Greyson (The K9 Files) - Dale Mayer Page 0,48

out a hand, tugged Jessica closer, and said, “If somebody happens to be out there watching us,” he said, “we’ll let them see that you’re not alone anymore,” he said quietly.

She looked up into his eyes and smiled. “And that’s only true while you’re staying with me,” she said. He smiled, then leaned over and kissed her on the temple, for the second time now. The first time she had let it go by, more surprised than anything. This time she wasn’t sure if it was part of the act or not.

“Still,” he said, “that makes you a much harder mark than as a woman alone with a child. You make for a pretty easy prey, but, if you’ve got a big dog like this and a big man at your side,” he said, “every predator has to rethink their strategy.”

She winced. “That doesn’t sound very nice.”

“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “As long as they’re rethinking, they also stand a good chance of making a mistake.”

“I hope so,” she said.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, tucked her up closer, then leaned over and chucked little Danny under the chin. He was all nestled up against her neck. “Looks like this little guy wants to go home again.”

“This is about the extent of his shopping limit,” she said with a smile.

“Perfect,” Greyson said. “Let’s head home.”

And, with her gaze still wandering around, even as she watched Greyson, she realized that he had been quietly taking photos all around them. She hadn’t even considered something like that. But, at least when she got home, they could take a look at those photos. And, for all she knew, he was sending them to other people to check out.

Unnerved and a little bit surprised at the skill level he had displayed since she’d first met him, she buckled Danny into his car seat, and, when everybody was loaded up, they drove home.

“I’ll unload everything,” Greyson said, “but pull into the garage. Then we can close the big door.”

“I guess I should always do that, shouldn’t I?” she said. “But it was easy before, when I wasn’t thinking about being in danger, to just park out front and haul everything into the front door.”

“This way though,” he said, “nobody can attack you while you’re getting in and out of the car.”

She nodded stiffly. “Again I don’t think that way,” she said quietly. “It’s a little unnerving that you do.”

“I’ve spent a lot of years out in the field doing black ops missions,” he said quietly. “Some things you just learn and never forget.”

“In a whole different world,” she said.

“But my expertise is working to your benefit right now,” he said.

“And I appreciate it,” she said, pulling inside the garage and shutting the garage door with a push of a button. “I’ll get Danny settled inside, while you unload things.”

Greyson nodded, then he opened the trunk, grabbed all the bags of groceries, and carried them in, putting them on the table, and then went back out, with Kona following him every step to pick up the dog food. Then, as an afterthought, he brought the rope in with him and slammed the trunk shut.

Back in the house, he looked at her, joining him in the kitchen, and said, “I didn’t buy a dog food dish.”

“Not required,” she said and pulled out another bowl. He quickly filled it with dog food and set it down where the water bowl was, and then gave the dog fresh water. Kona wasted no time, as she went after the dog food like she hadn’t eaten for days.

“Oh, my gosh,” Jessica said. “I feel so bad now watching her.”

“But she has food now,” Greyson said. “She’ll be fine.” He checked for Danny, finding him in the living room playing with blocks, and then Greyson turned his attention to the groceries to put away, while she took off Danny’s shoes and the little windbreaker he had on.

“What do you want for dinner?” he asked.

“I wasn’t sure what your plans were for the things you bought,” she said. “I don’t have any meat thawed yet.”

“Tell you what. Let’s do sausages tonight,” he said, “and I’ll marinate the steaks for tomorrow night.”

“Sounds good to me,” she said and watched while he pulled out the sausages, separated the links, put them on a plate, and then put away the vegetables. He opened up the steaks and seasoned them, putting them on a plate and covering them with plastic, placing them in the fridge. “You obviously