Page 15 of Hot Winter Nights (Bear Mountain Rescue 1)

Dex followed her into her bedroom and set the crate down, surveying the changes she’d already made to the room. A set of blackout curtains covered the window, and across the dresser were a couple of picture frames. One of an older couple, and another with Allie hugging two other women who looked so much like her they had to be her sisters.

Dex almost asked about it, but figured it was none of his business.

Pulling out the bowl of food and water bowl that had spilled a bit in transport, he said, “He might need a dry towel or something.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

Dex left her bedroom, the image of Allie curled up under her black-and-white bedspread too tempting by half.

Dex got to work on the kitchen, and a few minutes later, Allie walked in. “You know, you’re probably tired. I can finish up.”

“I don’t mind. Besides, I thought this was my fault,” he said.

“I just…I want to be clear that we need to keep things between us cordial. You’re my landlord—”

“Actually, a landlord gets paid.”

Frustration marred her pretty face, and she seemed to be clenching her jaw. “Be that as it may, I’m not looking for complicated. And I feel like if anything develops between us it will be just that.”

Why her assumption bothered Dex, he couldn’t guess. He deliberately brushed every last bit of cracker into the trash and came around the counter. Standing in front of her, he said, “Actually, things with me would be pretty simple, sweetheart. We’d have fun until one of us got bored and we’d say good-bye. Nothing complicated about that.”

Dex saw a flash of something in the brown depths of her eyes. Temptation? Whatever it was, it was gone as soon as it appeared and her expression became hard as steel.

“Well, I’m not in the market for that, either. I need to get settled in and concentrate on work. Nothing more.”

His lips a hairsbreadth away from hers, he whispered, “Your loss.”

Before she smacked him, he turned and headed for the door. Pausing with his hand on the knob, he had to get the last word in.

“But just so you know, winter is coming and it can get mighty cold round here. If you change your mind and need some warming up, you know where I’ll be.”

Chapter 10

Allie woke up to the sun barely streaming into her bedroom. Hadn’t she closed those damn curtains last night? Kermit was whining, probably because he needed to go potty and was tired of being in his crate, so Allie swung her legs off the side of the bed. Her clock on the nightstand read six-thirty in the morning, and for the briefest moment, she wondered what had possessed her to ask for the dog. Now she was going to have to take him outside at all hours while she house-trained him.

Groaning, she opened his crate and picked him up. The minute his little body snuggled against her, the grumpiness melted away.

“What do you say we take you to go potty and have a bowl of cereal?”

A tiny, excited tongue on her chin was her answer as she opened the bedroom door and made her way to the living room. She set him down briefly to pull on her jacket and her boots by the back door, sweeping him into her arms before he got the chance to have an accident. Taking him out the side door, she shivered as the cool morning air bit through her thin pajama pants. She was really going to need to invest in a flannel set and some house slippers. She walked down the back porch steps and let Kermit down.

“Go ahead, pumpkin.”

The puppy nosed around at the dirt and leaves for a few seconds before he squatted down to do his business. Allie’s gaze wandered around the forest, grudgingly admitting that it was a beautiful place. She could get used to being here.

When Kermit was done, Allie called him over and picked him up. Once they were back inside, she set him down on the hardwood floor and took off her boots and outerwear once more.

“What do you think? Kibble for you, Fruity Pebbles for me?”

Kermit chased after her feet, skidding across the floor when she stopped abruptly once she saw the kitchen.

As she took in the chaos of the crime scene with horror, Allie’s emotions twisted between fear and fury. She looked up at the cardboard covering the hole in the ceiling, but it was still in place. How the hell had that furry bastard gotten back in last night? Then her gaze landed on her box of Fruity Pebbles, which had been snug and safe in the cupboard when she’d gone to bed. The cupboard that now hung wide open, like a giant mocking mouth.

Her delicious Fruity Pebbles. The box had been ripped open and its guts shredded. What was left of the colorful cereal was spread across the counter and smashed into what looked suspiciously like raccoon feces.

Allie’s entire body surged with molten rage.

“Damn you, you no-good son of a bitch!” Allie threw the chewed-up box of cereal across the room, surprised when she heard a familiar grunt.

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