by Raine Thomas
“How are Miller and Beck?” he asked.
“They’re fine. They really love the park. It’s great that they get along so well with the neighbor’s dog, too. We all had a great time.”
Evan’s jaw clenched. “I’m glad to hear it.”
“Yeah. Hey, do you happen to know if she’s single? I was too embarrassed to ask her.”
His hand tightened on the phone. What could he say? It wasn’t like he had any claim on Sierra. He didn’t want any claim on her.
Did he?
“I just moved in,” he said at last. “I don’t know her that well.”
“Oh. Well, I guess I’ll find the nerve to ask her myself, then. Thanks. I’ll update you on the dogs tomorrow.”
“Sure.”
He clicked off and stood there for a long moment, processing his reaction to the conversation. The thought of Sierra dating someone else brought a weird pain to his chest. That hadn’t ever happened before. What the hell did it mean? He’d only known her for the equivalent of two weeks, for God’s sake.
Yet here he was, trying to force himself to have sex with a woman he didn’t know at all, just to convince himself Sierra meant nothing.
He really needed to get his damn head on straight.
Turning, he caught Haley’s gaze.
“This isn’t going to happen, is it?” she said.
“No. I’m sorry.”
Nodding, she picked up her purse and slid the strap over her shoulder. “I could tell something was off. There’s just something missing.”
“This is going to sound like a line, Haley, but it isn’t you. It’s me. I don’t want you walking out of here thinking this is because of anything you said or did.”
She lifted her chin in acknowledgement and reached for the doorknob. He didn’t say anything else as she let herself out. Instead, he walked over to the minibar and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. As he unscrewed the lid, he acknowledged to himself what he’d been missing with Haley.
A dimpled smile that could lighten even the most shadowed heart.
Chapter 11
Piedmont Park was bustling with activity when Sierra took Leo for his mid-morning walk. It was a typical crowd for a Saturday. A live band played in a central spot in the park. Some kids had started a game of baseball. Joggers and picnickers and fellow dog owners wound among the trees and enjoyed the sunny day.
Maybe she’d get an ice cream cone later, she thought. The weather and vibe in the air were perfect for it.
She’d gone out to a few of her aunt and uncle’s available properties over the past couple of days to show them to potential tenants. A few places required maintenance before showing, so she e-mailed her aunt with the details. Once she got the budget approved, she would either take care of the items herself or hire the contractors needed to do so. That would depend on her schedule and level of skill.
A thought occurred to her, making her pause in her walk. Picking up her phone, she typed in another quick e-mail to her aunt. Maybe she could help two people at once.
Putting her phone back in her bag, she fished out her camera. Some kids playing soccer caught her attention. Sitting in the grass and letting Leo collapse beside her in a panting heap, she snapped a few shots, taking care to keep faces out of the images. Unless she had a kid’s parent’s permission, she never published photos with faces. Still, these would be great stock images to offer for sale.
“Sierra?”
Glancing up, she spotted Evan’s dogsitter, Geoff, approaching with Miller and Beck. Leo leaped to his feet, his tail swishing. She could tell Leo still wasn’t sure about Geoff, since his butt didn’t actually move with the tail wag.
The verdict was still out for her, too, truth be told. He seemed nice enough. But he smiled too much. Coming from her, that was saying a lot.
With his wide smile in place, he walked up to stand near her. The dogs ran up to her and attacked her with their tongues, making her laugh. Geoff tugged on their leashes.
“Hey, you two,” he chided. “I know she’s pretty and all, but back off. Sheesh.”
She continued petting the dogs. “It’s all right. It’s nice to be greeted with such enthusiasm.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Geoff said with a wink.
Not knowing how to respond to that, she gave him a small smile and focused on the dogs.
“They seem to have warmed up to you,” she said.
“Yeah, thanks to you. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t intervened. I’ve never had dogs react like that before.”
She’d been editing the day before when she heard the elevator ding. Knowing it was the dogsitter, she’d hurried over to her peephole to familiarize herself with the person who would be visiting Evan’s apartment on a regular basis. She’d watched as a tall, slim guy in his late twenties or early thirties came into view. He glanced at her door, probably reading the number, and then continued on to Evan’s.
Although he’d moved out of her range of sight, her photographer’s eye had caught enough details that she’d remember him the next time she saw him. Long, blond hair pulled into a ponytail. Multiple piercings in his left ear. Pale skin, which had surprised her because he surely spent a lot of time outside walking dogs. High cheekbones. Weak chin.
After a moment of consideration, she had opened her door to go introduce herself. It was a good thing she did, or Geoff might have gotten bitten.
She’d started running when she heard the growls. Geoff’s panicked attempts to calm the dogs only further aggravated them. When she entered Evan’s apartment, Geoff was up on the kitchen counter.
It had taken her a while to convince the dogs that Geoff was a friend. She had the thought that it would have been nice for Evan to warn the dogsitting company of Miller and Beck’s reactions to strangers. But what was done, was done.
Initially, she’d thought Geoff’s near-constant smile was a result of his nerves. He’d just been caught leaping onto a counter to avoid a couple of adorable dogs, after all. But the smile remained in place as she invited him and the boys out to the park with her and Leo, and didn’t let up until she got back home. For all she knew, he smiled twenty-four seven.
That assumption certainly held true right now, she thought as he looked down at her. Adding to the smile were his glassy brown eyes that told her he’d probably smoked a joint before picking up the dogs.
Lovely.
“Yeah, these guys are just protective of Evan,” she said. “Now that they know you’re a friend, you’re golden.”
“Am I a friend?”
She focused on Beck, who was once again trying to give her kisses. “Sure.”
“Well, that’s something,” he said.
One of his eyeteeth was crooked, she noticed. It continued to draw her attention since he rarely stopped smiling.
“Hey,” she said, getting to her feet and dusting herself off. “I’ve got an idea for some photos I want to take. What do you say to joining me and Leo on a walk over to the baseball diamonds?”
“Sure, Sierra. I’d like that.”
“Great.”
She lifted her bag and they set off. The park was vast, one hundred and eighty-nine acres of land. There were historical landmarks, designated dog parks, playgrounds, and plenty of beautiful scenery. She had a couple of specific images in her head that she hoped to capture while the lighting was right.
They approached the kids playing baseball. Sierra started with the kids on the bench, not wanting to disrupt the game. When the kids saw the dogs, though, the disruption happened anyway.
All three of the dogs liked kids and were pretty well-behaved as they were petted and crooned over. Geoff seemed antsy. She figured he was worried Miller or Beck would take a nip at one of the kids. That wasn’t an illogical fear in light of their aggressive behavior from the day before, but she wasn’t concerned.
Eventually, she got the kids to kelp her with the photos she wanted to take. After she described what she wanted, they were
all on board. They even made some suggestions that turned out great.
“Thanks, y’all,” she said at last. “We have to get the dogs home now. They’re hotter than a fox in a forest fire right about now.”
She and Geoff left them to their game, walking back to the apartments. He didn’t say anything, which made her think he was upset. Sweat dripped down both of their faces, so she figured he was at the very least uncomfortable.
“Thanks for taking the time to do that with me,” she said. “I’m sorry it took so long.”
“I enjoyed it,” he said. His smile was in place, but his tone wasn’t so full of cheer. “Besides, that’s what friends do, right?”
Silence fell between them. She wondered if he’d leave and come back to let the dogs out that evening like he had the day before. When she’d suggested walking the dogs herself and saving him the trip, he’d waved her off, insisting that it was part of his job. Evan hadn’t wanted someone staying in the apartment while he was gone, but he wanted the sitter spending at least a couple of hours each day with the animals.
Struggling to fill the silence, she said, “Looks like we’ll have some afternoon thunderstorms.”
His gaze moved to the dark clouds gathering on the horizon “Sure does. Traffic’s going to be a bitch.”
“Do you have to go far?”
“I stay in Marietta, so unless I take surface streets, I usually hit the slowdown on the connector, especially when it’s storming.”
“You don’t have any other clients to visit today?”
“No.”
“Oh.” She had a feeling what was coming. “Well, I’m sure Evan wouldn’t mind if you killed a little time at his place until the weather lightens up.”
He shook his head, though his smile was firmly in place. “He was very clear that he didn’t want the sitter staying at his place. Especially for such a high-profile client, I wouldn’t want to risk him being dissatisfied.”
“I understand.”
If he’d been a true friend, she would have invited him over for a while to keep him from driving in the rain, but she just wasn’t willing to do it for Geoff. It made her feel guilty. She couldn’t ignore her intuition, though.
They reached her apartment and she opened the door. “Thanks again, Geoff. It was nice to see you and the dogs.”
“You, too, Sierra,” he said. “Hey, um, I was wondering…are you seeing anyone?”
Lord, she had known this was coming. What should she do? She’d never lied to a guy before, and she didn’t want to start now. But she wasn’t about to lead Geoff on. She wasn’t interested in him that way.
“I’m not in a serious relationship,” she said at last, “but there is someone else.”
His smile faltered, then lifted right back into place. “So there’s hope then.”
Withholding a sigh, she started shutting her door and said, “I’m usually the first one to say there’s always hope.”
Chapter 12
They went three for five on the road trip, which Evan considered a success. Any time the team did better than five hundred on the road, it was a good thing. They’d also increased their lead in the division to five games. Unfortunately, since their division was currently one of the weakest in both the American and National Leagues, that wasn’t saying much.
He flew home with the team after their last game in Kansas City. They’d have the next day off to rest. It had been an afternoon game, but between the length of the game, the difference in time zones, and travel time, it was almost one o’clock in the morning when he finally landed. Thanks to not having slept all that well the night before, he was irritable enough to want to punch someone in the throat by the time he got to the chartered car that would take him home.
Everything was quiet when he climbed out of the car into the parking lot of the apartment complex and tipped the driver. He looked up at the brick building lit by streetlights, thinking of his arrival there a couple of weeks ago. For some reason, the look of the place on that first visit had made him think, Home. Before he’d even known Sierra lived there, he’d made up his mind to rent the apartment.
At least, that’s what he’d convinced himself.
He grabbed the single carry-on he’d brought with him and headed into the courtyard as the driver pulled away. His heart rate picked up, which annoyed him until he decided he was looking forward to seeing Miller and Beck again.
Yeah, that made sense.
Oliver was sitting at the reception desk when he walked into the lobby. The large man got to his feet and smiled.
“Nice to see you again, Mr. Dorsey.”
“You working the night shift now, Oliver?”
“Just for a few days. Everett’s on vacation.”
“Ah. Good time of year for that, I’ve heard.”
Oliver smiled again. “Not that you’d know.”
Evan nodded as he walked into the elevator. Both of them knew that there was no rest for the Boys of Summer. But, damn, he could use some. He missed sleeping through the night. It had been more than a year since he’d done that. Of course, that had nothing to do with his profession.
The elevator opened on his floor and his heartbeat picked up again. Glowering, he forced himself to remember that he was looking forward to seeing his dogs.
His pace slowed as he passed Sierra’s door. When he realized it, he grumbled to himself and deliberately walked more quickly the rest of the way to his apartment. He lifted the key to insert it into the lock, only to have the door open in front of him.
“Hi, Evan,” Sierra said.
His heart started breakdancing in his chest. Her hair was tousled, as though she’d been sleeping. She wore nothing but a sleep tank and shorts, adding to that impression. For the first time since he’d met her, she looked fatigued.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he asked.
His voice sounded like a growl after hours of disuse and too little sleep. She didn’t seem to notice.
“Come on in,” she said.
Brushing past her, he gave her a pointed glare. “I don’t appreciate you just—”
He stopped when he heard the whine. Turning his head, he realized that the dogs hadn’t come running to say hello.
“What happened?” he asked, dropping his bag and hurrying to his room.
“Beck sprained his forepaw,” she responded from right behind him. “Miller hasn’t left his side all night.”
Spotting Beck in his dog bed at the foot of his own, he sank down to greet him. The dog’s right forepaw was wrapped in thick bandages. Miller’s head rested an inch from his canine friend’s.
“Hi, guys,” he said, reaching out to rub both of their heads. “I’m sorry. I’m home now. I’ll take care of you, I promise.”
He sat with them for a while, running his hands over their fur and talking to them in a low voice. One thought kept drumming through his head.
I should have been here.
After a while, he remembered Sierra. She wasn’t standing in the room, for which he was eternally grateful. In his stressed and exhausted mindset, he might have said some embarrassingly sentimental things to his dogs. He’d only owned them for a few months, but they were all he had.
And if he got this worked up over a simple injury to one of them, it was no wonder he kept his distance with people.
“I’ll be back, guys,” he said, giving them one last pat on the head.
He walked out of the bedroom, but didn’t see Sierra. Following a hunch, he walked out onto the balcony.
She was standing on hers. When she saw him, she smiled. He decided then to stop denying that his racing heart was for any reason other than seeing that smile.
“They missed you,” she said in a quiet voice.
“Did they?” He held her gaze and moved closer to the balcony railing. “Well, I missed them, too.”
They both knew what wasn’t being said. She smiled again. He perched on the railing, bracing himself with his right leg.
; “What happened to Beck?” he asked.
Her smile faded. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked across the expanse leading to the park.
“I wasn’t there when it happened,” she said, her gaze moving back to his. “Geoff took the boys for their evening walk and brought them back.”
“He didn’t tell me anything had happened when he called earlier.”
Once again, she looked away. “He must not have known. Maybe it happened in the apartment after he left.”
There was something she wasn’t telling him. She didn’t seem to like talking about Geoff. He thought of how the dogsitter had asked whether she was single. Had he acted on that? Had she grown to like the guy? Maybe she didn’t want him to get in trouble, which was why she was being so evasive.
His tone cooled. “So, how did you know Beck was injured?”
She tugged on one of her magenta curls and avoided his gaze. “Well, I…checked.”
The words were spoken so softly that he almost didn’t understand her. His hand, which had tightened on the rail, slowly relaxed.
“You checked on them?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, throwing her hands up in the air. “Okay? Yes, I checked on them. I know you didn’t want me over there and I had no right to be there, so I wasn’t going to tell you. If you want the full truth, I visited them every day when Geoff wasn’t around and I brought them over here to sleep at night. So there.”
Unsure what to say, he went with, “I see.”
She started pacing and waving her hands to punctuate her statements. “When I dropped by earlier, I saw Beck limping and whining. I knew something wasn’t right, so I took him to Dr. Paulk in the next building. He diagnosed the sprain, but said we should take him into his office tomorrow for an X-ray just in case.”
“Ah. I assume Dr. Paulk is a vet?”