“That all sounds good,” Badger said, “but remember. It sounds like you’ve got a personal stake in this now too.”
“I hadn’t expected it,” he said, “but, yeah, you’re right. I think I do.”
Badger chuckled. “Kat said you would. Apparently we’ve had an incredible run of luck on these K9 files. Every unattached guy we’ve sent out has come back with a partner.”
“Well, I didn’t really expect to come back with a partner,” he said. “Matter of fact, it wasn’t what I was looking for at all.”
“Don’t think it matters much,” he said, “because you’re following the same track too.”
“No, no, no. You can’t go there yet,” he said. “I don’t think that’s true. All I’m doing right now is dealing with one very scared woman who’s already had her child kidnapped once.”
“On the other hand,” Badger said, “it’s pretty easy to see that Kona has already picked her out for you.” And, with that, he hung up.
Greyson stared down at the phone and said, “No, no, that’s not cool.”
A murmured voice behind him said, “What’s not cool, honey?”
He stiffened at the endearment, then smiled as he turned to see her blinking owlishly up at him. He walked over and gently laid a hand on her shoulder. “Go back to sleep, sweetie.”
She sank back down again, smiled, and said, “Okay.”
He could see that she hadn’t even surfaced enough to really be awake. He leaned over, gave her a gentle kiss on the temple, and wondered if Badger was right. Greyson had already acknowledged that he’d like to see where this would go.
He walked to the end of the bed, where Kona stared up at him, her huge chocolate-colored eyes questioning what he was doing.
He bent down and gently stroked the dog’s neck. “You had quite the hand in this, didn’t you?”
Kona’s tail thumped back and forth several times.
He smiled. “It’s all good,” he said. “Maybe, just maybe, you’re better at picking people than you thought.”
Kona gave a light bark and nestled against his hand.
“I know we didn’t know each other either,” he said, “but apparently finding you just may have brought me an instant family.” That reminded him of the rest of his family. It was just after seven-thirty a.m. now, and Greyson knew his grandparents didn’t sleep much, so he quickly picked up the phone and called his grandpa.
“Where are you, boy?”
“Do you need your truck back?” he said with a smile.
“Nope. I just want to make sure you’re safe.”
“Well, I’m still with the dog … and the woman. She’s got stalker trouble and her child was even kidnapped,” he said, with a humorous note of disbelief.
There was silence on the other end, and then his grandfather spoke. “Is she pretty?”
“Very,” Greyson said, chuckling.
“How old is the boy?”
“About eighteen months.”
“Perfect age,” he said. “I presume you’re keeping the dog, and I suggest you keep her too. Bring them by. I’d really like to meet them.” And with that his grandfather hung up.
When his phone vibrated seconds later, he stared down and saw his grandfather again. “What did you forget?” he asked.
“I forgot to tell you that you can keep using the truck. Don’t feel guilty about it, and don’t you bother renting another one. That’s just a waste of money, and you’re a family man now,” he said. “You need to save every penny. Speaking of which, you need a new career too.” He hung up again.
Greyson stared at his phone in amazement. Just because he was here with her didn’t give him an instant family and didn’t make him a family man, no matter what his grandfather said. But when the phone rang again, and he answered it, this time it was his grandmother.
“I’m absolutely thrilled for you, dear,” she said, her voice high and girly. “We’ve been waiting for this for a very long time.”
Greyson shook his head, trying to forestall his grandmother’s words. “I just met her, Grandma.”
“Yes, I know,” she said, “but it’s perfect. It’s absolutely perfect, and the timing is wonderful. I couldn’t be happier, and, like your grandfather said, bring her by, we can’t wait to meet her and her son.” And then she hung up on him too.
He stared down his phone and muttered, “Has the world gone mad?”
“Absolutely,” Jessica said, staring at him. “What were those conversations? I heard a part of them, but they didn’t make sense.”
Tongue-tied, he stared at her, until she asked again.
“Who was that?”
“Well, the first two were my grandfather,” he said in a dry tone as he walked toward her. “The last one was my grandmother, calling to tell me how she’s absolutely thrilled that I have an instant family.” He watched as Jessica’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline.
“Pardon?”
“That’s what I was trying to explain to her,” he said, waving the phone in his hand. “But she didn’t want to listen.”
At that, Jessica started to laugh. “Well, they got the wrong end of the stick.”
“Well, they did and they didn’t,” he said, as he sat down on the bed beside her. He reached out and laced his fingers with hers, then lifted her hand so he could stare at her beautifully manicured nails. “They’re right in one sense,” he said. “I’m definitely interested.”
She looked at him, wordless, but her eyes were huge.
He smiled. “Obviously the circumstances are less than ideal,” he said, “but, since I first saw you, I can’t stop thinking about you.”
“Since you first saw me, I’ve been a pain in the”—she darted a glance at Danny, making sure he was sleeping—“ass,” she whispered, “and you’ve done nothing but look after me,” she corrected.
“Oh, I know,” he said, agreeing, “but I did it because I wanted to. And now that we’re one step closer
