“You like lasagna?” he asked.
“Are you kidding? It’s my favorite,” she assured him and scooped up a forkful.
“I figured it was a solid choice,” he said. “It was either that or liver and onions.”
Cat chuckled. It wasn’t the best lasagna she’d ever had, but when you’re hungry enough to eat your shoes anything will do.
Replete with a meal in her belly, Cat eyed the puppy still tracking foreign smells in the carpet. Sleeping all day had stored up her energy. She was going to need a serious run in order to wear her out. Cat picked up her leash and called Lucy over just as Jared finished his meal.
“Where do you think you two are going?” he asked, stretching back in his chair.
“Somebody needs to get her exercise,” Cat informed him over the puppy’s head.
“You can’t go out there alone.” Jared frowned at her. “It’s not safe. I’ll go with you.”
“What you do mean it’s not safe? We’re in a pokey little town in Pennsylvania. What could happen?”
“No wonder Cameron worries about you.” Jared pulled the leash from her hand and led the way out the door. “Don’t you watch the evening news?”
“Of course,” she answered, following him into the deserted hallway and locking the door behind her.
“Then you should know that a woman alone, especially at night, is a walking target for bad guys,” he chided as he hustled them out of the building only to have Lucy stop at the nearest patch of grass.
“I do realize that. That’s why I have a dog.”
Jared glanced at the black furball trying to yank him across the parking lot toward the woods. “She’s not a dog, she’s a puppy. What is she going to do? Eat the bad guy’s shoes?”
“I bet she’d fight off anyone who tried to hurt me.”
“Sure, she would.” Jared laughed. “If she ever came out from under the bed.”
Feeling her temper rise, Cat snatched the leash from his hand and stalked into the woods with Lucy at her heels.
“What kind of a name is Lucy anyway?” he continued to bait her. “That’s a sissy name. You should call her something tough like Butch or Spike.”
“For your information,” Cat answered him in a clipped tone, “my students chose her name. We had a vote and they decided she was either a Lucy or a Bella. I was relieved when they chose Lucy. I just couldn’t see myself yelling ‘Bella’ out the front door.”
“Naturally,” he agreed with a snort.
His laughter didn’t help her temper, and Cat had to fight the urge to kick him.
“I don’t need you to protect me, you know.” She spun around and glared at him while Lucy paused to sniff another tree.
“I know, ‘you’ve got a dog’.” He rolled his eyes.
“More than that,” she protested. “I’ve got common sense. I don’t take stupid risks.”
“Like walking into strange woods in the dark all alone?” he mocked her.
“I’m not alone,” she ground the words between her teeth. “I’m stuck with you.”
Her face felt hot and her chest heaved with suppressed anger. Shoving her hair out of her eyes, she glared at Jared. His smile wavered and dimmed. His steamy blue gaze met hers and then skimmed down her body as slow and tangible as a caress. Cat gasped. This time she knew she wasn’t the only one aware of the attraction snapping between them.
With a deep groan, Jared jerked his eyes away and glanced at the puppy sitting curiously between their feet.
“Look, it’s late and we’re both exhausted. I’m sorry if I was sarcastic,” he apologized. “I don’t want to fight with you.”
When he glanced up, his gaze was neutral, revealing nothing but kindness. Disappointment rocked her. Had she just imagined the attraction? She shook her head. He was right. They were overtired. What were they fighting about, anyway? That a woman had to be careful in this world? Like that was news.
