“Food for Boomer,” Sadie said then frowned.
“What’s wrong?” Luke asked.
“I just realized that I don’t have any way to pay for food or anything else. I lost my wallet along with my purse when the bakery caught fire.”
“You don’t need money.” Nick bent down and scratched Boomer’s head. “You hungry, boy? I got something around here for you.” He moved to the fridge and pulled out enough meat to fill a small pan. “I’ll cook up something for him. He’ll like this better, anyway.”
A look passed between Nick and Luke.
“What’s going on?” Sadie asked.
Neither spoke.
“I deserve to know.” She stood her ground.
Nick stood and folded his arms. “I don’t want my brother in town buying dog food all of a sudden. We can’t break with routine. Otherwise we’ll alert people to our presence. I can’t have anyone stopping by unexpectedly or asking too many questions.”
“He’s right,” Luke interjected, watching Sadie as a wall of emotion descended on her with more force than a rogue wave. “I’m surprised he let you keep the dog this long.”
Panic crawled through her veins and she forced back the urge to cry. “I’m not going anywhere without Boomer. He needs me.”
“I understand, but you have to think of it from our perspective. He’s a liability,” Luke said apologetically.
“He saved our lives,” she said. Her gaze flew to Nick.
He nodded agreement. “He’s a good boy, don’t get me wrong. It’s just the other team already knows about him. He might give us away at a critical moment.”
On some level, she knew he was right. Yet, the thought of being without her constant companion was almost too much to handle. “I hear what you’re saying, but no. I can’t do this without him. You have to let me keep him. Please.”
“I didn’t say you had to get rid of him, did I? I just don’t want to wave a flag in town that we’re here.” He patted Boomer’s head.
Luke disappeared down the hall.
She couldn’t pinpoint the emotion darkening Nick’s features. She’d seen it before in the truck moments before he’d said he sent someone to pick up her personal things from the lake house. A shared sense of loss? A kindred spirit? A person who truly understood her dog was the only family she had left? She didn’t care. He was agreeing to let her keep the one thing she loved the most. She took a step forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you.”
She could feel his heartbeat against her chest, his rapid rhythm matching hers. His arms encircled her waist. His body, flush with hers, caused sensual heat to pulse through her.
She wouldn’t argue that she felt drawn to Nick from the start, even when she thought he was a nerdy radiologist. Getting to know him better was only deepening the attraction.
“Don’t mention it,” he said, his low baritone vibrating over her already sensitized skin.
Sadie took a step back, trying to get her bearings and erase his warm body and citrus soap scent from her thoughts. He was masculinity personified. Her mind tried to wrap around the fact the air could be charged with so much chemistry and heat in such a short time.
She suddenly remembered Luke could walk in any second. Embarrassment crawled up her neck in a rash as she glanced around.
She focused on Boomer. “He did good yesterday.”
Nick cleared his throat. “Sure did. He’s not the only one. He’d make a good officer, wouldn’t you, boy? We’ll figure out a way to keep him.”
Sadie should feel relief. She was getting what she wanted. Or was she?
The past few minutes had her suddenly wanting more...she wanted the whole package. Would she ever have a house with the white picket fence and the perfect man to go along with the dog? Was Nick that perfect man?
Whoa. She was seriously getting ahead of herself.
There was an undeniable sexual current running between them. But real feelings? Wasn’t it way too early to tell?
A short, well-kept curly-haired woman who looked to be in her late fifties walked in the back door. “Boys, come help me get bags from the car.”
Luke didn’t make eye contact with Sadie or Nick as he walked by, and out the door. He’d already said his piece about Nick breaking protocol to bring her to the ranch. Now she was practically throwing herself at him in front of his brother.
Nick introduced Sadie to his mother—she had the same thick black hair as him. Hers curled around her ears. She couldn’t have been more than five foot four. Her arms were filled with grocery bags. Her wide brown eyes took Sadie in for a minute before she spoke. “You must be Sadie.” His mom looked her up and down with a smile.
“Nice to meet you,” Sadie said. “Let me help with those.”
“The pleasure is mine, sweetheart. I’m looking forward to getting to know you better.” Her gaze honed in on Nick. “I brought the supplies. Grab your other brother and help unload the truck so we can give Gran the celebration she deserves.”
Nick relieved his mother of the bags she held. As soon as her arms were free, she wrapped them around Sadie in firm hug. “It sure is nice to meet you. Call me Melba.”
“It really is nice to meet you, Melba.” Sadie didn’t shrink at the older woman’s contact. Instead, she had an unexplainable feeling of being right where she belonged. It was a temporary feeling at best. Sadie hadn’t felt as though she belonged anywhere in her entire life. Even when her parents were alive, they’d never made her feel this safe.
The memory of when she was twelve flooded her. She’d had to stay after school for choir practice. She lived too far away to walk home. Her parents had had to work but promised to be there to pick her up by six o’clock.
Choir practice ended and she went outside with the other kids.
The carpool line was long.
She watched each car go past, smiling parents picking up their children.
The choir teacher gave her an annoyed look.
She’d told them her parents would be there any minute. She prayed they hadn’t forgotten like they did her school play.
They were so wrapped up in their business, their own lives, Sadie wondered if they’d cared about her at all.
She never knew what to expect from them.
The choir teacher marched her inside after waiting forty minutes at the curb and told her to call her parents. He took that moment to remind her they’d had to sign a slip at the beginning of the school year saying they understood the commitment they were making.
They didn’t pick up the phone.
Sadie lied, saying she suddenly remembered they’d wanted her to walk home.
The teacher reluctantly agreed, saying they were supposed to send a note if other arrangements were needed.
She’d sworn to him they’d be fine with her walking.
He let her go.
Anger and humiliation had her stalking toward home. Then she realized she’d have to walk through a dicey part of town to get there.
Fear assailed her when she heard music thumping from a boom box. Cars with missing parts were parked on front lawns.
Sofas were used as porch furniture.
Midway up the street, several men stood around the cars, downing forty-ounce cans of beer.
The anger that had brought her there turned to apprehension. When one of the men catcalled her, apprehension gave way to fear.
Her heart thumped so loudly she was certain people could hear it from a block away.
She kept her head down and crossed the street.
One of the men, the one who whistled at her, followed.
In that moment, Sadie realized what true fear was. And how someone could instill it in her in five seconds flat.
The other men goaded him on.
Sadie broke into a run.
A voic
e from behind her, nearing, called to someone in front of her. A man four houses down stepped onto the sidewalk. The look on his face, the grin, was still etched in her memory.
Her twelve-year-old self picked that moment to scream.
“No one can hear you,” the man behind her said, his hand on her shoulder. To this day, just the thought of his touch gave her the willies.
She slapped it off.
“Someone’s feisty.”
The man in front of her closed in.
“This one’s spunky.”
Fear and anger and abandonment welled inside her. Where were her parents when she needed them?
Yes, it had been stupid to think she could walk.
Anger had her doing that when she shouldn’t.
This was too much to handle.
She had no means of escape and one of the men touched her ponytail. His hands were dirty.
Sadie shivered, glancing around wildly.
She was trapped.
“You better think twice before you touch that little girl again.” An unfamiliar man’s voice to her left said.
She hadn’t noticed the couple standing on their porch until just then.
“I push one more button on this phone, and the police’ll be here before you can count to three. I doubt your parole officer would be real impressed, Sean.” The woman held up a phone.
The man they addressed as Sean, the one who’d touched her, hesitated before holding his hands up in the universal sign for surrender. “No harm here. We was just having a little fun, wasn’t we?”
His gaze flicked to his buddy before settling on the couple again.
The woman had handed the phone to her husband and moved to Sadie’s side. The older woman’s arms around Sadie marked the first time she’d felt safe. “You best keep your fun on your side of the street if you don’t want to serve the rest of your time in prison.”
Melba’s arms around Sadie gave her that same fleeting feeling of comfort as the strangers’ had. They’d asked her if her mother knew she was alone in the neighborhood and, embarrassed, she’d said no.
Sadie searched her memory for a time when she’d felt protected by her parents and came up empty.
They’d been frantic when they’d found out what had happened.
Were they a perfect family?
No.
She didn’t question their love for her. Work always came first. They’d always told her the best way they could secure a future for her was to make sure she had enough food in her mouth.
Even so, she couldn’t help but wonder if they’d notice if she was gone.
Nick’s mom patted Sadie’s back before letting go.
She gave a quick smile and then clapped her hands together once. “You boys ready to get started? I’ve got a new bread pudding recipe I’ve been dying to try out. I’ve been looking up recipes for the last week.”
“All we need are a few good steaks for the grill,” Nick said, smiling.
The warmth on his face at his mother’s reaction to Sadie put a wide smile on his face.
Luke walked in the back door, bags hanging from his arms, and winked. “You better run while you can get away, Sadie. Or she’ll put you to work, too.”
“Sadie’s quite a talented baker. She might teach us a thing or two if we let her loose in the kitchen,” Nick chimed in.
Was he beaming when he said that?
Nah. Couldn’t be.
Sadie had to be seeing things.
She’d seen Nick Campbell survive bullets, lead her through underbrush and trees to safety, and outsmart dangerous men. He was most definitely not the type to beam.
Boomer, tail wagging, walked circles in front of Melba.
“And who is this baby?” Melba acknowledged, as Gran and the others filed into the kitchen.
“He’s mine.” Sadie smiled, despite feeling like the odd man out in the room. And yet, everyone in Nick’s family had made her feel welcome in some way.
Maybe, someday, when all this was behind her and she had a normal life again, she’d live on a ranch like this one.
The image of children running outside, drinking Kool-Aid on a hot summer’s day, pierced her thoughts.
What did she think about having children?
For so long, she thought she’d marry Tom, and they’d start a family two years after the wedding. He’d wanted to give them a chance to adjust to being husband and wife before they added to their family.
Part of her thought planning everything out was a good idea. Another side to her railed against the notion. She, of all people, knew how life had a way of charting its own course for people, and especially her.
In her life, if she planned an outdoor vacation, it was sure to rain.
She’d learned years ago not to fight it. Things tended to work out best for her if she found a way to relax and go with the flow.
Tom had been order and plans and spreadsheets.
Miraculously, his plans seemed to work out. The sun even knew when to cue for him if he’d planned their getaway. She had no idea how he’d managed it, but it had worked out.
He’d wanted to graduate from college before he got a job. He did.
He’d planned to work for a company that was willing to pay for his advanced degree so he could save for a wedding. Check.
His last year of graduate school, he expected to date the woman he planned to marry. They’d met Valentine’s Day of that year.
He planned to get engaged after dating for two years. He’d already started laying hints.
The marriage part? Well, that didn’t work out quite so well for him.
Sadie glanced around at people milling around the room.
She only hoped she could survive the next couple of hours surrounded by all the people Nick loved.
Chapter 11
The special occasion plates had been washed and put away in the china cabinet. Everyone had settled into the family room to watch a movie. The sun was beginning its descent. Nick figured he could zip out relatively quietly.
He borrowed Luke’s keys and slipped out back.
Most people confused Nick for his brother at a distance, anyway. The safest way to slip out of town unnoticed was to be mistaken for Luke.
Sadie wasn’t expecting him to leave until midnight, so he should be good there. She’d excused herself to go lay down after supper, no doubt her body was still on bakery time. Adjusting to being awake in the daytime would take a few weeks.
Dallas was a good forty-minute drive. What was Grimes doing with a warehouse downtown? The obvious answers? Funneling weapons. Human trafficking. Or using it to store product.
As he opened the door and then slid into the driver’s seat, his internal warning bells sounded. He drew his weapon, turned around and yanked the blanket from the floorboard.
“Dammit, Sadie. What do you think you’re doing?”
She didn’t respond.
“You didn’t answer my question,” he said, immediately withdrawing his weapon and tucking it in the back of his jeans.
“Um, I guess there’s no point pretending it’s not me.” She gave the universal sign of surrender and smiled.
She was kidding around? Trying to make light of the situation? He didn’t think so.
“I don’t appreciate this at all. What kind of relationship will we have if I can’t trust you?” He immediately realized just how hypocritical he sounded.
She gave him a “go to Hades” look that could set ice on fire. “My thoughts exactly.”
“Point taken,” he conceded, offering a hand up. “How’d you know I was leaving early?”
“I wasn’t sure. I guessed. Why? What does it matter? I’m here. That’s the most important thing.” She hopped over the seat and eased onto the passenger’s side.
“No. It isn
’t.” He deadpanned her. “You’re not coming.”
“Yes, I am. Please. I promise to stay in the truck.” Her green eyes pleaded, and his heart stuttered.
“No, you won’t.” He let out a suppressed laugh. Not a good idea to let her affect his decisions. He’d crossed a line with her physically. Couldn’t say he was especially sorry for holding her in the kitchen. But that’s where it had to end. When it came to his investigation, there was no give-and-take. She might jeopardize his information-gathering mission.
“I will. Just let me come with you. I’ll do whatever you say.”
He could think of a few interesting suggestions with their bodies this close. None of them involved work. “Give me one good reason not to haul you out of this truck.”
“Because I’m scared something will happen to you if you go alone and you said Luke was coming. Because my conscious wouldn’t be able to handle knowing you’d gone alone. Because maybe I can help.”
She was concerned about his safety? “That’s three.”
“I’m scared.”
In a split second, she scooted next to him. Before he could argue, her lips found his. All rational thought as to why he shouldn’t allow this to happen flew out his brain when he tasted her sweet lips.
With her mouth moving against his, wasn’t as if he could stop himself. He took hold of her neck and positioned her head exactly where he wanted her. Desire was a current running through him, seeking an outlet. This close, the scent of her flooded him. His body so in tune with hers, he was already getting excited. Blood pulsed thickly to the erection growing in his jeans.
He laid her back against the seat, his heft covering her. Her tongue battled with his in the best war he’d ever waged. She tasted sweet, and he wanted more. Now. Not a good idea.
With great effort, he disengaged. “You sure this is what you want?”
Her hands slipped inside his shirt, feeling their way up his chest in answer.
She tasted better than the fresh-baked-bread-and-lily scent he’d first been attracted to. He hadn’t forgotten the brief kiss they’d shared at the cabin. He’d had to break apart too soon for his liking.
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