“Hey, Evie. A friend of mine is coming into town soon. His name is Daryk Nyght. Can you reserve a room for him at the boarding house?”
Evie choked on a laugh. “Daryk Nyght? Who the hell is this guy, Batman?”
Hammer grinned. “We used to call him the Dark Nyght when I was still in the service. His family are the Nyghts from Atlanta, you know that big international law firm?”
“You mean Nyght and Bristow? Wow, and he was in the Army with you?”
He sobered. “He’s actually a trauma surgeon. The guy is crazy and used to go out with the special teams. He’s been through some pretty rough shit lately, and he’s retiring. Needs somewhere quiet to recover.”
Her eyes went soft with understanding. “Sure, I can set him up. Just send me the info when he’ll be coming to town, and I’ll arrange it.”
“Thanks,” Hammer said as he playfully ruffled her hair. “You’re the best.”
“All the boys say so,” she quipped with a wink, slapping his hand away.
Hammer snorted. “Get out of here, brat.”
Evie walked away, leaving Hammer and Kalista to wander over toward where the puppies were kept. She let out a gasp as she gripped his arm. “Oh no! Jared, Ranger isn’t here!”
“He’s not?”
Tears prickled at the back of her eyes. “No. He always comes over to greet me when I come to visit. Look. I don’t see his little white paws.”
“Someone must have adopted him.”
Kalista noticed that Jared shifted uncomfortably, and she thought it must be because he was worried she was going to burst into tears. Honestly, she felt like she just might. Pulling herself together, she let out a shaky breath and said, “Well, as long as he has a good home now, that’s all that matters.”
He hugged her. “I’m sure he has a great home.”
The rest of the day lost some of its shine as Kalista went back to work in the food tent. She knew she should have been happy that Ranger found a good home with someone, but she had loved the little guy. Part of her was angry that she hadn’t adopted him before today, which meant it was her fault, but another part of her was irritated that Evie and the others hadn’t kept him for her like they said they would.
Jared disappeared for a while with Nate when he and Anna finally showed up. Kalista was happy to hear that the bakery had been packed all day, but the staff had everything in hand so Anna told her not to worry. When the event drew to a close, several of Jared’s friends helped her pack the trays and coolers back into the van. Although the men looked dark and dangerous they were very kind to her, and she liked them a great deal.
“I’ve got this,” Becca said when Kalista told her she was going to go home with Jared. “I’ll drive the van back and close the bakery tonight, so I don’t want to see you back there. It’s Valentine’s Day, and I don’t have a man like you do. Go enjoy for the both of us.”
Kalista hugged her goodbye, then climbed onto Jared’s bike behind him. She put on the helmet he gave her, then wrapped her arms around his waist as he took off down the road. On the drive to his house she had time to think about what she wanted to say to him since she was wearing a helmet and he wasn’t.
All those thoughts fled her head as soon as he pulled the bike into his driveway. Shock filled her as she saw the huge wooden fence that now covered a large portion of his yard off of the garage. She was speechless as he helped her off of the bike, unable to believe what she was seeing and barely noticed the unfamiliar car parked in front of house.
She took off the helmet. “Jared, what—”
He pressed a finger to her lips to silence her. “Just give me a minute and I’ll explain everything.”
Hammer took her hand after she nodded, and he hoped that she couldn’t feel how clammy his palm was as he led her toward the front door. It opened before he could use his key, and his friend Sam stepped out.
“Everything is good to go. Hi, Kali. Later.”
Sam quickly walked to her car and got in as Hammer pulled Kali into the house with him. Earlier at the rescue center, he’d felt like the biggest bastard alive when he saw the tears in Kali’s eyes after she realized that Ranger was missing from the puppy pen. He’d wanted to tell her not to worry, but that would have ruined his plans. He’d felt the distance between them since he’d gotten back from Vegas, and he knew she could feel him keeping secrets from her.
Never in his life had he imagined that it would be so difficult to keep things from another person as it was keeping things from his little fairy. He didn’t like anything between them, even if it was only temporary.