opened her mouth to protest, but Caleb stepped in front of her. He was furious. She could tell just by the set of his broad shoulders. “What exactly is on that lease?” he asked, and his voice was deadly calm.
Greg got to his feet. “I’m not trying to be a jerk. I’m just pointing out the facts. Her contract was very clear that this is a pet-free property.”
Amy sank down, her arms going around Donner. He was her dog. He needed her. He was blind and abandoned. He licked her face happily, tail wagging, as if he had no clue the conversation was about him. “He doesn’t have anywhere else to go.”
“Send him home with this guy.” Greg gestured at Caleb. “I need to talk to you privately anyhow, Amy.”
“I don’t want to talk to you,” she told Greg. Not when she felt like crying at the thought of giving Donner up. It had only been a few days but she’d grown to love the old dog. He made her feel not so alone at night. He snored, sure, and he got lost in the hallway, but his tail wagged when he heard her and he danced like a puppy in the snow.
He was hers, damn it.
“I find it real ironic that you’re here to talk about Amy’s lease,” Caleb continued in that too-calm voice. “Seeing as how when I got here, her ceiling had caved in and destroyed her bed.”
“I went into her bedroom to take a look. Seemed fine to me,” Greg said.
“You went into my bedroom?” she said, her voice sharp with surprise.
“To take a look at the ceiling, yeah. It looks fine—”
“That’s because Caleb fixed it!”
“I also fixed the sink,” Caleb continued in that same quiet, firm voice that told her he was barely holding on to his shit. “I fixed the faulty wiring, too. I fixed the windows. I fixed every leaking faucet. I fixed the hole in the roof, and the steps on the back porch because they were dangerous. You know why?”
Greg was silent.
“Because I don’t like the thought of anyone living in a place like this. I don’t like the thought of anyone having to worry that their house isn’t safe, or warm. I know Amy’s brought these problems to your attention multiple times and you haven’t done shit. In fact, I think the reason you’re here tonight”—Caleb’s voice took on a note of menace—“is because you’re interested in going out with her, not in the problems with her house.”
Greg’s gaze flicked to her, but he remained quiet.
“So are you really going to dither about the damn dog, or are you going to let her have it and maybe I won’t bring up to law enforcement that you’re having a schoolteacher live in a house that should be condemned? And you’re charging her for it? Because if word got around with all the problems poor Amy’s had—”
“Fine.” Greg put his hands up and took a step backward, and Amy realized Caleb had taken a few steps forward, getting in Greg’s face. Her eyes were wide as she looked between the two men. “You can have the dog. I can see you’re busy. We’ll talk more later.”
“If she wants to,” Caleb added as Greg scuttled past him. “And you don’t let yourself into her fucking house when she’s not here without her permission.”
“It’s my property—” Greg began, but went silent at the glare Caleb gave him. “Fine. Amy, I’ll talk to you later.”
“Why?” she blurted, a little disgusted at him. “You just came into my house when I wasn’t here. I don’t want anything to do with you.”
He frowned in her direction, glanced at Caleb, and then said quickly, “Rent is due on the first, remember that.” He cast one last look at her and then headed out.
Caleb immediately went to the front door. She thought he’d lock it, but instead, he went to the doorway and stood in front of the screen door, arms crossed, until Greg’s car pulled away.
Amy was in shock. Could one person be such an unrelenting creep? How had she let a man have such power over her again? She’d panicked when Greg had said that she couldn’t have Donner. It was probably on the lease paperwork, sure, but she hadn’t given it much thought. When he said she couldn’t have him . . . she’d just frozen in place. She wanted to cry with relief that Caleb had been here. That he’d stepped in and neatly reminded