The one dog, a mixed rottie, whines and covers his snout with his paws. The white fluffy cat mews and turns away. These animals aren’t going to be any help.
When Deputy Reid arrives, we put him in charge of figuring out who is going to take the animals. We find a vet in the next town over who promises to be here in an hour. I leave Deputy Reid and Vincent at the vet clinic and go off to give the vet’s next of kin, his parents, the bad news. That task is no fun. Neither is the part where I have to ask the parents where he was in the last twenty-four hours. The dad curses at me for a good five minutes and breaks down into tears. The mom is shell-shocked and doesn’t move. It’s uncomfortable and fucking sad.
I could go home, but I don’t. There’s not a person there I want to see. Instead, I make my way to Melody. I need her right now.
CHAPTER 6
MELODY
Teddy strolls down the sidewalk next to me. I have him on a leash, but it’s a bit pointless. If he wanted to, he could drag me around this town by it. I was done for the second I saw the little guy in his cage. Not that he stayed little for long. I should have figured when I found out he was a Saint Bernard that he was going to grow into a beast. But even for his breed, he’s ginormous. The name Teddy Bear may not be so fitting anymore.
When I round the corner, I pause when I see a figure standing on my porch. It doesn’t take me but a second to realize who it is from his shape alone. He’s got his hands braced on either side of the door, and I think he’s talking. I creep forward, wanting to hear what he’s saying. I can’t help but wonder what the heck he’s doing here.
“Melody, please open the door. Your car is in the driveway. I know you’re home.” His tone is different than I’ve ever heard it. There is a sadness clinging to it. I take a few more steps closer. Frank suddenly spins around, his hand going to his waist, where I spot a gun, but he stops short of his hand landing on it.
“Hi,” I say, still wondering why he’s at my door. Is he here to talk about last night? I know I can’t stop thinking about it. I tried to spend my day preparing coursework for the upcoming school year, but my mind kept drifting back to last night and the things Frank had said. Mainly the stuff about tying me up.
“Hi!” he barks. His whole demeanor changes. “You’re out roaming the streets at dark.” He steps down off my porch, coming toward me. Teddy lets out a deep growl.
“As you can see, I’m not alone.” I pet the top of Teddy's head. “It’s okay,” I tell him. “And it’s really none of your business even if I was.”
“Even with a dog, you still shouldn’t be out roaming around.”
“This isn’t the city. It’s Harrisville.” Not a whole lot of crime happening around here.
“Inside.” He motions toward my front door.
“You can’t boss me around,” I huff. He gives me a hard look. One that goes straight to my core. My irritation grows, but with myself. “I was going inside anyway.” I raise my chin and walk right past him. Teddy stays close as I pull my keys out and enter the house. Frank follows me in. “Hey! No one invited you in here.”
“You didn’t set the alarm when you left.” He points to the pad on the wall that’s not going off. He looks even more agitated than he was about me being out for a walk. What the heck?
“I only went around the block.” Frank closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. What is going on here? I unhook Teddy from his leash. “Bed.” He does as he’s told. At least someone listens to me around here.
“You need to take your safety more seriously,” he says as his eyes begin to roam around my place.
“Is there something you need, Frank? A reason for your impromptu visit?” I ask, feigning annoyance that he’s here when I’m anything but. I hate that I like how it feels with him in my space.
“Stop calling me Frank.” He clears the space between us. My feet leave the floor, only this time he doesn’t toss me over his shoulder. My legs and arms wrap around him as he buries his face in my neck, taking deep long breaths. Something is wrong.
“Biscuit? What’s going on?”
“You always smell so damn good. Anytime I smell lavender I think of you.” I’ve always favored lavender when I picked out my soaps or body sprays. He pays more attention than I ever really knew.