Page 102 of The Love Shack

“Vandalized?” Jaw locking, shoulders bunching, he turned to face away from Berkley’s home. The last he’d seen Kathleen, she’d been absurdly dressed like a cheerleader, pom-poms in her hands. “How bad is it?”

“I think it’s just red paint, but someone made it look like she’d been cut up.” A brief hesitation, and then, “Why would anyone do that?”

Good question. He’d already learned to trust Oliver. Would his thoughts mirror Lawson’s? Only one way to find out. “What are you thinking?”

“Kathleen’s a part of your place now. If she disappears, it’s never long before someone brings her back to the wishing well. Anyone who’s in this town for a few hours knows about Kathleen—and by association, about you.”

Through Kathleen, his name got mentioned a lot. The town enjoyed heckling him with her.

“Can you imagine anyone from around here doing this?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “Most likely it was an outsider.”

An invisible fist tightened around his heart. Yes, his thoughts had immediately gone to Durkinson, but he’d wanted to convince himself he was wrong. “You think this is about Berkley?”

“You don’t?” Then he asked, “Or did you piss off someone and not tell me?”

“No.” He knew Chad, and if he was here looking for Berkley... Rather than ask more questions, Lawson said, “I’ll be on the road in less than ten minutes.”

“If I wasn’t on foot, I would have taken her to my place, but the best I could do was move her around back of your shop. I’ll wait here for you.” Another pause, and then, “Bring a tarp.”

Ending the call, Lawson thought of how Durkinson had reacted when Berkley told him to lose her number, and that the bastard had dared to call her again.

She’d blocked Chad’s number, but Lawson wasn’t convinced that would end it. If he was in town, that’d mean—Hero lightly butted his head against him.

Drawn from his thoughts, Lawson looked down to see the dog’s worried frown. “I’m okay, buddy, just annoyed—but not at you.” Lawson knelt down to reassure him. “You’re more than just a great pooch, aren’t you? Did someone train you as a therapy dog? You need someone to rescue?” Wouldn’t be Berkley. She’d rescued herself long before she and Lawson had met again.

She’d done enough, been through enough, and now he wanted to protect her.

“Hey.”

Looking up, he found Berkley standing there, her hair in a haphazard ponytail, fingers laced together in front of her, gaze watchful. Clearly, she’d heard his side of the call.

This was going to upset her. Hell, it wasn’t even 6:00 a.m. yet. No other helpers were around, and he’d have to take off. Frustration rode him hard.

Instead of asking about the phone call, she nodded at Hero. “He tried to rescue Erin the other day.”

The last thing Lawson wanted to do was alarm her, or further worry Hero. He could spare two minutes. “Yeah? What happened?”

“Erin’s scarf blew off and caught at the top of the fence. She couldn’t yank it down without tearing it, so she’d dragged over the bench and climbed up on it. She still had a difficult time, and was on tiptoes to reach over the fence and unsnag it. Hero didn’t like seeing her up there, precariously balanced.”

“Not sure I would have liked that, either.” He gave the dog a pat.

Wearing a slight smile, Berkley said, “He whined and danced around her, and even barked a few times. When that didn’t work, he pulled the same stunt on her that he’d used on you.”

“Ah, the old ‘grab the shorts’ move?”

“At first, Erin laughed—until he almost pulled her off her feet. I had the difficult job of explaining to him that she was fine.”

“How’d that go?”

“You know Hero. He’s a worrier. Luckily, Erin is wonderful, and she knows Hero well, so once she liberated her scarf, she gave him some affection, and all was forgiven.”

Abrupt silence swelled around them.

He should have explained the phone call right off, not left her to wonder about it. Drifting his fingertips over her jaw, he said, “That was Oliver on the phone.” He quickly explained about the mannequin. “I’ll get her cleaned up before anyone sees her.”

“Thank you. I know how you feel about her, but the town loves her.”

And he loved Berkley. “I don’t want you here alone.”

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