Promise Cove (A Pelican Pointe Novel Book 1) (76 page)

N
ick
s
c
r
ubbed
a
hand
over
h
i
s
face
and
once
a
g
ain looked
around
s
elf
-
con
sc
iously
t
o
s
ee
if
a
ny
one
had
s
een
hi
m
s
i
t
t
i
n
g
i
n
a
ca
r
t
a
l
k
i
n
g
t
o
him
s
elf.

F
rom
h
i
s
s
eat
in
the
bo
o
th
by
the
w
indo
w
,
M
u
r
p
h
y
s
a
w
N
ic
k
’
s
st
r
uggl
e
.
H
e
g
l
anced
around
the
t
a
ble
t
o
s
ee
if
a
n
y
one e
ls
e
had
n
o
ticed.
F
or
t
una
t
el
y
,
they
were
deep
in
d
is
cu
ss
io
n
.
N
o
one but him had
w
at
ched as the
s
cene
unfolded a
c
r
o
s
s the
stree
t
.
M
u
r
p
h
y
had
heard
the
t
r
uck
bac
k
fire,
and
looked up
t
o
check
out
the
n
o
is
e
.
T
h
e
l
ast
thi
n
g
he
had
e
xpe
c
t
ed
t
o
s
ee
w
as
N
ick
H
a
r
r
i
s
sha
k
i
n
g
.
M
u
r
p
h
y
felt
for
the
man
he
w
as be
g
inni
n
g
t
o
think
of
as
a
f
r
iend.
H
e
quickly
t
u
r
ned
h
i
s
at
t
ention
back
t
o
the
round
t
a
ble
ar
g
umen
t
,
g
ra
t
e
f
ul
no
one
e
ls
e had
w
itn
ess
ed
the
in
c
iden
t
.

Nick had just
set the puppy down on the grass in the backyard, watched as the little guy sniffed the ground before hunkering down to pee, when he saw Jordan fly out of the house with Hutton in her arms, as if she’d been watching from the window.

Halfway there, she came to a stop. “
Nick Harris, you pick that fuzzball up right this minute, take it back wherever you found it. And don’t give me a sad story about how you never had a dog.”

S
p
o
t
ti
n
g
the
do
g
,
H
ut
t
on
be
g
an
t
o
s
qui
r
m
in
her
m
o
the
r
’
s
a
r
ms.
“
D
own.
M
a
-
m
a.
Do
w
n
.
”

J
or
d
an
s
et
H
ut
t
on
do
w
n
t
o
w
a
l
k
.
A
s
s
oon
as
her
feet
hit the
g
round
the
little
g
irl
ran
over
t
o
the
mul
t
icolored
pupp
y
, her
le
g
s
pum
p
i
n
g
as
fast
as
they
could.
W
hen
she
g
o
t
cl
o
s
e,
H
u
t
t
o
n
le
t
ou
t
a
lo
n
g
s
quea
l
o
f
deligh
t
an
d
s
t
a
r
t
e
d
c
l
ap
p
i
n
g her
han
d
s.
The
dog
r
e
sponded
and
be
g
an
c
ircli
n
g
the
b
a
b
y
.

J
or
d
an
needed
t
o
be
fi
r
m.
“
P
lea
s
e
t
e
l
l
me
th
i
s
i
s
a
jok
e
. T
h
at
dog
i
s
n
o
t
s
t
a
y
i
n
g
her
e
.
”

N
ick
thought
Sc
o
t
t
might
be
r
igh
t
.
H
i
s
b
e
st
chance
w
as
w
ith
H
ut
t
o
n
.
“
L
ook
at
her
rea
c
tio
n
.
S
he
lov
e
s
hi
m
.
”
F
or
good measure,
he
added,
“
A
nd
I
ca
n
’t
ta
ke
him
bac
k
.
H
e
has
no p
l
ace
t
o
s
t
a
y
.
H
e
’
s
homel
es
s
.
”
B
ut
he
w
as
g
r
inni
n
g
f
rom
ear
t
o
ear
as
he
said
i
t
.

“
A
nd
if
he
s
t
a
y
s
here,
he
might
n
o
t
h
a
ve
a
home
for ve
r
y
lo
n
g
.
D
id
y
ou
think
of
that?”
P
leadi
n
g
her
ca
s
e,
J
or
d
an p
o
in
t
ed
ou
t
,
“
N
ic
k
,
w
ith
e
ve
r
y
thi
n
g
that
’
s
g
o
i
n
g
on,
I
ca
n
’t get
the
ho
u
s
e
ready
for
b
u
s
in
e
s
s,
ta
ke
care
of
H
ut
t
on,
and look
af
t
er
a
do
g
.
H
e
i
s
n
’t
e
ven
ho
u
s
ebroke
n
.
”