by Dale Mayer
Pete just chuckled. “You know that usually these renos take months, right?”
Pierce shrugged and said, “For a lot of people it takes months. But for a lot of people it doesn’t. I promised you full accessibility, and I’ll make sure you get it.”
“We’ll keep working,” Jessie said. “Once you’re sheriff, you can be in a supervisory capacity here. Come home after work and tell us what to do the next day.”
Pete clapped his hands and shouted with joy. “I can’t believe this,” he said. “Why the hell didn’t I come home earlier?”
“Because Pierce wasn’t here,” Hedi said. “Remember that part.”
Pete gripped Pierce’s wrist. “Man, I owe you big-time.”
Pierce shook his head. “We all owe you,” he said firmly. “You took a hit for our country.”
Pete mumbled under his breath and then said, “I sure wish the rest of the world thought the way you do.”
“You have a good group of friends around you now,” Pierce said, all the others nodding. “You should be fine.”
Pete looked at Pierce and asked, “And what about you? You’ll accept the help being offered too?”
“What help? I don’t need any help.” Pierce frowned.
Hedi heard a vehicle came up the road and chuckled. She knew exactly who was coming. What she didn’t know was how Pete would respond to the upcoming news.
Just then her father decided it was time to go. “Pierce, date?”
He sighed. “A week from Monday,” he said. “I’d like the extra week off to make sure Pete’s okay.”
“I’ll go in next week, Dad,” Hedi said.
“Good enough. A lot of people went to bat for you, Pierce. We know you’ll do a good job.” And, on that note, he turned, and his cronies walked out with him.
It was already late in the afternoon, almost dinnertime. Hedi looked at Pete and Pierce and said, “Barbecued steaks for dinner?”
“I would absolutely love a barbecued steak,” Pete said. “Used to love barbecuing.” He looked at his prosthetics and frowned.
“Today sounds like a great day to get back into it,” Pierce said. “We’ll move the grill up on the deck, so you can get to it.”
Pete grinned. “Wouldn’t that be something?”
“Remember that your legs are injured, not your hands,” Hedi said, as she’d said many times before. There seemed to be this disconnect sometimes with Pete because, being without his lower legs, he had a sense of not being able to do anything. Whereas he was capable of doing so much more. She’d even caught him swinging a hammer today with Pierce. A little weak and off center but he was helping and smiling as he did so. She smiled. “I’ll take Pierce out for a walk, if you don’t mind.”
“Absolutely not,” Pete said, waving at the backyard and beyond, grinning. “You guys need private time too. When are you moving in, Hedi?”
She shot him a look and shook her head.
He nodded. “Pierce will be living here for a while,” he said. “At least I hope.”
“I won’t leave you in the lurch,” Pierce said. “Doesn’t mean somebody else might want to take my place though.”
Just then a knock came at the door. Pete called out, “The door’s unlocked. Come on in.”
The door pushed open, followed by light footsteps. Then a soft female voice. “Pete?”
Hedi watched the color drain from Pete’s face. He shook his head and said, “No. Oh, hell no.”
In a firm voice Hedi said, “Yes.”
He looked at her, startled.
“You are not disabled,” she said. “You’re perfectly capable of handling anything and everything life throws at you. You need to gain some strength. You need to have a mind-set shift. But you’re well on the way. And that means you can shift in all directions.”
And just then a beautiful blonde walked into the kitchen with her eyes locked on Pete. Her gaze went to his shorts and the prosthetics on his lower legs. She swallowed hard and then looked up at him and said, “Why didn’t you call me?”
Pete’s jaw dropped, and he tried to answer her. He looked at Hedi and Pierce for help.
Hedi grabbed Pierce’s hand and said, “Glad you came, Lina. Pete’s having second thoughts, wiser thoughts, about life now, and he’s doing so much better. It’s a perfect time for you to come and say hi to him.” As she stepped outside, she said, “We’ll leave you two alone to talk. We’re barbequing steaks later. You’re welcome to stay.”
Lina looked at her and said, “I don’t understand.”
“Pete was trying to be the brave warrior and to let you live your life without him holding you back,” she said.
A flush of anger washed over Lina’s face, and she rounded on Pete. “Did you think my love was so superficial?”
Hedi and Pierce, still holding hands, dashed out the back door in the kitchen, hearing raised voices even as they continued across the backyard. And then, all of a sudden, there was silence. Pierce glanced at her and said, “That was pretty devious.”
“Men like to caterwaul a lot,” she said quietly. “And Pete will make a big deal out of meeting her again and about his injuries. It wasn’t necessary. Pete’s so much more capable than he thought.”
“A lot of it is mind-set,” Pierce said. “Pete mentioned her once.”
“Good,” she said shortly. “Pete broke Lina’s heart. Maybe now they can work it out.”
“So you’re a little bit of a matchmaker, are you?” He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and tucked her close.
She chuckled and said, “Maybe. It’s been really nice to have you around these last few days, without all the craziness when we first met.”
She walked to a spot in the meadow where beautiful mossy grass grew under one of the big trees, and the stream trickled past close by. She sat down and patted the grass beside her. “Let’s just sit a while and give them a chance to relax.”
“I’m all for it.” He lay down with his knees bent, staring up at the sky. “Did you bring me here for a reason?”
She shot him a look. “Maybe.”
She hopped up, and he twisted to see her pull a blanket out from the boughs of the tree branches and spread it out. He moved onto it and opened his arms. She dropped to the ground and sagged against his chest. “There is just something about matchmaking,” she said, “that makes you want a little something extra special for yourself.”
He tilted her chin up and kissed her. “I meant everything I’ve said so far. I really don’t want to lose you.” He kissed her again and again. “Lina?”
“Well, Lina is a very determined woman,” she said. “I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she doesn’t stay tonight.”
Pierce’s eyebrows shot up.
She nodded. “So you might be the one wanting to move out a little earlier than you thought.”
“I’ve been wondering about staying at your place for a long time. You’ve never taken me there. I figured maybe it was out of bounds.”
“Not at all. But it’s not all that nice,” she said. “And it’s not big enough for two of us.”
“You’ve brought your dog once or twice, but that’s it. I have yet to meet the cat.”
“My thought was maybe eventually we could move into a house together. One for both of us.”
He nodded slowly. “I’d like that. I’d love to build us one. But not yet,” he said slowly, holding her against his chest and gently stroking his fingers through her hair. “Not only do we have Pete to get back on his feet, but Vicky and the kids’ house needs work.”
“I’m sure you’ll recruit the exact same guys to help out.”
“Yep. I don’t think there will be a problem with that,” he said comfortably. “But I’m not sure there’s any money for those renos.”
“We can do some fund-raising for her,” Hedi said, snuggling in deeper.
“You’re good people, you know that?” he whispered, kissing her on the forehead.
“You’re good people t
oo,” she said, chuckling. She leaned up on her elbow, rolled over on his chest again and kissed him. “We don’t have much time,” she whispered, dropping him another kiss. And then another one.
She sat up, straddling him and slowly pulled her T-shirt up and over her head. His hands slid up to her ribs, cupping her bra-covered breasts and murmuring, “I’m not sure there’s anything quite as nice as making love outside.”
She nodded. “I figured you would think so. It’s not that I’m into public displays,” she said, “but there’s something so very elemental about being out under the wind and the sun, just the two of us.” Then a bird flew over, squawking at them. She chuckled. “And Mother Nature.”
Before she realized it, her bra slid down her arms. She watched the look of wonder come over his face, and she’d never felt more beautiful as she sat on his hips. “In theory,” she said, “what we’re doing is pretty perfect, but we still have on way-too-many clothes.”
He chuckled. She straightened, stood and stepped to the side, where she kicked off her sandals and shimmied out of her jeans. There she stood in just a tiny scrap of lace and cocked an eye at him. “Like what you see?” she challenged.
He bolted to his feet, his T-shirt going in one direction, his shoes in another, and his jeans and briefs hitting the ground faster than she thought possible. And then he stood before her, his eyes feasting on her, and she chuckled.
His gaze ripped up to hers, and he asked, “What’s so amusing?”
She pointed at his feet. “You still have a sock on.”
He pulled it off and then pointed at the scrap of lace she still wore. “You still have clothes on too.”
She took a step closer and said, “You do it.”
He snatched her up into his arms and kissed her with a hot fierce passion that ignited a storm between the two of them. He’d wanted this right from the beginning, but, with everything else going on, there just hadn’t been that perfect moment to explore each other. She wrapped her arms tight around his neck and half climbed his frame. Finally he picked her up, his hands under her buttocks and lifted her so he completely held her. She gasped and said, “What about your prosthetic?”
“Do you hear me complaining?” he whispered and kissed her passionately.
Finally she couldn’t stand it anymore. She slid her legs back down, dropped herself to the blanket and opened her arms. He kneeled beside her, pulled off the scrap of lace and let his eyes feast on the bounty before him. He stroked her legs from her toes, over her knees and upper thighs, to gently curl in the tiny strip of hair between her legs. She moaned as his fingers delved gently between the plump folds and then slowly moved up to caress her hip bones. He spread apart her legs, with his knees planted between them, dropped a kiss right at the tip of the tiny strip of hair and dragged his lips to her belly button, where he dotted a line of kisses to one hip and then the other. His fingers were stroking, caressing, sliding under, separating her cheeks, touching spots she hadn’t realized were so sensitive. She arched and moved, shifting forward and backward from his touch and then needing so much more of it. She grabbed handfuls of his hair and pulled him up, closer to her face. She whispered, “Come. I want you now.”
But he resisted her orders, letting his fingers stoke the fire as he gently, reverently explored her body—the hills, the dips, the smooth skin along her ribs and over her hips. Slowly he stroked her flat belly to slide through the curls at the apex of her legs.
“Pierce,” she cried out, her fingers clenching and releasing as she twisted beneath his ministrations.
“Shhh, I’m here,” he whispered, sliding a finger between the moist skin folds to slide one finger in and then two …
She moaned, twisting her hips, rising and falling in response to the rhythm of his fingers. She reared up, tugged on his upper arms and pulled him toward her, ordering, “Come.”
Chuckling, he shifted closer, supporting his weight on his elbows. He positioned his hips so he slid just inside her and stopped. He leaned over, taking her lips in a rousing kiss, his tongue sliding deep inside to war with hers. At the same time he slowly penetrated her body.
She moaned, her hips wiggling, adjusting to his unexpected size. And finally he was there, seated at the heart of her. When she could, she opened her eyes to stare up at him and whispered, “It feels so damn good.”
He nodded, his voice harsh and deep, as he whispered, “Yes. But only because it’s you.” He kissed her again and again, but he kept his body still.
She twisted against him, her hips trying to rise up to set him in motion, but he wasn’t having any of it. Finally she lay still, her body acquiescing as he slowly pulled back and then dove in again and again and again. She cried out, her body now writhing beneath him as she arched. He drove deeper and deeper, longer and harder, until finally she exploded, crying out for him.
He held her close in his arms as he drove in again and again until his body shuddered, quaking in his own release. A moment later he slowly rolled over on his side and tucked her close to him. Together, with the afternoon sun beating down on their heated bodies, they slowly recovered.
“Wow,” she whispered moments later.
He nodded but didn’t seem too bothered about talking.
She grinned, reached to kiss him and said, “Not into small talk, are you?”
“You did me in,” he said, his voice still hoarse.
“Does that mean you’re done for now then?”
His eyes flew open. “Hell no.” He kissed her lightly. “We have just gotten started.” He grinned and hugged her close.
“Promise?” she whispered.
He gazed deeply into her eyes and answered, “I promise.”
Epilogue
Even as Pierce stared in disbelief as the votes came in—giving him the job of the sheriff in Arrowhead, Colorado—back in New Mexico, Zane Carmichael sat down at Badger’s desk and said, “I hear some dog hunting is going on.”
Badger shifted back in his chair, steepled his fingers and studied Zane. “Do you have any K9 experience?”
“No,” he said. “Artillery IEDs, all kinds of military experience, but nothing with dogs. On the other hand, I was raised with them, and I’d say I have a talent for them.”
Badger’s eyebrows pulled together. “Tell me more.”
“Animals of all kinds speak to me,” he said. “It’s just easier for me than for a lot of people. I’ve had basic dog obedience training but not the high-level training of K9 handlers.”
“Here’s what we’ve got so far,” Badger said and spent ten minutes sorting through what they’d done to date.
“I know Ethan and Pierce both had K9 training,” Zane said. “I’d like to try though.”
“We have ten files,” Badger said. “The top of the pack was lost at the airport in Bangor, Maine. His last confirmed location was Stetson, Maine.”
“Stetson?” Zane frowned. “How about any other place but there?”
“Why is that?”
“I’ve got family back in Maine, just outside of Corinna,” he said. “As much as I love my family, Holly, my younger brother’s widow, is somebody I’m trying to avoid.”
“Why?” Badger asked.
Zane gave him a lopsided glance. “I cared too much. Brody’s widow was my ex-girlfriend. After my baby brother passed away, I went home for the funeral but left as soon as I could. Holly was leaning on me too much, as if wanting me to step into my brother’s shoes, and that was the last thing I wanted,” Zane said bluntly. “I’d like to be loved for myself, not because I’m a reflection of another man.”
“Wow,” Badger said. “Sounds like you need to get back to Maine then.” He picked up the file. “I’ve got a younger male here called Katch.” He frowned at the name. “He’s well-known for his ability to catch apparently.” He studied the first page. “He was sent home after not following commands well enough under fire. He ended up with PTSD after one particularly bad bombing, and they couldn’t get him to function pr
operly afterward. He was returned to a training compound, then shipped out to an adopted family. He was lost at the airport, and the adopted family never got him. He showed up in Bangor, and we were alerted, but nobody could catch him. Our last notification said he was picked up by a hunter. Considering Katch is suffering from PTSD, that could be problematic. Now we’re not sure where he is. Last known sighting was Stetson.”
“Dammit.” Zane studied the stack of files. “You sure you don’t want to give me one of the others—a long way away from Maine?”
“Just for that reason alone,” Badger said, leaning forward, “sounds to me like Maine it is. If you’re ready …” He picked up the file and tossed it at him. “Katch.”
This concludes Book 2 of The K9 Files: Pierce.
Read about Zane: The K9 Files, Book 3
The K9 Files: Zane (Book #3)
Going home wasn’t part of his plan …
Agreeing to travel home to Maine to hunt down Ketch, a K9 dog the system had lost track of, wasn’t an easy decision for Zane. It meant facing his drunk of a father, his cold older brother and, worst of all, Angela, his kid brother’s widow—who used to be his girlfriend.
Finding Ketch looked to be the easiest part of this dysfunctional homecoming. Only he wasn’t the only one hunting Ketch.
Angela has been through a whirlwind of emotions in the last few years. But the good thing in all of this was the hope that Zane would finally come home again. They had a history to clear up and a future to forge … she hoped.
A call for help brings the injured shepherd to Angela’s doorstep, plus a hunter looking to finish what he started. All thoughts of a future with Zane are threatened now and forever as the hunter decides two-legged prey are just as good as four-legged ones.
Book 3 is available now!
To find out more visit Dale Mayer’s website.
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Pierce: The K9 Files, Book 2! If you enjoyed the book, please take a moment and leave a short review here.