“What’s the matter?” Pete looked over her head and peered around her shoulder, searching for villains. Only after he saw that Sunny was alone did his gaze halt on her flimsy sleep tee. It was white and came to the tops of her thighs. Sunny knew it was see-through, but hadn’t given that any thought before she came here. Knocking on Pete’s door hadn’t been planned.
“I need you.”
“Okay,” he said. “I’m yours.” Fezzi appeared next to Pete’s legs. If Cici was out of town and Pete was around, Fezzi stuck to him like glue. “Let me get some pants on.”
Sunny shook her head. She stepped closer, until she could feel the warmth from Pete’s body against her own. He smelled like the roses that permeated Cici’s room, a scent that Sunny had grown up knowing to mean her sister was nearby, and that she was safe, no matter what.
“What is it?” Pete’s brows knitted.
Sunny’s arms slid around his waist.
“Okay,” he said. One arm went around her shoulders and pulled her against his chest. He held her tight, like she needed a hug. “It’ll be okay.”
Sunny nestled her face into the crook of his neck, drinking in his scents and warmth. The iron fist in her gut relaxed, but her shivers increased, changing from fear to something else, something as new as the spring wind that tried to blow the fresh scents of grass and early flowers over her burned dog quarters.
She didn’t realize she’d kissed him until his body went rigid. His neck was warm and sweet. She kissed him again, closer to his ear. The arm around her shoulders tightened. After the third kiss, the hand at the small of her back balled up her shirt in his fist. She kissed along his jawline, over the short beard he’d yet to shave. By the time she reached his lips, she could feel his hardness against her. “This is what I meant,” Sunny whispered, “when I said I needed you.”
Pete pushed her hair from her face. “My answer hasn’t changed,” he whispered back. “I’m yours.”
Sunny’s body flooded with heat, scalp to toes. “So that means—” Sunny brushed her mouth over his “—that you’ll take me back to my room and make love to me?”
Pete drew back a little. He ran his hand down her arm, to her fingertips. “Is that what you want me to do?”
Sunny nodded, her throat almost too tight to speak. “I’ve never done that.” She wasn’t sure he’d understand. She’d had sex plenty of times, and had never really thought there was anything more to it. Until the day Pete had kissed her. That kiss had been like a spotlight over every little thing Pete had ever done for her, illuminating every smile, fist bump, game played in the woods; every hour spent by her side, saving dogs, saving lives, saving her. The only other person who had ever been there for her like that was her sister.
Pete’s pupils grew so big his irises almost disappeared. “I’ll make love to you, Sunny Skye,” he said. “But I have to warn you. I won’t be coming out of that the same.” There was no shame in his words. “There’ll be no turning back. At least for me.”
“I already can’t go back.” Sunny’s voice cracked over her words. She’d never felt so bare in all her life. She actually felt more naked, in her see-through sleep shirt, than she ever had fully nude, in front of other men.
Pete didn’t say anything. Sunny shivered and crossed her arms over her chest. He reached out and gently uncrossed them. “Don’t hide, sweetheart.” He drew her in again, tightly against him. “I already told you. I’m yours.”
* * *
“You weren’t kidding when you said you’d be here by morning.” Sunny smoothed out her hair and adjusted her shirt. She didn’t notice it was buttoned crooked until Constance’s gaze lingered there.
Cici drew her in for a hug and held her so tight Sunny thought her spine might crack. “We got back late and slept before we came over.” Constance drew back and motioned toward the Tall-Dark-and-Handsome standing inside Sunny’s threshold.
Rhett waved. He looked different than he had at Christmas, when he was wearing a button-down and was freshly shaven. Now he looked like a giant beach bum, with longish hair, five-o’clock shadow and shorts that smelled like suntan lotion. Both versions were striking.
“You remember Pete.” Sunny gestured to him as he suppressed a yawn.
“Yep.” Rhett nodded and Pete nodded back.
“Pete’s been staying with me as much as he can,” Sunny explained.
Constance’s eyes narrowed as she took in the scene—Pete, looking like he hadn’t slept, Sunny, with her crooked blouse. “I’m going to go check it out.” Constance headed for the kitchen, which would give her access to the backyard.
Sunny followed, along with the two men, who shook hands when they passed each other. Sunny could hear them making casual talk as she trotted to keep up with her sister. Without a word, Sunny knew that Constance knew. Just from her quick assessment, Constance knew everything.
They all gathered in the back, the once serene woods with Roger’s and the dogs’ quarters blending in peacefully among the trees now a horror scene of wet, black wood, ash, mud and yellow crime scene tape.
“Did you lose anyone?” Constance’s voice was steady and hard. “Roger’s okay? You were crying too much for me to understand anything you said on the phone, and you haven’t said much in your texts.”
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t talk about this. I couldn’t text about this. But yes. Roger is okay. He’s the reason things weren’t worse,” Sunny said. “He’s staying in one of the cabins for now, with Sinbad, Willy, Calypso and Ranger. Pete took the rest.” She nodded toward Pete, where he stood talking to Rhett. Her gaze lingered, her skin tingling all over despite the gruesome scene and smells.
“You’re blushing,” Constance said.
“What?” Sunny tore her gaze away as Pete and Rhett gestured toward the ruins and spoke in low, serious tones. “No,” she said. “No, I’m not.”
Constance sighed. “You slept with Pete. Sunny. How could you?” Her voice dropped. “I know you’re devastated, and feeling vulnerable, but Pete’s our best friend. He’s not like the other guys you go for. What do you think is going to happen when you get bored this time? You can’t just toss Pete out of your life. And he’s not going to just fade away.”
Sunny was surprised at how calm she felt, despite her sister’s words. “I know that.” Tears welled up behind her eyes, but she made no attempt to hide them. “I really, really know that.”
Constance was quiet awhile. Her eyes narrowed as she tilted her chin up. She stepped closer and drew in a deep breath. She put her hands on Sunny’s shoulders and peered closely at her face. “Oh, my God,” she said. “You’re not lying.”
Sunny leaned her head on Cici’s shoulder as tears jumped down her cheeks. She cried quietly as Constance rubbed her back. Her tears were both good and bad, a product of being overwhelmed by everything that had happened in the last few days. “You were right,” she whispered. “I was arrogant. I wasn’t careful. And Janice Matteri got her revenge. Even if she’s arrested, the damage is done.”
“You’re being too hard on yourself.”
“No.” Sunny sniffed deeply. “You were right, as always.” She pulled back and surveyed the ashes. “I’ve always been impulsive. The bratty little sister who thinks she can do whatever she wants because she lives in the comfort of her big sister’s protective shadow. Daddy was too lenient with me. I was too headstrong. You put those two things together and all you get is—” she shook her head as she surveyed her ruined dreams “—destruction. Well, I’ve learned my lesson.” Sunny swiped under her nose with the back of her hand. “No more dog stealing. No more anything.”
“Sunny, this isn’t your fault,” Constance said. “You didn’t burn down your own rescue. Whoever did this will be caught. You’re just upset right now. Nobody was hurt. That’s all that matters.”
“Well.” Sunny’s eyes filled again. “Nobody but Humphrey.”
“What happened to Humphrey?” Rhett’s deep voice rolled over Sunny’s head. He and Pete had approached and stopped just short of the sisterly circle.
Sunny turned to face him. “He didn’t get out.” The words were hard to say.
“Humphrey died?” Constance took Sunny by the forearms. “You didn’t tell me that.”
Sunny shook her head. “He’s with Dr. Winters. Pete revived him with CPR. But—” she swallowed the burning in the back of her throat “—it doesn’t look good.”
“The little beagle, right?” Rhett’s voice changed. He had an expression on his face Sunny wouldn’t have expected from such a large, imposing man. He actually looked like a little boy in a giant body.
“Yeah,” Constance said. “That’s him.”
“The one who came out of his cage for me?” Rhett’s voice was soft and high.
“That’s him.” Pete pressed his lips together.
Rhett turned to Sunny. Something about the expression on his face made her happy that Cici had walked so bravely into his gym one day, for no apparent reason, wearing a unicorn T-shirt and making a fool of herself while she struggled to climb a rope, and that he was now in their lives.
“Can I see him?” Rhett said. “I have to see him.”
* * *
Dr. Winters let them both inside her mobile vet van, stepping out as she did. “You know I trust you, Cici,” she said, pushing her glasses up her long nose. “If you say Humphrey likes this guy, then have at it. I’m willing to try anything. Just don’t mess with his IVs.”
“I wouldn’t.” Rhett shook his head. “I wouldn’t do that.”
Dr. Winters looked like she bit back a smile. “I’ll be inside.” She hitched a thumb toward her house and let the door fall closed.
Constance led Rhett to the back of the van. He let out a gush of air when they saw Humphrey. The beagle looked even smaller and thinner than he had before. His paws were bandaged, probably from the burns Dr. Winters said he got from the crate when the metal heated up. His fur was shaved where the IV lines ran. His rib cage expanded with rapid, shallow breaths. His eyes were closed.
“No,” Rhett whispered. It was more of a sound than a word.
Constance clasped his hand. He squeezed it.
“Do you think he’ll make it?”
“It doesn’t look good.”
“Can you—” Rhett lifted his free hand and made a rolling motion “—do whatever you do? To his energy? You know, where you don’t touch him but you still touch him?” Rhett blinked down at her, his lashes dark and thick over his sparkling eyes. “I’ve seen you do it to him. I know you’ve done it to me.” He squeezed her hand again.
It won’t work, she wanted to say. No amount of love is going to bring him back. This little guy is beyond saving. But she kept her thoughts to herself. The sight of this large, rock-solid man, who’d done five combat tours and back-squatted more than twice his body weight, all choked up over an abused little dog was too much to bear.
“Stanzi,” Rhett said. “We have to help him.”
Constance’s lungs grew tight. “You have to do it.”
“Me?” Fear ran through Rhett’s eyes, the brown and green battling it out, swimming in his emotions. “I don’t know how to do that.”
Constance turned him toward the beagle. “You do.” She edged him closer. “Just stand near him. Think about him. Feel him, without actually touching him.” She squeezed his shoulder. “I know you’ve done it to me.”
They grew silent after that. Rhett’s eyes closed as he hovered his hands just above Humphrey’s battered body. “I feel his heat,” he whispered after some time had passed. “It’s weak. He’s weak.”
“True,” Constance whispered. “But this goes both ways. Humphrey’s feeling you, too. And you’re strong. Very strong.” She rubbed Rhett’s back, which had grown damp with sweat, even though the van was air-conditioned.
They stood awhile longer, the silent minutes stretching into an unmeasured passage of time. Just when Constance was about to suggest they go, and give Humphrey some last peace, the little dog’s right eye blinked.
Rhett gave off a quiet gasp. “Did you see that? He blinked.”
“I saw it.” Constance’s heart swelled. “He knows you’re here.”
“Hey, buddy,” Rhett whispered. He rolled his palms around the dog’s shoulders and back, petting the air above him, without touching. “Remember me? I’m the big dork who didn’t take you home, when he should’ve.” He sniffed. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I just thought you deserved better. Somebody like her.” Rhett pointed at Constance. “But I changed my mind.” Rhett’s fingertips grazed over the fur on Humphrey’s back, barely a whisper of a touch. “You definitely deserve me.” He chuckled under his breath. “You stubborn little cuss.”
“How’s it going?” Dr. Winters’s voice came tentatively from the front of the van.
Constance peered over her shoulder. Dr. Winters’s brunette hair, streaked with gray, was back in a ponytail. The hard lines around her mouth were set. “He blinked,” Constance said. “If that means anything.”
Dr. Winters’s eyes widened and she reared her head back. “Well, that’s new.”
“Really?” Rhett sounded like a little boy, the eagerness on his face like he anticipated bubble gum or video games.
“Hasn’t looked at me once.”
Constance and Rhett shared a smile.
After that, they left Humphrey in peace, securing Dr. Winters’s promise to text as soon as she knew anything, whether the little beagle took a turn for better or worse. They stopped next to Rhett’s Jeep.
“I’m going to head home to unpack,” he said. “But I’ll text you later.”
Constance smiled, but it had little strength. “I’m worried about my sister,” she confessed. “I’ve never seen her so—” she gazed up into the clear sky “—helpless. She’s got no fight left. And if Humphrey dies...”
“Hey.” Rhett squeezed her hands. “Don’t sell her short. She’s still in shock. Plus, she’s got Pete to help keep her head above water. He’s not going to let her go under.”
“You noticed that, too, huh?” Constance thought back to the thick trail of energy the two of them had left in their wake, an invisible force as strong as a spider’s web that stretched between Sunny and Pete.
“I thought they were together at the Christmas party. That’s how long ago I noticed it.”
“Sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees,” Constance agreed. She drew a breath of spring air and noted it was tinged with ash. “Rhett.” His name was barely audible as it mixed into the thoughts brewing in the back of her mind. Thoughts she couldn’t believe she was even contemplating. “Part of Sunny’s reaction is my fault. I’ve always come down hard on her for being so impulsive. Not taking more care. Now she’s blaming herself for the fire, for Humphrey. Even though, without her, Humphrey wouldn’t even be here.”
Rhett watched her in silence.
Constance drew another deep breath. “There’s this dog,” she said. The more her thoughts steeped in the possibility, the stronger they got. “One we were keeping an eye on. One that Sunny never went after. As far as I know, she never got him out. And now—” Constance pursed her lips and shook her head “—she never will. And once she quits saving dogs, she’s going to quit. Saving. Dogs.” Constance made a chopping motion in her palm. “And once she quits saving dogs, she’s going to stop being who she is. And I can’t let that happen.”
Rhett nodded, waiting.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I was thinking that...well, the dog’s on this remote property, an old farm, chained to a barn, and I was thinking... Rhett...” Constance noticed she was wringing her hands together. She shook them out. “I was wondering if you’d be willing to—”
“Yes.”
Constance blinked rapidly. “What?”
“Yes,” Rhett repeated. “I’ll help you steal the dog.”
thirty-four
It was nearly impossible to see at 13 White Fern Road at midnight. There were no streetlights, and porch lights were few and far between. On top of that, Rhett had scoped the place and found a way to go at the barn from the back, so that headlights wouldn’t be spotted.
“I’ve got the meat.” Constance held up the baggie of raw steak she’d brought to feed the poor soul that had been chained out front each time she’d come by.
With Rhett’s Jeep nestled in the trees, they skirted their way out to the overgrown farmland and picked their way through the dark, one small flashlight trained on the ground. The night sky was full of the sound of tree frogs, the chirping of the Virginia peepers so loud they needn’t have worried about being heard. You could smell the barn before you could see it, the rotting timbers and rusted nails thick on the humid air. Rhett’s movements were easy, calculated, thorough—suggesting he was definitely in his element on a stealth mission.
“No dog,” Rhett whispered, shining his light over the rustic structure. “He’s either inside or out front.”
“Or dead.”
“No negative thoughts,” Rhett ordered.
“Maybe he’s around the other side.” Constance’s voice was hopeful. Her stomach was tight, but she otherwise felt cool and controlled, with none of the jitters or shakes she thought she’d get from trespassing.
“We’ll find out in a second.”
They peeked their heads around to the front of the barn. Constance spied the metal chain, connected to a stake in the ground. The chain lay in the grass and wound around to the other side of the barn. She lifted it and followed the trail, until she came to a black lump that she nearly tripped over.
Rescue You Page 32
