Page 1 of Guard Dog

Chapter One

Ican’t believe this is my life. “We’re almost there, sweet pea,” I sing over my shoulder to my two-year-old in the back. I force a smile into my voice and hope it hides the fear threatening to swamp me. I brush a lock of brown hair which has escaped my ponytail out of my face and check the GPS. According to the screen, we are two blocks away from the Dobermann Garage, which is on the main street of Lonesome, North Dakota. It’s a Friday. I’ll be starting my new office job there on Monday, but since I’m also renting my new house from one of the garage’s owners, I need to stop there to pick up my keys and sign my lease. My brand-new life lies straight ahead.

There it is: a rectangular, two-story brick building, with two bay doors left and center, and a small office on the right. A pair of gas pumps stand out front. Anything more would be out of place in this small town. The first block we passed has a retro coffee shop-slash-ice-cream parlor-slash-gift store called the Halfway Café, and a feed store on one side of the street, and the town hall and police station on the other. The second block consists of one large building that looks like it used to be a three-business strip mall. A huge sign spans the length of it announcing that it is Carol’s Convenience and More. Acrossfrom that is a grocery store and drug store. Block three has the Dobermann Garage facing a veterinary clinic. Beside the gas station, I see a sign for the Lonesome Bar and Grill. Beyond that is an unlabeled building and some empty lots before Main Street turns back into a highway. Those three and a half blocks seem to make up Lonesome’s entire business district.

It's not much, but it’s more than Peony and I need. New job, new house, new start. It’ll be perfect. At least, it will be some much-needed stability with a bunch of people who want to support me and ensure I do well.

I look both ways before I crank the wheel to cross the road. I pull into an empty parking spot in front of the office and turn off the ignition. “We made it, baby girl.” Peony babbles happily, waving a small frog stuffie at me.

A fit, sandy-haired man jogs out of one of the open garage doors and heads right to us. “Violet, you made it!”

“The GPS did the job, Deke,” I say. I love and hate that Deacon Dobermann worries about me. He looks good. Much better in person than he did over the video chats we’ve been having for the past three months. Hopefully the distance has given him some perspective too. I’ve been trying to get him to see me as a competent woman rather than a China doll. To help with that, I don’t mention that I spent the week before we left Virginia practicing with the GPS just so I could nonchalantly brag about it.

Deke would have come out and driven us across the country to save me the stress if I had asked. I was tempted. But I’m proud that I did it myself. The last six months have been constant life lessons I am determined to pass. I can’t afford not to, not with Peony depending on me. I’ve coasted too long, letting everyone else take care of me.

“Come inside. I’ll introduce you to the guys you haven’t met yet. Then we’ll grab the keys, and I’ll take you to your new place.I already stocked the fridge and there is a sofa bed you can use until your furniture arrives. I also have a kitchen table and chairs in my truck. Oh, and I arranged to have an internet account installed, billed to me as the house owner. And?—”

“That sounds terrific, Deke. That’s more than enough for us. The moving van is scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning.”

“If you need anything between now and then, call me. More furniture, food, babysitter. Anything.”

He is so intense that I could ask for his kidney and he’d hack it out without anaesthetic for me. “I’m good. You’ve been more than generous. Thank you, Deke.”

Deacon Dobermann has always been a good man, going back to when he served on the same SEAL team as my husband, Keith. The whole team had been great guys: Keith, Deke—who decided not to re-enlist, JD—who has taken a medical discharge after being hurt in the same training accident that killed my husband, Rick—who is still with the SEALs and had been Keith’s best friend, and Smitty and Joker, who are also still in the navy. Aside from Rick, who is Keith’s executor and who helped me pack for my move from Virginia, it has been Deke who has stepped up the most since Keith’s death. Deke is the one who offered me a part-time job doing bookkeeping at his family’s garage and found me a cheap house to rent in the area.

I hate the fact that I’m dependent on charity, but since Keith died, I’ve swallowed my pride. I’ve always said that I’ll do whatever it takes to take care of Peony. Thank God my sister kicked my ass while Keith was on his last deployment and had gotten me started on a road to self-sufficiency or I’d be totally screwed instead of in a place where I only need to accept a little help.

Deke opens my door while I’m grabbing my purse, then takes my hand and helps me out. His hand is scorching hot against my skin. Then it’s gone, and his well-toned SEAL ass is sticking outof the back seat as he frees Peony from her car seat. “Hello, sweet pea. Want to check out the coolest garage in the whole world?”

She coos and raises her arms, her little hand gripping her pink plastic purse tightly.

I loved my husband. I did. But he was away on a training exercise for six months before he was killed, and that was six months ago. It’s been a long time since anybody got my heart racing, even unintentionally and fully clothed. Keith and I always had a physical relationship, but even when we were together, we often weren’t. We had a whirlwind three-month courtship that ended in a Vegas wedding. Then he was gone for four months. He was home for a while and then gone again, and that was our marriage for the next three years. I conceived Peony in between deployments and training exercises. Keith missed her birth but did get to meet her for a few months before he was gone again. We were apart for longer than we shared a roof, but I don’t regret a minute of it.

But Deke is not a crutch. He is a friend. My husband’s friend. My boss. That was my one and only pass to look at his ass.

Then his hand is on my lower back, spreading warmth everywhere. “Come on, the guys want to say hi.”

Peony reaches for me, and I heft her onto my hip. When we enter the garage, she plays shy, burrowing her face into my shoulder. I expect both bays to have cars, but the second has a huge, chrome detailed motorcycle in three pieces on the concrete floor. I rub her back softly and follow Deke over to a pick-up on a lift.

His first stop is a taller, wider, older version of himself. “Hi, Bishop,” I say to his big brother.

“Violet, my bookkeeper in shining armor. Thanks for taking the job. You’re doing us a huge favor. Me especially. Now I’m free from that fucking payroll program. This week’s checks run today, and then it’s all yours. Whatever you need to keep itgoing, I’ll get for you. Just name it.” He sticks his hand in his pocket, pulls out a keychain, and presses it into my palm. “Here’s the key to the office. The password is on a Post-it on the computer screen. Good luck.” Then he chucks Peony under the chin and heads out the door.

“I guess that’s a sign of trust?” I say.

“Definitely trust. And fear. Bish may have been a Ranger, but tax programs scare him stupid. We are all really glad that you’re here, Violet. Come on, kiddo, let’s give Uncle JD a high five. He’s visiting the garage today.”

JD Dobermann is a cousin of some kind. According to Deke, he’s gone loner since he was discharged, but I know that he’ll make the effort for Peony. His hair is almost black compared to Deke’s and Bishop’s, and his brown eyes are equally as dark. Unlike the brothers, who have let their hair grow beyond military regulations, JD has his shorn close to his head, revealing a brutal scar that runs over his right ear around to the back of his head. He doesn’t work at the garage full-time, but he runs a salvage yard associated with it.

JD doesn’t get a high five, but Peony does show him her pink princess keychain, filled with all the leftover keys that I’ve accumulated over the various years and moves.

The fourth person in the garage is Grayson Masak, who I don’t know at all. I don’t get a proper introduction because he’s heading out on a delivery, but he does grin and wave as he leaves.

Deke is right there again, his hand on my back as he leads me back to my car. “As much as we’d love you to start in the office today, we can wait until Monday because I’m sure you want to rest and explore your new house. Do you want to follow me?”

“Lead the way.”

Chapter Two

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