A Beauty Dark & Deadly (A Dark & Deadly Series Book 1) by Heather C. Myers Page B

smiled much in the past few days so laughing was downright unfamiliar.
     
    Why was she laughing?  He had seen her with just a towel.  Yet, the situation they had found themselves in had been awkward and Emmy could not help but release the tension that had been building since she had left her grandfather.  Laughter had been an interesting but not unpleasant choice of expression.  It reminded her how much she enjoyed laughing and wanted to do it again.  Hopefully, soon.
     

Chapter 6
     
                   Emmy woke up to the sound of scratches on the front door, the creak of it being opened, and slobbering.  She knitted her brows together as she threw her legs over the bed and stretched as she stood.  Before she went to see where the noise came from, she threw her hair in a messy ponytail.  Her feet were wrapped in socks and proceeded with caution as she stepped out of her room.  Since the cabin was made from wood, each step danced on the threat of causing a squeak to cry out and let anyone who might overhear become aware of her whereabouts.  She wasn’t familiar enough with her new environment to know where to step, but each step was slow and deliberate to avoid it as best she could.
     
    When she reached the top of the stairs, her eyes took in a sight she never would have thought she’d see: Jason was kneeling down, still clad in that robe, his chin length hair standing in every direction, in front of the open door, where the dog from yesterday was eating what Emmy could only assume was the leftover beans from last night on the front porch.  She could hear the slobbering, the lapping of the water Jason had offered the animal, Jason’s low murmurs as he petted the dog between the ears.
     
    A warm feeling gripped hold of the insides of her stomach, and as she continued to watch, her body leaned against the frame and one arm crossed her chest to hold onto the other.
     
    There was something gentle about him in that moment.  He knew the dog would be back every day, now that Jason had offered it food, water, and affection.  Of course, just because he had been nice to an animal did not mean he wasn’t a murderer or had redeemed himself, but the fact that he did so while he thought she was still asleep, as though he had nothing to prove to anybody, did something to Emmy’s thought process.  She couldn’t hate him.  Perhaps she could not even dislike him, even if she wanted to, even if it was the safer option.  But he couldn’t be a monster, not if he genuinely cared about this animal.
     
    He shocked her again when he stood back up and took a step back.  He waved his right arm – drowning in the sleeve of the robe – indicating the dog could come inside.  Emmy’s eyes narrowed at the scene.  She thoroughly believed that animals were good judges of character, even better than other humans.  If the dog chose to take its chances out in the woods, with the bears and the cold, it would tell Emmy that while Jason was generous, he wasn’t safe.  The dog waited for a moment, its big brown eyes looking from Jason to the inside of his cabin, its eyebrows twitching with each glance.  Finally, it eased its way into the home and began to pant, as thought it was already comfortable with its new home.
     
    “Good boy,” Jason said and she could hear the smile in his voice as he closed the door behind him.  He took care not to step in the small, plastic bowl that was still occupied with water and patted the dog’s head once again.
     
    It was only then that his eyes noticed Emmy standing there.  She wasn’t quite as quick to react as she hoped to be, and instantly picked up the shoulder of her sweater and fixed it so her skin wasn’t showing.
     
    “I thought we could keep him,” he said, indicating the dog.
     
    Emmy wasn’t sure what to make of the statement.  The fact that he used we instead of I caused her heart to harden.  But not as much as it should have.
     
    “I’ll get dog food