“I know. I’ve been procrastinating, though I have already bought a turkey. It’s thawing in the fridge. The only problem is Goose. Mae claims to be allergic to dogs.”
Since he’d used the word claims, she figured that meant he didn’t believe her. “So put Goose in the bedroom while Mae’s here. That should take care of that, right?”
“It depends. She’s said she can’t even be around dog dander. No matter how much I clean, I doubt I can eliminate that 100 percent.”
“Probably not. What kind of allergic reaction does she have?”
“I don’t know.” Hunter shook his head. “She’s never been around Goose—or any other dog—that I know of. I’ve never seen her have any sort of reaction.”
She understood his skepticism. “If she truly was allergic to dog dander, wouldn’t it be on you and your clothes? She’d get some on her when she hugs you.”
“Exactly. As unimaginable as it might sound, I’m thinking maybe she just doesn’t like dogs. The twins managed to steal two dogs from the training center and had them for months before your sister Patience stole them right back. Noel and Evan must have had dander on them, too, but I saw the three of them together before that and Mae wasn’t sneezing up a storm. Yeah, I think she just doesn’t like dogs.”
The mournful tone in his voice, along with the sparkle in his blue eyes, made her smile. “That’s a shame.”
“Especially since Goose is part of the family.” He eyed his dog, currently curled into Layla’s hip. “I always just leave her at home when I go over there. But if I invite Mae over here, I’m not sure she’ll come.”
“I’d think since she’s older, she’d really appreciate someone else offering to cook the meal,” Layla commented.
Hunter laughed. “Oh, not Mae. She likes to be in control at all times. I’d have to insist she stay out of the kitchen entirely. Otherwise, she’d simply push me out of the way and take over.”
“Then why even try? Why not just do it the way you’ve always done and simply go to Thanksgiving dinner at her house? Even if she hasn’t mentioned it, maybe she’s just assuming you’ll go.”
He met and held her gaze, his intense. “Because I want to spend Thanksgiving with you. No one should be alone on a day that’s supposed to be all about family.”
Touched, she slowly shook her head. “There’s no need for you to worry about me. I’m used to spending holidays alone. It’s not that big a deal to me.”
Even she knew how pathetic that sounded. Except she’d never really minded, or so she’d always told herself. Until now. The prospect of spending Thanksgiving with Hunter made her feel dizzy with longing.
To hide this, she turned her attention to Goose, who’d fallen asleep. “She’s such a good dog.”
“Come with me,” Hunter said, surprising her. “Whether I cook a turkey here or go eat at Mae’s, join me. Please.” Stunned, she slowly raised her head to find him watching her with the same intense expression. “I mean it, Layla. I enjoy your company. Having you share the day with me would make it that much more special.”
Her mouth went dry. Not sure what to think—was this pity, or did he really mean it?—she searched for a response and came up short. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes,” he urged.
She wanted to—oh, how badly she wanted to. But this seemed like the sort of thing people who were in a relationship did. “You confuse me,” she admitted. “You drew a line in the sand. As long as I’m engaged, we can’t—”
“We can’t be friends?” he interrupted. “Is that what you were going to say?”
Friends. It hadn’t been, and she suspected he knew that. Did he really think they could merely be friends, with the crazy attraction simmering between them? The more time they spent together, the better they got to know one another, the greater the chance that they would eventually end up in each other’s arms again. In fact, if she hung out at his place too long, she figured lovemaking would be inevitable.
Evidently, he didn’t see things the same way.
Friends. Though her chest felt tight, she straightened her shoulders. If he could do it, so could she. “I could really use a friend right now,” she admitted. “And I’ll think about your offer for Thanksgiving. Let me know once you’ve firmed up your plans.”
“Okay.” Still, he watched her, as if trying to get inside her head. “I’ll decide by tomorrow and let you know. Either way, I promise you I’ll tell Mae up front that you’re only a friend. That way, she won’t jump to any conclusions and start discussing weddings or babies with you.”
Just the thought of weddings or babies made her breath catch. She’d always put the notion of having a child into the same category as having a puppy—no time. Which wasn’t quite the same thing as no desire.
Hamlin had made it clear up front that he didn’t want any more children. He had a grown son, and that was all he needed. Since the idea of procreating with him made her skin crawl, she’d actually been relieved.
But somewhere deep inside herself, she’d always secretly longed to have children of her own one day. She wouldn’t go so far as to say she’d longed for the tired old white picket fence, husband and two kids, but pretty darn close. Except when she did think about it—which she hadn’t for a long, long time—she had dreamed of a partner with whom she shared equal responsibilities and dreams.
Somehow, without her realizing or even caring, her job had become her substitute for a rich, full life. She’d let everything else go—her friends, a social life and a chance at finding love—all in the name of Colton Energy.
And for what? A CEO who cared so little about the family business that he brought it to the brink of ruin with his spending? A father who cared so little about his own daughter that he was willing to broker her to a much-older man for money, just like he was selling a prize cow?
Hurt flooded her, along with embarrassment and shame. She’d been blind. Hunter had seen, Hunter had known. He’d been right all along. Her eyes stung with tears and her throat closed. What a fool she’d been.
Refocusing her attention on Goose, who opened one eye sleepily when Layla began petting her, she struggled to get her emotions back under control.
She’d never been one to spend a lot of time worrying about the future. One day at a time, with the exception of work, since she had to always plan ahead for marketing campaigns. At thirty-one years old, she’d figured she was still young enough to have lots of time to make major decisions. When her father had made his case for her to marry Hamlin Harrington, she’d been so eager to finally please him that she’d agreed without considering the ramifications for her entire future.
Now she understood she wasn’t willing to settle for a loveless marriage or a future with a man to whom she’d only be another possession he’d managed to acquire. She wanted more.
What this eye-opening realization might mean, she wasn’t sure. The one thing she knew for certain was if she chose to make a change, her life would be altered drastically.
As would her relationship—whether they were friends or otherwise—with Hunter.
Chapter 11
One of the hardest things Hunter had ever done was keep his hands and words to himself as he watched Layla struggle with some inner revelation. Her breath caught in an audible gasp, and before she looked down, he saw the bright sheen of tears in her beautiful eyes.
More than anything, he ached to comfort her, to wrap his arms around her and offer her his shoulder to cry on if she needed it, but knew he didn’t have the right. This thing between them—whatever it might turn out to be—was still too new, too uncertain.
After all, Layla still intended to go through with marrying another man.
Her fiancé should be the one to comfort her. She deserved that, as well as a man who would love her more than anything else, who would hold her close on wintry nights and celebra
te her victories, large and small.
All of which, Hunter realized, he himself longed to do.
This should have stunned him, but it didn’t. He’d known since the first time he touched her that Layla Colton was special. She just didn’t realize it yet.
Hopefully, he’d be around when she did.
Pushing up out of his chair, he went into the kitchen, eyeing the almost empty wine bottle and deciding to pass it up in favor of water. “Do you want the rest of the wine?” he called out. “There’s probably enough left for one more glass.”
“No, thanks,” she said, her voice a bit wobbly. “But I’d love a glass of water if you don’t mind. For some reason, wine makes me dehydrated.”
He poured two tall glasses of ice water and carried them back into the living room. “Here you go,” he said cheerfully, handing one to her. She raised her head and thanked him. At least she didn’t appear to have been crying.
“Everything’s all going to work out, you know,” he told her, even though he had no idea of the nature of her inner struggle. “It always does.”
“True.” Sipping her water, she considered him. “You know what? Once I get back home, I’m thinking it’s time to get a dog of my own.”
She couldn’t have surprised him more if she’d tried. “Really? You’d have to cut way back on your work hours or hire someone to come let him or her out.”
“I know.” Her serene smile told him she’d clearly reached some kind of inner resolution. “I’ve actually realized that the time has come to make a lot of changes to my life.”
He waited for her to elaborate, but instead she started talking about how eager she was to get back to work at the K9 center tomorrow. Since he knew better than to push her, he didn’t. She’d tell him whenever she felt ready to.
Because they both had to be up early the next morning, they watched the evening news and said their good-nights. As he walked to his room, Hunter marveled how easily they clicked together, even when it wasn’t about sex.
He could get used to this.
Since that kind of thinking felt way too dangerous, he pushed the thought from his mind and went to bed.
The next morning, Hunter staggered into the kitchen with the intention of grabbing a cup of coffee. Caffeine first, then a hot shower. Hopefully, those two things combined would help wake him up. Even when he’d been younger, he’d never been much of a morning person, and switching from working graveyard to the day shift would take a bit of an adjustment. To put things mildly. It didn’t help that he and Layla had sat up late just talking.
He enjoyed her company. Even putting aside the constant attraction simmering between them, he admired her intelligent wit, her sense of humor and the passion with which she discussed things that mattered to her.
Since he could hear the sound of her shower running, he knew he’d have the kitchen to himself, which was exactly what he wanted. He made his coffee and escaped to his own room.
After his coffee and his shower, he felt a lot more human. Dressed in his uniform and ready to go, he made his way back to the kitchen to grab a second cup of coffee and something to eat.
Layla looked up and smiled when he entered. “I hope you don’t mind, I made a pot of oatmeal,” she said. “There’s more on the stove if you want some.”
Grateful, he nodded. “Thanks. That sounds a lot better than the bowl of cold cereal I was planning on having.”
Outside, the sun had not yet risen. The wind howled around the edges of the house, making the window screens rattle. He shuddered. “Sounds cold.”
“It is. I checked the weather on my phone,” Layla told him. “A cold front came in earlier. It’s snowing. They’re predicting three inches.” Since snow in South Dakota wasn’t unusual this time of year, no one was surprised.
“At least it’s just a dusting.” However, since this would be only the second snowfall of the season for Red Ridge, he envisioned numerous accidents. People appeared to completely forget how to drive on snow over the course of a summer.
Because of that, he went back to his room and replaced his shoes with snow boots. When he returned to the kitchen, Layla had just donned her down parka. A soft violet color, it looked both warm and expensive.
“Nice coat,” he told her.
“Thanks.” Pulling a pair of gloves from her pocket, she slipped them over her hands. “Stay warm today.”
“You too.” He didn’t tell her he’d probably be working some accident scenes, depending on how the chief wrote the assignments. Since it had been a good while, Hunter figured he was due to take a turn.
Once he stepped outside into the howling wind and near whiteout conditions, Hunter realized the weather forecast had been wrong. No way was a snowstorm this intense only bringing three inches. Hell, from what he could tell, four inches had already fallen, and the snow continued to come down in a steady curtain of flakes.
Despite the as-yet unplowed roads, Hunter arrived for work early, which was good, since he wanted to have a word with the chief. The night shift—his former coworkers—were just getting off, and they greeted him with waves and a few teasing comments about how soft he’d be now that he worked days. He teased them back and then asked how the last couple hours had been for traffic incidents.
“Most people are still home” was the reply. “Everything will start rocking and rolling for rush hour.”
Just what he’d been afraid of. Hopefully, people would wake up with the common sense they’d been born with and it wouldn’t be too bad.
Since Chief Colton always showed up early to have a few words with the graveyard shift before starting his day, he already was in his office, drinking black coffee out of an oversize mug and skimming through the newspaper. The board on the wall still held last night’s assignments, so Hunter didn’t know if he’d work traffic patrol or not yet.
In the meantime, he wanted to talk to the chief about Devlin Harrington.
Hunter poked his head in the doorway. “You got a minute?”
“Of course.” Putting down the paper, the chief waved him to a chair. “What’s up?”
Hoping he wouldn’t get in too much trouble for playing fast and loose with valuable evidence, Hunter filled his boss in on what he’d done with the baseball cards and Devlin Harrington. When he finished, Chief Colton pinched the bridge of his nose and considered.
“But what exactly are you hoping to accomplish?” he asked.
A reasonable question. “Goose alerted me three times when I visited Devlin’s office. He’s got some computer storage devices stashed there. We just need a valid reason to ask for a search warrant. If we could set up a sting operation, with me selling him the valuable baseball cards and then having me get busted, we could search there, since he knowingly bought stolen inventory. I brought a small recorder and I have it all on tape.”
To Hunter’s relief, the chief didn’t immediately discount his plan.
“It might work,” the older man finally allowed. “We’d have to bring a few of the others in on it. Let me ask you this. What exactly are you hoping to find on these storage devices?”
“Evidence that will incriminate Devlin for the Groom murders.”
Chief Colton whistled. “That’s a tall order.”
“True,” Hunter admitted. “But my gut instincts are rarely wrong.”
“You know, you might have something there. Yesterday when you were off, we received an anonymous tip. One of the murder weapons is supposedly buried on some land Devlin Harrington owns. A team is going out there with their dogs to search this morning.”
Hunter wanted to go, but that kind of search wasn’t Goose’s specialty, so he’d only get in the way. Despite the rush of triumph that flooded through him at the news, he kept this to himself. “Please let me know if they find anything,” he said instead.
“Will do.” The chief glanced at him.
“Any news on the two incidents with Layla?”
“No. I’m frustrated. Whoever is behind them is too good. We don’t have any prints or witnesses. Nothing.”
“I hope something turns up.” Returning his attention to his computer, Chief Colton dismissed him.
Back at his own desk, Hunter sifted through the case files he’d brought with him from nights. He had a possible embezzling case to bring Goose to, which she’d love. The company had requested help locating evidence that could prove what they already suspected.
And the Mark Hatton/Layla Colton case. That would move slowly, and most of the interaction would be between the individuals’ attorneys. Of course, Hunter still had hope he could find real evidence to disprove Hatton’s claims.
When assignments went up, Hunter saw he wasn’t on traffic. Both relieved and surprised, he figured the work he’d been doing on Devlin Harrington had to be the reason.
At noon, after a morning spent pushing paper, Hunter stretched and headed out to grab something to eat. He’d take it home with him, just as he’d done on the graveyard shift, so he could spend time with Goose and let her out. She loved snow.
Outside, the snowfall had tapered off to flurries. It looked like the streets had been plowed, too, and traffic appeared steady. As he trudged through snow to his vehicle, he glanced over at the K9 training center and wondered how Layla was doing. Briefly, he considered stopping in and saying hello to her, but he knew that would likely cause speculation and gossip.
Instead, he drove slowly down Main Street. The sky continued to sporadically spit out snow. He picked up a burger and fries and headed home. As usual, Goose greeted him with enthusiasm, but since she was used to sleeping during the day, she appeared a bit confused. He let her out, standing by the back door since he knew she would stay outside too long if he didn’t call her in due to her love of the white wet stuff.
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