so I visited the pound and took on a new adventure.”
“It’s good to see you’re getting plenty of that. And exercise, fresh air and a larger grocery bill.” She willed her feet to move but they didn’t. They remained stuck firmly to the ground and she had to wonder why.
Maybe it was simple curiosity. She wanted to see his smile in full light. The streetlamp overhead tried to illuminate him, casting a glow over his substantial height and broad shoulders and adding highlights to his brown hair. But his smile? It remained elusive in the shadows.
Why on earth was she wondering about some man? It was a total mystery.
“This is proof. You really have to beware what you pray for,” he quipped, tucking the slobbery, half-devoured remains of the ham beneath his arm like a football. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I’ve only had Oscar two days. We’re still getting to know each other and I’m finally figuring out the dog can’t be trained.”
“Sure he can.” Brooke went down on both knees. As a farm girl, she was an animal lover from way back. “I’ve trained more than a few dogs in my day, so I know a great dog when I see one. You are it, Oscar.”
At the sound of his name, the Lab leaped at her, licked her chin and danced in place. Probably remembering her earlier promises of cookies, hot dogs and pizza. “There’s nothing wrong with his memory. I wish I had a cookie on me.”
Both dog ears perked up. Brown eyes sparkled merrily as if to say, “Cookie? Where?”
“Oops, maybe I shouldn’t have said that.” She didn’t have to search her pockets to know there wasn’t anything she could offer in its place.
“It’s okay. I have dog biscuits in my truck. C’mon, troublemaker.” A few paces brought him to a big blue pickup sidled up close to Mrs. Jones’s fence. The Lab’s tail whipped back and forth as he bounded behind his owner. The truck door whispered open and after a little digging a bone-shaped treat appeared. The Lab lunged, clamped his teeth around the treat and crunched happily, crumbs raining from his mouth. His owner faced her. “You must be one of Colbie’s sisters. You look a lot like her.”
“I’m Brooke. I’m technically her older half sister.”
“I’m Liam. I haven’t seen you around before. I would have noticed.”
She blushed. Had he just paid her a compliment? “Oh, I’m largely forgettable.”
“I doubt that. Do you live around here?”
“Just visiting.” She took a step backward, afraid her tongue would tangle any minute. A smart girl would escape while she could. When he gazed at her with piercing blue intensity, she felt smaller, aware of the past that haunted her. The past that would always stand between her and a normal life. She lost who she’d been and she didn’t know how to get that woman back. “How about you, Liam? Do you visit your grandmother often?”
“Whenever she can tempt me with good cooking.” He had eyes the color of the sky at first light. The truest shade of blue she had ever seen. Dimples bracketed what was a picture-perfect smile. “How long will you be staying in town?”
“A couple of weeks, then it’s back to Seattle.”
His gaze brushed over her and her heart skipped a beat. The synapses in her brain ceased firing. Her feet lost contact with the pavement beneath her. Strange. Very strange.
“Oh, the trial. Of course.” He snapped his free hand, the one not holding on tightly to the Lab’s leash. The dog leaped up and down and pulled at his tether, scenting the air. “Oscar’s looking for the ham. He’s incorrigible.”
“You’re going to keep him, aren’t you?” She inched close enough to stroke her fingers across the animal’s soft head. She thought of the shelter, of caged doors and windowless walls, and shivered. She thought of no hope, no escape, no freedom. “You’re not going to take him back to the pound?”
“No way. Gram was just joking. I hope.” He patted his dog on the back. “Oscar’s just a little excited, and I’m not exactly sure, but I don’t think he’s ever been left alone with a ham before. He lost his head and grabbed it before I could stop him. Next time he’ll know better.”
“Or run faster.”
“A possibility.” He chuckled. “Oscar catches on pretty quick. He likes you.”
“Something tells me he likes everybody.” A lock of dark hair tumbled across her face like a curtain, but it couldn’t mask her beauty. She had a delicate heart-shaped face, deep violet-blue eyes and fragile features. She was petite, lost in the size-too-large sweater and jeans she wore. Brooke McKaslin reminded him of a spring dawn, so still a man might miss it entirely unless he really took the time to look.
When he did, nothing before had ever seemed as beautiful.
Funny he would take notice of her like this. The humiliation of his recent broken engagement normally kept him far away from most women. It was just plain crazy talking to this gorgeous woman. His shattered heart and crushed pride hadn’t recovered from the last one. He’d been down that road, thanks. Not interested in going there again.
So why was he riveted by her? His heart rattled against his rib cage as he searched for an explanation and came up with nothing. A light flashed on and a screen door rasped open. Colbie McKaslin stood in the doorway, a worried frown on her face. The sisters did look remarkably similar, with sleek dark hair and delicate faces, but he would never confuse the two. There was something innately amazing about Brooke, something that drew him whether he wanted to admit it or not.
“Oh, there you are!” Colbie called across the front yard. “Jeopardy’s over and I’m making cocoa. I thought you might want a cup, but I can see you’re busy. Hi, Liam. Is that a dog?”
“It is.” He took a few steps toward his truck, eager to go. “It’s a long story.”
“Didn’t mean to interrupt. Sorry!” Colbie waved before she disappeared behind the closing screen door. Apparently she worried she’d interrupted a moment, but there wasn’t one.
Not that he wasn’t grateful to the lady for catching his dog.
“Oscar, you be a good boy.” Brooke slipped away, nothing more than a faint outline in the shadows of the lawn. “Don’t run from your master again.”
At the sound of his name, the dog wagged his tail and hopped up and down, eager to race up to the pretty lady and follow her inside. She disappeared behind the screen door with nothing more than a final wave. The Lab whined, tipping his head side to side, not understanding why she had abandoned them.
“It’s just you and me, buddy.” He opened the back door for the dog to jump up. “Come on, get in. Don’t worry. Maybe our paths will cross hers again.”
Thinking of tomorrow’s trial, he had a feeling they might.
* * *
“So, you met Liam.” Colbie closed the marshmallow bag with a rustle. “Isn’t he a total wow?”
“I guess.” Noncommittal, that was the best way to go. No doubt Colbie’s well-meaning radar had ramped up to
