And now she’s in my house. She is in my house with her scent and her cobbler, and all the parts of me want to scoop her up and haul her to my bed right this second.
She sets the pan down on my countertop. “Nice house,” she says, glancing around the kitchen.
“Thanks,” I say. “That Formica is going away and I’m gonna replace it with sealed concrete. The oak cabinets are still perfect; they only need new hardware and stain.” I point to the wall separating the kitchen from the den. “That wall is going away, and over here,” I tell her, gesturing to the back wall, “I’m going to put in some french doors that will lead out to a swimming pool. Sorry, you didn’t come here for a tour.”
She smiles. “No, but I don’t mind. It delays me having to say what I’m going to say.”
“Which is?”
“I’m sorry for accusing you of stealing Terrence. And he is kind of a bastard.”
I chuckle. It’s very disarming to hear her admit that one of her many dogs actually has the capability of being an asshole.
“And there’s something else. I saw the footage of you bringing Terrence back today. Dropped him off at the gate while I was out.”
I smile. “Yeah, I found him in a soybean field about a mile away. What happened was, one of my guys had started working on the fence, got distracted when someone else came outside to tell him we had a burst water pipe. It was all hands on deck. He sorta left a gap in the fence where he’d been working, and I guess that’s how the wiener got out.”
She seems relieved to know the dog hadn’t been stolen. “Well, I think Terrence saw the error of his ways. He’s been very quiet all day, even in his crate indoors. And thank you for fixing the fence, even if it is a bit over the top. And thank you for the cameras and the phone. It’s too much, but I appreciate it.”
I smirk and cross my arms. “I’m happy to keep you outta trouble. I think what you do for people is a nice thing. And…taking in strays is…good. You have a big heart, Molly. I … I admire you.”
She blushes, and then waves a hand in front of her face like she’s willing her eyes not to leak. It’s the single most adorable thing I’ve ever seen.
“And you’re a nicer guy than I gave you credit for. And good news, Terrence’s people are coming to get him tomorrow, so he’ll be out of your hair, at least until their next vacation.”
Molly and I stare at each other for a moment or two, no sounds except the occasional faint barking of some of the dogs on the other side of the fence.
“It’s killing me you’re not a dog person,” she says, biting her lip in wariness, like she wants to say more, but does not dare. “Well…I should go.”
This is my moment. I can’t let her get away from me this easily. “Wait.”
She turns and looks down at my hand on her shoulder. She raises her eyes to me inquisitively.
“Let’s go get a bite to eat,” I say. “If you’re not on your way out anywhere.”
“I’m not on my way out. What makes you think that?”
I grin. “Never seen you wear a dress or makeup before, and you don’t have the smell of dogs on you…”
She narrows her eyes at me. “So normally I smell like dogs?”
“No. Well…no. That’s not what I mean. Shit. OK, listen, we better get some food in me before I say something really insulting.”
She laughs as we head out the door. “Yeah, wouldn’t want that to happen.”
Chapter Eleven
Molly
When he says let’s grab a bite to eat, I thought he meant let’s head down to the nearest chain restaurant in the suburbs twenty minutes away.
Instead, we drive deeper into the countryside.
It’s a beautiful evening.
We pass by the high school football field, all lit up with a game in progress. We pass farms and ranches, and eventually he slows down in the middle of nowhere. We stop an intersection of two county roads and the thought crosses my mind that maybe he’s brought me out here to dump my body. Nobody would ever find it; it’s the perfect crime, that’s for sure.
But I’m relieved when I see a small, barn red building surrounded by picnic tables and a cloud of smoke out back.