He cocked his head to one side. “Guess we’re going to be neighbors again.”
Temporarily. When she’d spoken to Audrey, she hadn’t been sure when Casey would arrive, but that he’d be staying a month, maybe two. On business. Secretly, Susanna had died inside hearing the news, but couldn’t let on to her best friend how much being neighbors again with her super successful, gorgeous brother distressed her.
“I guess so.”
He nodded, his stark gaze piercing through barriers with unspoken words. Words she didn’t want to hear. Words that were better off unsaid. “Uh, this is Ally. She lives with me now.” She hugged Ally close and brushed her lips to the top of her head. Soft blond wisps tickled her mouth. “Say hello to Casey, Ally.”
Ally’s eyes shifted from the pup to the pup’s owner. “Hello.”
Casey came closer, stepping over the grass barrier, and smiled wide. “Hi, Ally.” He took her hand and gave it a gentle shake. “Nice to meet you.”
Ally turned back to Charger. “I like your doggy.”
Charger rose up on his hind legs and pawed at Casey’s expensive dress pants, a mewling sound grounding from his little throat. “I think he likes you too.”
“Can I petted him?”
“That’s up to...” Casey turned to Susanna with a question on his lips.
“Aunt Susie,” she confirmed with a nod. She wasn’t really Ally’s aunt, but now wasn’t the time for explanations. “I think it’d be all right.”
Casey bent to pick up the puppy and Ally put her hand out ever so gently to stroke the puppy’s head. “He’s soft.”
“He is,” Casey said.
Lime and musk filled her nostrils. His scent reminded her of the last time they’d been this close. In the Thomas’s house, on the sofa, his arms strong and sure around her as she’d cried her eyes out. The images came through clearly as if they’d happened yesterday. Ten years later, and Casey still made her heart race.
If only he wasn’t going to live directly next door to her. If only he wasn’t Audrey’s brother. If only pressing business didn’t bring him back to Reno. Susanna gave herself a mental slap. The if onlys had to go. Casey Thomas was here for a short time and she’d have to deal with it, just like she’d dealt with everything else in her life. On her own terms.
“The street looks the same,” he said, glancing around.
“It is, for the most part.” She lived in a middle, middle class neighborhood, the homes groomed and tidy, but missing the fancy renovations upper middle income could provide. “Mrs. Martinez moved out. She’s living in a retirement home now. Peter Albertson got married right out of high school, but his mom and dad are still living here.”
“That so? I’ll have to stop over and say hello to Randy and Linda.”
Susanna smiled. “They’d like that. I think they miss Peter a lot.”
Casey glanced at his own house. No one had lived in it since Audrey moved out a year ago. Susanna watched over the property and made sure the gardener came twice a month to keep the lawn groomed.
“You still have a spare key?” Casey asked.
Susanna blinked. The question came out of left field. “Yes, do you want it back?”
Casey took in her sharp reaction and smiled slightly. “No, ma’am. I need to borrow it.” He set the pup down on the grass. “I left my place in Tahoe this morning without my key. Didn’t realize it until about twenty minutes ago.”
Whoops. Her shrewish answer had come out of left field. She’d barked at him as if she was the canine on the property. “Oh, of course. I’ll go get it for you. Come on, Ally.”
Ally pushed against Susanna’s chest and threw her body weight toward the dog, pointing her index finger. “Charger. Charger.”
“We’ll come right back, sweetie.”
“I’ll watch her,” Casey said. He squatted down and ruffled the pup’s ears, then gazed at her, his blue eyes full of reassurance. “If that’s okay with you?”
No, it wasn’t okay with her. It wasn’t that she couldn’t trust Casey with Ally. He’d raised Audrey from a young age and knew the ropes. If anything, he’d been overprotective of his little sister. It wasn’t that. She didn’t want to get too chummy with her new old next-door neighbor. And she certainly didn’t want Ally getting close to him, either.
Ally reached up and put her palms on Susie’s cheeks, looking into her eyes. “Pleeeeeze.”
The kid knew how to get to her; her plea zigzagged to her heart. She shouldn’t deny Ally a small measure of happiness because of pride. Ally had suffered enough sadness for someone so young.
With a shake of her head aimed at Casey, she lowered Ally to the ground. “Okay. You mind what Casey says, sweetie and stay close.”
The puppy immediately raced to Ally’s feet, his tail circling like a windmill on a breezy day.
They were becoming fast friends.
That wasn’t good.
Sighing, Susanna walked to her door, climbed up the steps and swiveled her head. She spotted Ally laughing as the bushy-haired pup did impressive belly rolls on the grass. Casey glanced over and their eyes met. A second ticked by, and then another. Having him here was impossible. She didn’t want him watching her. The corners of her lips pulled down and she snapped out of his momentary hold on her. Reaching for the screen door, she turned the handle and stepped inside her home.
Escaping.
* * *
Casey leaned against his SUV with his arms folded over his chest, keeping an eye on Ally. The dog was pooped out from one too many belly rolls and Ally sat beside him on the grass, talking up a storm. Casey didn’t know two-year-olds could babble so much, yet Charger listened to the blonde girl with ears perked and tongue hanging as if he understood every word she said. Casey knew a little bit about Ally from what Audrey had told him. Mainly that she’d lost her mom, Rhonda Lee, to drug addiction. Rhonda Lee and Susanna were first cousins. Since the child’s father was out of the picture, Susanna had been the child’s only option and she’d stepped in to raise the little girl.
Susanna’s screen door squeaked open and he spotted her stepping off the porch. As she walked toward him, she was ramrod stiff, her shoulders tight, her pretty sculpted chin held high. She hadn’t forgiven him. That much was clear.
Ten years seemed like eons ago, but Casey hadn’t forgotten the night they’d made love either. He was totally to blame for the awkward situation between them and it made his mission here that much harder. Somehow, he had to gain Susanna’s trust so he could help her. He owed the Hart family that much. Without Eleanor and George Hart, he would’ve never been able to raise Audrey on his own. For years, they’d been her second family when Casey was on the road with the rodeo.
If he hadn’t had legitimate business here establishing new Sentinel Construction offices in Reno and overseeing the final stages of a trendy new restaurant on the River Walk, Audrey wouldn’t have pounced on the idea of him moving into their childhood home to secretly help Susanna get back on her feet.
“She’s all alone, Case. Trying hard to make a success of Sweet Susie’s and raise her cousin’s child on her own,” Audrey had said. “You know how that is.”
And he did. He’d had his share of struggles after they’d lost their parents and he’d had to grow up fast in order to raise his much younger sister. That’s why he’d allowed Audrey to twist his arm. The trouble with the plan was that Susanna was barely speaking to him.
She