A Word with the Bachelor by Teresa Southwick

wasn’t a question.
    â€œDamn straight.” Harley put a paw on his arm as if he understood all about duty, honor and loyalty. Jack almost smiled. “So, yeah, there are people I trust.”
    â€œBut only a select few. No one else. And I’m pretty sure I fall into the no-one-else group.”
    â€œYou said it.” Even as the words came out of his mouth he realized she didn’t deserve that.
    â€œOkay.” She nodded for a moment. “But here’s something to think about, Jack. Trust happens for a lot of reasons. One of them is going into combat situations and finding out who you can count on.” There was a lot less sunshine in her eyes when her gaze met his. “I suppose you could say life is combat. And telling someone only what they want to hear isn’t the best way to have their back. If someone isn’t afraid to lay the bad stuff on you, it’s a pretty good bet that when they tell you something good, you can believe it’s the truth.”
    Damn it, why did she have to make sense? He just wanted to be ticked off and he wanted to do it alone. She would call it crawling back into his man cave and frankly, hoo yah to that. It had been a bad idea to let her talk him into going to town and it was a bad idea to sit here now and listen to her being rational. And she smelled so good he wanted to bury himself in her.
    He opened his door. “Harley. Walk.”
    The little guy let out an excited yip and jumped into Jack’s lap then out of the car. He raced toward the marina. Without looking back at Erin, Jack followed after his dog.
    Brewster Smith was breaking down today’s sale display setup just outside the store. There were a few summer things left but the rest was fishing stuff. And it was getting pretty close to quitting time for the older man.
    There was a chill in the air that had a lot to do with summer being over, but Jack also felt it inside himself. Probably it had been there for a lot of years, but he hadn’t noticed until Erin’s warmth showed him the difference.
    Brew smiled when the dog bounded up the wooden steps and stopped beside him. He rubbed the animal’s out-of-proportion head. “Hello there, Mr. Harley. You’re looking fine today.”
    â€œHey,” Jack greeted him.
    The older man gave him an assessing look, not unlike a military inspection searching for any breakdown in discipline. “Afternoon. You are not looking as fine as your dog.”
    Everyone was a critic. “Thank you.”
    â€œIn fact,” the man went on, clearly not getting that “thank you” meant don’t go there, “you look like something’s eating at you.”
    â€œThank you again.”
    Brew nodded, indicating he got the message this time. “How are things?”
    â€œWhat is it with everyone wanting to talk about the damn book?”
    â€œWell, now, I can’t speak for everyone. And I can’t say I’m not curious about how it’s coming along, what with your research assistant giving you a hand. But I sure did like the first one.” Brew rubbed a hand over his beard. “That said, I wasn’t askin’ about the book so much as that pretty lady who’s stayin’ there with you.”
    â€œOh.” Jack was just about ready to admit the pretty lady stayin’ with him had a point about him hearing something innocent that his subconscious turned into a negative. His only comment was “Erin is many things.”
    â€œI’d put talker at the top of the list.” Brew laughed. “That little thing could babble the ears off a bull elephant.”
    The imagery made Jack laugh. Mostly because it was true. She turned out to be nothing like he’d first thought when she’d turned up here. The small, eager-to-please woman he’d believed he could torment into leaving had turned out to have a steely, stubborn streak. If anything she was the one pushing him