Page 97 of Smitten with the Single Dad

Wyatt shook his head. So did Bennett.

Oh, he was an outside dog, all right. The bark grew louder and closer, and amoment later, the shadow of an angry beast came barrelling toward them.

“Fucking hell,” Bennett said, spinning around and hightailing it back to the truck.

Wyatt and Clint chased after him, but Bennett was a runner and was leagues ahead of them. He knew he just needed to outrun a brother, not necessarily the dog.

But a sudden yelp of pain from the dog halted the barking and they no longer feared for their lives. It was tough to see specifically what stopped the dog, until he started barking again. Only, he wasn’t moving any closer. He just kept pacing back and forth, still barking, as if traipsing along an invisible line.

“I bet it’s an underground fence,” Clint said. “And Scoundrel’s got a collar on that gives him a zap if he tries to go past it.”

Ah, that made sense.

“We need to get those for the kids,” Bennett joked as they all climbed into the truck again.

“So do we rule out Bryce, or …” Clint pushed the start button for the truck and pulled onto the road.

“I can always try to pay Bryce a visit during the day while he’s home and snoop around,” Bennett said. “We’re on okay terms now. I mean yeah, he wasn’t too pleased when we moved in and opened up a competing pub, but he’s over it now.”

“Is he though?” Wyatt questioned.

“Damn, you’re getting suspicious,” Clint joked. “Make me sound normal, and I’m the one who’s obsessed with all the murder mystery shows.”

“I want to circle back to what we’re going to do if we find the car and/or the plates,” Bennett said. “We’ll take it to the cops. Right?”

Wyatt was quiet for a moment.

“Right?” Clint asked, throwing some serious big-brother authority into his tone.

“Dan and Duane can’t be trusted. They didn’t believe Vica from the get-goand still have it out for her.”

“But Myla and Everett are—” Clint went to protest.

“Really green,” Wyatt interjected. “And although I trust them, they have no sway or authority over the other two. They’re rookies and, in my opinion, still have some growing up to do.”

Clint nodded. “I agree with that assessment.”

“So then whocanwe trust?”

“I might know someone,” Clint murmured. “Let me make a call.”

Bennett yawned. “I think I have one, maybe two, more places in me. Then I gotta head home. Justine’s going to wonder why I’m dead on my feet on our morning run.”

Wyatt told Clint where to go next.

“Shelley Diamond’s house?” Bennett exclaimed. “Seriously? That woman lets mosquitos bite her because, ‘everybody needs to eat.’ She wouldn’t hurt Vica, or anybody else.” He shook his head in the front seat. “Now you’re fucking crazy and throwing every kind of pasta at the wall.”

“I dunno,” Clint hummed. “Shelley has a gambling addiction, maybe she’s in too deep and in debt, or owes somebody more than her grocery store clerk job can pay.”

Wyatt tapped his nose and pointed at Clint. “Exactly.”

Bennett was still shaking his head. “You’re fucking crazy.”

“Crazy like a fox. Now, you’re either coming with, or you’re sitting here with your finger up your ass. Either way, I’m checking out her garage just like I’m checking out everyone else’s.” Wyatt climbed out of the cab of the truck and waited for his brothers.

Bennett joined them.

The meow of a cat made Wyatt pause, but the cat that wove its way around his ankles wasn’t nearly as terrifying as Scoundrel and his bark of fury. Shelley Diamond was the descendant of island royalty. She inherited her mother’s house, who had inherited it from her parents. The land was nothing particularlyfancy, or anything Wyatt or his brothers would want, but it wasn’t terrible either. Probably an acre, at least, with waterfront, and a small copse of fruit trees. Shelley moved to the island after her mother passed away, and Shelley divorced her husband. She had one daughter who lived in California, but had no desire to continue with the family tradition and move to the island when the land became hers.

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