the video to himself.
“Because there’s really been nothing to tell. It seems he’s around a lot, that’s all.”
Diego scowled. “He knows where you live and called you by name.”
Eva sent Diego another withering look. “I’d say Diego is blowing this out of proportion, except this morning the weird guy scared me.”
Brad turned to the firefighter. “How do you know so much about it?”
“I’m Eva’s neighbor. The guy has been on our street several times, though he doesn’t live there. The last time I warned him off.” Those fantastic brown eyes focused on Eva. “I was on my way to the firehouse when I saw him banging on the door. So I stopped.”
“Good man. Since he’s not cooperating with his name and address, I’ll take him down to the station and see what I can find out. Thanks for keeping an eye out for my cousin.”
Eva filled to-go cups with coffee. Brad walked out, handing one to Monica.
Diego dumped a packet of sugar into his, staring at her over the rim as he sipped the hot liquid. “Why are you ticked at me?”
“Who says I’m ticked at you?”
“You smiled at your cousin but not me.”
She bared her teeth in a grimace. “There. Feel better?”
“No. Answer the question.”
“You sure are serious. I thought you were laid-back, easygoing, but I was wrong.”
“I can be laid-back and easygoing. But not when you’re in danger.”
Her heart gave a traitorous thumpity-thump. God, the guy was slipping under her defenses. She mercilessly beat down on the little corner of her brain that urged her to ignore the pain and betrayal Bruce had caused, and to act on the attraction sizzling between her and Diego. Her more rational self assured her trusting someone would only open her up to more heartache.
“Want to know what I think? You’re figuring if you don’t encourage me or give any indication that my interest in you might be reciprocated, I’ll back off.”
She opened her mouth, then shut it. What could she say? She took a breath and tried again. “You’re mostly right.”
The warmth left his expression, leaving behind a blank look. “Got it.”
“I don’t think you do. It’s not that I’m not interested, it’s that I don’t want to be interested. There’s a difference, you know.”
“There’s a huge difference. It means I’ve got a fighting chance.” He saluted her with his cup. “Thanks for the coffee.” With that he was out the door, and a minute later his truck disappeared down the road in the direction of the fire station three blocks away.
Chapter Four
Brad pulled out a chair at a table in the dining room of the café. “Sit.”
“You’re such a big brother. I’m fine,” Maddy muttered.
Logan strode in, caught sight of his wife, and veered toward her.
Eva smiled as he came up behind Maddy. He dropped a kiss on her cheek. “Why aren’t you sitting?”
“Because I don’t need to sit.” Maddy, the most consistently happy person Eva knew, had been out of sorts all day.
“Why don’t you all sit, and I’ll bring some coffee. Or with the heat today, iced coffee. It’ll be lemonade for the pregnant lady.”
That got Maddy to sit and earned Eva a grateful smile from Logan. Brad had called earlier asking for Eva to stick around after the café closed at three so he could brief her on what he’d learned about Weird Guy.
The door opened once more and Diego entered. Could anyone look more stalwart and upstanding than a firefighter in a crisp navy uniform? Was it any wonder that the belly flutter he incited was morphing into a full-blown, whole-body throbbing whenever she was within five feet of him?
“Oh, hi. Um, we’re closed.” Eva felt a warm flush climb from her chest to her cheeks.
Diego ran those delicious eyes over her and briefly brushed a hand on her arm as he joined the group. “Brad asked me to come.”
“Here’s what I got,” Brad spoke, using what Eva thought of as his cop voice. “The guy we picked up here this morning’s name is Bryan Lancaster. Twenty-eight years old, he lives with his parents near Little Loss Lake. He has no priors and works nights at the hardware store stocking inventory. He’s a bit odd, but up to now has been considered harmless.” Brad’s gaze zeroed in on Eva. “He admitted to having a thing for you. He says you smiled at him at the bank and he took that to mean you were interested. I don’t think he knows how to go about getting your attention in a socially appropriate way.”
“Fuck socially appropriate. He’s gone way beyond being awkward. He’s stalking her, and this morning amped that up to harassment.” Anger rode Diego’s tone.
> Brad turned to Logan. “What would the FBI say about a guy like this?”
“He hasn’t done anything illegal, so I’d guess you’ve cut him loose.” At Brad’s nod, Logan continued. “At this point, he could go either way. If he’s shaken enough about being cuffed and taken to the police station, maybe he’ll get counseling and go on to live a productive life.” Logan held Maddy’s hand as he spoke. “Or he could take his sense of entitlement to the next level and intensify his pursuit of Eva.”
“Yay for me,” Eva muttered.
“It’s not something to joke about,” Brad spoke, expression stern. “I’d like you to stay with Emma and me for the next few days.”
“No, I’m fine at my house.”
“Maddy stayed with us when she was in danger last year. We won’t even ask you to watch Owen.”
“I’d love to watch Owen.” Given that Brad and Emma’s toddler’s current favorite thing was to shriek at the top of his lungs, she felt she was offering a lot. “But I have a new dog, and I want to stay in my house. I’ll lock all the doors and windows and be super careful.”
“I’ll keep an eye on her,” Diego vowed.
“You don’t need to keep an eye on me, and you’re at work half the time, anyway.”
“We’ll all keep an eye out,” Brad stated. “If you insist on staying at your place, I’ll instruct my officers to patrol your street and stop in here at the café on a regular basis. I’ve talked to Lancaster’s parents so they’re aware of the situation.”
Diego’s phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out to read the screen. “Shit. Wildfire. I have to get back.”
Eva moved to the window and peered out. “Where?”
He joined her, and Eva felt the skin of her arm tingle when he brushed against her.
“All the text said is south of here. Walk outside with me?”
“Um, sure.”
He held the door for her, then followed her out. The summer sun beat down, hot and dry. Diego captured her hand and led her around the corner to where his truck was parked on a side street. He stopped under the shade of a tall pine, motioning to the haze in the sky. “There’s already smoke in the air.”