“Yes, he told me you’d already asked him to participate even though I told you I was going to contact him.”
“I happened to see him as I passed his house on the way back to mine earlier,” he lied, putting the glasses on the table and sitting down.
“Well, all that’s fine, and I hope at least the officers in the K-9 unit you talked to decide to come. They’ll be able to compare your methods with what my dad did since they took some lessons from him.”
“That’s what they said.” Evan ate a bite of pie and smiled. Good stuff. He glanced toward Amber. She, too, was eating. “And look. All I did was ask questions. I guess they could have read criticism into how I phrased things, but that wasn’t my intent.” Exactly. He’d wanted to keep them doing whatever they were still doing to solve the case.
Which Maisie had said was definitely ongoing—but far from successful. At least to date.
He considered telling Amber about his brief conversation with the female officer who was part of the K-9 team, but for now decided against it. Amber knew the gist of what Maisie had admitted to him anyway.
“I’ll apologize to whoever comes here tomorrow,” he said. “Just let them know it was my concern and curiosity talking, and that I wish them all the best in getting that crime solved as quickly as possible.”
That wouldn’t keep him from reminding them when he could, perhaps in a more subtle way. Or continuing to do what small amount of investigating he could on his own, with or without Bear’s skills to help him.
Or, most likely, keeping Officer Maisie informed, as she’d asked, as long as that appeared to be in the best interests of getting the case solved.
He wasn’t a cop or investigator or anything like that, except as a K-9 trainer for police units. This wasn’t his work, or his business.
But nevertheless, and despite Amber’s apparent irritation with him and what he was doing, he wanted to find out and prove who’d killed her father.
For her sake.
Because, never mind that she was his boss, he was coming to care for her too much.
*
Amber swallowed her last bite of the sweet pie and looked toward Evan directly across the table. “Okay.” She leaned on her elbows toward him. “I’ve done what I promised Kara I’d do—tell you to back down on criticizing the Chance PD. But know what?”
He had just brought his own final pie piece up to his mouth—his sexy, broad mouth—and stopped.
“What?” he asked.
The more she’d thought about the situation, she realized what irked her most was that Evan hadn’t kept her in the loop. Hadn’t invited her to go with him to talk with Percy—or confront the cops, since he’d obviously planned that, too.
In some ways, maybe, it was best, since Kara and the others wouldn’t blame her for pushing them now to do more on her dad’s case, or at least couldn’t blame her for what Evan had been saying. She could continue to be a sad, nonpushy family member of the victim and hopefully get their attention by sorrowful looks and comments without threatening to outsmart them at their own job, the way Evan could—and hopefully would—do.
“I’m concerned that pushing and criticizing them will make them reluctant to keep the investigation in the forefront of what they’re doing,” she said. “But if you continue to act that way, and I pretend to be irritated with you for doing so—well, it’ll be a possible poke at them to keep emphasizing it, without their having a reason to get mad at me or my mom.”
“Except that you hired me.”
She couldn’t help smiling at him. “Yes, there is that. So you also had better do a damn good job at what you do here.”
“Yes,” he said. “I’d better.”
They were looking straight into each other’s faces now, and he wasn’t turning away. She wished she could stare through those gorgeous blue eyes of his into his mind, to see what he was thinking.
Although, she thought she knew. The way he looked at her was smoldering, sexy, hot. Which made her flush, but she couldn’t look away.
This was bad, wasn’t it? They were alone in his house, except for the two dogs who now slept by their feet. She was his boss, and she was supposed to be angry with him, thanks to what Kara had told her. But she wasn’t.
She tried to chill herself out by continuing their conversation. “I assume you can keep things confidential if your employer tells you to, right?” She emphasized your employer on purpose, reminding both of them. As if they needed it.
“Of course.” His tone was soft, though, and sounded as sexy as he looked.
What she was about to say wouldn’t fix anything. But it had to be said after what she’d told him earlier. “The thing is,” she said, trying to sound gruff and in charge, and failing badly, “I don’t entirely mind if you get on the cops’ case and chew them out for not having answers yet. Like I said, I can’t do it, since I have to maintain a good relationship with them for the sake of the ranch. And also, if I criticize them, they might use that as an unspoken excuse to let this cold case turn to ice. But if you remind them, and I act sympathetic to them and let them know I’ve told you to behave, and—”
“So we’ll be working together in ways besides dog training,” Evan said. “And at the risk of making you think I can’t keep things confidential when I tell you I will—well, let’s just say that one of the police hinted they’re still on the case and intend to continue, but they wouldn’t mind a little help if I happen to learn something they haven’t.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” he said. “But if you say anything like that to any of the cops, I’ll have to deny it.”
Wow. He really was making headway with the police department, or at least some members, despite his way of doing things. Maybe because of his way of doing things.
Amber realized she was smiling at him. Warmly. Maybe too warmly.
He rose from his chair, his eyes remaining on hers despite how difficult he’d apparently found that so recently. Was she somehow helping him, as he was helping her in other highly important ways?
She glanced down, stepping carefully around Rex, who lifted his head from the floor but didn’t rise. “Yes.” She attempted to sound stern as they approached each other. “We’ll work together—”
She suddenly found herself in his arms. Again.
This kiss was as incredibly hot as the last one they’d shared. Maybe even more so. They’d been outside then—alone, yes. But now they were even more alone, inside his house.
Her arms were around his back, pulling him even closer than before. She felt his hands stroke her, first near the back of her neck, then downward until they touched her butt through her jeans. She felt his hardness against her even more than last time.
At the same time his lips searched hers, his tongue probed her mouth until it opened and she allowed her own tongue to play darting, sexual games with his.
He pulled back then, and she forced her mind to accept that this small amount of heated contact was more than enough…until she felt one of his hands move between them, then down, grasping the outside of her jeans and pressing harder.
“Evan,” she gasped, and took the cue from him. In moments, she was grasping his hard erection from outside his clothing.
No. This shouldn’t happen. But she wanted it. Craved it. She prepared to let him lead her down the hallway to the bedroom.
But he stepped back, releasing her. She wanted to throw herself back into his arms but didn’t. Instead, she looked into his face once more.
His craggy features were more pronounced as he breathed hard. His expression was regretful.
“Sorry,” he rasped. “I know when to keep things quiet—and should know not to try to seduce my boss, no matter how appealing that idea is. You’re one sexy woman, Amber Belott. But—”
“Yes, but.” She managed to keep her tone light, though she doubted she truly hid her frustration.
“So…” he said. “Glad you came over for a piece of pie. Would you like me t
o help walk the other dogs for their last outing tonight?”
“No thanks,” she said. “The others are pretty much done, except for Lola.” And if he realized what she’d been doing, that she’d been hanging outside watching for him, well, so what? “Come on, Rex.” She bent to snap the leash back onto his collar. “Time for bed.”
She purposely phrased it that way, and glanced into Evan’s face before heading toward the door at the front of the house.
If she read his expression correctly—and she believed she knew him well enough to do so—she was glad to see a hint of surprise and frustration along with his amusement.
She’d intended to walk Rex back to her house by herself, but Evan insisted on accompanying them, Bear by his side. He seemed to scrutinize Orrin’s house as they passed, but she saw no lights inside and neither dog seemed to sense any other people around.
“Good night,” he said as she opened her front door. “See you tomorrow for our demo.”
Chapter 16
Okay, he didn’t have to back away before, Evan told himself while lying in bed later trying to get to sleep.
The same thought had pierced his mind from the time he’d walked Amber and Rex back to her house, strode around it with Bear without seeing Orrin and returned here. Now, though, he didn’t have any distractions, like enjoying the chill of the outside air. Or the few sounds in this remote area, like hoots of owls and skitterings of whatever rodents lived nearby to grab Bear’s attention. Not even the news on TV before heading to the bedroom…
Well, despite all that, there was little else he thought of except being with Amber that way. Especially now.
Could he have followed through and made love with her? Maybe. She’d seemed as interested as he.
Yet that could have been more because she’d needed to find a way to deal with the experiences of that day—their visit to where her father had been shot to death not long ago—than because she wanted to hop into bed with him.
He wanted her. No doubt about that. And maybe, eventually, he would feel it was the right time for her, too.
Anytime would be the right time for him…
Sighing, he pulled the covers down from around him—again—glad he’d thrown on fairly light pajamas over his scarred body. His mind was heating him as he focused so much on Amber…
“Damn it!” he said, then heard Bear stir on the floor near him. “Good dog,” he called and forced himself to concentrate on planning tomorrow morning’s demonstration. It was far from boring but was familiar enough to allow him to relax…and soon he felt himself starting to fall asleep.
*
He woke early on Saturday morning, way ahead of the time he’d promised to start his demonstration.
His mind was working, not particularly on the performance he would give later, but on Amber, then on the crime scene, and the cops, and—Well, too many things he could do nothing about.
He needed to find a way to relax.
It wouldn’t hurt to do something that also could wind up helping with the new purpose he had taken on: learning more about Corbin Belott’s death.
As he rose from bed, he called, “Hey, Bear, ready to take a hike with me?”
His smart shepherd undoubtedly heard something welcoming in Evan’s words or tone. He’d already stood up from his blanket on the floor, and now his ears were up and his tail wagged.
It was as if he said, “Yes, Dad, let’s do it.”
Evan dressed in hiking gear, including a long-sleeved T-shirt, sweatpants and athletic shoes. He didn’t intend to stay out long and figured Bear and he would eat when they returned.
He picked up Bear’s leash from the counter where he kept it, but didn’t snap it on. At this point, and maybe through the entire hike, both of them would be wild and free.
“Come,” he told his dog.
When they exited his home, he stood on the stoop for a second and Bear sat down beside him. The morning light was still dim, as dawn had just broken. Evan looked left, toward the other houses, including, beyond the closest ones, the main residence.
He saw no one else outside, not Orrin or Amber or any dogs.
Good. He loved the sense of privacy, of being alone with his own dog under the blue sky on this cool May morning.
He also loved that no one would know what he was doing.
He turned right and started up the hill—in the general direction they’d gone to see the crime scene.
When they reached the area where Corbin had been found, near where the forest began, he led Bear a distance beyond it at the same elevation.
For the heck of it, he called, “Search,” and gave his dog the hand signal to move forward. It was a general command, one that allowed Bear to alert to whatever, or whoever, he found that he had been trained to look for or find by scent.
That included IEDs overseas…and weapons here, as well as people. Bear wouldn’t always know if a person was a bad guy, but he did particularly alert to fear scents.
Not that Evan figured they were likely to see anyone out here at this hour, let alone a bad guy who’d be afraid of being hunted by his dog. Nor did he anticipate that Bear would find anything, or anyone, to alert to. But in case there was some evidence that hadn’t been found, even by the Chance PD’s K-9s…
Okay, he was reaching. He wasn’t going to identify the killer today. But it didn’t hurt to imagine an ulterior motive for this outing.
They hiked for an hour, up slopes, into a small portion of the forest, then down again. Evan saw in the distance part of the long wooden fence that surrounded the ranch property but didn’t approach.
Instead, he gave Bear the command “Come” along with the appropriate gesture. It was time to get breakfast.
And Evan was just about ready to start his day and prepare for the demonstration he’d agreed to give.
Although he had enjoyed this hike enough to promise himself he’d do it again. Soon.
*
Amber awoke that morning with no alarm. “Morning, girl,” she said softly, petting Lola, who’d risen when she moved.
Getting out of bed, Amber pulled a robe on over her pj’s and headed toward the bathroom, eagerly anticipating what would go on that day.
As she showered, she thought about—what else?—Evan. In his interview and earliest demonstrations of his skills, he had shown, with Bear, how well he could work with a trained K-9 as well as beginner pups. And people, including small groups. She truly believed he had the proficiency needed to be the main handler at this ranch.
She had seen her dad sometimes perform amazing demos with the wonderful dogs he’d trained, to show how they would perform in a real police K-9 situation, where they had to subdue a bad guy.
Now it was Evan’s turn to show his stuff. She was so glad he’d decided to have Percy film it for the ranch’s website. She had been concerned before whether Evan would feel comfortable having his skills preserved in video form and displayed to the world to promote the K-9 Ranch. But she felt certain he’d never make a suggestion like that unless he really was ready.
Although…well, last night she recognized that in some ways she didn’t know him as well as she’d thought. She’d been ready to jump into bed with him, to follow through with what their kisses and caresses had begun, no matter how foolish or inappropriate that was.
He’d stopped them, and she didn’t think it was because of his PTSD. No, it was more because he was a smart, thoughtful man, a caring man who hadn’t wanted to do something they both might regret later.
Even so…well, she wouldn’t try to predict how things would be as time went on, at least not regarding how well Evan and she would remain at arm’s length—or not.
But she did predict, in her mind, how much she would enjoy the rest of this day.
*
Amber was surprised at the small crowd gathering to watch the demonstration—although she realized she shouldn’t have been. She could understand why each person near her, behind this part of the ranch’s vast
fence, was there.
Amber saw Orrin in the crowd, wearing the big, thick full-body suit to protect him, as the demo’s agitator, from the planned dog attack he was in for. Her dad had stocked other protective training equipment, too, depending on what the lesson or demonstration was to be, including large padded sleeves.
Her mom was there, and standing beside her was their neighbor Nathan. She and her mother had eaten a quick breakfast together, and Sonya had told Amber that she’d invited Nathan.
A good thing? Probably not. After all, Nathan had suggested that Evan wasn’t skilled enough, particularly with people, to be the ranch’s trainer—although today’s demo would focus on one dog.
“I just hope he does a good job today.” Her mother had echoed her thoughts then, staring inquisitively at Amber before taking a sip of coffee.
“For more reasons than one,” Amber had responded. Sure, it would be a good thing if Nathan saw a special enough event to make him retract his criticism. But his opinion was a minor factor.
The opinion of the cops who were coming mattered a lot more.
The cops, in their familiar black uniforms, had already arrived. K-9 officers Maisie and Doug Murran stood along the fence beyond her mom and Nathan. Surprisingly, Kara was there, too, along with her boss, Police Chief Andrew Shermovski. Although they had been friendly enough in their greetings when they’d arrived around ten minutes ago, the officers remained by themselves and were now engaged in conversation. They hadn’t brought either of the Chance PD’s K-9s, which was a good thing.
And Percy was there, setting up his filming equipment. The regular dog-obedience students, Grady, Aaron, Stewart and Julie, were present, too, without their dogs.
Second Chance Soldier Page 15
