Page 7 of Beauty and the Beastmaster

He’d been silent for a while, but he finally spoke up. “Uh, you can leave a little.”

She’d been cutting so fast she’d trimmed away too much. Silas usually wore his hair a tad long. “Sorry. Is it too short?” She tried to cover her tracks, tried not to let on that she’d been distracted by the thought of sperm. “I thought I’d try something new.”

“It’s fine,” he said, sounding more than a little uncertain.

Was it, though? Gabi moved more slowly, more thoughtfully, as she continued.

Now and then she looked down at Mia and Judge. The bloodhound was a big dog, but Mia wasn’t at all afraid. The baby — a toddler now, who toddled around on unsteady legs more and more often — picked up one ear and let it drop, while the dog pinned adoring eyes on the child. Mia giggled, and when she ran her chubby little hands over Judge’s neck, the dog seemed to smile.

Impossible, right?

When Gabi was finished with Silas she whipped away the cape and took a brush to his shoulders to make sure she hadn’t left any hair behind. He wore khaki today, as he often did, and his dark hair would really show if he wasn’t careful to clean it all. She set the brush aside, saw a stray she’d missed, and reached out to pluck it off his arm just as he stood.

He dropped cash on her station. Too much.

“I’ll get some change…”

“No change,” he said gruffly.

“But…”

“Don’t argue. You’re going to need the extra money for dog food. I’ll bring you a bag of the brand Judge likes to get you started.”

Gabi laughed, hoping it didn’t sound as maniacal to Silas as it did to her. “I’m glad Mia and Judge are getting along, it’s actually very sweet, but I don’t intend to keep your dog.”

Silas sighed as Mia draped her entire body over Judge’s back and giggled. “I don’t think it matters at all what you or I intend.”

Gabi didn’t want a dog. The last thing she wanted or needed was something else to take care of. She had her hands full taking care of Mia and herself!

She tried to come up with a reasonable explanation, a firm but gentle insistence that she could not have a pet of any kind, but just ended up saying, in a too-uncertain voice, “No.”

“Ok,” Silas said calmly. “Come on, Judge.” He headed for the door. The dog did not.

Silas turned. He and the dog shared a glance. It seemed their eyes locked. Was that even possible? Finally, Judge stood slowly. His head hung low but he walked toward Silas, each step seemingly torture.

And Mia started screaming again. Judge looked back, his sad eyes blaming Gabi for his heartbreak. Who was she kidding? Bloodhounds always had sad eyes, right?

Mia reached out a hand, flexing her fat little fingers, and as Silas opened the door to leave the baby screamed, “My doggie. My doggie!”

Shit.

* * *

Standing on the sidewalk, Gabi muttered as she fumbled with her purse and her keys and the baby on her hip, until in a movement that spoke of sheer frustration she thrust Mia at Silas.

He took the kid. What choice did he have? It was take her or let her drop to the sidewalk. With his hands beneath Mia’s armpits he held her away from his body almost as far as possible, while Gabi locked the door to the beauty shop and dropped the keys back into her purse.

Gabi didn’t criticize the way he held her child, just slung the purse strap over her shoulder and took Mia back, holding the kid close.

Mia was perfectly happy now. So was Judge. The co-conspirators had gotten their way.

“Her first words, other than mama and no, and they’re a very clear ‘my doggie.’ I don’t want something else to take care of. I mean, Judge seems to be a sweet dog and all, but I have a one year old, and a business, and I can barely handle…” Gabi stopped speaking and looked both ways. As usual no cars were coming down Main Street. She crossed the street in front of the police station.

Silas knew he should get while the getting was good, but he stuck with her. He didn’t stay because he had a job to do. He hadn’t decided to play Jenna’s game, but he hadn’t decided not to, either. He wasn’t normally so indecisive, but this was no normal choice. It wouldn’t affect only him, it was critical to the future of the entire town.

At the moment he was focused not on the decisions to be made, but on the kid. Something was off. He didn’t see into other people’s minds the way he did animals. A couple of times he’d been around Springer babies and gotten what might’ve been a hint of communication, a brief glimpse into what they were feeling in that moment, but babies had no words, and the human brain was more complicated than that of an animal. But he’d very clearly caught that mine from Mia.

A new thought almost stopped him in his tracks. Mia wasn’t a Springer, was she? Gabi had displayed no indication of having Springer ancestry. If she had, whatever abilities she’d inherited would’ve come to life when she’d arrived in Mystic Springs. Gradually, most likely, but she’d been here a year so if it was going to happen it would’ve happened by now. What about the kid’s father? Gabi never mentioned him. She didn’t wear a wedding ring, didn’t talk about any past relationships. Not that he would know. She hadn’t said a dozen words on their date, and nothing she’d said had been personal. He had a feeling if he started asking personal questions she’d shut him down. He had to know, but he also needed to tread lightly.