With the winter weather and frozen ground, they weren’t making any progress outside, so they were concentrating on inside renovations. Today, however, Mad Dog planned to head back into town. It had been a full week since his last visit, and he was looking forward to it.
He popped into the kitchen to grab some of Sam’s awesome secret-blend coffee for the road. He had no idea what she put in it, but the stuff was like crack. It was so good; he wouldn’t care if she had laced it with actual crack.
Sandy was there, too. The two women were sitting at a table together, deep in conversation.
It was Sandy who noticed him first. “You’re looking pretty spiffy today. What’s the occasion?”
He might have shaved and taken a little extra care with his appearance this morning. “No occasion, just heading into town.”
“Going to Handelmann’s by any chance?” Sam’s eyes twinkled.
“Maybe.” Definitely. “Do you need anything while I’m in there?”
“Actually, do you mind if I tag along?” Sandy asked. “I’d like to stop into Franco’s and see Rico and Jeannie and maybe hit the arts and crafts store to pick up some presents for Kevin. His birthday’s in a few weeks. Heff said he’d take me after he got back from helping Brian and Tori out at the ranch, but things are supposed to get dicey tonight, weather-wise.”
Mad Dog had no problem with giving her a ride into town, but Heff was pretty territorial when it came to Sandy. It wasn’t a matter of trust; they were brothers in all the ways that counted, and Sandy didn’t have eyes for anyone but Heff. When guys like them found someone who accepted them as is—the good and the bad—they became very protective of them.
It worked both ways, too. Sandy was every bit as protective of Heff as he was of her. It was just the nature of the mated beast.
“I don’t mind if Heff doesn’t mind.”
She rolled her eyes but understood. She fired off a text to Heff, who responded almost immediately with the all-clear.
“You know, I could use a few things, too,” Sam added a little too innocently to be believable.
He knew collusion when he saw it.
“What are we talking about?” Smoke asked, entering the kitchen.
“Going into town to pick up some supplies,” Sam answered.
Smoke, who wasn’t nearly as devious as the women, said, “You were just there three days ago and got enough food to last a month at least.”
“True, but I did forget to stock up on toilet paper. You wouldn’t want to weather a storm without that now, would you?”
Mad Dog withheld his smile. He knew for a fact they were well stocked in that area. Since they were also well stocked in rock salt and shovels, he kept his mouth shut.
“Fine.”
Sam and Sandy ran off to get their purses or whatever, and Smoke turned to him.
“No worries, man. I got your six,” he said, proving that he wasn’t as clueless as he’d pretended.
~ * ~
Forty-five minutes later, they were entering the Sumneyville town limits.
“Where to first, ladies?” Mad Dog asked, glancing in the rearview mirror.
“Oh, look. There’s Handelmann’s. Why don’t we stop there?”
“I’ve got a better idea,” Smoke said without missing a beat. “Why don’t we drop you off at the shopping center? You can take your time and get what you need while we take care of some business. We can have lunch at Franco’s before heading back.”
Mad Dog had to bite his tongue not to laugh at the scowl on Sam’s face. The women were busted, and she knew it. That didn’t stop her from rallying, however.
“But Handelmann’s is right here. We don’t mind.”
“Neither do we,” said Smoke.
The man really did have his six.
“Fine,” Sam huffed.
Mad Dog continued past Handelmann’s and dropped the ladies off at the shopping center, where Sandy could pick up her artsy stuff and Sam could get “toilet paper.” They weren’t happy about it, but they couldn’t argue without coming right out and admitting that they wanted to be his wingmen—uh, wingwomen—when he saw Kate. While he appreciated the thought, he preferred to go it solo. He wasn’t even sure there was anything there. Yeah, Kate had smiled at him, but like they’d said, she was friendly to everyone.
“What about you?” he asked Smoke.
“Drop me off a couple of blocks from Handelmann’s. I’ve got some things to do.”
Something told him that Smoke’s “things” involved a visit to the local jeweler, which just happened to be a few blocks from Handelmann’s. He hadn’t missed the panicked look on Smoke’s face the night before when Heff showed off the diamond pendant he planned to give Sandy for Valentine’s Day.
“Here’s fine,” he said, opening the passenger door when they stopped at a red light in the center of town. Piles of plowed snow along the sides of the main drag made a curbside drop-off unlikely.
“How long do you need?”
“Thirty minutes ought to cover it.”
“No problem.” A brief check of the rearview mirror confirmed that Smoke was indeed heading toward the jeweler.
Mad Dog pulled into the lot at Handelmann’s. Jerry Petraski was there again. He and his son, Lenny, were securing a tarp over the truck’s bed. Whatever they had in there, it was heavy enough to drop the back end by several inches. Petraski glared at Mad Dog as he exited his vehicle but said nothing.
“I was wondering if I’d see you today.”
Mad Dog looked into Kate’s smiling face and forgot all about Jerry Petraski. A cold, wet nose snuffling against his hand kept him from staring too long. He was still wearing his shades, so maybe she hadn’t noticed.
“I said I’d be back, didn’t I?”
Her smile grew. “Yes, you did. Gotta like a man who keeps his word.”
He forced his eyes away from her and over to the corner where only an empty pallet remained. “Looks like I’m too late.”
“You have to get here early when they’re calling for a nor’easter,” she told him. “We sell out quick. Luckily for you, I stashed some in the back.”
It was his turn to smile. “You did, huh?”
She nodded. The prettiest pink blush painted her cheeks.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
“You wouldn’t happen to have any more of those brownies stashed, too, now would you?”
“No, I don’t. I’m sorry.”
“Damn.”
She reached behind the counter and extracted a sealed plastic tub, sliding it in front of him. “How do you feel about chocolate chip cookies?”
“I think they’re even better than brownies.”
“I was hoping you’d say that. Ten bucks for the whole thing. One hundred percent goes to the animal shelter.”
“If they’re anything like your brownies, they’re worth triple that.”
That rosy blush deepened, making her eyes sparkle even more. Mad Dog pulled out his wallet and focused on that instead of making a complete fool of himself.
“Do you bake every week?”
“Pretty much. I love to do it, and if I can raise a few bucks for the animal shelter, why not?”