Page 66 of Wag More Bark Less

“Ellie!”

I ran after her, both confused and a tad scared. It wasn’t like her to chase after strangers. Had she sensed danger and charged at a mountain lion? The sign at the trailhead recommended fighting the creatures if nothing else worked. I really didn’t want to practice hand-to-hand combat on a mountain lion today. Or was it hand-to-paw? Paws with razor-sharp murder claws.

Around a nearby bend, I skidded to a halt and nearly sagged with relief. Ellie, tail swishing, wasn’t fighting wildlife. She was standing beside Luke.

Luke.

What was Luke doing out here?

“Eleanor Suzette Holland, what was that?” I focused on my dog, because I couldn’t process that Luke was on any trail, much less this one. There were a dozen others just in this immediate area.

“Eleanor Suzette Holland?” Luke lifted one corner of his mouth, so subtly I hardly noticed it. But of course I was doomed to notice his mouth after becoming so thoroughly acquainted with it the other night.

You’re mad at him, remember?

“It’s her government name,” I said, as though that explained everything. “Ellie, c’mon. We have to head back, remember?”

I braced, waiting for the pain in the ass to lecture me about the leash that was clipped only to my hip and not Ellie’s collar.

“You’re done with the hike?” Luke asked, his voice smaller than I’d grown accustomed to. The ghost of a grin from earlier was gone. I didn’t like it. It was as though the fight had drained out of him, taking his stubborn spark with it.

“We didn’t make it to the lake this time.” I could leave it at that. I should leave it at that. But the words slipped out anyway. “I forgot the extra water and my snacks that aren’t dog treats in the car.”

“I’d offer to share,” Luke said, gently running his fingers behind Ellie’s ears. “But it’s probably better if I just stay out of your way.”

While I could sympathize with the man, I wouldn’t pity him. There was a difference, I’d learned, in trying to fix someone’s broken pieces and simply existing beside them while they figured it out for themselves. Luke, in what little time I’d known him, seemed like a man who carried the weight of the world on his own shoulders. So, while I wouldn’t give him a pass for last night, I could stop punishing him for it. He clearly had that handled all on his own.

“If I try to leash Ellie, she’ll run off with it and probably toss it in the river. Or worse, toss me into the water with it.”

The faintest smile swept across Luke’s lips. “Even if I were on duty, I don’t have any jurisdiction out here.”

I returned the smile. “Then, we’ll take you up on your offer.”

TWENTY-FIVE

LUKE

“Your chili was good, by the way.”

We’d gone half a mile down the trail without speaking, and the silence was killing me. The last person I expected to encounter on the path to Whispering Lake was Maggie and her four-legged sidekick, and yet here she was, as unavoidable as breathing. Was running into her a coincidence, or did she mention the hike in an earlier conversation?

Hard to have a conversation with someone you’ve been avoiding.

Hell, how had I not noticed her Forrester in the parking lot?

“Thanks,” Maggie said, offering me a pleasant smile. The sparkle was missing from her eyes, and the guilt twisted all over again. She didn’t deserve the way I acted toward her last night, and yet, I couldn’t find the words to apologize.

Try I’m sorry. It’s not that hard, asshole.

“It’s my grandpa’s recipe,” she continued when I couldn’t get the apology to dislodge from my tight throat. “Or, well, it’s mostly his recipe. He never wrote it down, so I tried to make it from memory. It’s close, but it’s still . . . missing something.”

“Can you call him to ask?”

“I wish,” Maggie said, a hint of despondence in her tone. “He passed away three years ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Thanks.” She gazed off at the mountains in the background, and I followed her sightline.