Shadow of Doubt by Abbie Zanders

Author:Abbie Zanders
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: contemporary romance, romantic suspense, military romance, former military, small town romance, Navy SEALs
Publisher: Abbie Zanders
Published: 2020-04-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

Mad Dog

“Kate, what’s wrong?”

Through sniffles and hiccuping sobs, Kate told him what had happened.

“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry. What can I do to help?”

“Nothing. They’re going to run a bunch of tests, and then we’ll know more. I’ll be pretty busy handling the store for the next few days though. And I might need bail money.”

“Bail money? For what?”

“Because Luther is going to be there with me, and we stock quite a selection of items that could be used as weapons. I might not be responsible for my actions.”

Mad Dog stiffened. “Come again?”

Kate then proceeded to relay the conversation from the hospital room about the hardware store requiring a male presence. Personally, he didn’t agree. He knew plenty of strong, capable women and was fortunate enough to have been raised by one. But he also knew enough about small-town mentality to know that it was an issue for some.

He was more concerned with whom that male presence was.

“I’m not happy about it,” she told him. “But with my father in the hospital, I need to pick my battles.”

“I understand.” And he did. Sort of. That didn’t mean he was happy about it either.

“My biggest issue is the dogs. I’m going to be working even longer hours and spending as much time with my dad as possible.”

“What if I brought them up here for a couple of days? One less thing—or nine—for you to worry about.”

She sniffed. “You’d do that? Won’t they get in your way?”

“Not at all.” His trailer wasn’t huge, but it was big enough. Besides, he had a feeling once he told everyone about the situation, they’d want to keep the dogs in the main building. They had plenty of space, and someone was always around. Plus, in the few hours they’d been here, those dogs had managed to wrap everyone around their paws. “Want me to come down tonight?”

“No, but thanks for the offer.” She yawned. “I’m exhausted. I’m just going to head straight to bed.”

“Okay. If you need anything—and I mean, anything—you call me anytime.”

“What did I ever do without you?” she asked quietly, her voice thick from crying.

“I don’t know,” he told her, “but you’ve got me now, and I’m not going anywhere.”

“I think I’m falling in love with you, Mr. Sheppard.”

God, he hoped that was true and not just an in-the-moment, emotional response because he was definitely falling in love with her. In fact, he already had.

The words were right there, burning his tongue, but he held them back. He had a very specific idea of how and when he wanted to say those words to her for the first time.

“Good,” he said instead. “That means my plan is working.”

She laughed. “I can confirm.”

“Get some rest, Kate. I’ll be down in the morning to pick up the dogs.”

“Thank you. It’ll be a huge relief to know they’re being taken care of. Good night, Chris.”

“Good night, baby.”

“Chris?”

“Yeah?”

“I like when you call me baby,” she said softly and then disconnected the call.

~ * ~

The next morning, Mad Dog told everyone what had happened.

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