Page 26 of Colton On Guard

“What about you?” he asked, genuinely curious. “Once you moved out on your own, you never thought about it?”

“I did. But you know how it is. I never had the time, didn’t want the responsibility. I wasn’t ready.”

“And now you think you are?”

She nodded. “Yes. Now, I think I am.” Taking another sip of wine, she eyed him. “What about you? Do you have any pets?”

“Not currently. I lost my boy Trooper to cancer this past winter. He was my buddy. He and I went everywhere together. Hiking, fishing, four-wheeling—he loved it all. He was the unofficial RTA dog.” He didn’t even try to keep the sorrow from his voice. “That’s his photo in the lobby. I miss him more than I can say.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, her gentle tone matching the compassion in her gaze. “I have an idea. I’m off tomorrow and have been thinking about driving over to Valdez to check out the dogs in the shelter. Would you like to go with me?”

Though he knew he had two tours booked the next day, he nodded. He would move the tours. “I would,” he said, taking care to sound as casual as possible. “When were you thinking of going?”

Her smile lit up not only her face but sent a bolt of raw desire through him. “We can work around your schedule. It’s only about a half-hour drive there, so just let me know when you’re available.”

Mouth dry, he managed to nod. Right then the front door installer came looking for Genna.

“All done,” he said, handing her an invoice. “We take credit cards, Venmo or Zelle, however you want to pay.”

She sat up, looking over the paper before nodding. “Let me get my wallet.” Pushing to her feet, she headed inside, the installer right behind her.

Parker went, too. While Genna paid with one of her credit cards, he went to check on the alarm guy’s progress.

“Almost done,” the man said cheerfully as soon as Parker appeared. “I just need to run a quick test.” He looked around. “But I’ll need the homeowner here. We’ve got to set up her password.”

Genna and the door installer appeared, just in time for her to hear the last comment. “I’ll be right there,” she said. “I need to check out my new front door.”

Parker decided to go with her.

“You can paint this any color you like,” he told her, noting the way she eyed the white door. Her former door had been emerald green.

“Good. I’m thinking red.” She made a show of inspecting it. “Looks good. Thank you so much for coming out quickly.”

“No problem.” The man turned to go, but at the last moment appeared to remember something. “Extra keys,” he said, pulling them from his pocket. “Here you go.”

Accepting them, she watched as he got into his truck and drove away. Then, closing the door behind her, she returned to the hallway where the alarm control panel had been mounted on the wall.

When she chose her password, she made sure no one, including Parker, stood too close. Instead of feeling hurt, he wanted to clap. He liked that she took precautions to protect herself, even as he hoped she knew she had nothing to fear from him.

After a demonstration that involved having the alarm go off and the monitoring company calling, the installer declared he had finished. Genna paid him, too, and showed him to the door.

Finally, they were alone.

“Expensive day,” Genna drawled, placing the invoice on the counter with the other. “But at least I’ll have peace of mind.”

Parker waited in the living room while she went to get ready to go out to eat. When she returned, she had changed out ofher RTA shirt into a bright green T-shirt. The color matched her eyes.

She looked stunning.

“Where do you want to eat?” Parker asked, hoping she hadn’t noticed his reaction. More than anything, he wanted to keep things casual. He sensed anything else would only frighten her away.

“I don’t care,” Genna responded. “Surprise me.”

Briefly, he considered asking her what she liked and disliked, but decided not to. He didn’t want to get in to one of those long discussions where one person suggests something, the other one vetoes it, and nothing is ever decided.

“You’re sure you want me to choose,” he asked, just to clarify.

“Yes. I’m too tired to even think about it. I just want to eat and relax. I’m sure you know where the best places to eat are. I’m down for whatever.”