“Oh, no.” She shook her head, obviously trying not to crack another smile. “They are definitely gone.”
“Then I am going to need a ride into town.”
She stared at him for a moment and then a light seemed to go off over her head. “From me. Of course.” She grabbed the siding and hauled it up, then stopped. “Should I leave it here for the next guy?”
Major knew he should help her reload the siding, but he just wanted the whole thing to be over. He strode to Harry’s truck and found a towel in the back. Harry was a deep believer in being prepared. “Nope. No one else would be that dumb. You leave that out here and it will be Otis’s loading zone.”
“Who is Otis?” She easily hefted the siding back into the bed of the truck.
“He’s a gator. And he can be real lazy if you let him.” Now that he was standing close to her he realized she was even prettier than she’d seemed. There was a glow about the woman that would normally call to him, but all it did now was remind him of how dark his own life seemed. She was probably one of those people who had everything together. She probably had the perfect husband or boyfriend and a great career doing something she loved.
He opened the passenger door of the truck once he was satisfied he wouldn’t do too much damage. He laid the towel over the seat.
The corgi was staring at him, and he could have sworn there was an air of disapproval around the dog.
Dolly, meanwhile, was back to chasing after butterflies. “Dolly!”
The name came out gruff and way louder than he’d meant it to. Dolly stopped and went still.
Brynn immediately seemed to feel the need to make up for his grumpiness. “Come on, sweetie. Let’s get you home.”
Dolly jumped into the cab and then he had to deal with two dogs who were trying to sniff each other’s butts in a space that was way too small for that long-held canine tradition. Dolly settled on his lap and the corgi was back to staring at Major as if he had taken something precious from him.
Brynn eased into the driver’s seat and frowned briefly. “I’ll be careful, Duke. Settle down, and I promise it’ll be okay.” She turned back to Major as she fired up the engine. “Sorry. Duke doesn’t handle change well. He’s a bit of a grump.”
Duke huffed and moved from the passenger seat to the small second row, his indignation at being banished to the back obvious.
Dolly nearly deballed him in her haste to join the smaller dog. Major barely managed to not cup himself. He pulled his T-shirt down and did not miss how Brynn’s mouth closed after her lips slightly turned up.
It was good someone found the situation amusing.
“You’re going to have to give me some directions, Deputy Major. I’m afraid I don’t know the town very well.” She put the truck in reverse and expertly pulled it out of what could have been a tricky spot in less capable hands.
“You want to get back to the road we came in on and when we hit the highway, you’ll take a right.” He glanced back, and it was obvious his dog was in love. Her big body was hunkered down right next to the corgi, who looked like he was simply surviving until these strangers were gone and he could get his life back.
He was with the corgi. Though it wasn’t like he had much of a life to get back to. The dogs seemed to have it better. At least someone fed them treats and gave them belly rubs.
Not that he wanted a belly rub. Any kind of rub would be nice.
“All right, let’s get the rest of this rescue on the road.” She eased over the rough terrain. “I’m excited to see the town. I got in a couple of days ago and I’ve been exploring the B and B, but I hadn’t left the grounds until today.”
“There’s not much to it.” He was going to move. Harry had the right idea. He should live in the sticks. If he lived there now then no one would be there to see him run from the truck to the front door wearing nothing but his underwear.
A horrible thought struck.
What was he planning on doing when he got to the front door? Because his keys were in the bog.
Major groaned and let his body come forward, forehead gently hitting the dashboard.
This was not his day.
chapter two
Brynn hoped the hot deputy with the weird name wasn’t about to flake out on her.
Major Blanchard had sat with his head down for the five minutes it had taken to get to the highway. It was obvious that the man was having some kind of unwanted revelation, but she didn’t think she would be able to find the psychic powers needed to detect the route she should take. She hadn’t been out of range of the B and B the few days she’d been here, so she had zero idea where to go.