Mutts & Murder: A Dog Town USA Cozy Mystery (20 page)

“No one else ever took the time to say those things to me before, Freddie. No one believed in me.”  

I shook my head in shock.

It was strange how things worked out. 

“I know it sounds like a small thing, but it wasn’t back then. Not to me.”

He stepped closer, then. He stood over me, gazing down. .

“Freddie…” he started saying, trailing off.

I looked up into his lovely eyes, meeting his stare without any resistance. No longer seeing a cop or a lieutenant or a law enforcement agent. But seeing a decent and kind man instead.

“Freddie, I’ve been thinking a lot about the other night,” he said. “I know you were drinking, and I know that’s why it happened. But part of me can’t stop thinking, what if you really did mean something by it? I mean, what if…”

He trailed off, and the unfinished question lingered like sweet mist.

My heart fluttered for a split second, thinking about what he was saying.  

But shortly after, I felt it sink back into my chest.

Here I was, getting into something I shouldn’t be. Yet again.

I shouldn’t have been with Jimmy.

And I most certainly shouldn’t be with Sam Sakai. It was a breach of ethics, considering that I was going to be working side by side with the police department in my prospective role covering the crime beat.

But maybe…

Maybe
there could be a way.  

I looked back up into his eyes.

There was no use denying my feelings anymore. They were what they were.

“I always fall for the wrong guy,” I said, sighing.

“That ain’t me, Freddie,” he said. “I promise you that.”

His eyes were unflinching and true.

“It might be trouble,” I said. “For the both of us.”

“Trouble I can handle,” he said. “But what I can’t handle is losing out on having you.”

The words seemed to tickle some emotional funny bone inside me, and I couldn’t help but grin.  

“I fell for you the moment I laid eyes on you, Freddie Wolf,” he said, taking in a deep breath. “And even after I found out you were a reporter, I
still
liked you. Now if that doesn’t show you how serious I am, then I don’t know what would.”

I smiled back, my heart racing. I didn’t even take offense at the crack he’d made about my profession.

There were more important things than what a person did for a living.

Like a pair of kind eyes.

Or an honest face.

Or somebody you might be able to whisper the secrets of your soul to one day.  

Or feeling your heart come alive again after having given it up for dead.

“Why don’t you come inside,” I said. “You’re soaked through.”

He smiled.

Then Sam Sakai slid his hand into mine and we walked up the front steps to the safety of the porch. I held Buddy firmly in my grip, and Mugs trotted out in front, leading us into the house where the smell of Lou’s pesto pizza floated through the air.

Not only had I gotten Buddy back.

I’d gotten Mugs.

And somehow, I’d gotten Sam too.

My luck had changed.  

The rain continued on for a while after that. But soon, the dark clouds drifted away.

And all that was left was a brilliant blue sky and a summer sun that dried out the streets and woods and valleys of Dog Mountain.

And it was almost as if the rain clouds had never been there to begin with.  

The End

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Look for the second installment,
Bulldogs & Bullets: A
Dog Town USA Cozy Mystery
, in late spring 2015! For cozy news, contests, and recipes, sign up for Meg Muldoon’s
Cozy Corner Newsletter
mailing list. For news about deals on Meg’s books, like her page on
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Looking for more mystery, more romance, more
cozy
? Fall in love with one of Meg Muldoon’s other books!

Murder in Christmas River: A Christmas Cozy Mystery
(Book 1)

Mayhem in Christmas River: A Christmas in July Cozy Mystery (Book 2)

Madness in Christmas River: A Christmas Cozy Mystery (Book 3)

Malice in Christmas River: A Christmas Cozy Mystery (Book 4)

Mischief in Christmas River: A Christmas Cozy Mystery (Book 5)

Roasted in Christmas River: A Thanksgiving Cozy Mystery Novella

Burned in Broken Hearts Junction: A Cozy Matchmaker Mystery
(Book 1)

Busted in Broken Hearts Junction: A Cozy Matchmaker Mystery (Book 2)

About the Author

Meg Muldoon loves writing cozy fiction. A former small town news reporter (who covered more than her share of dog board hearings), Meg has always had a special place in her heart for lost dogs, homeless cats, and feisty old locals. When not writing, she enjoys baking up batches of bourbon bread pudding, wearing red cowboy boots, and using craft glue guns.

She lives in central Oregon with an Australian cattle dog named Huckleberry.

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