Both twins trained their eyes onto her. “That would lead right back to you.”
“Or Todd.” An icy shiver spread its web over Linx’s shoulders.
Todd had been late to the family fish fry, and he’d been especially vehement in denouncing Grady.
But no, Todd was a lawman. He would never break the law, would he?
Which meant it was down to her again. Except her idea of burning Grady was burning up the sheets with him.
Chapter Twelve
Linx woke early the next morning after staying up late the night before. Cait had called to let her know that she was okay and staying at The Over Easy Bed & Breakfast near Joe’s Diner. Her contractions had subsided and had been caused by exhaustion and dehydration.
She hadn’t heard from Grady, so she put Sam back in the kennel out back. She should get him ready and deliver him back to Grady before he came over to claim him.
The phone was ringing downstairs, so Linx pulled a robe over her naked body and bounded down the stairs, followed by Cedar.
Linx rushed to pick up the phone, but whoever was calling hung up without speaking. Who bothered with landlines these days?
Oh, right. She still had one with a vintage nineteen-eighties answering machine. Maybe the person had only wanted to check if she was in.
Cedar barked and jumped near the door, wanting to go outside for her morning bathroom break.
Linx opened the door and almost tripped over her own feet as she skidded to a stop in front of a monstrous pile of metallic art sprawled on her porch.
Rusty patches of scrap metal were welded in a rough shape of a grinning skull. A railroad spike pierced one of the eye sockets, and a beckoning hand protruded from the other eye. In the hand was a heart made of rusty wires and scrap twisted together complete with arteries and veins made from ridged toilet connector tubes.
Her absentee mother had left another calling card.
“Minx!” Linx swirled around and shouted at the empty space in front of the center. “Get this crap off my property.”
No wonder the dogs had been restless in the wee hours before dawn.
“Belongs in a junkyard!” Linx shook her fist and yelled, in case Minx lurked to see her reaction.
Beside her, Cedar sniffed at the heap of scrap and emitted a low growl, as if she also found it offensive.
“You’re darn right.” Linx petted her dog, glaring at the skull which was embellished by a ring of flame-like shapes. “What’s this thing supposed to mean anyway?”
Cedar’s ears perked up at the sound of tires on the gravel driveway. Linx grabbed her before she bolted toward the approaching vehicle.
“Sorry, girl, can’t let you bite her.” Linx yanked Cedar back into the cabin and slammed the door. Her heart pounded and sweat erupted over her forehead. Whatever words they’d have would be bad and nasty—hurtful, and right now, with the fire and Grady in town, she couldn’t deal with another all-out emotional assault.
Minx Colson was the polar opposite of Grady and Cait’s mother. Where Mrs. Hart was warm and cuddly, like an overeager golden retriever, her mother had the demeanor of a Rottweiler ready to attack.
And she sure knew how to bare her fangs.
Linx lowered the shades and peeked out the corner of the window while Cedar barked.
The person getting out of the truck wasn’t her mother.
It was Grady, and Grady and Cedar didn’t mix, at least without fallout raining all over Linx.
“Oh, crap!” Linx dragged Cedar back. “I need to get Sam ready. You’re going to have to stay out of sight in the bathroom.”
She shoved her dog, whining and complaining, into the bathroom.
Before Grady could knock, Linx bounded onto the porch and slammed the door behind her.
“Hi! Sam’s out back. How’s Cait? Is she going back to San Francisco?”
Grady raised one eyebrow sky-high. “What’s gotten into you? A squirrel crawl up your ass?”
What kind of greeting was that after the hot, searing kiss they’d shared last night?
“I, uh, well, let me get Sam for you.” The wind picked up the edge of her robe.
“Dressed in nothing but a flimsy robe?” Grady’s leer spread across his wide mouth. “And what the heck is that?”
He tilted his too-sexy chin at the pile of metal on her porch.
“Nothing. A skull. Art.”
“Nice.” He advanced on her, smooth and knowing, as he lowered the shoulders of her robe. His heated gaze drew sparks up and down her body.
Linx swallowed hard, as he lowered his slick wet lips onto her neck, melting all the panic from her body and replacing it with dreaded desire.
“I can’t, I mean, the dog, Sam.” Her words were useless against the press of his hard, hot body, and the suckling of his mouth as he trailed kisses down the column of her neck to her bare shoulders.
All he had to do was drop the robe, and she’d be exposed to the entire world—including her mother, if she were lurking around with a pair of binoculars.
“We can’t.” She summoned all her strength and pushed from his embrace. “Someone might see. I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Then let’s move inside.” Grady’s low voice electrified every sensual nerve on her body.
Woof. Woof. Thud.
Linx froze. Cedar had gotten out of the bathroom and was lunging against the front door.
“Oh no! My dog got loose.” Linx scrambled to tie her robe and turned to the door.
“Then let her out.” Grady laughed and reached for the doorknob.
“No, you can’t!” Linx grabbed his hand, but he was too quick.
He jiggled the doorknob.
Locked.
Whatever relief she felt quickly fanned into a firestorm of panic. She was locked out in nothing but her light summer robe, buck naked underneath, and Cedar was on the other side of the door.
“Hey little doggy,” Grady said. “Your mommy’s locked out with big bad me.”
“Stop teasing her. Can’t you tell she’s scared?” Linx yanked Grady by his arm. “Let’s go get Sam, and you can be on your way. I know that veteran really wants him, and we can’t keep her waiting. How’s Cait, by the way?”
“You’re popping like a busted sack of popcorn in a microwave.” Grady tapped his fingers on the door, eliciting heavier barking and whining from Cedar. “Hey, little doggy. I bet you want to play.”
“Let’s go.” Linx gritted her teeth, but he wouldn’t move from the door.
The barking grew more frantic.
Linx’s pulse panicked when the curtains moved against the window and Cedar’s paws showed underneath, digging at the window sill.
“Look, she’s trying to get out,” Grady hooted. “Maybe she has to pee. You do have a key somewhere out here, don’t you?”
She did—under a potted plant, which was thankfully hidden by her mother’s huge metallic spike in the eye.
She couldn’t expose Cedar to Grady—not right now. She wasn’t ready. Not yet.
There was only one thing to do. She had to get Grady’s attention off the dog and onto her and get him away from the window.
Slowly, she untied her robe and pulled it aside, flashing her boob. Giving him a come-hither wink, she wiggled her behind and sashayed around the wraparound porch to the back of the property where the rest of the dogs stayed.
Linx was acting strange, but after the last twenty-four hours, who wouldn’t?
Grady turned away from her hysterical dog who would hurt herself if she broke through the window and chased Linx around the cabin.
The fire at his parents’ cabin hadn’t left it completely in ruins, but there was still substantial damage to the porch and front entrance. Fortunately, they had caught it in time and the propane tank hadn’t blown, but for now, his sister and brother-in-law were holed up at a bed and breakfast.
Grady caught up with Linx in the barn housing kennels of dogs. The barking was deafening and drove every bit of lust
from his bloodstream. Oh, she’d cast a sexy image, and he could undress her and have his way with her in a minute flat—but in front of all these canine witnesses?
No way.
Grady tucked his shirt in and met up with Linx in front of Sam’s pen. “How’s he doing?”
“He’s a good boy. Kept Cait safe.”
Grady tugged Linx into his arms and kissed the top of her head. “Hey, I’d like to play, but I have to deliver this guy to the therapist and pick up clothes for Cait and Brian. Knowing my parents, they’re going to swarm into town, so I’ll be busy the next few days. Raincheck?”
“We can’t meet here anyway.” She backed away from him. “And we’re not in a relationship, in case you’re getting any ideas.”
The pupils of her eyes tightened, and she now looked decidedly hostile.
What was it with this woman?
Oh, right, she was hard as nails, and he hated her. All this sweet gooey stuff was hormonal—the aftereffects of fighting a witch of a fire.
Nothing more, nothing less.
“Thanks for the dog. We have some new requests come in. The therapist I work with mentioned a husband and a wife who want a pair of retrievers for companionship.” He craned his neck at the other kennels. “Can I have a look around?”
The din of barking hadn’t let up the entire time they were in the barn, and he was really getting a headache, but he’d promised he’d look.
“No.” Linx clamped her arms over her breasts. “I can’t let you have them without an application. Please, don’t come to the center again. If you want a dog, I’ll bring him to you.”
So, she was back to game playing again—her version of pump and dump.
He took Sam by the leash and left her standing there.
Chapter Thirteen
“I heard all about it, so you better spill.” Tami dropped by the center later that day. “You kissing Grady in front of the fire. Everyone’s talking about it.”
“So? He’s single and available, I’m single and available.” Linx sat on the couch feeding little Ginger. The puppy was starting to open her eyes, peering out of the right one more than the left, as she batted the bottle with her front paws, trying to hold on.
“Are you two dating now?” Tami’s eyes widened.
“Hardly. I told him to get lost.” Linx tucked a strand of her messy hair behind her ear. “He came over to get Sam and almost found Cedar. Thank God I’d locked myself out, and he didn’t know where the spare key was.”
“Why don’t you just tell him? What’s he going to do to you anyway?”
“Hate me forever.” Linx knew she sounded grumpy, but the rollercoaster ride her hormones had just endured was pissing her off.
She was supposed to remain in control—not him.
If she wanted to make him feel the hurt and pain she’d gone through, she couldn’t be letting down her guard.
He was the one invading her hometown.
He was the one who had to pay.
“Men don’t hate women who give them favors,” Tami said in a sing-song voice.
“They don’t respect them, either.” A niggling feeling prickled the back of Linx’s neck. “By the way, did you tell anyone that Grady was the guy who knocked me up?”
“No, I didn’t even tell my mom.” Tami said, sitting down at her desk. “Why are you blaming me? Seems like everyone already knows.”
“Someone leaked it.” Linx adjusted the bottle so the last bit of formula went to the nipple. “Last Christmas, no one was talking about it.”
“Right, but if you think hot, studly guys coming to town isn’t worth talking about, it’s because you hide here with your dogs all the time. Someone got wind of him and Paul, and now, everyone knows everything.”
The puppy squirmed as she finished the last drop of formula, so Linx put her over her shoulder to burp her. “Everyone knows what?”
“Oh, just everything.” Tami waved her hand and booted up her computer. “You and Grady, Salem and Grady, Paul and Salem. Now that Paul’s here, some of his buddies have been coming by the saloon.”
“Stop. I already heard.” Linx let herself sink deeper into the plush couch. “Which is why I’m done with Grady.”
“You keep saying it, and maybe even you’ll believe it.” Tami’s eyes focused on her computer screen. “What’s that thing sitting on your porch?”
“My mother left me her calling card,” Linx said. “Apparently, she’s been wanting to talk to all of us. Something about making amends.”
“That’s good, isn’t it?”
Linx shrugged as she stroked the puppy’s soft down. “I’ve got nothing but bad things to say to her, so it’s better to say nothing at all.”
“Aren’t you curious why she wants to get in touch after all these years?” Tami clicked through her email.
“Not as long as she keeps leaving trash on my porch.” Linx didn’t want to admit the tiny spark that ignited in her chest or the thought that at least her mother had sent her a gift—so to speak. “There must be strings attached to it.”
“Hey, look,” Tami said, pointing to her screen. “Kevin’s already posted Ginger’s videos and we’re getting lots of hits and people filling out applications. We even have some outright donations.”
“That’s great.” Linx perked up and got up off the sofa with Ginger. “How much?”
“Someone donated a thousand bucks, and the little ones add up to about three hundred. Can we build more kennels?”
“Once I pay off the debts.” Linx tamped down Tami’s unbridled enthusiasm. “But it’s good news.”
“Just got an email. Grady is looking for two more dogs. He wants to come by and pick them up before he returns to San Francisco. He wants to make an appointment with me.” Tami talked as fast as she read.
Linx needed to hold her ground—hold firm, especially after what her traitorous body almost made her do on the porch this morning.
“Oh no, he’s not coming around here.”
“But didn’t he come by to pick up Sam?” Tami gave her a sidelong look. “Did something happen?”
Linx gulped and walked back and forth, petting the puppy over her shoulder. “He made fun of my mother’s sculpture.”
“Oh, you nasty little liar.” Tami snickered. “You don’t give two flying figs about that sculpture. Stop deflecting.”
“It’s pretty basic. Grady plays by my rules, or he doesn’t play. You know the reason.”
“Sure, you love giving him personal deliveries with wagging tails and happy endings.” Tami did that copulating motion with her fingers. “The good thing is he’s rebuilding on that piece of land he has, and you won’t have to drive as far.”
That was another reason she couldn’t sleep.
Linx closed her eyes, willing Tami to stop bothering her about Grady. The man was a menace, and yet she couldn’t leave him alone. It was one of those damned if you do and damned if you don’t situations. Life without Grady was unbearably bleak and empty, but having Grady around grated on every nerve fiber in her body.
He disrespected her. He was rude and snide with her.
But when he was in bed with her, he made her feel like a goddess. How could something so wrong feel so right?
“I’m not going near him or to his place,” Linx said. “Unless it’s to plop that skull onto his property.”
“Ohhh … giving love gifts already.” Tami’s finger copulation sped up, making a sandpapery sound. “He calls the cops on you, you call the cops on him, just let me know to bring the popcorn—especially if Todd’s the responding officer.”
Linx threw a wet wipe at Tami. “I’ll give Todd a nudge your way.”
“You better.” Tami picked up her purse. “I’d rather he use his hot breath for something other than giving me lectures on driving too fast. Well, I’m off to my real job. Got to scout down listings for Cait and her husband. Such a wonderful couple, and now, they’re homeless.”
She whooshed out the door, wiggling
her ample behind like a category four hurricane.
Linx chuckled to herself. Tami and Todd. They’d never work. Todd was a stickler for rules and preserving the town in the old way, whereas Tami was a rule-breaker and bent on modernization and redevelopment.
They’d sparred frequently at the city council meetings and were always at loggerheads. But apparently fighting led to chemistry, at least on Tami’s side.
Linx cleaned Ginger up and tucked her into her doggy bed. She had a whole list of chores to do out back, and she had no time to play matchmaker or wonder what Grady was up to.
So, he was rebuilding his cabin—the one he and Cedar had once lived in—the one Linx had spent what little time off they got splayed in his bed.
Memories she didn’t want to indulge invaded her along with the feel of the soft rug in front of the fireplace, the scent of cedar and pine, the clean crisp linens on his bed, and the warm musk of the fireman himself.
Cedar had been a part of those memories.
“Come here, girl. I’m so sorry.” Linx wiggled her fingers at her dog. Cedar ambled toward her, her head down and crestfallen. “You’re not feeling good, are you?”
Grabbing Cedar’s brush, she had her lie down for a thorough brushing. Usually, running her fingers through Cedar’s fur calmed her racing heart and gave her peace.
But not today—not when Cedar moped around like an abandoned dog—lifeless and dejected.
Guilt crawled up Linx’s throat as she brushed out sections of Cedar’s luxurious fur. It was wrong for her to keep Cedar from Grady, now that he was back in town.
It was one thing to keep her while Grady was out fighting the fires of the world, but now? What excuse did she really have?
Grady rejecting her had nothing to do with keeping Cedar from him.
She couldn’t even say he’d taken advantage of her, although he’d been her superior when they’d slept together. He was the drill instructor, and she was a rookie.
Summer Love Puppy: The Hart Family (Have A Hart Book 6) Page 8
