After Love (14 page)

“Harley…cool,” Brandi said, now completely buying into Nick's story.

“This Saturday we're having a major porch party. You should come back and bring more of this shit,” Sam said as she flicked the nub of her loosie off the porch. “It's got a different kind of taste that I really like.”

“I'll check my calendar,” Nick said, then laughed. “Sure, I'll be here.” He downed the rest of his beer. “I better get going. I'm not sure how Harley liked being locked up all day.”

“See you in class tomorrow.” Sam smiled.

“Same time, same place.” Nick gave her a jaunty wave and headed down the walk.

“Thanks for the good shit,” Bane said, and Jess nodded.

Nick didn't look back as he headed toward the campus, where he'd parked his truck. So far, so good. Except he'd had plans with Jamie on Saturday night. Of course, she hadn't known about them yet. But now he'd be hanging out with stoned kids instead of checking out that bed in the barn.

Fuck me!
he thought. His job or his dick…His job always won.

Nick parked in front of his Austin townhouse. It was a nice community, a little past its prime but well maintained. Every unit consisted of four one-story townhouses, two on the ground floor and two on the top. Mature trees and large Texas limestone rocks were scattered throughout, and each unit was landscaped with shrubs and a small Saint Augustine grass lawn in front, and there was a wide green space along the back, behind the fenced-in patios. It wasn't fancy, but it fit his salary and someone else did all the yardwork, which made it a winner, as far as Nick was concerned.

One bedroom for him to sleep in and a second decorated in contemporary drug-agent chic was all he needed. No woman had ever lived there with him, so there weren't any drapes covering the windows or satin pillows on the couch. Blinds kept the sunshine out when he was trying to sleep and offered privacy from nosy neighbors. No fancy coffeemakers or wine refrigerators cluttered his kitchen counter. Just a four-cup Mr. Coffee and a microwave provided the necessities to survive. An eighteen-pack of beer took up most of the space in the small refrigerator, sitting next to a half bottle of milk, a stale loaf of white bread, and a jar of grape jelly.

Just as he started to get out of his truck, Nick's phone rang, and he looked down at the caller ID. It was Jamie, and a smile stretched across his face. “Hey, how are you?”

“I'm good. How's Harley?”

“Harley?” Of course she was calling about the dog. “I'm not sure…exactly. I just pulled—” A jolt knocked the phone from his hand. He leaned down and picked it up, then looked around to see what had hit him. “What the fuck? I gotta call you back….Shit.” He ended the call, dropped the phone in his pocket, and scrambled out of his truck.

Flush against his rear bumper was a white Toyota Camry. Inside it a sixty-plus-year-old woman was yelling out the window at him. Nick walked quickly toward her, searching for damage to his truck and signaling for her to get out and talk with him. He recognized her as his obnoxious neighbor and the HOA president, Gail McDonald. They'd been neighbors for four years and had never actually had a conversation. But her reputation as a crazy-ass dragon lady preceded her.

She didn't get out but leaned further out of her window. “Mr. Archer, I'll give you exactly one hour to get that creature from your porch and off this property. You know the rules. No dogs over twenty pounds…period. And that wolf weighs more than I do. Now go get him. I can't sit in my car any longer.”

Nick looked at his front porch. Could it be Harley? How would he have gotten out? But there was no sign of a wolf or any other dog outside his house. He looked back at her. “Nice talking with you.”

“Listen, I have the votes, and you will pay the fines, starting today.”

“Look, lady, Google
laws about service dogs
and get back to me.” No one other than the people he worked with knew he worked for the DEA, and he preferred to keep it a secret. But his service in the military was common knowledge, so he could definitely pass Harley off as a PTSD service dog. If she pushed it, he could come up with some official paperwork in ten minutes.

“He attacked me!”

“What were you doing in my unit?”

“I…uh…I was just making sure your front door was secure. We've had a couple burglaries lately, you know. Why did you leave him outside?”

“You're nuts. He was locked up in my townhouse all day. I'm going to have my place dusted for your fingerprints.”

“Fuck you, Archer. Don't mess with me….Just go get your damn wolf and take him back to the dog pound, or I'll call animal control to come out and shoot him.” She slammed her car into reverse and squealed the tires all the way to the driveway next door.

That kind of explained why he'd gotten the townhouse so cheap.
Two bedrooms, one bath, one-car garage, and psycho neighbor from hell.
He inspected the rear of his truck but found no damage. Lucky for her, because he was feeling particularly litigious.

Nick rubbed the back of his neck, wondering what that lunatic was talking about, as he approached the front door. Suddenly Harley jumped out, his hair bristling and his teeth shining white as he defended the narrow walkway between the hedges. He recognized Nick, and his demeanor changed in a flash. His ears dropped, and his tail unglued from under his belly and began wagging violently. Harley's whole body was wiggling in joy that his man had come home…at last. He flew at Nick, and it was all Nick could do to brace himself to keep from being knocked on his ass.

Nick grabbed Harley around his shoulders and wrestled him until Harley overpowered Nick and succeeded in pushing him to the ground. For Harley, it was all a big game with his man. He loved play fighting, and there was no limit to his energy as Nick tried to get to his feet.

“How the fuck did you get outside, Harley?”

Harley's expression was pure innocence.

Nick unlocked the door and opened it cautiously, not knowing what destruction or unpleasant gifts he was going to find. The living room was undisturbed.

He checked out the bedrooms, and all was exactly as he had left it. Harley padded along behind, his tongue lolling out of his mouth in a happy smile now that his person was home. Nick was heading toward the kitchen when his phone rang. “Archer,” he barked into the receiver.

“What happened?”

He instantly recognized Jamie's voice, which was filled with concern. “I wish I knew,” he told her, his tone softening. “My crazy neighbor rammed me in the rear.”

There was a long pause. “That sounds…uh…painful.”

“My truck. She ran into the back of my truck.”

“You were parked?”

“Outside my house. Then she started yelling that Harley had bit her, and that he was running loose. She fucking hit my truck…on purpose!”

“Was he?”

“Was he what?”

“Running loose?”

“Yes…he was. I was just checking inside.” He opened the dog gate that was supposed to have kept Harley in the kitchen. It was still standing, and the kitchen was messy, but that was because Nick hadn't cleaned up after breakfast, not because of anything Harley had done.

“The door to the back patio is wide open….Shit…there are flies everywhere.”

“French doors?”

“What?” Nick glanced toward the door. “Yeah…why?”

“Lever door handle?”

“Lever? Yeah, it's not a knob.”

“Does it automatically unlock when you open it from inside?”

Nick walked to the open door and examined the door and handle.

“Nick? You there?”

He flipped the handle, checked the lock, and flipped it again. “Yeah, it unlocks. He pulled down the lever, opened the door, and let himself out.”

“My guess is he got bored and went to find you. I warned you about that. Harley has a special talent with latches of all sorts. He was on your front porch, wasn't he?”

“Yes, he was. How did you know that? And how did he figure out which front porch was mine?”

“I'm going to pretend you didn't ask me that.”

“Smart dog.” Nick was just beginning to appreciate his dog's special skills.

“Shepherds are problem solvers.”

“Now my problem is how to keep him inside my house while I'm at class.”

“Class?”

Nick chuckled. “As of today, I'm a UT student. One class…for the case I'm on right now.”

“Sounds like you're going to be too busy for a booster training session.” She sounded disappointed.

Nick returned to the living room and settled down in his favorite chair. “You think a booster session would help?”

“I do. I mean, you've clearly forgotten his talents.”

Nick realized just hearing her voice in his ear was turning him on. “Darlin', I didn't forget your talents.”

There was dead silence on the other end of the line. For a moment, Nick thought she had hung up.

“Jamie?”

“I'm still here,” she answered. “What are you doing Saturday night?”

Nick groaned. Damn, he knew this job was going to ruin his love life. “Would you believe I'm going to a drug party?”

“DEA agent going to a drug party…Hmm…Sounds reasonable. Let me ask, is she cute?”

“I didn't say anything about a she.”

“Is she?”

“Yeah, she's cute. Her name is Sam, and she's in my class. We smoked loosies on Bane's front porch today.”

“Fine…so, don't tell me, then.”

Nick was exasperated. Here he was being totally honest, and she didn't believe him. “Honest to God, it's the truth.”

“So not Saturday.”

“Saturday's out. But I…Harley and I…can come out Friday or Sunday…or both…for a refresher course.”

“Let's start with Friday. We'll wait and see if you need more on Sunday.”

Nick didn't know her well enough to tell if she was flirting with double entendres or if she truly meant training Harley. He and his penis hoped it was the former, but he didn't want to ruin his chances by presuming too much too soon. “Food first?”

“You'll need it.”

Definitely the former! His penis would have applauded if it had hands. If only Friday weren't three days away. “Sounds like a plan,” he confirmed, trying to sound cool.
Come on, Nick, act like this isn't your first rodeo,
he chided himself.

“Bye.” Her phone clicked off.

Nick idly stroked Harley's head. “Good boy, Harley. Want to go see Jamie?”

Harley's ears perked up and his tail wagged. He looked around as if he expected to see her enter the room.

“Yeah, I agree. If I had a tail, it would be wagging too.”

The concrete hummed under the tires as Nick headed west on Highway 290 toward Dripping Springs. He knew he was early, but he couldn't keep from pushing the speed limit to its max and beyond. He didn't want to seem overeager, but he simply couldn't wait any longer to be with Jamie.

Wednesday and Thursday he had been immersed in his assignment, going to class, watching the required movies and television shows, then sitting on Bane's porch for hours every evening, talking about camera angles, cuts and fades, plots and subplots, and every word of dialogue until he thought he was going to take his gun out and shoot the next person who mentioned bad lighting.

And the shittiest part was that he was no closer to having a name or getting an introduction to their dealer than he had been on Tuesday. He'd admitted as much to Bobbi at their meeting earlier today, and she wasn't happy. But she understood that information gathering couldn't be rushed. He told her he was hopeful something would come from the party on Saturday night. Luckily, she hadn't asked about his plans for tonight. He wasn't sure he could have convinced her that it was all about Harley. Bobbi hadn't earned her position as head of the department by being gullible or unobservant. She would have seen through his story in a heartbeat.

He definitely didn't want the world to know that he was going to be Jamie's sex toy. Not that he minded, actually, being at her beck and call. It was kind of fun in a kinky sort of way. He certainly got as much out of it as he gave. He just didn't want it broadcast because it could damage her reputation. He didn't give a flying fuck about his own, but he would kill anyone who hurt her.

“We're almost there,” he said to Harley, who sat in the backseat but rested his head on the back of the passenger seat. Harley's tail thumped against the leather upholstery as if he knew they were getting close to Jamie's farm. Maybe he did. Nick was growing to appreciate the dog's intuition and intelligence more every day.

Nick backed into his usual spot, noting that all the other vehicles were gone except for the red SUV he knew was Jamie's and the old pickup truck that had been fitted with hand controls for Jared. That was a good sign. As horny as he was, the last thing he wanted was to sit around and chat with strangers.

He and Harley walked up the front steps of Jamie's house, and the sound of her singing flowed through the screen door and got caught in the breeze. Harley stood patiently, but the increased speed of his tail and his eager eyes revealed how happy he was to be back here.

Nick stood on the porch for a moment, surprised by how excited he was…and it wasn't just a sexual thing. He'd been looking forward to spending more time with Jamie for the past week. He wanted to hear her laugh and see the twinkle in her eyes when she looked at him. He wanted to smell her skin and feel the silkiness of her hair tickling his cheek. Oh hell…and the sex was incredible.

“I would turn my chair for that voice, sight unseen,” Nick called out, referring to the gimmick on
The Voice,
which was one of the TV shows the kids had talked about.

Jamie screamed and he heard a dish hit the floor and shatter, followed by the sound of her bare feet on the wooden floor as she came to the door. “You scared the shit out of me! How long have you been standing out there?”

“Long enough. I didn't know you could sing like that.”

Her cheeks flushed a pretty shade of pink. “Usually only the dogs hear me sing.” She threw the door open, dropped to her knees, and hugged Harley. “How you doing, big guy?”

Harley pushed up against her. He wasn't normally a licker, but he did give her a big, sloppy, doggy kiss across her cheek.

“He's really glad to see you.”
So am I,
Nick added to himself. There would be time enough later for him to show her.

Jamie stood up and brushed Harley hair off her short, lightweight dress. “You should comb him every day, Nick.”

“We're dudes,” Nick scoffed. “We aren't metrosexuals with every hair in place.”

“Shepherds are year-round shedders. If you don't keep on top of it, your house will be disgusting.” She reached up and lightly combed her fingers through Nick's hair. “You look good tousled.”