ANNOYANCE WITH Sophie Montgomery was tempered by the undeniably distracting sway of her hips as she crossed the parking lot in front of him. No doubt her nose would be even further out of joint if she knew he was ogling her. Well, she didn’t have anything to worry about. She was pretty, but far too prickly. And she was wasting his time. Her sister’s connection to Richard Prentice was intriguing, but he doubted it would lead anywhere. Anyone could have a business card—maybe Prentice had sent it with one of his press releases touting his next attention-getting stunt. Lauren might even have had it for years. If it was important, why had she left it back in Denver?
“My vehicle is the FJ Cruiser with the grill between the back and the passenger compartment.” He pointed out the black-and-white SUV. “You can wait for me there while I get my gear.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I should follow you in my car.”
“No, you shouldn’t. We’ll waste too much time trying to keep track of each other. I’ll bring you back here when we’re done.”
She pressed her lips together in a disapproving line, but didn’t argue. Even that didn’t lessen her attractiveness. She wasn’t actress-and-model gorgeous, like her famous sister, but she had a deeper beauty that went beyond the surface, enduring and natural, like the beauty of a wild animal.
And what was he doing wasting time musing on the attractiveness of this woman who clearly found little to like in him? He returned to the headquarters building and retrieved Lotte from the back room, where she’d been napping. As always, the Belgian Malinois greeted him enthusiastically, whipping her tail back and forth and grinning at him. At least here was a female who appreciated him. “Are you ready to go, girl?” he asked.
She responded with a sharp, happy bark. He rubbed her ears and clipped on the leash. Not that she needed it, but since Sophie was clearly skittish around dogs, he’d do what he could to keep her calm.
When Sophie saw them approaching, she turned the color of milk and plastered herself against the vehicle. “What are you doing with that dog?” she asked.
“Lotte is coming with us.” He walked the dog past her to the rear of the vehicle.
“Oh, no. I can’t ride in a car with a dog.”
“She’ll be in the back. And she is coming with us. That’s not negotiable. Lotte is as much a part of my gear as my weapon or my radio.”
“I told you, I’m afraid of dogs.”
She looked miserable, but he wasn’t going to back down on this; he and Lotte were a team. “I promise I won’t let her hurt you. And she’ll be in the back of the cruiser, with a grate between us. You can pretend she isn’t there.”
She looked from the dog to him and back, then took a deep breath. “All right.”
Good girl. But he only thought it—she might be insulted if he praised her the same way he did Lotte.
With Lotte safely secured in the back of the vehicle, he climbed into the driver’s seat and Sophie buckled into the passenger seat. “Is this your first visit to the Black Canyon?” he asked as they passed the first of the park’s eighteen overlooks into the canyon.
“Yes. I’ve been to Denver a couple of times to see Lauren, but we never left the city.” She gazed out at a trio of RVs in the overlook parking lot. “I’m not much of an outdoor person.”
“I’ll admit the area around the canyon can look a little desolate at first, but there’s really a lot of beauty here, once you get to know it,” he said. Just like some people. “Not just the canyon itself, but the wilderness area around it. The wildflowers are just beginning to bloom, and the sunsets are spectacular.”
“If you say so.” She angled her body toward him. “No offense, officer, but I’m not here to sightsee. I came here to find my sister.”
Right. And clearly she had no intention of getting friendly with the officer involved in the investigation into her sister’s disappearance. Message received. “What will you do when you find her?”
“As soon as I’m sure she’s safe, I’ll go back home to Madison.”
“What’s in Madison?”
“What do you mean, what’s in Madison? My life is in Madison.”
“I just meant, what do you do there?”
“I’m an assistant to the city manager.”
It sounded like a dull job to him, but he wasn’t about to say so. “How long have you lived there?” he asked.
“Five years.”
“Are you married? Any children?”
“That is none of your business.”
Of course not. He was just trying to make conversation. He focused on driving, both hands gripping the steering wheel. The silence stretched between them.
“I’m not married, and I don’t have children. I’m not even dating anyone in particular,” she said after a long moment.
“You were right,” he said. “It’s none of my business.”
“What about you, Officer Knightbridge? Are you married?”
Was she asking because she was truly interested, or merely to even the score? “The only woman in my life right now is Lotte.” It was a line he’d used before; if the woman he said it to smiled, he figured they might hit it off.
Sophie didn’t smile. Instead, she glanced back at the dog, who sat in her usual position, facing forward, ears up, expression eager and alert. He understood that Lotte could be a little intimidating, if you didn’t know her. After all, part of her job was to intimidate, even subdue, criminals. “She’s really a sweetheart,” he said. “And she’s had years of training. She’d only hurt someone to protect me.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” But her grim expression didn’t ease.
“Why are you afraid of dogs?” he asked. He knew such people existed, but he didn’t understand their fear. He liked all dogs. And Lotte was his best friend, not merely his working partner.
“I was bitten as a child. I had to have plastic surgery.” She indicated a faint scar on the side of her face, barely visible alongside her mouth.
He winced. “I can see how that would be traumatic, but I promise, Lotte won’t hurt you. Think of her as an overly hairy officer with a tail.”
As he’d hoped, the absurd description made her mouth quirk up almost in a smile. “What kind of dog is she?” she asked.
“A Belgian Malinois. A herding dog, like a German shepherd, but smaller. She only weighs sixty pounds.”
“She looks huge to me.”
“By police-dog standards, she’s on the small side, but she’s an expert tracker.”
“Too bad she can’t track down my sister.”
“She
