Page 51 of Haystacks and Hoaxes

The moment Rock sank back into his seat beside Mila, Johnny curled to his feet and returned to the kitchen.

“Everything okay in here?” Rock nudged her sneaker with the toe of his boot.

“It is now.” She forced a smile. “While you were gone, Johnny and I started wallowing in our inner shadows.”

Rock’s frown grew deeper. “Did he say what’s bothering him?”

She shook her head. “All he said was that he’d tell me sometime. Not today. My gut says he lost someone.”

“That’s rough.” Rock settled more comfortably atop the couch cushions. “I’ll do my best to keep your shadows running for the hills.”

“Thanks.” His sweetness took her breath away. “The puppies really help.” Somehow, he’d known she could use an emotional support pet or two.

“I had the benefit of some inside information.” His husky voice surrounded her like a caress.

“Do tell.” His words piqued her curiosity.

“Your brother told me how you curled up with his Golden Doodles the first night you spent at hisplace.” He used one finger to lift Bear’s limp right paw and lower it back to her knee. The dog was sleeping so soundly that he didn’t so much as twitch.

“And again last night.” She wrinkled her nose at him, not sure why she was telling him this. He was just so easy to talk to. Plus, he acted like he cared.

Their gazes locked for a breathless moment, and their heads drifted closer together.

“Catch!” Johnny’s voice made them spring apart.

A cookie whizzed through the air and thwacked into Rock’s chest, breaking into two against his plaid shirt.

Smirking, Rock picked up the pieces, shoving one into his mouth and holding the other one against Mila’s lips.

She swallowed a sigh and took a bite. Being surrounded by friends, puppies, coffee, and cookies sure went a long way toward taking the bittersweet edge off of Christmas this year.

Morning After Christmas

“Heardabout your almost kiss with Mila.” Gage shuffled into the living room, yawning and rubbing a hand across his chest. Unlike Rock, who was already dressed for the day, he was still sleep-tousled and wearing the basketball shorts he’d slept in.

“Is that the spin Johnny put on it?” Rock wasn’t in the mood to take the bait.

“As entertaining as he can be, he’s no liar,” Gage retorted mildly. He shuffled to the kitchen and shuffled back a couple of minutes later with a cup of coffee in hand.

“Yes, I care about Mila.” Rock was tired of dancingaround the subject. He and his brother had always been honest with each other. “More than I should as her supervisor.” Unfortunately, he didn’t have a solution to the dilemma.

Gage perched on the arm of the sofa. “Tried to warn you, bro.”

“Not sure it would’ve done any good.” Rock juggled the wrestling puppies from one thigh to the other to keep them from sliding off his lap while he scrolled through the case notes on his tablet. “She’s the one.”

Gage scowled at him. “You’ve known her all of a week.”

Rock glanced up to pin him with a knowing look. “How long did it take you to figure out how you felt about Ella?”

Gage’s expression softened. “It started the moment she fell into my arms.” In a scenario eerily reminiscent of the one Mila had endured, someone had tried to poison Ella before she and Gage had gotten engaged. The scoundrel who’d doctored her water glass at a local diner was now behind bars.

Rock’s cell phone vibrated in his pocket. Since he had his phone tethered to his tablet, the caller ID flashed across the screen of his tablet. It was Pete Plowman calling. He sat forward on the couch. “Gotta take this.” He pulled out his phone and lifted it to his ear. “Rock Hefner speaking.”

Mr. Plowman sounded winded. “Someone must have leaked the story about the stolen pumpjacks to the press. I don’t know who, since none of my employees would’ve done such a thing!”

It took a minute or two for Rock to sort through the man’s frantic tirade to piece together what had happened. His heart sank to learn that Helen had posted a full write-up about Canyon Creek Petroleum’s disappearing equipment problem. She’d stuffed the short, sensational writeupwith inflammatory buzz words and phrases likecrisisandout of control.

Mr. Plowman sounded close to weeping. “Investors are pulling out left and right. To make matters worse, some overseas company is gobbling up their shares faster than you can say boo! It feels off,” he growled. “Like a smear campaign designed for the sole purpose of devaluing my company.”

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