“You’re sure?”
“Of course.”
While he fetched his partner, she went to the hall closet to retrieve her medical bag. It was on the top shelf, wedged next to a box of random sports equipment. And a bit too heavy to snag one-handed. She was on her toes, the kitten snuggled firmly in one arm, when she heard the front door open behind her.
Giving up, she turned around to ask for help. “Hey, could one of you hold the kitten while I—”
Her voice died in her throat. Standing directly in her path was the largest German Shepherd she had ever seen, taking up most of the limited real estate in her tiny foyer. Suppressing a completely unprofessional squeal at the sudden intrusion, she cautiously observed the behemoth before deciding the doe-eyed canine meant no harm. Probably. Intuition and years of experience gave her the courage to edge around him, keeping the kitten out of his reach, just in case.
She was relieved to find Alex in the foyer, apparently not eaten by the mammoth canine. “You aren’t going to tell me Rex found that guy under a staircase, too, are you?” No way was this regal giant a foundling.
“What?” Alex’s eyes narrowed in confusion. “Found who?”
She waved her arm toward the dog. “Him. Where did he come from? Obviously your partner didn’t find him when he found the kitten.”
Alex’s full-throated laugh filled the air, erasing the tired lines that had creased his face a moment before. Unable to resist smiling along with him, she rubbed the kitten’s head with her free hand and waited to be let in on the joke.
“Rex is my partner.” When she only raised her eyebrows, he continued, “I mean, the dog is Rex. My partner.”
Understanding belatedly wound its way through her sleepy brain. “You’re a K-9 officer?”
“Yeah. I just assumed a local veterinarian would have known that.”
She thought back. She had heard rumblings of a new K-9 unit, but she would have sworn the idea had been tabled when it was determined there wasn’t enough money in the budget. “I thought the department couldn’t afford a K-9 unit? Trained dogs have to cost a fortune.”
Alex ruffled the big dog’s fur, a wry smile on his face. “He’s worth every penny, but you’re right. He’s way outside Palmetto County’s price range. The department was able to get federal and state grants to cover the purchase cost, and Miami-Dade County let me train with its K-9 unit on my off time before I came. The department still has to foot the ongoing costs for veterinary care and our continued training, but that’s less expensive than paying the salary for another officer. In the long run, having a K-9 on staff should save the department manpower and money.”
Watching Alex’s eyes shine with pride in his job and his dog had her swallowing hard. She’d been too quick to think she was being avoided, to assume she was being treated badly. Had she gotten so cynical that she assumed the worst of everyone?
If so, she needed to stop. That wasn’t who she wanted to be or what she wanted to teach her daughter. Which meant she needed to bite the bullet and at least try to be open-minded, try to be friendly. Even with the sexy cop standing in her living room.
If Alex had been a little less tired, maybe he would have picked up on Cassie’s confusion earlier. As it was, the look on her face when she’d found the hundred-plus-pound dog in her house had been priceless. He gave her credit, though; she’d stood her ground without flinching. She’d correctly read Rex’s body language and known he wasn’t a threat, despite his size. Heck, even some of his fellow officers were skittish around Rex.
Tough and beautiful. A dangerous combination. He’d once described his ex, a fellow cop, the same way. Then she’d dropped him for an assistant DA and he’d shifted his assessment from tough to cold-hearted. But Cassie, although she’d been less than friendly when he’d first met her, didn’t seem to have the calculating nature that had doomed his relationship with his ex. Cassie tried to hide them, but her emotions were right there on the surface, reflected on her face like the rays of the sun off the ocean.
She had her eyes closed as she felt her way over the kitten’s body from head to tail. Watching her slender but capable fingers skim the soft fur had him wondering what her touch would feel like. Her husband, if she did turn out to be married, was one lucky bastard.
Who probably wouldn’t be happy to find a stranger staring at his wife this way.
Not that she’d even noticed. She’d all but forgotten Alex. Her brows knit in concentration. All her focus was on her small, purring patient.
Better take it down a notch. Focus on the issue at hand. “Is he going to be okay?”
Cassie made a noncommittal noise, then slid the earpieces of a stethoscope into place. A few tense minutes later, her face relaxed into an easy smile. “Lungs sound good, no evidence of any kind of infection, and his heart sounds great. At least, what I can hear over the purring.” She nuzzled her face against the now ecstatic creature. “He seems none the worse for wear, just hungry and cold. It’s lucky you found him when you did—the forecast is calling for another cold front to roll in by the end of the day.”
He suppressed a shudder, despite the warmth of Cassie’s cozy kitchen. An image of the kitten, all alone in the cold, flashed through his head, and he made a mental note to pick up one of Rex’s favorite chew bones at the store later. The big dog deserved a reward, for sure.
As if reading his mind, Cassie opened a whitewashed cupboard and pulled out a box of dog biscuits.
“Can the hero here have a treat?”
“Of course. He’s off duty, and he’s definitely earned it.”
“What about you?” She tipped her chin toward the kettle on the stove. “I’ve got hot water for tea, or I can make a pot of coffee. If you have time, I mean.”
“Tea would be fine, thank you.” He normally stuck to coffee, but there was no point in her making a whole pot just for him. Maybe the coffeepot was strictly for her husband, although it didn’t look as if it had been used yet this morning. Her mug, purple with pink paw prints on it, sat alone on the empty counter, smelling of peppermint and flowers.
Come to think of it, there’d only been one car in the driveway. Her husband could have left for work already, but there was nothing in the kitchen to indicate a male presence. Surreptitiously, he scanned the room. No dirty breakfast dishes, no mugs other than hers. Even more telling, the decor ran to pastels and flowers. The evidence was circumstantial, but certainly enough to introduce reasonable doubt as to the existence of a Mr. Marshall.
Accepting the tea, he told himself it didn’t matter one way or the other. She’d made her opinion of him, and his profession, perfectly clear when they first met. But as he sat across from her in the cozy kitchen, his dog at their feet and a kitten in her lap, a new, friendlier relationship seemed possible. Which didn’t explain why he cared if she shared her home, or her bed, with another man.
He’d obviously been up too long. That was all. Sleep deprivation could mess with your mind. Everyone knew that. After a few hours’ sleep, he’d remember all the reasons he wasn’t looking for a relationship, especially with the firecracker of a redhead sitting across from him. For now, he’d drink his tea and enjoy a few minutes of company before going home to his empty apartment.
When he’d first taken the job in Paradise, he’d suggested he and his mother share a place, but she’d just chuckled and said he would need his own space for “entertaining.” Right. He’d had only one other person in his apartment since he moved to Paradise, and that was the cable guy. Between the new job and the extra training sessions he’d