Page 11 of Surly Sheriff
“Let’s get you out of here for a while.” Beau cupped his sister’s face and brushed the tears from her face with his fingertips. “How about a Wizard’s ice, Little B, some quiet time in the park, and then we can come back and figure this all out.” He coaxed his hugely pregnant sister through the doorway but stopped short and looked at Rae. “I’ll be back. Please don’t leave.”
She nodded, making a shooing notion, and watched them walk out of the shop.
Nate joined her. “Thank goodness Beau’s here. At least now I can stop worrying about her and get on with my work and finish the painting. I guess you can park off in the office and wait?”
Rae debated her next step, but …? She wasn’t going sit and twiddle her thumbs with a pile of invoices staring at her. “I’m familiar with the accounting package, and happy to tackle some of the stuff back there.”
“You sure?”
“Yes.” The work would occupy her mind instead of fretting about her own bizarre behavior today.
“And you’re not going to clear out the bank account and ride off into the sunset?”
Rae held her hands. “No nefarious intentions. Promise.”
Nate’s smile bloomed. “Have at it.”
She returned to the office and settled in behind the laptop. It took a few minutes to orientate herself. And discover the reasonBella was in tears. The poor woman had been going at it all wrong.
It took a while, but she sorted out the incorrectly posted items and started tackling the rest of the pile.
Three invoices from the bottom, Beau and his sister returned. “What are you doing?” Beau boomed.
Rae scrambled to her feet and backed away from the desk. “Nate said I could.” She hated the feeble sound of her voice, but his words took her way back.
All the way back to Rhode Island.
Her fingers dug into the wall behind her. “I was just trying to help,” she added, whispering.
Bella frowned and waddled over to peer at the monitor. “You’ve loaded the invoices.”
“Yes,” Rae croaked.
“Thank you.” Bella rushed over and pulled her into a smothering hug. “Thank you.Thank you.”
Rae awkwardly patted Bella’s back, uncertain how to react. Especially with the large belly pushing into her. It felt … weird. She met Beau’s stare over his sister’s shoulder. The man wore a sheepish look. Good. She didn’t like feeling small and afraid. Those days were behind her.
“Sorry,” he said.
“And so you should be,” Bella scolded, and stepped to the side, hooking an arm through Rae’s. “Especially since she saved you a ten-mile walk and the life of that poor dog.”
Rae’s gaze shot to Beau’s. “Did the vet call you?”
“Yep. Bella’s exaggerating a bit. Kismet’s conscious. Still weak, but besides the damage to his paws, malnourishment, and dehydration, no further injuries. He’ll make a full recovery.”
“Kismet?”
He shrugged, a light blush staining his skin. “It seemed appropriate. It was fate that I found him.” His stare intensified. “Met you.”
She couldn’t look away, liking the unspoken promise in his eyes. How she wished she could stick around and see if something developed between them. But that was foolish thinking. Rae cleared away the sudden lump in her throat. “You’re adopting him?”
“But of course.”
Lucky dog.To disguise her burst of envy, she turned to Bella. “How about we do the next few entries together?”
Several minutes later, Bella looked at Rae. “You make it look so simple,” she gushed.
“It is simple. If you do it the right way,” she added, nudging Bella's arm with her elbow.
