but I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. I only knew that he was in a strange mood, just like me.
He finally broke the oddly charged silence between us. “So, that happened.”
I didn’t even need to ask what he was talking about. “It did,” I agreed.
He let out a breath and dropped his hands from my neck. Reluctantly, I let him go as well. Alright, maybe I copped one last tiny feel of that world-class ass, but then I let him go. “I should get going,” he said unnecessarily.
I, too, enjoyed stating the obvious. “It’s after midnight. We should probably get inside, too.” I glanced around for Kona. “I’m surprised she hasn’t voiced her displeasure. She usually gets water and a small treat when she gets inside after her last call, and God forbid if either of those things takes too long.”
Journey chuckled as he looked around. “I don’t see her.”
Neither did I, now that he mentioned it. Usually, I only had to say something that sounded like the syllables of her name and she came running. I whistled a couple of times, and Journey called her name a few times as well. I frowned when she still didn’t appear. I didn’t even hear any rustling in the bushes. I called her name again, my pulse kicking up a few notches.
“Hey.” Journey bumped my arm, clearly picking up on my rising worry. “Your yard is fenced.”
“I’m not worried,” I said automatically.
“The pulse in your neck says differently, but okay,” he murmured.
I ignored him. I’d been soft kissing on the porch while my dog—I mean, my foster dog—was unsupervised. My yard was fenced, but she was clever. And big. It probably wouldn’t take too much for her to leap the fence and disappear. There was a wooded, dense area nearby, and a highway behind that.
You should’ve thought of that and raised the fucking fence, I told myself sternly. Good God, Cam, how could you be so fucking irresponsible?
“Kona,” I called, trying to sound as calm as possible.
There was nothing but the slight rustle of the trees from the wind. I was about to step off the porch when Journey chuckled. I scowled at him, wondering what the hell could be so funny about this situation. He pointed at my Jeep. “Cancel the amber alert.”
I squinted at the windshield to find Kona sitting in the passenger seat, panting, ready for her ride. My relief came out in a whoosh of air. At Journey’s upraised eyebrow, I flushed. “I knew she was all right.”
“Mm-hmm. Good thing she’s not your dog, huh?”
I scowled. “I’m glad to know you aren’t perfect. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop and it’s a doozy.”
He laughed. “I’ll get her. You stay here since you couldn’t be bothered with shoes. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful with your baby.”
I wasn’t worried. Kona was generally suspicious of strangers, but she and Journey had clicked immediately. He chalked it up to the bone he’d given her, but I knew differently. Kona was more than capable of turning down bribery. She’d been known to take a treat from a hopeful stranger and give him her rump to kiss.
I watched as he opened the passenger door and ruffled her ears. I whistled, and she came running, clearly unbothered that she hadn’t gotten to go anywhere as my copilot. She panted happily as she mounted the porch and bumped my legs repeatedly. Even though I wanted to give her a stern lecture about scaring the daylights out of me, I couldn’t help but smile back. Adventure was what you made of it, and dogs always made the most of it.
I waved at Journey as he headed down the sidewalk. I stood there long after the lights came on in the living room next door, long enough to see them flicker off as he headed upstairs.
Kona yawned widely and then licked her chops.
“I suck at casual,” I told her, and she gave me a no-duh stare. “You were supposed to be a foster situation and let’s be real, I’m not giving you up.”
The no-duh stare down continued. I sighed as I opened the front door and gestured for her to go back into the house. She paused, one paw inside and one paw still out, debating on whether to cooperate.
“Life would be so much simpler if you were human, or I was a dog. We could just get married and live happily ever after.” I eyed her in case she didn’t get the full