"I cant blame you there, theres something about this area thats conducive to creativity," Kit said. Matty nodded her agreement as she rose to take her plate to the sink.

"Dash is usually pretty straightforward and that doesnt sound-oh!" The surprise in Vivis voice made Matty turn.

"Oh," Vivi said again. "I think I know what he meant." The grin that spread across her face wasnt comforting.

"Do I want to know?" Matty asked, returning to the table with the pitcher of iced tea.

"Uh, Im not actually sure youll want to know," Vivi answered.

"Well, I want to know," Kit interjected. Vivi looked at Matty to get her opinion on the matter. Matty shrugged, how bad could it be?

Bad, Matty thought after Vivi recalled a conversation shed had with Dashs older sister several weeks ago about the family 'tradition. Theyd been at a wedding and Vivi was planning hers so, naturally, the topic came up. And Jane Kent had told Vivi all about the lightning speed at which the Kent family married.

Well, maybe bad wasnt the right word, but it did sound crazy.

"I think youre it for Dash and its freaking him out," Vivi concluded.

"Uh, yeah, it would kind of freak me out, too," she said. "But thats crazy. It takes two to tango and, even if he does think that Im that person, which I dont think I am, I would have to be prepared for that kind of relationship, which Im not."

"I think its kind of sweet," Kit said. Both women looked at her. "Dont get me wrong, in the real world, I think its insane, but in some other reality-"

"Like one of our books?" Matty interjected.

"It could be kind of sweet," Kit finished.

Matty took a deep breath and then let it out. "Well, I just think that if this is what is bothering Dash, the fact that its bothering him at all is ridiculous. Im not interested in getting married, at least not yet, and Im certainly not the type to get married in six weeks. Believe me, I have way too many issues for that."

"Then maybe you should mention that to Dash," Kit suggested.

She shook her head. "I just want to write and take care of the animals," she repeated. "Im not planning on seeing him again unless, god forbid, something happens to one of the animals."

"Famous last words," Vivi said.

Matty shot her a look. The whole thing was just too wild to seriously contemplate. "Anyway," Matty said, changing the subject. "Did you figure out who the guy from yesterday is?"

Vivi shook her head. "No, not yet. We put his time of death about three to four days ago. Were running some more tests to narrow down the timeline but we did a facial reconstruction and are running it through the databases along with his DNA. His fingers were too degraded to get good prints."

"Thats gross," Kit said, making a face.

"But you dont think its someone local?" Matty pressed.

Vivi lifted a shoulder. "We dont have any reported missing persons up here, but we cant say anything for certain yet. The property where he was abuts Brads property on the other side of that hill," Vivi said, pointing to the hill on the other side of the drive. "Did he say anything about seeing anyone around lately?"

She shook her head. "Brad hasnt said anything. I havent been able to get ahold of him. Ive left four messages but he hasnt returned any of my calls."

"Is that unusual?" Vivi asked with a small frown.

"Were not close and have barely spoken to each other at all so its hard to say whats normal and whats not. Until he called me the other day to ask me to come dog-sit, I hadnt spoken to him in five years. When I arrived, I found a four-page set of directions for me, but no information about where he was going." Which reminded her; rising from her seat she went to collect the racing form and brought it back to the table.

"Whats this?" Vivi asked.

"Its a racing form. Almost a year old, as you can see. But feel the paper," she directed. Both Kit and Vivi did so.

"Therere bumps," Kit said.

Matty nodded. "I know, weird, right? Brad said to help myself to anything in his liquor cabinet in the note he left. I thought that was strange since he doesnt even know if I drink, but then yesterday, when I felt I deserved a gin and tonic after the morning Id had, I opened the cabinet and this fell out."

"Strange," Vivi said, holding the form up so she could look at it from different angles. "I dont know what the bumps are, but I can take a picture and send it to my cousins, Naomi and Brian, to have a look," she offered.

"And you think theyll know?" Matty asked.

"If they dont know, I promise you they can find out. Theyre kind of scary like that," Vivi rejoined.

Matty laughed and then agreed; she wasnt sure the form meant anything, but it couldnt hurt to have someone look into it. Vivi snapped a picture with her cell phone and sent it off to her cousins.

"Ill let you know as soon as I hear from them," Vivi said, slipping her phone into her purse. "In the meantime, feel free to call me if you have any questions or just want some company, anytime. Im kind of new to the area, too, so I know what its like."

Matty thanked her and they all rose. A few minutes later she was alone again in her kitchen. Her mind floated to the crazy things Vivi had said about Dash. The more she thought about it, the more she felt he was simply overreacting. She didnt believe in love at first sight or soul mates or anything like that, and shed have to if she were going to be a part of whatever was going on in his head. So, as far as she was concerned, he should just chill about the whole thing. And she could make that easier for him by avoiding him in what was left of her time here in the Hudson Valley. And what better way to avoid him than to do what she came here to do.

Feeling pretty good about herself, she took a deep breath, headed back into the office, and tackled her story like a linebacker.

CHAPTER 7.

AFTER AN EXTREMELY PRODUCTIVE DAY of writing and a not so productive night of sleeping, Matty stood on the front patio with her morning coffee. Shed already taken care of the whole menagerie of animals-late, once again-and then spent some time rereading what shed written the night before. Taking a few minutes to enjoying the late-morning breeze that had moved in to cool things down a bit, she was allowing herself a short break, letting the words shed written sink in and swirl around in her brain.

She liked the way the story was shaping up, but there was something missing in the relationship between the two main characters-a young, but politically savvy, attache and a rogue former member of embassy security. She didnt write sex into her books, but she did like to have a backstory in her head that included it. At the end of her books, her readers liked to know that, even if there wasnt a relationship during the story, there was a possibility of one at the end. It was a lesson shed learned early in her career and one shed taken to heart. And because she liked the idea of happy endings too, it wasnt hard to leave that option open to interpretation. But she didnt have that backstory for these two characters yet, and it was bugging her.

Somewhere off to her left, she heard the sound of a lawn mower starting. She hadnt seen or heard a peep from Brads neighbor yet, so, out of curiosity and in a not-so-subtle attempt to put off the nagging question of her characters, she turned her gaze toward what she could see of the lawn next door. The sound of the motor altered, depending on whether it was going uphill or down, or at least thats what Matty imagined accounted for the change in tone. And after a few minutes, when a stronger breeze blew through, it carried the sweet scent of freshly cut grass. Several more minutes passed before she finally saw the riding mower come into view.

Matty straightened off the post shed been leaning against and stared. She even rubbed her eyes and looked again. Because, from where she was standing, it looked as though an older woman was riding the lawn mower completely naked.

She took several steps toward the neighbors lawn, as if getting a few feet closer would clear up the matter. It didnt. Not until the mower turned, causing the sun to catch the rider in a different light, and she saw the shadow of a bathing suit strap. Matty smiled. Her neighbor wasnt naked, she was wearing a nude-colored bathing suit. And she looked to be about eighty if she was a day.

Character, Matty thought. She liked seeing people with character. And she liked meeting them even more, so she took a few purposeful steps in the older womans direction. But shed only gone about ten feet when a piercing howl froze her in place. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Rufus and Roger raising their heads from where theyd been lying lazily on the patio nearby; Isis was immediately at her feet. When a second howl came echoing down the hill a few seconds later, Lucy came bounding around the other side of the house to investigate.

Matty looked around, realizing that Bob was missing just as a third howl came to a crescendo. Suddenly, the yellow Lab came tearing down the hill toward the house, running with his tail tucked between his hind legs and going as fast as he could on three legs-he kept his right front paw held high, only occasionally letting it touch the ground and emitting a yelp every time it did. She stared in horror as Bob came barreling toward her and she saw the blood pouring from his injured foot. Dimly, she was aware of the lawn mower engine going off, but her eyes were fixed on Bob as he made a beeline for the safety of the house.

She met him at the edge of the patio and reached down to grab his collar. She meant to soothe him, steady him, but she only succeeded in frightening him. He turned and snapped at her, nipping her in the arm. She jerked back with a cry of surprise and pain, and Bob, perhaps realizing what hed done, became even more frantic, backing himself into a corner and whimpering.

"Once we get him taken care of, youre going to need to see a doctor about that arm."

Matty whipped around at the voice behind her and found Brads neighbor not four feet away. The authoritative tone in her voice brokered no argument despite the fact she stood there in her beige bathing suit and flip-flops and weighed in at about ninety pounds, max.

"Ill get to that, but right now Im more worried about him," Matty answered.

"Do you have keys to that big truck?" the neighbor asked.

"I do, hanging on the door just inside the house," she responded. As promised, Ian had had the truck delivered, clean and all, the night before. She hadnt moved it back into the garage, even though she had no intention of driving it again.

"You work on calming him down and getting something around that foot. Ill back the truck up and, once hes feeling a bit more reasonable, well load him up and take him to Dr. Hubba Hubba."

Mattys brows went up. "Dr. Hubba Hubba?"

"Dash Kent, the vet," the woman said, already striding to the door.

Matty let out a little huff of a laugh; it was actually a perfect name for him. But her attention came back to Bob when he sank to the ground, whimpered, and began trying to lick his bleeding paw. She hadnt ever dealt with such an injured animal, but going on instinct, she lowered her voice and talked to him in as reassuring a tone as she could manage. Inch by inch, she made her way closer until she was able to touch his head. And when he looked at her with his big, brown eyes, filled with confusion and pain, she knew she was going to have to make it all better for him as soon as possible.

When she felt pretty sure he wasnt going to snap at her again, she removed the oxford shirt shed slipped on over her tank top, kept one hand on Bobs head to soothe him, and very gently reached for his paw. When he didnt panic or retreat further, she slowly wrapped her shirt around the paw and applied a firm but gentle pressure, as she would with a human. She didnt know if that was the right thing to do for a dog, but it was all she knew.

"Do you think hes ready?" the neighbor asked, having backed the truck up and let the tailgate down just a few steps away.

"He cant get in there on his own," Matty pointed out.

"Of course not. Youre going to have to carry him," the petite old woman in the bathing suit replied.

Matty stared at Bob for a heartbeat, wondering if she could lift a sixty-five pound injured Lab, but quickly realized that, since she didnt have much of a choice in the matter, shed better get moving. She wiggled next to him, got her arms underneath his body, and stood, lifting them both up. The neighbor stayed beside her, helping to keep her steady while being careful not to interfere.

Together they made it to the bed of the truck and Matty laid Bob down. She made to close the tailgate, but when Bob started pulling at the makeshift wrap on his foot, she knew it wasnt going to work.

"How do you feel about chauffeuring us to the vet?" she asked the neighbor. "Im Matty Brooks, by the way," she added.

"Im Elise Rutherford, and I had already planned on it. Ive locked up the house so we should be good to go."

"You okay driving such a big truck?" Matty asked, even as she climbed in and secured Bob in her lap in such a way that she could keep her hand wrapped around his injury.

"Ive been driving trucks since I was twelve, Im going to pretend I didnt hear that," Elise said, closing the tailgate.

A few seconds later, they were on their way to Dashs office. So much for avoiding him, but then again, she wondered if he would even be there. He seemed to be out on calls a lot, maybe his clinic was staffed with other vets.

Of course it wasnt.

Elise pulled up behind the clinic like shed been there a hundred times, told Matty to wait, and disappeared inside. Less than two minutes later she reappeared with Dash and a young woman. Both were dutifully trailing behind Elise.

Dashs eyes sought hers and his stride lengthened until he stopped at the tailgate. "We need to get that washed and looked at, Matty," he said with a gesture to her bleeding arm as he let the back of the truck down.

"I know, Dash. But right now Im more worried about Bob," she shot back. Bob, who had crawled as far into her lap as he could get, looked up at her and whined. Dashs eyes held hers and she could see his jaw ticking. In annoyance, fear, or frustration, she wasnt sure, but she didnt want to wait to find out.

"Dash, hes bled through my shirt, please," she pleaded.

Dash took in a quick breath then let it out and leaned forward. Scooping Bob up as if he weighed next to nothing, he took the dog from her grip.

"Follow me," he ordered.

"Ill call a friend to come get me. Your keys are in the ignition," Elise said as Matty followed behind Dash. She didnt have much time to do anything other than murmur a quick thank you before Dash motioned her inside the back door of the clinic and into what looked like a supply room.

"Susan," he said, addressing the woman whod come outside with him. "Make sure Ms. Brooks cleans that wound and then you can dress it while she makes an appointment to have it looked at."

"Im not going to the doctor, Dash. Theyll have to report it and I dont want to get Bob in trouble."

Dash paused and looked at her. "Of course youre going to the doctor. Dont be ridiculous."

"Dash," she warned.

He took another deep breath, no doubt asking for patience, but it hadnt been Bobs fault shed been bitten and she knew enough to know dog bites generally had to be reported.

"Ill call Dr. Sanger when Im done taking care of Bob. Ill tell her what happened and shell take care of you without reporting it."

"Promise?"

He gave her a look. "Yes, I promise. Now go take care of that arm. Susan, Ill be in exam two when you have a chance and Ill need some sedative to get started."

Dash didnt wait to see the woman nod before he turned and walked through a door that looked like it led to the back halls of the clinic. When they were alone, Matty looked to Susan, who was wearing an interesting expression.

Before the assistant had a chance to say anything, Matty said, "You can point me to the washroom."

Susan opened her mouth, then shut it, and nodded. "This way," she said, gesturing with her hand toward the hall.

A few minutes later, Matty was elbow deep in antiseptic hand wash, scrubbing away for the prescribed ten minutes in the washroom. Shed had to promise Susan that she would stay for the full ten minutes in order for the assistant to feel comfortable enough to leave and bring Dash the sedative hed asked for. And, like a good girl, she was still scrubbing when Susan returned with a small first aid kit.

"Hows Bob?" Matty asked, starting to rinse the soap from her arms.

"Hes probably asleep by now," Susan replied, handing her a towel. "What happened?" she asked.

"Im not really sure," Matty said. "He just came tearing down the hill, bleeding all over the place. I wrapped his paw up but didnt really get a good look at what happened."

"Well, Dr. Kent will take good care of him," Susan said, adding antibiotic cream to some gauze and placing it over the bite on Mattys arm.

Matty didnt doubt he would, so said nothing as she watched Dashs assistant bandage her arm. When she was done, Susan told her she could have a seat in the waiting room, or if she preferred, there was a bench out back. She opted for the waiting room and left Susan to assist Dash in doing whatever he needed to do to help Bob.

As she sat opposite a well-coiffed woman holding her petite white fluff ball of a dog, awareness of just how dirty she was slowly seeped into Mattys consciousness. There was blood on her white tank top and khaki linen shorts. Bobs blond fur clung to her clothes, the dirt hed had on him seemed to have transferred to her, and there were splotches of mud on her thighs-there was even one across her shoulder, though how it got there she had no idea. The woman seated across from her was staring, but at least she looked more concerned than horrified.

Over forty minutes passed before Dash opened the door to the waiting room. Matty didnt miss the way the, now two, other women in the waiting room sat up when he came in. Theyd been offered rescheduled appointments due to the emergency, but both had opted to wait. And she now knew why. If she hadnt been so worried about Bob, she would have laughed at their eagerness to see Dr. Hubba Hubba.

"Matty," he said.

She said nothing but stood and followed him into his office.

"Hows Bob?" she asked when he shut the door behind her.

"Hes fine," Dash answered, taking her arm in his hand. He had already removed the tape from the bandage before she realized what he was doing. She yanked her arm back. Not missing a beat, he reached for it again and continued to unwrap the material.