Page 72 of A Vineyard for Two

She noticed his gaze shifted, and he was looking around. ‘I thought I heard something.’ He put his fingers to his lips and whistled.

Rover.

The dog came running just as there was a screech of tires in the distance.

‘Fuck, I should have followed him.’

‘You weren’t leaving me here.’

‘I’m getting cameras installed first thing in the morning.’

Rover came running back. He yelped as he came towards them. He was limping and there was a scratch on his face.

‘Do we need to take him to the vet?’

‘I’ll take a look at him. If it looks bad, we’ll drive him into town, otherwise we can see how he is overnight.’

When they were inside, he assessed the damage. Harper watched as he checked every inch of the dog, from the top of his ear to the back of his tail. He was so gentle about it that Rover was licking his hands and face while doing so. Meanwhile, Harper refilled the dog bowl with fresh water and dropped some biscuits into the bowl beside it. She washed her hands and grabbed a fresh glass for herself and another for Brookes.

‘He’s going to be okay,’ he said, standing up. ‘I’ll monitor him overnight, but I don’t think he sustained any serious damage. A superficial wound on his ear and maybe a sprained paw. I’m going to stay here tonight and I don’t want to leave him on his own, which means…’

‘It’s okay. There are plenty of rooms in the inn,’ Harper said. She didn’t feel like going back to the family estate and talking to anyone about what happened. They’d only worry and then it would probably get back to Georgia and that wouldn’t be any good for her health.

‘Let’s go inside. I think we could both use a drink.’

She wouldn’t mind a glass of wine, but drinking around him was dangerous. She needed to remain in full control and that meant no alcohol and staying in the spare room upstairs as far away from Brookes as possible.

‘I’m going to call the police. They need to be informed about the incident.’

‘It’s three incidents in less than two weeks. It can’t be a coincidence.’

‘You’ve upset someone.’

‘Seems like a case of mistaken identity.’

‘Hmm, I don’t think so.’ The phone was to his ear in moments. She heard the buzzing of the other line. Then it stopped and there was a muffled voice. Then all she could hear was Brookes’ side of the conversation as he explained what happened.

‘See you soon,’ he said and put down the phone.

‘They’re coming out now?’

‘Yes,’

‘There could be more serious matters they have to deal with.’

‘This is pretty serious, Harper. My car tyre was slashed, your back window was smashed, and now someone came up to our vineyard while you were all alone and unplugged your battery and let the oil run. On top of that, they were hanging around. You could have been hurt.’ He pulled her close to him. She let him in and found herself tightly wrapped in his embrace. ‘We need to report it.’

He was right. While she didn’t like the idea of having to speak to the police, it was a risk not to. What if something more serious happened? What if Brookes hadn’t returned when he did? Would whoever was out there have attacked her? She didn’t want to think about it and yet the thoughts continued creeping back in her mind. After a while, she realised she was still standing wrapped in his arms. When she moved, he loosened his grip, and she stepped away. It would have been so easy just to stay there.

She looked over at Rover, who was now sleeping by the side of the door, his torso rising and falling with each breath. He looked at peace, but she knew that if required, he would attack without a second thought to protect his owner. That gave her some level of comfort, but how had the dog not noticed someone nosing around? It didn’t make any sense.

Half an hour later, lights were shining up the driveway. Rover’s eyes opened and head lifted. ‘It’s okay, boy,’ Brookes said and went to the door. He opened it before the knock came.

‘Constable. Sergeant.’ Brookes greeted both with a handshake. ‘Come in, please.’

Harper didn’t recognise either of them.

The taller one was younger. He would have been in his mid-twenties. Fresh faced and on the force. His gaze shifted around the house the moment he entered. The shorter and older one remained engaged in conversation with Brookes. They seemed to know each other well.

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