He nodded, then spun and stomped off down the road. I turned to glare at Trixie, only to find the wayward mutt nowhere to be found. “Please tell me she went into the house.” Great, talking to myself. Maybe I should start looking for that therapist. Or a liquor store.
When I pushed open the back door, Terri, naked of course, stood five feet from me, her expression revealing nothing.
“What were you thinking?”
Her bare shoulders moved in half-hearted shrug. “I wanted to play with Hugh.”
“You couldn’t have just gone as yourself?”
Confusion pulled at her features. “I did.”
I wasn’t going to beat my head against the wall. I really wasn’t. “The human you.”
Her confusion deepened. “What fun would that be?”
Fire filled my chest as I took a step toward her so fast her eyes widened and she leaned away from me. “Do you have any idea what kind of problems you may have caused with your childish little stunt?”
Her mouth hardened into a flat line as her breath sucked in audibly. “Childish?”
My hands tightened into fists. “Yes. Childish.”
“Being who I am is not childish.”
She wasn’t leaning back any longer. In fact, she was right in my face. “I don’t have a problem with you being you. I just have a problem with you doing things that could get both of us in trouble. Or at least provoke some very difficult questions.”
Narrowed eyes glared at me.
“You’re jealous because of my gift.”
I blinked. “That’s ridiculous.”
“You wish you had a superpower too.”
Superpower? Who the hell did she think she was? I fought to keep my aggravation in check. “No. I don’t.”
Terri grinned. “You wish you could write bestselling novels like me. Then you wouldn’t have to write silly articles for a tiny newspaper to make money.”
Okay, that hit a little close to home. “My articles aren’t silly, and I enjoy working at the Gazette.” At least when Ace wasn’t around. “Sure it would be great to be a bestselling author, but I’m not jealous. I’m actually happy for you, and proud to be your cousin.”
Her expression relaxed and a little smile pulled at her lips. “Honest?”
“Honest.”
She grabbed me in a hug that was sweet, but a little weird, seeing as she was naked and still carried a bit of parfum de canine.
When she let go, I smiled. “I love you, silly, even if you are a dog.”
“Hack,” she said, as she headed toward her bedroom.
“Diva.”
“Wannabe.”
“Furball.”
She firmly closed the door, and I smiled. Terri was a pain in the tokus, but she was the closest thing I had to a sister, and I loved her very much. Even if she was an amazing writer.
Chapter 5
I parked my car in front of Cat Lady’s house as my mind swam with reasons to forget this crazy idea and go home. Ignoring my trepidation, I picked up the plastic wrap covered plate of homemade cookies from where it sat on my front passenger seat, then headed toward the porch. The poor woman had been through so much. It’d be great if I could do something to make her feel even a little better.
I knocked on the front door. There was no answer, so I knocked again. “Miz Funderburk, it’s Shay Carpenter.”
“Go away.”
“I have something for you.”
“Don’t want anything from you.”
My eyes stung. “I have cookies. You don’t have to talk.”
The door opened just enough for me to see an eye and a small slice into the house.
“I don’t want anything from you,” she said. “Not visit, nor talk, nor cookies. Now go away!”
The door slammed so hard I jumped backward. The smell of cat urine wasn’t as strong as the first time, but it was there. As was at least one cat—I’d heard the creature meowing. It had only been a few days and she’d already reverted to her old behaviors. Not surprising really.
I contemplated her situation as I walked to my car. The poor woman didn’t want to change. She’d been forced to give up her cats without any kind of support or even kind words. No matter how much her daughter wanted to help her, wanted to protect her, she was fighting a losing battle. I knew from long, hard experience that nothing would work unless Miz Funderburk decided she was ready to get the help she needed.
Back in my car, I tossed the plate of cookies on the passenger seat and headed for home. I’d tried, and that was all I could do. Then again, why I had tried was a big question. It wasn’t like I didn’t know what the most likely outcome was going to be.
As I pulled into the driveway, I caught a glimpse of Trixie running in the back yard. There was no sign of any other dog, so we seemed to be fine on that front.
I got as far as the porch before I set the cellophane wrapped plate of cookies down and planted my butt on the top step. What the hell did I think I was doing? Hadn’t I been through enough with my mom? Was I trying to find somebody else to take care of? The woman had done me a huge favor by telling me to go away.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my neighbor poking around the hedge between the properties. Great, an audience. I tried to be nonchalant as I wiped at my eyes. I knew I should go in the house where I didn’t have to worry about being observed while crying or beating myself over the head with a figurative ball bat. I didn’t though. I loved sitting outside. Our porch back home had been as much a refuge as I ever got. It was where I read, studied, wrote, and worried if my mom was going to kill herself.
I was on the verge of having a major cry fest, when a familiar large gray vehicle pulled to the side of the road near the fence. Out popped Ace, and Miz Carlisle’s head came up over the top of the hedge like the periscope on a submarine. Great.
Ace came through the gate, closing it behind him, and headed my way. What now? One of these days I’m gonna learn to hide out somewhere when I’m having a meltdown. Like maybe the top of Mt. Everest.
“Hi, Shay.”
Ace sauntered toward me.
“What do you want?” Yeah, I’m a bitch when I’m melting down in public.
I hoped he’d take the hint and skedaddle. Instead he frowned and sat on the edge of the porch near me.
“Are you all right?”
I stared. I flipping stared at this dude who looked exactly like Ace. The guy was a chameleon all right. You never knew what you would get with him. “I’m fine,” I lied.
His frown deepened. “I can see something’s wrong. If I can help, please tell me how.”
I looked into his emerald eyes and saw an amazing thing: concern. Holy freaking crapola. “I just did something stupid, that’s all.”
“I doubt what you did was stupid.”
He was clean-shaven today. His honey-colored hair was sun-streaked. His shoulders were wide and I’d be willing to bet he had a six-pack under that soft green T-shirt.
“Shay?”
I pulled myself out of my daze and looked at him. Oh yeah, stupid. “Well, it wasn’t the smartest thing I’ve ever done.”
He smiled, and I knew I had to derail this discussion before I did something incredibly foolish, like put my hand under his shirt to feel for that six-pack. I picked up the plate beside me. “Cookie?”
He blinked. “Huh?”
“Want one?”
“Sure. Thanks.” He pulled up the edge of the plastic wrap and took one of the sugar cookies. He bit into it, his eyes closed and his lips pulled into a satisfied smile. “You made these?”
“Yep.”
“You’re a good cookie maker.”
“Thank you.” I couldn’t help myself, I watched his mouth as he took another bite. My heart rate kicked into gear, and I felt a little dizzy.
A movement toward the neighbor’s yard caught my eye, and I saw Miz Carlisle glaring our way. This was ridiculous. I turned to Ace. “Would you like a glass of ice tea?”
H
e grinned. “With lots of sugar?”
“Absolutely. Southern boy, huh?”
“Kinda. I was born in Ohio, but I’ve spent most of my life in Kentucky and Tennessee.”
We walked into the house and Ace followed me into the kitchen. “Military brat?” I asked
“Nah, just a mom with a gypsy streak.”
He took the glasses from me and set them on the counter while I took the tea pitcher from the fridge. As soon as I poured, he tasted the tea. “You’re a Southern girl.”
“Yeah, my family’s from Tennessee. I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida.”
“Southern Georgia.”
“Gee, I’ve never heard that before.”
We laughed as we walked into the living room and sat on the couch. I motioned to where I’d put the plate on the coffee table. “Have all the cookies you want.”
He took another one and bit into it. “These really are good.”
“Thanks.”
My brain registered the click of the doggie door, but I was so caught up in rich forest eyes gazing deeply into mine. It wasn’t until I heard movement in the kitchen that it dawned on me what was about to happen. I opened my mouth to suggest we go outside, but it was too late.
“Hello, Ace,” Terri said from the open area between the kitchen and living room.
I groaned. As usual after she shifted, she was naked.
Ace’s face went blood-red. He got to his feet and stumbled backward toward the door. “I…um…I have to go. Nice to see…oh, hell!” He turned and all but ran out of the house.
I stared at the door, horrified.
Terri laughed. “Now that was funny.”
“No, it wasn’t.” I glared hard at her.
She tipped her head as she studied me.
“You don’t even like him.”
I sighed, not sure what to say to my clueless cousin.
Her head leaned to the other side. “Socially incorrect?”
“Yes.”
“Sorry.” She turned and headed off toward her bedroom.
I went to the window and looked toward the road. That Terri had embarrassed Ace shouldn’t matter. The man was a pain. I was sure I’d see the humor by morning. I was only worried because I had to work with Ace. I definitely didn’t like him. Even if he did have amazing eyes.
Right?
****
When I arrived at the Ugly Creek Gazette office the next morning, Ace’s big dark gray vehicle sat out front. My face went hot just thinking about seeing him again. Damn Terri. Would she ever understand that dogs and humans had different social norms?
Enough procrastinating. Unlike my cousin, I needed income beyond the royalties from my novels. One deep breath, and I pushed open the door of my car, forced my chin up, and headed toward the inevitable.
When I opened the door both Mr. Costa and Ace turned to look at me. Ace gave a small nod and averted his eyes. Great. The whole day would likely be awkward.
Mr. Costa took a step toward me.
“It’s a sad day in Ugly Creek.”
“Oh my God, what happened?”
The editor leaned heavily against the nearest desk. “Steve Zapata’s computer business was broken into last night. They weren’t sure what, if anything, was taken.” He shook his head. “Damn, industrial spying. Right here in Ugly Creek. What next?”
“Let’s go.”
Ace’s gentle words shoved me back to reality, and I nodded.
Outside I headed toward my car, only to feel Ace touch my arm.
“There’s no use in both of us driving out there, let’s take my car.”
“Let me get my purse.”
I locked my car and climbed into Ace’s much bigger vehicle.
He slid into the driver’s side. “I know this thing is big, but it’s great for transporting dogs.”
Well, that could explain the big factor. Maybe. “You’re really passionate about saving animals.”
“Yes, I am. Does that bother you?”
Challenge rang in the voice, as if he was sure I’d say it did.
“No,” I told him. “I’m a writer, I understand being passionate about what you do.”
His surprise was palpable. “I suppose that makes sense.”
We sat quietly for a few minutes before I blurted, “I’m sorry about Terri.”
“You aren’t responsible for your cousin’s actions.”
“Still, I should have known that was going to happen. She’s totally uninhibited and doesn’t always think before she says or does things.”
His hand touched my arm.
“Don’t do that. Like I said, you aren’t responsible for her actions.”
“Thank you, Ace. I love my cousin, but she’s a little…well…different.”
“Aren’t writers supposed to be a little odd?”
I leaned my head against the back of the seat. “Yeah, especially when they’re New York Times’s bestselling authors.”
“You’re jealous.”
Not him too. “No, I’m not.”
He grinned. “Yes, you are.”
“Okay.” I sighed as the irritation slowly dissipated. “I guess I am a little. I can’t believe my goofy cousin is doing so well when my advances and print runs keep getting smaller. It’s frustrating.”
“Maybe it would help if you stopped thinking about Terri and focused on believing in yourself.”
I opened my mouth to tell him to go do something physically impossible, but then the truth of his words touched my heart. I swallowed hard. “Maybe you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right.”
Without thinking I smacked his arm, but he just laughed. A moment later, he pulled his car into the parking lot of a four or five story building that wrapped in a half-circle around the back of the parking lot.
The visitor parking area was packed, so he pulled the Xterra into an employee space way back in the lot. “Okay with walking?”
“Sure” Actually I could use the time to get my head out of my rear and into my job.
“Z-Com Tech isn’t actually in Ugly Creek, you know. It’s a little over a mile outside the city limits.”
Interesting. “I take it there’s a reason for that?”
“Ugly Creek is unincorporated, and plans to stay that way.”
“So they like being a quiet little town.”
He looked away and his mouth pulled to one side. “Quiet being the operative word.”
Before I could say anything else, we reached the front. “Z-Com Tech” was written across the big glass doors.
Inside the building, a young receptionist wearing a brown suit and white shirt asked callers to hold while her board flashed so fast it made my head ache just looking at it. When she saw us, she pointed to her right, covered the mouthpiece of her headphone, and said, “Third room on the left.”
As we turned away, I saw her stand and slip off her jacket while still answering calls. Poor thing.
A minute later, we entered a boardroom where a harried Steve Zapata talked with a wall of law enforcement, including two men in black suits that screamed federal agent, and a friendlier-looking overweight guy in an Ugly Creek sheriff uniform. Standing near them were two men wearing polo shirts with “Security” written on them. Steve’s shoulders were slumped, and there were black circles under his eyes. My heart ached for him.
“Good to see friendly faces.” A woman’s voice came from behind us.
Ace turned and hugged Liza Zapata. “I feel so bad for you and Steve.”
Her eyes had circles too. Her designer suit was wrinkled, and her always-perfect hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She looked at me.
“For the record, some person or persons unknown somehow got past our security last night. We are not sure at the present time what they might have been after, or what, if anything, they took.”
I dutifully wrote down her quote word for word. “I imagine you have a great security system.”
“State-of-the-art and we don’t know yet h
ow the intruders got through it.”
I wrote that down, then closed my notebook. “I’m so sorry. If there’s anything I can do, please let me know.”
She nodded, glanced at Steve and back to us.
“If you promise to keep it off the record I’ll tell you what happened.” I saw her swallow. “I need friends right now.”
“You know I’m your friend,” Ace said
I met her gaze. “I’d never write anything you don’t want me to.”
We edged farther back from the crowd in the room, and she lowered her voice to a whisper.
“No clue how they got in here, but they did, and stole three million dollars’ worth of government contracted equipment and programming.”
My breath caught in my chest, and I fought to keep my shock to myself. I shot a glance toward the front of the room. “That’s why the FBI guys are here.”
She nodded, and her eyes abruptly filled with tears. Before I could move, Ace pulled her into his arms for a long hug.
“I’m here, I’ll help you get through this.”
I touched her shoulder. “We’re here.”
She looked from one of us to the other.
“Thank you both. It’s been rough.”
One of the two government agents came toward us and I quickly opened my notebook. “Do you have a statement?” I asked him.
“You’re press?”
“Yes.” I glanced at Ace. “We’re with the Ugly Creek Gazette.”
He passed a dark look over Ace and Liza, then turned a less dark but still hard one on me. He’d seen the hug.
“I’m Special Agent Max Killian with the FBI. I can verify there was a break in here last night. The United States’ government does have contracts with Z-Com Tech, but so far there is no indication any of that material was tampered with or stolen.”
He closed his mouth, and it was obvious from his expression that we had all we would get.
“Thank you,” I said. “Let me give you my card. Please call me when you know more.” I fumbled in my purse for my newly printed Ugly Creek Gazette business cards, but I couldn’t find the damn things. I felt my face go hotter the longer I stood there like an unprofessional idiot.
“Here’s mine.” Ace handed the agent his business card.
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