15. Chapter 15
Kylie
“You’re really hitting the brunt of puberty now, aren’t you?” I look at Dick and he stares right back with the most innocent wide eyes a golden retriever can have.
He has one of Abby’s toys in his mouth. A fact my dog is not too happy about.
She’s been trying to get it back for the past ten minutes, but that little golden, adorable weasel is too quick and too stubborn for his own good. Combined with his puppy energy, he is impossible to catch, at least without a little bribery in the form of treats.
“I’m so sorry,” Kieran mutters and shakes his head, arms crossed in front of his chest. “Dick? Come here!”
Bless him, he’s doing his best, but his dog is downright ignoring him. He reaches for the golden retriever, but before he can catch the leash, Dick is already disappearing in the shrubbery of Wayward Hollow’s main square.
It’s cloudy today. The kind of heavy clouds that make an afternoon seem like the middle of the night, promising a rain so heavy you’ll want to drive a boat on the roads instead of a car.
“He’s about as stubborn as my mother insisting I’m going to hell, after telling her about my divorce.”
He winces. “Damn, I’m sorry you have to deal with that.
” I shrug and wave him off. His wistful gaze returns to his dog and he lets out the deepest sight I’ve ever heard.
“Man, let me tell you, we were doing so well. He learned so many tricks. I even got him to do a photo pose on command and then puberty hit and he became a little menace.”
“The joys of parenthood.” I pat his shoulder with an empathetic smile and hand him a treat. Bribery seems to be the only thing Dick can be somewhat controlled with. Which is why Kieran ran out of treats half an hour ago. “I’ll get him close. You grab his leash.”
His face sets with conviction and he rolls up his sleeves. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
His face is set, an expression as if he’s out on a life-or-death mission. For him and his nerves, this just might be. I crouch down and hold one of the treats out to Dick.
“Come here, little Dickie,” I coo and try to get him closer. Oh God, it’s taking everything in me not to burst into laughter. Kieran did not pick a good name for stern commands.
Said owner takes a few steps away, knowing his dog won’t approach if he hovers close by.
Dick stares at me with eyes full of suspicion, sensing our trap. However, within a second, all doubts are wiped from his brain, and he trots closer, dropping Abby’s toy a meter away from me and quickly lapping up the treat.
“Ha-ha!”
Kieran grabs the leash. As soon as Dick realizes, he tries to run off, but Kieran has a firm grip on it now.
“Maybe you need one of those dog leashes that go around your waist,” I propose, watching him fight with his four-legged mix of a toddler and mid-puberty teenager.
“Already ordered,” he confides with a smirk. “Along with a tracker, in case he runs off and decides to dig up some bones, I guess.”
I giggle and absentmindedly pat Abby’s head. “Let’s hope he doesn’t. It sure made for an adventure but I could have totally managed moving here without. I’m still not sure what to do with the giant hole in my backyard.”
“Embrace it and install a pool.”
“Seriously? We have a lake right in front of our houses, I don’t need a pool.”
We trudge around the park in Wayward Hollow’s main square. The wind is blowing my hair into my face, and every two seconds I wipe a strand, or a leaf, out of my eyes.
“Can’t we have some sunny, cozy fall weather?” I mumble, promptly getting hair in my mouth. Ugh.
“Stay strong. It’s supposed to be sunny over the weekend. Right in time for the autumn fair.”
“Hell ye-“ Suddenly, Abby tugs on her leash so strongly I almost fall into a very spiky-looking bush, only catching myself at the last possible moment. By the time I find my balance, she’s already pulling me away. “Oh my God, Abby, what’s—hey, where are you going?”
I stumble after her. She might look small, but when she really wants to go somewhere, I don’t stand a chance.
“Nice hanging out with you!” Kieran shouts after me. When I look over my shoulder, he’s giving me a friendly wave. What makes him think I’m not returning? As if I’d be rude enough to just let my dog whisk me away.
When I look in front of me again, I realize why. Abby has spotted Erik and is making a beeline for him.
And just like that, my resistance on the leash lessens. Only a little.
He hasn’t seen us yet. His back is turned to us as he puts a to-go coffee cup and paper bag on top of his police car, both probably freshly bought from Caleb’s.
I keep staring at his broad shoulders. The way the leather of his jacket strains over them.
His really pretty side profile as he looks down the street.
Before I know it, we’re right behind him and Abby nudges the back of his knee. He turns around with a start.
“Oh, hey, you two.” As soon as he sees us, his face lights up and his smile sends a wave of heat into my cheeks.
“Hey, Erik.” Moss green eyes meet mine, and all of a sudden, I feel my pulse in my throat and forget how breathing works. “Are you on your lunch break?”
“Yeah.” He rubs the back of his neck. “But I still have some time, in case you want to, you know…” He leans down and runs his fingers through Abby’s fur. “Chat.”
“You just want to pet my dog, don’t you?”
He fully kneels on the ground now. Abby showers him with kisses and whips him with her furiously wagging tail.
“Maybe.” He shoots me a sheepish grin. What can I say? I get it. I also love petting my dog. I shake my head at him but with a grin so wide he can’t mistake it for disapproval.
“Well then, pet away.” After all, my dog is craving his presence enough to drag me through half the park.
I swipe my hair behind my ear, but the wind is stubborn. There’s a grumble in the distance, tree branches swinging in the heavier growing winds.
Erik gets up with a frown and stares at the dark purple clouds. He opens his mouth, but just as he’s about to speak, we’re not hit by a little raindrop or two. No. From one second to the next, it starts pouring buckets.
“Oh damn.” He grabs his coffee and pastry from the car roof and pulls the passenger door of his cruiser open.
“Break over.”
“Come on, Abby, let’s run to Caleb’s!” But Erik stops me with a hand on my forearm and nods at his car.
“Come on. Get in.” My eyes dart between the café and him. Really? I don’t want to keep him from work. Softer, he adds, “Hang out with me.”
I stare at him. One blink. Two. Come on, Kylie. You’ve got to talk if you don’t want to get soaked to your bones.
“Okay. I mean, yes.” I nod. “I’d love that. To hang out. With you.”
“Wonderful.”
Before I realize what’s happening, he opens the back door for Abby, who jumps into his car without even an ounce of hesitation. Then he opens the passenger door for me like the gentleman he is, waits until I’m seated, then closes it and hurries around the car to get into the driver’s seat.
“I’ve got to say”—I wiggle in my seat and shoot him a grin—“this thing is really comfortable.” And warm. And it smells like him in here.
“Admittedly, the passenger side is not often in use.” He grins and reaches for his coffee. “And neither is the backseat. We don’t get many crimes around here.”
I glance at the rearview mirror and burst into laughter. “Oh, Abby, you little criminal.” She rolled up in the middle seat and stares at the two of us, utterly unimpressed. “Oh God, I need a photograph of that.”
Quickly, I pull out my phone and take a picture of her through the heavy bars separating the driver from the presumed perp in the backseat.
“I have to send this to Gabriella, she’ll get a kick out of this.” I slide the phone back into my pocket. “And Kieran will be SO jealous he never thought to ask you.” Hell knows, Dick would deserve some time in car-jail with the way he’s acting.
“What would Abby have done to get arrested?” Erik chuckles and takes a sip of his coffee. Then he offers it to me. My cheeks turn red. Holy we’re-getting-comfortable-with-each-other.
With a grin that might border on psychotic, and my heart fluttering faster than a drug dealer would run once he spots this car, I take it. Only for a little sip.
“Cold-blooded murder,” I mumble and hand him the cup back. The rain is now seeping through the fabric of my pants and through my socks. It sends a cold shiver down my spine that ends in a full-body tremble because it opened the gates to me freezing.
As soon as Erik realizes it, he pushes a button on his dashboard and hot air blows on my soaking wet jeans.
Damn. He’s observant.
“I mean, she has watched enough true-crime documentaries with me to cover up a murder. Then again, she’s a dog, has maybe three brain cells on a good day, and I say that lovingly.
Also, she sleeps through most of them, so she’s bound to make a mistake,” I explain, tapping my fingertip against my lips as I think.
“What would her method be? Do you think she’s a poison girlie, or is she going for the knife?”
“Huh.” I stare at the rearview mirror. She blinks at me with her shiny big eyes, then burrows further into the seat to get comfortable.
“She’d try to make it look like an accident. You know, pushing someone down the stairs ‘accidentally,’” I emphasize with air quotes. “Or shoving them off a highway bridge or in front of a semi-truck at full speed.”
His lips curl into an amused grin as he unwraps his pastry from Caleb’s.
“I think her demise would be not being able to keep a secret. Hell, I am horrible at keeping secrets. She’d get caught in a heartbeat.” I shake my head. Suddenly, a heavenly smell fills the car. It makes my mouth water and a lightning speed dia-show of Christmas memories run through my head.
“What magnificent pastry do you have there?” I ask and eye the pastry in his hand with the same curiosity as Abby stares at whatever I’m eating. An expression screaming ‘Gimme!’
“I have no idea.” He holds up what looks like a cinnamon roll. From the smell, I don’t think there’s only cinnamon in there, though. At least not as the only ingredient. “But Caleb made it. He’s never steered me wrong so far.”
Oblivious to the waterfall forming at my mouth, both at the smell of the pastry and the way his wet hair falls into his face, he takes a bite. Then he groans. And closes his eyes.
Did someone say waterfall? I might have the damn Niagara Falls going now. That was obscenely hot.
And boy, do I want to try the pastry. And maybe to kiss him.
Raindrops are hitting the windshield of his car with loud ‘thunks.’ Not a soul is out on the streets of Wayward Hollow in this rain. Damn, I hope Kieran found shelter in time.
Nobody is around to notice me in his passenger seat, watching him chew, eyebrows creased and his thick eyelashes fluttering.
My eyes wander past him to the other side of the street.
Can I book it over to Caleb’s without getting too wet? I eye the distance. I only have to get out of the car and cross the street. I could probably do it in less than a minute, but I reckon even ten seconds would be enough to soak me to the bone. And I kind of really don’t want to leave right now.
“Here.” Suddenly, the deliciousness appears in front of my face. “Try it.”
“Really? Erik, it’s your lunch. I’m not about to—”
“I’m offering.” I blink at him. Is this actually happening? When did we reach the ‘food and drink sharing’ stage? I’m so not complaining, but maybe a little overwhelmed. “Last chance, Kylie. I’m not too eager to share my food.”
Before he can change his mind, I lean forward and take a bite. My eyes widen as soon as the taste hits my tongue and now, I understand why he moaned. It’s buttery, and there’s cinnamon and roasted walnuts and apple and everything good about fall.
“That”—I point at his hand as he retracts it—“is the best thing from Caleb’s I’ve ever eaten. Did he have more? I might barge in there and buy myself a lifetime supply.”
“This was the last one.” My face falls. He grins and takes another big bite.
“Alas, there goes my hope.” I swallow my disappointment.
A low sound comes from the back of his throat as he chews.
Damn. I really need to bring this conversation back to an un-moanable topic.
“Are you having a busy day at work?” I ask Erik, tearing my eyes away from the pastry. And his lips. But mostly the pastry.
“Oh, you know. The usual.” He mumbles, breaks a piece off, and offers it to me. I try to subtly wet my lips without appearing too desperate. “Ah damn.” He retracts it, only because the pastry is about to fall apart in his lap.
And once he’s gathered all of the bigger crumbs in one of his giant hands, he offers me a piece again and this time, I’m ready. I’ve learned my lesson.
Before he can even consider changing his mind, I lean in and open my mouth. Then my lips close around the piece. And for a fraction of a second, my tongue nudges his finger.
And the world comes to a standstill.
His breath hitches, but he doesn’t retract his hand.
Our eyes meet. Suddenly the air is so thick you could cut it with a knife.
His expression shifts, but I can’t read it, as he lets go of the piece and hurriedly shoves another bite into his mouth, clearing his throat and blushing. Fuck, that’s adorable.
“Though, I suspect it’s going to get a little busy from now on.” He nods at the windshield, water streaming down it in little rivers. What were we talking about again?
“Why? Is rain the go-sign for burglaries around here?”
“No, no burglaries.” He chuckles lowly. I put my palms on my cheeks, willing the heat away.
But his car’s heater is still blasting away and rain-wet jeans be damned, I might be overheating in here.
“But anytime it rains like this, there’s bound to be a tree or branch to succumb to nature and block a road. ”
“Are you the one who has to clear the roads?” I frown and glance outside again. “In this weather? That doesn’t sound safe.”
“Eh, nothing is safe.” He shrugs, and another piece of pastry disappears into his mouth. “You can also get hit by a branch or a car when the sun is shining.”
I’m about to answer, but a voice crackles out of his walkie-talkie.
“Hang on a second.” He listens intently. I try to decipher the words as well, because I’m nosy like that. However, the static is horrible. I can’t even make out one word.
“Got it.” He says into the walkie-talkie, then turns to me with a grin. “Called it.” He pushes eats the last piece of pastry, then swipes the crumbs off his pants. “There’s a branch in the road. Do you want to tag along?”
Do I? Truth is, I can think of nothing better than spend time with him. So I nod.
“Sure.” I extend my legs and grin. I have no more meetings or deadlines this afternoon, so even though I have an hour or two of work left, I can handle pushing them to this evening. “Let’s go on an adventure.”