Page 53 of Smoky Mountain K-9

“Me too.”

“So.” Mara gave her friend a side-eyed glance. “Why’s Johnathan being a dumbass?”

Brooke rolled her eyes. “He’s mad because Grandpa won’t let him develop some property along the river. He came home fired up, ranting about how the company was losing millions by leaving it ‘pristine’.” She air-quoted and rolled her eyes.

Mara shook her head. Lately, she couldn’t help but wonder what Brooke saw in Johnathan. He was obsessed with making money. To the point he put Brooke second to it.

“I told him that land was family land. It’s the first piece of property my great-great-grandpa ever bought. Where he built a home for his family. Grandpa grew up there. It’s not meant for outsiders.” She huffed. “Johnathan just doesn’t get that. Drives me nuts. Even more so when he tries to put me in the middle.”

“Did he want you to talk to your grandpa?”

Brooke nodded. “I told him no. That led to a shouting match.” She paused and glanced away for a moment. “I’m starting to wonder if this marriage is the best idea.”

So was Mara. “Men suck.”

Brooke raised her glass. “I’ll drink to that.”

Twenty-Eight

Headlights sweeping the front of her house, Mara pulled into her driveway as a yawn cracked her jaw. She’d stayed out much too late, but she felt better about the situation with Carter after all the dancing and girl-time with Brooke. Things weren’t over with him, but they definitely needed to talk.

Pushing the button to open the garage door, she frowned when it stayed closed. Stopping in the drive, Mara pushed the button over the rearview mirror again, but still the door stayed down. She groaned. “Oh, I do not need this now. Why won’t you work?” Putting the car in park, she leaned over and dug into the glove compartment for the actual remote. Her fingers closed around the device, and she pushed the button.

Sitting up, she looked at the door. It was still shut. “Great.” With a sigh, she shut off the car. “This couldn’t have happened yesterday, so I could call a repairman before the weekend?” Shaking her head, she snatched her purse from the passenger seat and got out. Now, she’d have to wait until Monday before she could find anyone to fix it. At least there wasn’t any snow in the forecast.

Mara stalked across the driveway and up the path to her front door, searching through her key ring for her house key. With the right one in hand, she put it in the lock and thrust the front door open. As her right foot cleared the threshold, it caught on something, and she stumbled. Her purse and keys hit the floor as she lost her balance.

“What the heck?” She turned, glancing down. A thin, translucent wire fluttered in the breeze. It looked like a piece of fishing line. “Where did that come from?” Bending down, she reached for it, but it was stuck. Her eyes followed it to see where it was hung up. It was tucked behind her welcome sign. She straightened and flipped on the porch light, then grabbed the board and shifted it. What it could be caught on back there, she didn’t know. The house, maybe.

Glancing down, Mara’s blood froze in her veins, and her lungs stopped working. Her feet worked fine, though. She stumbled back, tripping on the threshold again as she dove into the house and slammed the door. The line was tied to some sort of large grenade.

Heart thundering in her ears, she snagged her purse and ran deeper into the house, one hand in the bag searching for her phone as she went. With several walls between herself and the door, she unlocked her phone. Her fingers found Carter’s name in her contacts by rote. She might be angry at his macho-male bullcrap, but there wasn’t anyone she would trust more to handle this.

“Mara?” His sleep-roughened voice came over the line. “Wha—”

“There’s a grenade outside my front door!” She didn’t wait for him to finish.

Half a beat went by. “A grenade?”

“Yes! It was attached to fishing line or something. I tripped over it. When I went to pick up the line, I found it.”

“Wait, it didn’t go off?”

“No.”

“Where are you now?” His voice carried a hard edge. Mara heard him moving around.

“In my bathroom with the door locked.”

“You stay there. Don’t come out until I or another officer come in and get you.”

“Okay. Hurry. And be careful. I didn’t check the other doors.”

“I will. Stay put.” The line clicked.

Mara pulled the phone away from her ear and drew in a shaky breath. She knew he’d hurry, but it would never be fast enough.

Twenty-Nine