Page 13 of Hiding Hollywood

“Kids.” Mrs. Dempsey linked arms with Addie. “Let’s not fight.” She laughed lightly, maybe a little uncomfortable, and pulled Addie her along. “You’ll have to excuse Cameron. Perfume and frilly things like that tend to confuse him. I can see how it can be an important job.”

Cameron’s issues went beyond understanding perfume. Lacy must have a heart the size of Georgia. Addie didn’t know how anyone could stand to be in a romantic relationship with Cameron Dempsey.

4

Cameron sat at his kitchen table with the Saturday edition of theStatem Dispatchspread out in front of him. He usually enjoyed the small-town newspaper, until he read his cousin’s article about the thefts around town. Like always, Juliana had all the facts straight, but seeing his failure laid out in black and white stung his ego.

Lacy propped her front paws up on his lap and tried to reach for the last bite of his honey bun.

“Not today, girl.” He popped the bite in his mouth.

She whined.

He scratched behind her ear. “Don’t worry. I’m sure those treats I bought you taste just as good.” He stood and reached for her leash on the hook next to his keys. A puddle in the corner caught his eye.

“Great.” He set the leash back on the hook and grabbed cleaning spray and a rag. “Guess there’s no reason to take you out for that walk, is there?”

She barked and jumped up on him, pushed off, turned in a circle, and sat with another quick bark. She’d at least learned a few words. Other commands still remained an issue.

“Fine.” He threw the dirty rag into the laundry room and opened the door, grabbing the leash but not clipping it on yet. She might like some room to roam free. “Stay close.”

Lacy darted down the stairs and into the woods. “Lacy!” He shouted, but she’d taken off. Roaming free didn’t mean running away.

He jogged after the dog as if his earlier five-mile run wasn’t enough. Lacy took off, fast, headed straight toward his neighbor, Nash Holloway’s house. If only she’d run the opposite direction. Give him a lame excuse to go see Addie at his parents’ place a couple miles in the opposite direction. For some stupid reason, he’d taken his morning run right past his parents’ driveway, like he might catch a glimpse of her.

The attraction he felt, despite every warning signal to back away, annoyed him. Her presence, even a few miles down the road, made the hair on the back of his neck prickle.

“Got her,” Nash shouted from the other side of the tree line. “Aren’t you a sweet girl,” he cooed to Lacy as Cameron caught up to them.

“She’d be sweeter if she listened to a damn thing I said.” Cameron clipped the leash on Lacy’s collar.

Nash picked up his toolbox, wiped his forehead with the back of his sleeve. “She’ll learn. Geez, it’s hot. I sure wish January would cooperate and be colder than seventy degrees and 100% dang humidity.”

“Not a chance.”

“Meant to ask about your mom’s house guest. I saw her in town yesterday. My mom said that she hoped she was your new out-of-town girlfriend.”

Cameron’s skin grew clammy. “Oh, no. Not a chance. Do you remember my friend Trevor? The one I stayed with for that camp the summer after my senior year?”

“With the fancy house?”

He nodded. “Yup. She’s his little sister. She’s staying with us as a favor to him. Nothing else.” Girlfriend? Attraction was one thing. Committed relationships were another. He and Addie couldn’t be more different. “Superficial women aren’t my type anymore, remember? Took all I could from Jennifer. Not going down that road again.”

“I don’t blame you. At least you didn’t make it to the altar with Jennifer. I got to see my ex’s true colorsafterthe wedding.” Nash didn’t talk about it often. His dad’s cancer had spread quicker than anyone had expected, and Nash still blamed himself for leaving him with the farm to manage alone. Nash shook his head and adjusted his baseball hat. “Man, life was so much simpler back in high school.”

“Tell me about it. Thanks for grabbing the dog. I need to head back to the house. I’m headed in to work.”

“On your off day? That case still got you stumped?”

“Hard to solve a case without evidence or leads. Not one, damn fingerprint. Or witness. Nothing. I’ve been working on it for the past six days straight. I hate thinking someone is out there plotting their next hit. We’re lucky no one has been home yet when the thief has broken in. We could be looking at a different kind of crime entirely.”

Nash patted Lacy on the head. “Maybe you need a distraction. I know you aren’t into marrying superficial women, but taking the hot house guest out on a date might help get your mind back in the right place.”

“She’s Trevor’s little sister.”

He grinned.

Cameron knew that grin.

---