Standing in the middle of the disarray, she bent down, grabbed some kind of vase off the floor and then spun around and held it as if she were about to hurl it at him. “Stay right there!”
He froze and held his hands up in surrender.
Recognition dawned in her eyes. “You! What are you doing here?”
“I…um…” For once in his life he was lost for words. Now didn’t seem the time to pay out on her.
“Never mind.” She shook her head, threw the vase onto the couch and headed down a hallway, wailing “Muffin, Muffin!” as she went.
Frowning, Callum stepped inside and surveyed the mess. Whoever had done this had left no stone unturned. What a violation. He dug his cell out of his pocket, about to call the police when she returned.
“Muffin’s gone.” Tears streamed down her cheeks.
“What?”
“My dog,” she sobbed, rushing past him back outside. “Muffin! Muffin!” She continued shouting that one word as she frantically searched her front yard.
He stepped onto the porch. What kind of mess had he gotten himself into? If he were sensible, he’d head back to the SUV, climb inside and phone this in to the police on his way back to the distillery. But what kind of guy would leave a woman alone in a situation like this?
“Hey!” he called, still having no clue of her name. “What’s Muffin look like? I’ll help you look.”
She froze a moment, looking at him as if she couldn’t tell if he meant it or not, then said, “He’s a golden cocker spaniel. About this high—” she gestured to just above her knee “—he’s wearing a red collar with a gold heart ID tag on it and he has a lot of fur.”
“Okay. Got it.” He shoved his phone back into his pocket. “I’ll have a quick drive around, why don’t you go check if any of the neighbors have seen him?” She appeared more worried about the dog than the house and the culprit was probably long gone, so he decided to focus on the mutt first, as well.
“Thank you.” Her voice was choked as she rushed over to the house on her right.
Callum jogged back to his SUV, climbed in and, shaking his head, turned the key in the ignition. When he’d woken up that morning he’d been engaged and planning a wedding, now it appeared he was single and looking for a stranger’s dog. What crazy thing could happen next?
Copyright © 2016 by Rachael Johns
ISBN-13: 9781488002601
His Badge, Her Baby…Their Family?
Copyright © 2016 by Stella Bagwell
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