first place. “I was wondering if you heard any more about Spence’s uncle.”
The lawman’s demeanor changed instantly. “Why? Has there been a problem?”
Nick had to be honest. “Nothing I can prove, but last night my dog acted as if someone had been snooping around the house. I couldn’t find any tracks or anything, but Mooch doesn’t spook easily.”
How much should he share? If he were going to stick around indefinitely, he would’ve waited until he had proof his suspicions were on target. But he couldn’t afford to be that cautious, not when Callie would soon be back on her own. Even if she did adopt Mooch, the dog couldn’t keep her safe all the time.
“I’ve noticed some marks in the carpet that look as if pieces of furniture have been moved. Today Callie noticed a vase is missing. There’s no sign of a break-in, and maybe all of this means nothing at all. I could be jumping at shadows and seeing a threat where one doesn’t really exist.”
“But maybe it does.” Gage tossed the remainder of his drink in a trash can as they walked along. “I’ll ask around and let you know what I find out.”
They’d reached the school parking lot. A little girl broke away from a group of children waiting in a line by the front door of the building. She headed straight for them.
Gage tracked her progress as he scanned the surrounding area. Nick wondered if it was Gage’s police training behind his vigilance or if it was left over from his days in the special forces. It was probably a combination of both with a healthy dose of concerned parent mixed in.
“Thanks for your time, Gage. I didn’t tell Callie I was going to talk to you about this. I didn’t want to worry her unnecessarily without solid evidence. I’m also going to replace all the old locks on Spence’s house with dead bolts before I go.”
Gage nodded in approval. “Good thinking. I’ll make sure my men know to keep an eye on the place. Any idea how long you’ll be staying there?”
“Not yet. I’ll give you a call when I know for sure.”
“Sounds good.”
Gage’s daughter had finally reached them. She gave Nick a quick look before staring up at her father. “You’re late again, Dad.”
The police chief made a show of checking his watch. “Cut me some slack, kid. You only got out of class five minutes ago.”
“True, but that means you owe me a treat. That was the deal.”
Gage stared down at his daughter. “Fine, Syd, but I think we need to set a time limit on this deal. Nothing under fifteen minutes counts.”
She shook her head hard enough to have her braids flying. “Nope. Five minutes.”
“Ten.”
Gage sighed dramatically, but then he grinned at Nick over his daughter’s head when she finally nodded. “She knows how to drive a hard bargain, doesn’t she?”
He tugged on Syd’s braid. “Okay, kiddo. Ten minutes it is. By the way, Sydney, this is Nick Jenkins. He’s doing some work on Callie Redding’s house for her.”
Syd studied him with the same clear blue eyes that her father had. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
“Same here, Syd.” Nick chuckled. “Gage, I see what you mean about being called sir. I think I just aged a good ten years.”
Gage smiled back at him and held out his hand. “Good talking to you again, Nick. Keep me posted on how things go. We’re headed for my folks’ place now, which is in the opposite direction from where we started. We’ll talk again soon.”
Nick nodded his appreciation. “I’ll look forward to it. Now I’d better get back to the house. Daylight’s burning.”
And if he hurried, he might be able to get the rest of that front flower bed weeded and still have time to work on those locks.
Chapter 11
A ustin didn’t make a habit of stopping by Spence’s place too often, so finding out the house was now occupied had come as quite a shock. Who the hell was that guy anyway? Not that it mattered, but Austin was majorly pissed off to learn some stranger had
The lawman’s demeanor changed instantly. “Why? Has there been a problem?”
Nick had to be honest. “Nothing I can prove, but last night my dog acted as if someone had been snooping around the house. I couldn’t find any tracks or anything, but Mooch doesn’t spook easily.”
How much should he share? If he were going to stick around indefinitely, he would’ve waited until he had proof his suspicions were on target. But he couldn’t afford to be that cautious, not when Callie would soon be back on her own. Even if she did adopt Mooch, the dog couldn’t keep her safe all the time.
“I’ve noticed some marks in the carpet that look as if pieces of furniture have been moved. Today Callie noticed a vase is missing. There’s no sign of a break-in, and maybe all of this means nothing at all. I could be jumping at shadows and seeing a threat where one doesn’t really exist.”
“But maybe it does.” Gage tossed the remainder of his drink in a trash can as they walked along. “I’ll ask around and let you know what I find out.”
They’d reached the school parking lot. A little girl broke away from a group of children waiting in a line by the front door of the building. She headed straight for them.
Gage tracked her progress as he scanned the surrounding area. Nick wondered if it was Gage’s police training behind his vigilance or if it was left over from his days in the special forces. It was probably a combination of both with a healthy dose of concerned parent mixed in.
“Thanks for your time, Gage. I didn’t tell Callie I was going to talk to you about this. I didn’t want to worry her unnecessarily without solid evidence. I’m also going to replace all the old locks on Spence’s house with dead bolts before I go.”
Gage nodded in approval. “Good thinking. I’ll make sure my men know to keep an eye on the place. Any idea how long you’ll be staying there?”
“Not yet. I’ll give you a call when I know for sure.”
“Sounds good.”
Gage’s daughter had finally reached them. She gave Nick a quick look before staring up at her father. “You’re late again, Dad.”
The police chief made a show of checking his watch. “Cut me some slack, kid. You only got out of class five minutes ago.”
“True, but that means you owe me a treat. That was the deal.”
Gage stared down at his daughter. “Fine, Syd, but I think we need to set a time limit on this deal. Nothing under fifteen minutes counts.”
She shook her head hard enough to have her braids flying. “Nope. Five minutes.”
“Ten.”
Gage sighed dramatically, but then he grinned at Nick over his daughter’s head when she finally nodded. “She knows how to drive a hard bargain, doesn’t she?”
He tugged on Syd’s braid. “Okay, kiddo. Ten minutes it is. By the way, Sydney, this is Nick Jenkins. He’s doing some work on Callie Redding’s house for her.”
Syd studied him with the same clear blue eyes that her father had. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
“Same here, Syd.” Nick chuckled. “Gage, I see what you mean about being called sir. I think I just aged a good ten years.”
Gage smiled back at him and held out his hand. “Good talking to you again, Nick. Keep me posted on how things go. We’re headed for my folks’ place now, which is in the opposite direction from where we started. We’ll talk again soon.”
Nick nodded his appreciation. “I’ll look forward to it. Now I’d better get back to the house. Daylight’s burning.”
And if he hurried, he might be able to get the rest of that front flower bed weeded and still have time to work on those locks.
Chapter 11
A ustin didn’t make a habit of stopping by Spence’s place too often, so finding out the house was now occupied had come as quite a shock. Who the hell was that guy anyway? Not that it mattered, but Austin was majorly pissed off to learn some stranger had
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