She’d sorted through about half of them when Mason came in.
“What couldn’t you tell me over the phone?” he asked.
Great! Ruin everything.“Like I said, I have a messy office and can use your help moving some things around.” She then handed him the paper.
As he read it, his jaw tightened. He picked up a pencil from her desk and wrote,where?
She pointed to under the desk. “Let’s move these boxes out of the way, okay?” Mason pressed his fingers to his lips.
“That’s why I called in the muscle.”
For the next hour, they actually worked, sorting through her files and placing them in the file cabinet. The smaller boxes they stacked on the bookcase. The rest they piled in the corner.
“This does look a lot better. Almost as neat as my space,” her brother said.
She chuckled. His was far worse. Tawny pulled out her phone and handed it to him. “I have a question about the party details for Mom’s birthday.”
She quickly scribbled a note asking him to install the spyware application on her cell. He’d sent the link, but she hadn’t had the time to figure it out.
“I have some ideas, but I’m still mulling them over,” Mason said, playing along.
While he did what he was good at, Tawny put the finished folders in the file cabinet. “I’d love to hear them.” Tawny checked the time. “Well, look at that. It’s almost closing time. Want to come over later to discuss your thoughts? We still haven’t decided on a present.” If anyone was listening, she hoped they’d not pay attention to their babble.
“Sure. Want me to pick up dinner?”
That wasn’t fair for him to do that twice in a row. “I’ll stop at the diner. I want to talk with Dad anyway to see if he has a lead on Zach’s whereabouts.”
Mason winked. “Sounds good.” He handed her back the phone that was now good to go, and she returned the one he’d lent her.
Tawny looked around her office and smiled. “This looks so much better. I never could have done this without your help.”
Just then, Ariel poked her head around the corner and stepped in. “Wow. This is looking so much better.” She looked over at her brother. “Hey, Mason. Nice to see you again.”
“You, too.”
“Tawny, I need to head back to work.” He turned to Ariel. “If you’re leaving, I’ll walk you out.”
“I'd like that,” Ariel said.
“See you tonight.” When Tawny reminded him, Mason saluted her.
Ariel was halfway out the office door when she turned around. “One more thing. When you get home, please tell your men to take it easy on Benson and Preston. Every time Benson trains, he comes back sore as hell.”
That was probably true. “I’ll remind them to hit softer. How about I stop by the clinic tomorrow after work.” She mouthed that they need to talk.
“Sounds perfect.”
Once Ariel and Mason took off, Tawny made her usual calls and then worked on some animal adoption papers. Shortly before five, she went to the back to check on the dogs. There were always a few who needed extra petting.
Brett rushed up to her. “Is everything okay?” he whispered.
While she appreciated his attentiveness, he had a tendency to hover. “I’m fine. Thanks. Listen, I need to head downtown to see if Dad has any news on Zach.” She explained how her father was given a tip that Zach might have been spotted up north.
“I hope they find him,” Brett said.
“Me too. That means, I need to lock up.”
“Oh.” Brett appeared a bit confused. “I’m not quite finished changing all of the water. Lana had anaccidentthat I need to clean up. I can lock up for you when I’m done.”