“Thank you,” she whispered as she pulled away. “I’m okay now. But you really must get back. Your work is out there—not here with me.”
He wanted to catch the next ferry, so she didn’t have time for a shower. After brushing her teeth and splashing her face with water, she pulled on some of the clothes Shirl had bought for her. Black leggings and a Washington State University Cougars sweatshirt. Great. It killed her to put it on, but her only other set of clothes was damp and caked with sand from clam digging.
When she exited the bathroom, she heard the washing machine running. Dom had pulled the linens off the bed and started the laundry so there’d be less cleanup for Shirl.
When they got to the main house, Shirl stood up from a flower bed where she’d been tending to the rosebushes. Taking one look at Dom, she said, “Chuck’s in the kitchen.”
“Wait here,” Dom told Mackenzie, and he disappeared inside.
“Told you he’d come back. To travel all this way in the bright sun…” Shirl shook her head and whistled. “That man is ьber-crazy about you.”
Before she could respond, she heard footsteps on the porch behind her.
“Hello, Mackenzie,” Chuck said, giving her a brief nod. Dom was right beside him. This was the closest she’d come to the older man.
“Kenz, walk to the bottom of the steps,” Dom said. “Okay, now turn around a few times.”
“What for?” She felt like a ballerina as she twirled for them.
Dom kept himself between her and Chuck. “Good. Now slowly come up to the top step and stop.” His eyes were glued to the man as she complied. “Chuck?”
“I can tell, but it’s not as distinct,” he said, sniffing the air.
“Hmm. Interesting,” Dom said.
They murmured a few words she couldn’t hear, then Chuck laughed—guffawed, actually. As Dom turned around, he held his chin a bit higher, a cocky grin plastered on his face.
“Okay, what’s going on? Is this some sort of joke?” Both men laughed this time. “Guess so,” she muttered to Shirl.
The woman responded by rolling her eyes. “Men.”
“Thanks for everything,” Dom said to Chuck. “We’ll be in touch.”
Shirl grabbed Mackenzie in a bear hug, then led her to the car. “Everything will work out, honey. Just you wait and see. It’s like you’re the spark that lit Dom’s world on fire.” The woman gave Mackenzie one last squeeze and released her. “Nice sweatshirt, by the way. It looks good on you.”
“Thanks for everything, Shirl. But did you know I’m a Husky?”
“Yes, I did. Rawr.” She clawed the air with her fingernails, and it was her turn to laugh as Mackenzie climbed into the car.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
DOM SHADOWED MACKENZIE the whole time they were at her house, not letting her out of his sight. If he’d had his way, she knew he would have come for her things himself.
“Let’s go.” He barked out the words as if she worked for him.
She glared at him. “Hold on. Just let me grab my phone charger and water my plants. Orchids are delicate and require a lot of care.”
“Bring the damn thing with you then and let’s get going. We don’t have time for all your obsessive chores.”
“Do you have my laptop and camera?”
“Yes.” He paced back and forth in the dining room with such a heavy step the china in her mother’s hutch rattled.
“What about my mail and newspaper?”
He let out a sound of frustration. “Can’t your roommate do that for you?”
“She’s hardly ever—”
As if to make a mockery of her words, headlights flashed in the window and a moment later Sam burst through the front door in tears.
“What’s wrong? What happened to you?” Mackenzie took Sam by the shoulders and tried looking into her eyes, but Sam didn’t answer, crying into her hands instead.
“Where is he? Your boyfriend?” Dom asked.
Before Mackenzie had time to wonder why Dom would ask, Sam responded. “He dropped me off. He’s probably down the block by now.”
“Stay here,” he ordered and ran out the door.
Mackenzie had just finished making Sam a cup of tea when Dom returned. “He won’t be pulling that bullshit on you again,” Dom said to Sam. He grabbed one of Mackenzie’s bags and slung it over his shoulder. “You ready?”
“I don’t feel comfortable leaving Sam. Can we stay here and—”
“I’m fine. Really. My mother’s been after me to visit her. I haven’t been as good a daughter as you. It’s been a couple of months since I’ve