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As she pulled into the driveway of her small white clapboard house, she smiled at the light shining over the front porch.
She didn’t have to ask Mrs. McAnally to check on her dog. The woman loved looking out her front picture windows at the other houses in the neighborhood. She was always the first to notice and report on anything out of the ordinary. Less than a week after Jenna had moved in, Mrs. McAnally had marched over to welcome her, carrying a fragrant loaf of banana nut bread.
The older woman knew that if Jenna’s red Jeep wasn’t parked in the driveway by seven in the evening, Brutus would need to go out and be fed. And she always turned on the light over the porch so that Jenna didn’t have to fumble for her house key in the dark.
Brutus had loved the older woman from the start when she’d patted his head and told him he was a good boy. The German shepherd acted starved for attention and soaked up all the affection anyone wanted to give.
Mrs. McAnally had gone one step further by giving him a special treat, a tasty strip of chicken jerky. Since that first meeting, she brought him a doggy treat every time. Every time Jenna’s neighbor came through the cottage door, Brutus greeted her like a long-lost friend, completely beside himself, his tail wagging so hard it made his entire body wiggle.
Jenna parked in the driveway and got her key out of her pocket before exiting the SUV.
Before she stuck her key in the lock, Brutus barked and scratched at the door, wildly anxious to get to her.
When the door finally swung open, Jenna braced herself for eighty pounds of German Shepherd exuberant love.
On cue, Brutus launched himself at her.
Jenna dropped to her knees to keep from being knocked off her feet. She wrapped her arms around the dog and hugged him close, tears welling in her eyes. “Oh, Brutus, we have a new member of the family. You’re going to love her.” She hugged him around the neck and pushed to her feet. “But first, we have to find her and bring her home.”
The dog tried to push past her to get outside.
She grabbed his collar and held him while she closed the door. “You can go outside in the backyard,” she said, leading him to the back of the house.
As soon as she opened the door, he shot out, barking frantically.
Jenna grabbed the flashlight she kept hanging next to the door and shined it into the yard where Brutus was running along the wooden fence.
“Brutus,” she called out. “No barks.” Her closest neighbor, Mrs. McAnally, lived alone and shared with Jenna that she slept with an air purifier running for the white noise. Still, Brutus’s bark was loud. “Brutus, come,” she commanded.
The dog barked several more times as he ran back to where Jenna stood in the doorway.
She bent to smooth a hand over his back. “Did you see a squirrel, boy?”
The shepherd whined softly, the hairs along his back standing at attention.
“Or was it a cat?” Jenna shined the light again, but all she could see was the weathered wooden fence, not what was on the other side. A wild animal might have wandered into the neighborhood. It happened. An occasional moose or mountain lion wandered through the city.
“Come on,” she said, pulling the dog back into the house.
Her laptop was in the living room where she’d left it the day before. She grabbed the device and its charging cords and shoved them into a backpack. When she had what she’d come for, she made a quick pass through the house with an eye for what needed to change to welcome Blakely into her cottage.
The spare bedrooms would have to be emptied, cleaned and furnished with a crib in one room and a full-sized bed in the other. Her desk would have to come out into the living room. She could add a fresh coat of paint to brighten the walls. Space would be tight, but Brittney and the baby would have a roof over their heads and food on the table.
Jenna wanted to be excited about the two of them moving in with her but couldn’t see celebrating until Baby Blakely was returned to her mother.
On her way past her room, she stepped in and retrieved her Glock from the nightstand where she’d placed it the night before, not thinking she’d need it to visit her sister in the hospital. After checking that she had a full magazine, she shrugged off her jacket and strapped on her shoulder holster, tucking the weapon inside. Then she pulled on her jacket and left her room.
Jenna checked Brutus’s food and water. Mrs. McAnally had refreshed both.
“Sorry, Brutus, but I’ve got to go,” she said as she scratched behind the dog’s ear. “If all goes well, I’ll be back later today to bring your favorite Aunt.”
Brutus stared up at her as he sat in front of the door, his tail wagging hopefully, his muscles tense, ready to spring into action if she said the word for him to come with her.
She flung the strap of the backpack over her shoulder and bent to scratch the dog behind the ear. “I’ll be back.” Jenna straightened and left the house, locking the door behind her. How many times had she left doors unlocked?
More times than she could count.
Well. Not anymore. When Brittany and the baby moved in, Jenna wouldn’t be the only person in the house.
