His eyes shone with what could be longing, attraction. Nonsense—he was tired from the recovery op.
“No worries, Nash. Why don’t you take Greta to the grooming station and use the power driers? The sooner she’s dry, the sooner we’ll all get to bed.”
Her face immediately heated. If Nash noticed her self-consciousness over the unintended reminder of their night together, he didn’t reveal it. He had Greta by her leash and his hand on the door. “I just wanted to say that I’m really glad I got here when I did. Tonight.”
Of course, that was what he was going to say. Patience swallowed, knowing in that instant that telling him he was tied to her forever as her baby daddy was something she had to do pronto. But not here, not in the midst of trying to find a murderer.
“Thanks. Me, too. If you hadn’t shown up when you did, I know I’d have had to fire my weapon.” She couldn’t stop the shudder that ran through her. And she wasn’t the shaky type. Digging deep, she tried to find the woman she’d been just yesterday. The uncompromising K9 veterinarian who knew what she wanted. Instead of the emotional wreck she felt like, wondering how on earth she was going to raise a baby.
Nash’s hand dropped from the door handle and he closed the few feet between them. His touch was firm, warm, reassuring as he squeezed her shoulder. It was meant as a collegial reassurance, so why did it send lightning bolts of awareness through her?
“You didn’t have to use your firearm. And if you had, you’d have protected yourself. You’re a brilliant veterinarian, Patience, but you’re also a great shot. I was there on the firing range with you during our last weapons refresher, remember?”
She nodded. “I do. Thanks, Nash.”
He flashed his trademark sexy smile at her before he led Greta out of the room. Patience listened to their footsteps, walking in sync as they always did. Nash and Greta made a great team.
And now they were going to have a baby to fit into their routine. If Nash wanted to participate as a father. She’d thought for certain he wouldn’t, but the man who’d protected her tonight wasn’t the kind who balked at a challenge. And helping to raise a baby while still the guardian for his four half siblings would be the challenge of a lifetime.
Of course, he didn’t know about it yet. She wished she still had the clinic all to herself, because she needed to talk to labradoodle Fred and scarlet macaw Gabby most desperately now.
She needed the words to tell Nash Maddox she was pregnant with his child. Yet the image of the woman going into the water, the terror that had sliced through Patience when she’d thought the killer would harm her and the baby, put a dreadful pall over such happy news. Now she understood how the would-be brides and grooms all over Red Ridge felt. The threat of being murdered trumped the desire to host even the most joyous occasion.
Patience squared her shoulders. No one would harm her child or erase the thrill of anticipation at his or her existence. But even as she made the silent vow to herself, a shiver of knowing rushed over her.
The Lake Killer wanted her dead.
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