The Secret Sin by Darlene Gardner Page B

Lindsey. Is it okay if we stop by to see your dog?”
    Annie was so sure of the answer he’d give, her stomach sank.
    “Great,” Lindsey said. “We’re almost there now.”
    She pocketed the cell phone, then gave Annie a smug look. “He said it’s no problem.”
    The large, pale-yellow house where the Whitmores had lived for a generation came into view. It had a steeply pitched, irregular roofline and an asymmetrical beauty. The house was notable enough that years ago the local newspaper had written a story about it, describing it as a vivid example of Queen Anne architecture.
    “The most romantic house in Indigo Springs,” the newspaper had called it. An appropriate backdrop for a boy who Annie thought had grown into the most handsome man in town.
    He stood in the front yard with his enviable posture, the soft summer breeze rustling his short, thick hair, holding a leash attached to the collar of a large yellowish-brown dog. An unwelcome spurt of attraction pulled at Annie. There was something irresistible about a man with a dog, something she was determined to resist.
    “Come say hello to Hobo,” he called cheerfully.
    Lindsey didn’t need a second invitation. She rushed over to the dog, getting down on her knees to pet him. Annie was slower in arriving, reminding herself Lindsey thought she and Ryan were dating, vowing not to feel uncomfortable around him.
    “He’s such a cutie!” Lindsey cried. “But I thought you said he was a puppy.”
    “Hobo is a puppy,” he said. “An awfully big puppy.”
    “That’s an interesting name for a dog.” Annie deliberately joined the conversation. “Why’d you pick that?”
    “He looked like a hobo before his bath,” Ryan said. “I found him along the road a couple miles outside of town. I’m pretty sure somebody dumped him.”
    So he was the kind of guy who not only braked for stray animals, he brought them home. Annie wished he wasn’t.
    “How could somebody do that to a cutie like you?” Lindsey spoke directly to Hobo. The dog licked Lindsey on the cheek, and she giggled. “I think he likes me. Can I walk him to the end of the block and back?”
    Ryan handed her the leash. “My guess is he’ll walk you.”
    The dog took off as soon as Lindsey took hold. She followed, half running, fully giggling.
    “Watch out for cars,” Annie called after her. Lindsey didn’t answer, which wasn’t a surprise.
    “Maybe she’d like me better if I got her a dog,”Annie murmured, realizing too late she’d said the words aloud.
    “Tough day?” Ryan asked.
    She could have shrugged off the question but he was regarding her as though he truly wanted to hear about it. The burden of shouldering the problem alone suddenly seemed too heavy. She checked to make sure Lindsey was far enough down the street before saying anything.
    “Lindsey overheard me tell Jason she was thirteen years old.” Now that Annie had started to confide in Ryan, she found she wanted to tell him everything. “She’s hardly said a word to me since.”
    “Had to be done,” he said gently. “Give her a little time, and she’ll come around.”
    “I’ve been afraid she’ll say she wants to go home. Even if she doesn’t, I don’t want to spend what little time we have left together in silence.” She gritted her teeth. “Get a load of this. I tried to bribe her into talking to me again with ice cream.”
    “Did it work?”
    “Are you kidding?” She rolled her eyes. “The way to Lindsey’s heart is not through her skinny stomach.”
    He laughed. “I hear you. Food isn’t the answer, but a dog might do the trick. She’s really taken to Hobo. If you meant what you said about getting her a dog, you can have him.”
    “Are you serious?”
    “It’s the perfect solution. Sierra hasn’t seen him yet but she’s not wild about animals. If I take him to ananimal shelter, chances are nobody will adopt him. So what do you say?”
    Her inclination was to say yes. She made herself think