Page 35 of The Cowboy's Ultimatum

“They’ll need your full attention. You should probably leave Molly here.”

“But I just got her. I don’t want to leave her so soon.”

“She’ll have a great time with Ranger, and I promise I won’t let her outta my sight. When you come back you can tell me all about what they said and what you have to do.”

“You’re probably right, darn it.”

“I usually am,” he said with a wink.

“Andy—thank you—for everything.”

“You can thank me properly later,” he said, lowering his voice, “and I’ll be thankin’ you right back.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

When Helen drove down the sweeping driveway to the front of her parents’ house she saw two sedans she didn’t recognize and a panel van. Feeling a flurry of nerves, she parked her car and hurried inside.

“Helen! There you are!” her mother exclaimed walking quickly towards her. “How are you? Oh, my, look at your face. This is dreadful. Are you in pain? Can I get you anything?”

“I was hurting earlier, but it’s much better now.”

“What a dreadful man he must be. How on Earth did you meet him? Do you know him very well?”

“Apparently not,” she muttered with a sigh.

“Hello, Helen,” the sheriff interjected, walking up to join them. “Are you feeling a bit better?”

“I am, and thanks for your help today.”

“You’re very welcome. We have quite a bit to get through so come with me and we can get started.”

“What are all the cars here for, and the van?”

“I didn’t drive my squad car in case the house is being watched. But with the event tomorrow night it wouldn’t be unusual to have organizers here.”

“Oh, I see.”

As they walked down the wide hall and entered the library, she was shocked to see men on ladders doing something with the overhead chandeliers, others removing books from the shelves, and two on the floor beneath the large antique desk against the wall.

“Helen, this is Detective Karl Hawthorne,” the sheriff declared as an attractive, smartly dressed man approached.

“Hello, Helen, it’s good to meet you. Please call me Karl. Detective Hawthorne is a bit of a mouthful,” he said warmly.

“What’s all this about?” she asked as she continued to dart her eyes around the room.

“These men are installing surveillance equipment. I wanted to meet you in here so you could see it for yourself. Tomorrow night every part of this room will be monitored and filmed. But we should talk somewhere else so we’re not in the way. If at any point you’re not comfortable about something, or if you have any questions, just let me know.”

“Okay, but wow. I never expected anything like this.”

“Come through to the kitchen,” her mother interjected. “I’ll make us some coffee.”

* * *

After Helen had left, Andy had taken Molly and Ranger to the inside arena and released them to run around and get to know each other. Free at last, and encouraged by Ranger’s high energy, it only took a few minutes for Molly’s personality to burst forth.

Watching them filled Andy’s heart.

Though Ranger was energetic he was gentle with the little dog, and when Andy called they both came running. He knew Ranger had received training, and as he put the dog through its paces, he demonstrated the breed’s high intelligence. Molly had been watching, and when Andy started working with her, she became very excited and eager to learn.

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