clear to forgive them. Yet.
Baby and puppy images notwithstanding, I’d kept my fingers to myself, but the temptation to touch Adam was strong—except that I didn’t want any images about what he’d been up to lately polluting my already boggled mind. Not that I wasn’t going to run my fingertips over him some time in the near future, especially since Merlin carried some interesting images of a dark-haired guy with gentle hands, and I wanted Adam to find someone special. But it would have to wait until I started functioning normally again.
Adam had the grace to back away from me, opening some breathing space. I exhaled a sigh. Brothers could be good that way, even surrogate ones. I flashed him the best smile I could summon, and stood. “I am, however, going to give your dog a bath.” I looked down. “And clean myself up while I’m at it.”
I balanced Merlin in one arm while I shoved my iPad into the handbag I’d slung over the back of the chair, and then I closed Annie’s computer. No way was I going through the rest of their supposed intel with an audience.
Silence followed me as I disappeared into the mudroom and locked the door behind me. It was petty, but I needed time, and the mundane chore of giving a dog a bath would give me space to think without the distraction of prying eyes.
I settled Merlin in the huge sink, found a bottle of doggie shampoo in the cupboard, and went to work. “Guess this happens to you a lot, huh? Otherwise Annie wouldn’t have your shampoo in her mud room.”
Pouring my heart out to Merlin worked well. He didn’t argue with me, just listened attentively, offered a comment here and there in the form of a lick or nuzzle, and never once looked at me with anything but an adoring expression.
Best of all, it gave me a chance to practice one of my favorite coaching techniques: mindfulness. I cleared my mind, focusing on the warm water, soft, soapy fur, the bubbles tickling my skin, and the scents of wet dog and flower shampoo assaulting my nose.
By the time I’d rinsed Merlin, sponged the dirt off my legs, and toweled both of us dry, I had a mental list ready to type into the note app on my iPhone.
1. Talk to Mitch.
2. Work on clearing his name.
3. Straighten Annie, Pierce, and Adam out.
3. Find my grandfather.
4. Find/protect Millie and Harlan.
5. Question Millie and Harlan.
6. Learn the truth about who killed my parents.
7. Insure the rat bastards are brought to justice.
8. Borrow a weapon, because this situation had the feel of a freaking disaster.
Thirty minutes after locking myself in Annie’s mudroom, I strolled out, cradling one slightly damp dog against my chest. “I have things to do, and I’m taking the Jeep,” I announced to the circle of expectant faces.
I deposited Merlin in Adam’s lap, snagged my handbag off the back of the kitchen chair I’d previously occupied, marched into the great room, palmed the Jeep keys from the hall console, and dashed out the kitchen door.
ELEVEN
No one followed me. I kept my eye on Annie’s front door until I rounded the corner of the house, then broke into a run until I hit the far end of the circular driveway. I chanced one last glance behind me as I slipped into the Jeep, and then focused on starting the engine and peeling out of the driveway. Safe. And free in a round-about sort of way.
If Pierce and Adam hadn’t stopped me from leaving, it meant they either had a tracking device attached to the Jeep, or there was one stashed in my handbag, or both. Pierce had plenty of time to put one on the Jeep while Annie and I talked. Even if he didn’t have any spy equipment with him, he could have phoned Adam and asked him to take care of it. And both of them, or Annie, could have secreted a device in my handbag while I gave Merlin a bath.
The scent of wet dog permeated my busy mind. Damn, I should have allowed time for a shower when I planned my exit strategy. But every member of the team was both
Baby and puppy images notwithstanding, I’d kept my fingers to myself, but the temptation to touch Adam was strong—except that I didn’t want any images about what he’d been up to lately polluting my already boggled mind. Not that I wasn’t going to run my fingertips over him some time in the near future, especially since Merlin carried some interesting images of a dark-haired guy with gentle hands, and I wanted Adam to find someone special. But it would have to wait until I started functioning normally again.
Adam had the grace to back away from me, opening some breathing space. I exhaled a sigh. Brothers could be good that way, even surrogate ones. I flashed him the best smile I could summon, and stood. “I am, however, going to give your dog a bath.” I looked down. “And clean myself up while I’m at it.”
I balanced Merlin in one arm while I shoved my iPad into the handbag I’d slung over the back of the chair, and then I closed Annie’s computer. No way was I going through the rest of their supposed intel with an audience.
Silence followed me as I disappeared into the mudroom and locked the door behind me. It was petty, but I needed time, and the mundane chore of giving a dog a bath would give me space to think without the distraction of prying eyes.
I settled Merlin in the huge sink, found a bottle of doggie shampoo in the cupboard, and went to work. “Guess this happens to you a lot, huh? Otherwise Annie wouldn’t have your shampoo in her mud room.”
Pouring my heart out to Merlin worked well. He didn’t argue with me, just listened attentively, offered a comment here and there in the form of a lick or nuzzle, and never once looked at me with anything but an adoring expression.
Best of all, it gave me a chance to practice one of my favorite coaching techniques: mindfulness. I cleared my mind, focusing on the warm water, soft, soapy fur, the bubbles tickling my skin, and the scents of wet dog and flower shampoo assaulting my nose.
By the time I’d rinsed Merlin, sponged the dirt off my legs, and toweled both of us dry, I had a mental list ready to type into the note app on my iPhone.
1. Talk to Mitch.
2. Work on clearing his name.
3. Straighten Annie, Pierce, and Adam out.
3. Find my grandfather.
4. Find/protect Millie and Harlan.
5. Question Millie and Harlan.
6. Learn the truth about who killed my parents.
7. Insure the rat bastards are brought to justice.
8. Borrow a weapon, because this situation had the feel of a freaking disaster.
Thirty minutes after locking myself in Annie’s mudroom, I strolled out, cradling one slightly damp dog against my chest. “I have things to do, and I’m taking the Jeep,” I announced to the circle of expectant faces.
I deposited Merlin in Adam’s lap, snagged my handbag off the back of the kitchen chair I’d previously occupied, marched into the great room, palmed the Jeep keys from the hall console, and dashed out the kitchen door.
ELEVEN
No one followed me. I kept my eye on Annie’s front door until I rounded the corner of the house, then broke into a run until I hit the far end of the circular driveway. I chanced one last glance behind me as I slipped into the Jeep, and then focused on starting the engine and peeling out of the driveway. Safe. And free in a round-about sort of way.
If Pierce and Adam hadn’t stopped me from leaving, it meant they either had a tracking device attached to the Jeep, or there was one stashed in my handbag, or both. Pierce had plenty of time to put one on the Jeep while Annie and I talked. Even if he didn’t have any spy equipment with him, he could have phoned Adam and asked him to take care of it. And both of them, or Annie, could have secreted a device in my handbag while I gave Merlin a bath.
The scent of wet dog permeated my busy mind. Damn, I should have allowed time for a shower when I planned my exit strategy. But every member of the team was both
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