She had eyes on Ford now, still sitting up straight behindthe wheel, and he had eyes on her—his wiggling and whimpering gave him away.The sight gave her a miniscule lift as she and Colin stopped beside theDurango.
Colin cradled her hand in both of his, eyes filled withsympathy. “Natalie, I know you’re here because you’re loyal and you have a bigheart. Even Kris agrees, and she’s a tough one to impress.” He paused a beat.“I suspect you also have a stubborn streak, which means you won’t give up, andfrankly, that worries me. You need to consider what’s best for you. Noone would fault you for getting on with your life.”
“But it hasn’t been that long!” she spluttered. “What kindof person would I be—”
“There’s that stubborn streak.” He patted her hand.“It’s been months, Natalie, and his future is, at best, murky.” Releasing her,he pivoted away, then glanced at her over hisshoulder. “Think about it.”
She had thought about it, she shamefully admitted toherself. When she’d signed up for Team Kevin, she hadn’t fully comprehended whatwas in store; there had been no job description, nothing to prepare her forputting her life on hold indefinitely.
Grace Guilt sparked to life. Kevin didn’t expect his lifeto be on indefinite hold either. Get over yourself.
Confusing emotions boiled inside her and, like heavy, wetsteam on a mirror, clouded her ability to reason. Tears pricked her eyes. Werethey for Kevin? For herself? Forthis shitty situation? All of the above, she decided as she openedthe car door and laid her head on top of Ford’s. His fur was soft, and sheburied her nose in it. He seemed to understand, this dog, and settled his chinon her shoulder while she hugged him close and let the tears come.
.~* * * ~.
Hours later, at three sharp, theHummer pulled up. Tyler practically ran up her walkway. “How’d he do?”
“Awesome! And when you drove up just now, he started whiningand wagging. He recognized you.”
Tyler stepped inside and dropped to a knee as Ford hurtledstraight at him. Tyler caught him, but the dog practically bowled him over in ajumble of dog and man legs. The pooch licked and squirmed, and Tyler tossed himon his back and scratched his belly. “Well, it’s because we’re sleepingtogether now. Right, buddy?”
She nearly choked but composed herself and refrained fromasking if girlfriends also whined and wagged when they saw him. Probably. “Ithought that was only the first night.”
“Nah, I’m too easy. I let him talk me into two nights. Butlast night was absolutely the last time.”
Giggles rose up and transformed into uncontrollable,tear-wrenching belly laughs. God, it felt good to release the tension! So much better than bawling. Though he sported a bemusedlook, Tyler laughed right along with her. When she regained most of hercomposure and gasped for air, he said, “I have no idea what’s so funny, but youshould laugh more often. It looks good on you.”
In that moment, she realized she hadn’t laughed, reallylaughed, in a long while—not even with Drew—and the epiphany saddened her.
.~* * * ~.
T.J. regretted the words as soon asthey left his mouth. Natalie’s smile, blindingly brilliant a moment before,slid from her face, and she straightened. He climbed to his feet, inadvertentlyencroaching on her personal bubble. Standing so close to her made it hard tobreathe. He took a backward step. “So … anything fun planned for later? Like atrip to the river?”
A ghost of a smile returned to her pretty face. “Not today,but Drew and I were talking about going this weekend, which reminds me. I’d behappy to bring Ford along and see how he does. Drew’sbringing his dogs.”
T.J side-eyed Ford. “What do you think? Ready to tryfishing?” The dog gave a barky cry. T.J.’s gaze traveled back to Natalie. “Hesays yes.”
“Good.”
“Oh, and since you’re meeting with Paige tomorrow, I won’tbring him over.”
She pursed her lips and frowned. It was a cute look on her.He was beginning to think pretty much any look was cute on her. Or gorgeous. Or sexy as hell.“What’ll you do with him?”
“I’ve got time off, so we might head up to Boulder and hikeChautauqua or Mount Sanitas.”
“Ooh, that sounds like fun.”
An awkward silence followed, and he rushed to fill it. “Ishould probably let you get on with …”
“I have a few doggie visits to finish.”
His mouth apparently had its own agenda. “Do you need aride?”
One dark eyebrow quirked. “To mydoggie visits?”
“Right. Your Durango’s fixed,” he stammered. “Never mind.”
A knowing smile curved her lips. “But my sliding door could usesome love. Do you have a minute to take a look at it for me?”
His heart kicked up a notch. “Happy to.”
He followed her out into the enclosed porch and tested thedoor. “It’s off its track. This is an easy fix.” He pointed up at the frame.“See?” She leaned in and peered upward, standing so close he smelled shampooand a clean, fresh fragrance that was all her. His brain locked up.
“For you, maybe it’s easy,” she snorted.
In a bid to distract himself, henudged her out of the way, grasped the door, and wrenched it—hard—popping itoff the track completely. Yeah, I meant to do that. He squared it up andhefted it back in place, grateful when his synapses began firing again.
“Um, isn’t that kinda heavy?” shesaid.
Dusting off his hands, he turned to her, feigning a sheepishmodesty over his unplanned Hercules move. “I lift weights,” he offered.
“What kind of weights? Do you toss horses?”
“Nah. I’ve only worked up to ponies.” He suppressed a wink.“If you have silicone, I can touch up the track so it slides easier for you.”
“Silicone? Sorry, I’m home-improvement impaired.”
“A candle instead? One of the skinny ones you see on fancytables.”
She disappeared, and he tested the door again, this timenoticing the lock was wonky. When she returned, she gave him a candle and aperplexed look.
Dropping to a knee, he ran the candle over the lower track.“The wax will help it slide. Did you know your lock’s broken?”
“It’s been like that since I bought the place.”
“That’s not safe.” He
