He couldn’t get enough of her. Their sex was off the charts, but it wasn’t just that. Sleeping in bed with her and holding her in his arms every night gave him a settled feeling he’d never had before. There was no doubt being in love with the person you slept with made all the difference. The years he’d spent playing the field and arguing he didn’t want to be “tied down” were a flimsy excuse. It was for the best, though, because it left him available to fall in love with Mary Jane Van Buren.
He had to believe that Trevor would approve, even though he wouldn’t have had a chance with MJ if his buddy had lived. Would she and Trevor have stayed together? Would she have been happy with him?
He shut off his head and concentrated on the run. His leg became stronger the more he worked it, and Maverick showed no signs of his injuries anymore. Would he completely recover, as well? Hell, he’d make sure of it.
He picked up the pace for their last half-mile to the park. “C’mon, Maverick, let’s pour it on.” The two of them ran full-out and arrived breathless and panting. “Good job, boy. We’re a great team, aren’t we?”
Maverick gave him a doggy grin, as his tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth. They walked around the outer perimeter of the park to cool down, and then Rob stretched against a large oak tree as the Malinois sprawled on the ground nearby.
This was the life. He’d created just enough routine—cooking breakfast for MJ each morning, working out with Maverick, going home to shower and change, and then either going to therapy or reading through the materials he’d checked out last week. He rounded out the day by cooking something for dinner, making love to MJ, and falling asleep with her in his arms.
Tonight would be his first group meeting. His nightmares hadn’t bothered him since he’d started sleeping with MJ a few days ago. That wasn’t long enough to know if the terrifying dreams had completely disappeared, but he sure wanted them to be. Maverick seemed better, too.
He couldn’t complain. Even their mystery visitor hadn’t shown up again. He checked the security footage every morning, and whenever he’d been away, but there had been no signs of anyone.
He checked job postings in the paper and online every day, but he hadn’t seen anything promising. Frank would let him know if he heard of something. He’d said he would check with his contacts.
It didn’t matter. He wouldn’t let anything pull him out of his optimism. The right job would come along.
He got down for a hundred push-ups, followed by a hundred sit-ups. He was somewhere around sixty when he heard Maverick scramble to his feet and let out a low-throated growl. The dog stood, his body quivering with tension, as he stared across the park at a male figure.
“Maverick! Restare!”
The dog shot him a look, sat down, but resumed his alert, watchful pose.
What the hell had Maverick upset? As the man moved toward them, Rob recognized him and held back a groan. Kent Barnard.
“Well, well, look who’s here. I’d have thought you’d have left town by now. I’m surprised to see your mangy dog still hanging around. I expected somebody would poison him.” He let out a mirthless laugh.
Rob felt his blood run cold. Barnard was trying to provoke him into a fight. Maverick would jump in to help, thus giving the man the perfect excuse to have the dog euthanized. Not happening, although he’d like nothing better than to punch Barnard in his paunchy gut and smack the smarmy grin off his face. He took a deep breath, reaching for control.
“Maybe you’re the one who tried to poison this dog. Well, you failed. He’s alive and well enough to take you down, too.” Rob looked at Maverick, hoping he’d live up to his training and stay. Could he contain the canine warrior if he went after Barnard? “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stay away from us. He’s a professional, but he’ll take a piece of you if you continue to provoke him.”
“Hey, this is my town. You’re both strangers here, so don’t think you can make trouble for me. Stay out of my life. Stay out of my wife’s life. Keep your fucking dog away from me. You don’t belong here.”
Rob shrugged and tried to look unconcerned. “I’m happy to stay as far away from you as possible. If you do the same, we’ll both be happy.”
“Sure. I’ll bet you’re plenty happy. I heard you’re fucking that cute little librarian. I’ll bet she gives great head. Maybe once you move on, I’ll take a piece of that.”
Almost as if he understood the words, Maverick began bristling with tension. Rob reached out and grabbed his collar.
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave her alone.” He shot the man a look that communicated how much Rob wanted to tear him limb from limb.
Barnard let out a laugh, as if pleased he’d gotten to them both. “We’ll see,” he taunted as he turned and walked back across the park, disappearing behind the building that held the public restrooms.
“C’mon, Maverick. Let’s get out of here.” He clipped the leash onto his halter again, and they headed off at a fast walk. He couldn’t wait to get away. He needed to figure out how to keep MJ safe.
As soon as they arrived home, he refilled Maverick’s water dish. As he gulped a glass of water himself, he dialed the number Sheriff Daniels had given him. It only rang twice before he heard, “Bo Daniels here.”
“Sheriff, it’s Rob Michelini. You asked me to let you know if I had contact with Kent Barnard. He approached Maverick and me in Dogwood
