Mission: Cavanaugh Baby by Marie Ferrarella Page A

he meant that. It made her feel guiltier about her sudden flare of temper. So much so that she added, “Maybe I would be if they were still around, but they died when I was four—or so I was told.”
    Actually, the qualifying phrase was a lie. Not that she hadn’t been told. One of the dozens of social services women who had traipsed through her life had told her that she’d been found near the burning car. But that woman had had a bad temper and the emotional range of a lemon, so as soon as she could, Ashley had researched the incident for herself.
    She had wound up going through every single news story about a car accident taking two lives and leaving a toddler as the only survivor. It had taken her more than six months, but she’d finally come across a couple of lines in one paper, a few more in another. Working her way backward, she’d greedily absorbed every detail she could find. Even so, there hadn’t been all that much.
    She never had uncovered a name. Or the cause of the accident.
    Shane looked at her, not knowing what to say, only aware that he should say something . “Saying I’m really sorry sounds pretty trite, given the situation,” he finally confessed.
    She shrugged off his words. “Hey, it happened a long time ago, and until this morning, you and I didn’t even know each other so there’s no reason for you to be sorry about any of it.” Ashley lifted her chin proudly. She refused to be on the receiving end of pity, no matter how well intentioned. She wasn’t that homeless waif to be pitied anymore.
    To prevent the detective from saying anything more and making them both uncomfortable, Ashley turned the key quickly and pushed open the door.
    Even before she entered the house, she heard the new dog barking up a storm. The other two dogs, bless ’em, had remembered their training. Whether it was instinct or a keen sense of smell that helped them tell her apart from anyone else, they knew it was her unlocking the door. Because of that, there was no reason for either of them to bark.
    The moment she walked in, the two older dogs surrounded her, vying for her attention, each wanting to be the first one to be petted.
    “Hey, hey, hey, guys, it’s only been a little more than an hour. You couldn’t have missed me that much.” She laughed. “Has the new guy been giving you trouble?” she quipped, amused at the abundant show of affection.
    Looking down at the terrier, who was growling at Cavanaugh, daring him to take a step closer, Ashley bent to pick up the dog.
    “What did I tell you about your attitude, Albert?” she chided. “You’ve got to make an effort to get along with the guys.” She shifted the dog so that his small face was looking up directly at hers. “You’re safe here and there’s nothing to worry about, but you can’t give everyone a hard time, understand?”
    In response, instead of barking, the dog licked her face.
    “No, that’s not going to get you off the hook,” she told him, laughing again.
    Despite her protest, Shane could see that the display of affection got to her.
    She seemed completely at ease, as well as almost like a completely different person around the dogs. It was then that he realized what was different about her. Her guard wasn’t up, and she wasn’t radiating tension the way she seemed to earlier, when she was just around people.
    It hadn’t been a fluke back at the apartment complex. Animals apparently responded to her, and she responded to them.
    “You make it sound as if they understand you,” he observed.
    “Of course they do.” The look on her face indicated that she didn’t understand why he would doubt that even for a moment.

Chapter 8
    “Y ou’re not actually planning on keeping that dog, are you?” Shane asked once they had arrived back at the precinct.
    True to her promise, she’d only spent a few minutes at her house. Once she was sure that the terrier hadn’t gotten into anything that he shouldn’t, that he hadn’t