on duty that day,’ Raff told her before Abby was forced to answer. ‘We talked about it, remember? Mrs Henderson’s taking you.’
‘It’d be more fun if you were there.’
No, it wouldn’t, Raff thought, but he didn’t say so. He glanced at his watch. ‘I reckon they’ll be cooked, Sares.’
‘Ooh,’ Sarah said, happily distracted. ‘My honey jumbles. I could make you some more for your wedding present, Abby. Does Philip like honey jumbles?’
‘Sure he does,’ Abby said. ‘Who wouldn’t?’
Honey jumbles. A big cosy kitchen like this. Dogs.
Would Philip like honey jumbles?
Maybe not.
Abby ate four honey jumbles and Sarah beamed the whole time, and how could a girl worry about how tight her wedding dress was going to be in the face of that beam?
Sarah wasn’t the only one happy. This morning Kleppy had been due for the needle. Tonight he was lying under her chair licking the last of Sarah’s honey jumbles from his chops.
And Sarah’s beam, and Kleppy’s satisfaction, and Raff’s thoughtful, watchful gaze made her feel … made her feel …
Like she needed to leave before things got out of hand.
She needed to go home to Philip. To tell him she had a dog.
‘What’s wrong?’ Raff asked and he sounded as if he cared. That scared her all by itself. She pushed her chair back so fast she scared Kleppy, which meant she had her dog in her arms and she was at the door before she meant to be.
She hadn’t meant to look like she was rushing.
She was rushing.
‘Will you take some jumbles in a bag?’ Sarah asked and she managed to calm down a little and smile and agree. So Sarah bagged her some jumbles, but she was holding Kleppy, she didn’t have a hand free, which meant Raff carried her jumbles down to the car while she carried her dog.
Kleppy was warm and fuzzy. His heart was beating against hers. He was a comfort, she thought, and even as she thought it he stretched up and licked her, throat to chin.
She giggled and Raff, who’d gone before and was stowing her jumbles onto the back seat, turned and smiled in the moonlight.
‘Dogs are great.’
‘They are,’ she said and felt happy.
‘Philip will be okay with him?’
Why must he always butt into what wasn’t his business? Why must he always spoil the moment?
‘He will.’
‘So you’ll tell him tonight.’
‘Of course.’
‘I wish you luck.’
‘I won’t need it.’
‘No?’
‘Butt out, Finn.’
‘You’re always saying that,’ he said. ‘But it’s not in my power to butt out. It’s my job to intervene in domestic crises. Stopping them before they start is a life skill.’
‘You seriously think Philip and I would fight over a dog?’
‘I’m thinking you might fight for a dog,’ he said softly. ‘The old Abby’s still there somewhere. She’ll fight for this dog to the death.’
‘And how melodramatic is that?’
‘Melodramatic,’ he agreed. ‘Call the police emergency number if you need me.’
‘Why would I possibly need you?’
‘Just offering.’ He was holding the passenger door wide so she could pop Kleppy in.
‘You know Philip wouldn’t …’
‘Yeah, I know Philip wouldn’t.’ He took Kleppy from her and laid him on the passenger seat. ‘You’re giving him honey jumbles and Kleppy. Why wouldn’t the man be delighted?’
‘I don’t know when I hate it most—when you’re being offensive or you’re being sarcastic.’
‘Maybe they’re the same thing.’
‘Maybe they are. I wish you wouldn’t.’
‘No, you don’t,’ he said softly. ‘It helps you keep as far away from me as you want. Isn’t that right, Abby?’
‘Raff …’
‘It’s okay, I understand,’ he said. ‘How could I fail to understand? What you’re doing is entirely reasonable. I only wish your second choice wasn’t Philip.’
‘He’s not my second choice. He’s my first.’
‘That’s right,’ he said, sounding suddenly thoughtful. ‘I forgot. You went out with Philip when you were seventeen. For two whole months and then you dumped him. Don’t those reasons hold true now?’
‘I can’t believe you’re asking me …’
‘I’m a cop. I ask the hard questions.’
‘I don’t have to answer.’
‘Meaning you can’t.’
‘Meaning I don’t need to. Why are you asking this now?’
‘I’ve hardly had a chance until now. You back off every time you see me.’
‘And you know why.’
‘I do,’ he said harshly and she winced and thought she shouldn’t have said it. It was too long ago. The whole thing … It was a nightmare to be put behind them.
‘Yes, Philip and I broke up when I was seventeen,’ she managed. ‘But people change.’
‘I guess we do.’ He paused and then said, almost conversationally, ‘You know, once upon a time we had fun. We even decided we loved each other.’
They had. Girlfriend and boyfriend. Inseparable. Raff had shared her first kiss. It had felt … It had felt …
No. ‘We were kids,’ she managed. ‘We were dumb in all sorts of ways.’
He was too close, she decided. It was too dark. She should be back in her nice safe house waiting for Philip to come home. She shouldn’t be remembering being kissed by her first boyfriend.
‘I loved kissing you,’ he said and it wasn’t just her remembering.
‘It didn’t mean
