Driftwood Bay (Hope Harbor #5) - Irene Hannon Page 0,12
in a firm grip and helped her up.
“Sorry again for all the trouble.” He wound the leash around his hand as Toby began pulling. “I’m having an electric fence installed in the backyard next week, so there’ll be no more escaping from that direction. And in the future, I won’t answer the front door until Toby’s secured in the kitchen.”
The dog began to howl—almost as if he’d understood every word and knew his days of breaking free were about to come to an end.
“Does he do that often?” She upped her volume as she brushed off her jeans.
“Yeah.” Logan massaged his forehead, his expression pained. “I’m going to have to find a training class for him somewhere or I’ll end up with permanent hearing loss. There isn’t by any chance a place like that in town, is there?”
“Not that I know of. I expect there’s one in Coos Bay—but that’s a bit of a hike.”
“It would be worth it to get the noise under control. Besides, I’ll be taking Molly to preschool there in another ten days, anyway.”
He’d be taking her.
Where was the girl’s mother?
She bit back the inappropriate question.
“For now, you could try giving him one of those treats.” She motioned toward his pocket. “He can’t bark or howl if he’s eating.”
“True.” He dug one out and fed it to the dog.
Silence descended while Toby chomped.
“I take it you haven’t had him long?”
“No. A last-minute addition to the family before we left San Francisco. I hoped a dog would help.”
“With what?” That question came out too fast to throttle—but if he thought she was being nosy, he gave no indication of it.
Logan checked on the girl, who was watching the proceedings from a distance, and dropped his voice. “Molly’s been staying with her grandmother for the past two years, but after Mom died suddenly last December, she came to live with me. It hasn’t been the smoothest transition. I’ve never—” The barking resumed with a vengeance, and he cringed. “The story of my life.”
“He is a loud one.” Jeannette shot the dog a disgruntled look. Couldn’t he have stayed quiet another sixty seconds while her neighbor finished his story—and satisfied her curiosity?
“Tell me about it. Imagine being confined in the same house with him 24/7.”
She winced. “No thank you. He is cute, though.”
“Trust me—cuteness doesn’t compensate for all the noise.” Logan angled toward Molly. “Come on, sweetie. Let’s go back to the house.”
The child trudged toward them, one finger in her mouth, the same faded, frayed blanket she’d been clutching two days ago gripped in her hand.
Jeannette studied her as she approached. Her pants and top were mismatched but clean, and her hair had been brushed and secured into a lopsided ponytail. Someone was trying to look after her.
Logan?
That seemed like a safe bet.
Which would suggest the mother was AWOL—and could explain why Molly had been living with her grandmother.
Toby skipped around the child as she drew close, and she gave him a cautious, quick pat.
Not much bonding had taken place yet between girl and dog.
Nor did she and Logan seem to be close. The girl didn’t appear to be wary of the man, but she kept her distance. Like he was someone she wasn’t quite comfortable with or didn’t know well.
And that could be the case, if he’d been an absentee father—as his comments suggested.
“We’ll get out of your hair and let you get back to whatever you were doing. Sorry again for disturbing you.” Logan folded the girl’s hand in his and took a step toward the driveway.
“Wait.” The impulsive directive spilled out as an idea popped into her mind.
He stopped and shifted toward her, eyebrows arched.
A few beats ticked by as she tried without success to fathom why she’d wanted to delay his departure.
But whatever the reason, she was stuck now.
As the silence lengthened, she linked her fingers into a tight knot. “I, uh, have something for you, if you can wait a minute.”
“Sure. As long as it’s not a summons about my dog.” A touch of humor glinted in his irises.
Her pulse picked up.
The man had gorgeous baby blues.
“No. Nothing like that. I’ll, uh, be right back.” She escaped to the tearoom kitchen.
Once inside, she gripped the edge of the counter and forced herself to take several slow, deep breaths.
She shouldn’t have stopped him from leaving. It wasn’t wise to prolong contact with the threesome next door if she wanted to keep her distance.