“Yeah, so again we have a name. Ken. I do have some history on him now. He was military, and he got badly injured when an IED blew up on the roadside,” Badger shared.

  “Any connection to dogs?”

  “No.”

  “What about his known friends and family?”

  “Family, no. Foster care, yes. We’re working on military friends who may have been discharged around the same time. The other thing would be anybody who might have been in the foster family with him.”

  “Right. Anything on Ken’s childlike innocent way of speaking?”

  “Apparently the medication he’s on is partly responsible, and it’s partly because there was brain damage from the IED. He lives in a halfway house close by.”

  “So, send me the address for that, and I’ll go talk to them.”

  “I was just sending it, right when you called.”

  “Good. I could use a chance to get out of here.”

  At that, Badger’s tone turned curious. “You two not getting along?”

  “We’re fine,” Bauer muttered.

  “I figured you would be,” Badger answered slowly. “I hope she’s not feeling too stressed by having you there.”

  “I don’t know,” he replied, with half a laugh. “Things get a little confusing sometimes.”

  “I’m sure they do, but you’re a smart man. You’ll figure it out.”

  After a moment of silence, Bauer chuckled. “It keeps things interesting. I have a suspicion you tried to set me up,” he stated, a note of accusation in his voice.

  “Yeah, so does that mean you’ll get mad at me or thank me later?”

  “Depends on how it all works out,” Bauer declared, with a hard note. “At the moment it looks like I’ll have to kick your ass across town and back.”

  At that, Badger burst out laughing. “You and what army?” he jeered, but still with a happy tone. “You know that it would be a hell of a thing if it worked out.”

  “It would be,” Bauer agreed, “but, in the meantime, it seriously sucks.”

  “I know, man, but nothing easy ever made a good life. Some things you have to work at in order to make it worthwhile,” Badger suggested.

  “It would also be nice, every once in a while, if something would work out without being a pain in the ass, you know?”

  “She’s good people.”

  “Yeah, she is. Doesn’t mean it’ll be easy. She’s got some issues.”

  “So do you,” Badger replied. “Break through together and you’ll both be happy.”

  “It takes two,” Bauer mumbled, and a moment of silence came on the other end.

  “Ah, well, I don’t know what the problem is, but we’re rooting for you.”

  “That’s not helping,” he barked.

  “Maybe not, but I suggest you go to that halfway house. I’ve got a couple guys taking over shifts watching the house. One of them is up in the woods, and the other is down closer, so she should be safe for a few hours.”

  “Okay. I could use the break. Speaking of breaks, Mags mentioned something about a prosthetic for Toby. It would be huge if you could talk to Kat about it.” And, with that, Bauer signed off and ended the call.

  When he turned, he found her standing there, her hands on her hips.

  “Now what?” she asked.

  “I have the address for the halfway house where the other guy came from, the one in the hospital, Ken,” he explained. “Badger told me how that guy was injured in an IED blast and is on medication. We’ve now got a case of a brain-damaged guy, and he must have emotional issues as well. I don’t even know quite what to call it.”

  “It’s obvious from the way he spoke that he’s regressed in some ways,” she noted.

  He nodded. “He loves animals.”

  “So, what is it you’re hoping to find when you go there?” she asked curiously, as she walked into the room.

  “I’m hoping to find his buddy, the shooter and would-be arsonist.”

  At that, she stopped. “You think they’re friends?”

  Bauer nodded. “I think they at least know each other. It’s hard for me to think that these are two completely separate and isolated incidents. Whether they heard about the dog at the same time and went in different directions, I don’t know. Badger’s checking through our hospital guy’s military records for anybody who came to visit him while he was in the military hospital, and I’ll head up to the halfway house where he lives and see if I can come up with something there.” She frowned, as he added, “I know it’s not what you want to hear, but two men are watching the place.” She frowned at him, and he nodded. “Badger’s men. Remember?”

  She sighed. “He’s saying it’s safe?”

  “Yes, he thinks it’s safe for me to go out. I need to check out this lead, especially since it’s all we have at the moment.”

  “Fine. … I’m not sure I agree, but I can see that it’s something you want to do.”

  “It’s something I need to do,” he said. “And, to tell you the truth, getting out for a little bit wouldn’t hurt either.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “Right,” she replied, her voice a little distant. “A little space would be nice.” At that, she turned and walked back upstairs into her bedroom, almost slamming the door closed.

  He winced at that turn of events, but, putting that personal conflict on hold, he got up, packed his phone, grabbed a water bottle, and called out, “I’ll keep you posted.” With that, he disappeared out the door and headed for his vehicle.

  As he drove down the long driveway, he looked back to confirm everything looked normal. It was just one of those habits. He hated to leave her, but, at the same time, he knew that, as long as she was safe and under watch, a bit of a break would be helpful. He couldn’t believe he was doing what he was doing, but, in his heart of hearts, he also knew it was the right decision.

  He didn’t want just a little time with her. He wanted a long time. The time of their lives.

  Chapter 11

  Mags watched Bauer drive away, feeling the ache of the loss already in her heart. He would only be gone for a little bit, but it seemed so much longer, so much worse. She shook her head. “You’re being an idiot.” But what was she supposed to do? She’d blocked off her heart a long time ago, and now he was prying it open, one step at a time.

  Although she’d had rejection before in her life, it hadn’t been something she’d expected in this instance. While she understood his reasoning, it made her furious, angry, and manipulated. Yet, at the same time, she couldn’t do anything but admit that it was a hell of a thing. He wanted everything and was willing to sacrifice short-term gratification, holding out for more, … for all of it. The whole enchilada, he had said. And was there any reason not to go along with that?

  Dammit, she really liked the man. She more than liked him, to be honest. Something was so very addictive about his personality. About who he was and the way he acted on a day-to-day basis. He was fun to be around. He was good company, and he made her feel safe, and that feeling of safety was part of the problem. She didn’t necessarily want someone to make her feel safe, yet at the same time she was terrified that, if she felt safe, but then it all blew to hell, she would suffer all the more once she was alone again.

  Of course, just because she might suffer didn’t mean she would suffer long and hard or that it would be the same scenario as last time. She was literally being a chicken-shit about the whole thing. That just made her feel even worse. That and the fact that she’d let him take off without any kind of a goodbye, without any kind of warning to look after himself, and that just made her feel worse.

  She stared down at her phone, not knowing what to say at this point in time. She was trying to figure out if contacting him now would get her even further into trouble, but, in the end, she couldn’t help it. She quickly texted and stared down at the message she had written. Stay safe. Then she hit Send. Surely it was innocuous enough that he wouldn’t take it the wrong way. When she got a response not very many minutes later, she stared at it and groaned—but couldn’t stop smiling.

  I love you too.

  She sighed. “Now, if only that were true,” she grumbled.

  At that, she brought herself up short. Was that the problem? Was it just that she didn’t think he loved her enough? Because he seemed to be shooting that down pretty fast. She didn’t even know that love had anything to do with this, but isn’t that what she was looking for? Wasn’t that the promise? The holy grail that she thought she needed in order to have a relationship again? Because that was foolish. It was beyond foolish and, in many ways, just plain stupid. And nobody would have ever said that she was stupid.

  Yet here she was, acting like a two-year-old, wanting everything. At that, she stopped, realizing that’s exactly what he’d said. He wanted everything, and he didn’t want just a roll in bed for the afternoon. He wanted something serious, solid, and enduring.

  She slowly sank to the side of her bed. “Damn it.”

  She had no choice but to admit it. That was precisely what she wanted too. Now the question was, what would she do about it? Just then Kat called. Mags stared down at the phone for a moment, before she answered. “Hey, Kat. What’s up?”

  “Earlier, when Bauer was talking to Badger, I heard mention of maybe doing a prosthetic for Toby,” she began. “I don’t have any real experience in that area—although I have already been designing some for various animals—but I’m willing to give it a try if you are.”

  Mags brightened. Of course she took another pang to her heart as she realized that this was Bauer’s doing. Setting this up for the War Dog, a dog he barely knew but already cared about. “If you could, that would be fabulous.”

  “I know it’s not a good time in terms of bringing Toby here,” she noted. “I wondered about a future date coming up though.”

  “Oh, sure.” Mags hesitated. “Although I’m honestly not sure that the timing is all that good just now for Toby.”

  “No, you’re right,” Kat noted. “I would need him completely healed, with no swelling at the stump, to really see what will work best for him. How close is he to that?”

  “Not that close yet,” Mags admitted. “Look. Why don’t we push it off a week or even two. Hopefully this whole situation will be in a much better place by then too.”

  “How is it going?” Kat asked, a curious tone in her voice. “I hope it was okay that we sent Bauer up there to you. He was essentially there to look after the War Dog, but I understand he stayed to look after you.”

  “Yeah, and that’s a weird feeling in itself,” she admitted honestly. “You know when you’ve been independent for a long time, it’s kind of a strange scenario when somebody else is stepping up to help you, even though you didn’t realize that you even needed the help.”

  Kat noted, “We’ve known each other for a long time, Mags, so I hope I can speak freely. I can tell you right now that there are times in everybody’s life when you don’t know what you need. Sometimes life just hits you, and you just need to let things happen. Sometimes you need to get out of your own way and let things roll in the direction that’s best for everyone,” Kat suggested. “In this case, I guess Badger and Bauer and the cops are all starting to pick up a few leads to work, so maybe some things are starting to happen. I can see that it may not be the most comfortable place to be in right now, but Bauer is a good guy, and he really knows what he’s doing.”

  “I hope so,” Mags said, with half a laugh, “because I’ve already let him in. So, if he’s no-good, I’ll be a little late in shutting the proverbial barn door.” At that, Kat’s gentle voice mentioned something Mags would always remember.

  “Sounds to me like you let him in a little more than you thought you would.”

  Mags stopped and pinched the bridge of her nose. She was at a loss for words, feeling the tears come up at the corner of her eyes. “You can sense that already, huh? And here I thought I was hiding it so well.”

  “Not from me,” Kat said. “All I can tell you is that he really is a good man. If you guys could make something work, I think it would be a hell of a dynamic, but only if that is what you want. No pressure, … particularly from Bauer, I’m sure. He’s just not that kind of guy.”

  “He seems to be very …” Mags hesitated. “I want to say patient, but maybe understanding is a better word.”

  “Understanding is good,” Kat said. “He’s been around, working with us off and on a lot for the last few months. I know that he worked with Badger years ago in the navy, so I can tell you that Bauer’s honorable, solid, and a good man to have on your side, especially when things go south.”

  “That’s definitely been proven out,” Mags muttered, staring around her. “I just can’t believe I’m even in this situation.”

  “No, and I’m so sorry. If I had realized the War Dog would cause you this kind of trouble, we would have sent somebody over and tried to find another answer.”

  “Well, you did send somebody over,” she stated, with a chuckle. “I just didn’t realize that particular somebody would put me in such an interesting spot.”

  “You are only in whatever spot you want to be in,” Kat stated firmly. “Now, if your heart is affected, then talk to him about it. If it isn’t, then let yourself off the hook and don’t feel like you owe him anything. That’s not why he’s there.”

  “No, I know that,” Mags said, “but what if I’m on the hook, and he’s not?”

  “Then you’re not talking to each other, and maybe you should be.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Bauer doesn’t do easy and light. He got badly hurt a long time ago, and, for him, a commitment is a commitment and not something he would ever make lightly. Add to that the whole injury and the perception by some that anyone with such an injury is somehow less than whole. That’s a bigger deal than you may realize for him. I suspect that he’s at a point in his life where he’s looking for something long-term or not at all. If he wanted to keep his life simple and do the one-night-stands thing, he would have done it already, but he hasn’t. He’s very much a long-term kind of person, but, if you’re not looking for that, then it’s fine. Just tell him,” she said easily. “You guys can work this out. It’s not that big a deal.” And, with that, Kat rang off.

  Mags stared down at the phone. “Well, Kat, you’re right about some of it and very wrong about the rest,” she muttered. “It’s a very big deal, and I don’t know that it will be all that easy to work out.” But, in her heart of hearts, she realized the problem was her because she definitely wanted Bauer, of that she had no doubt.

  The other problem was, did she want to commit to a long-term relationship? The fact that apparently everybody in his world knew that he was a long-term guy also surprised her. It meant that he didn’t have a lot of girlfriends or affairs and didn’t get into relationships easily.

  Of course nobody knew how their relationships would end up, but, if you went in with the intention that it would be good, could you ask anything more of somebody? And, if that’s what he was looking for, what the hell had she been looking for? Because she didn’t just want an afternoon in bed either. She really liked the man.

  She wanted him—a hell of a lot more than just an afternoon fling. It was that fear factor again.

  Shaking her head, she busied herself doing chores, until hours later, when she realized there was still no sign of him. She quickly texted him. How much longer?

  He sent back a question mark, adding, Not sure. Why?

  She searched for a plausible answer to that, and then her gaze landed on the kitchen. Dinner.

  I can pick something up, he suggested.

  She thought about it, then shrugged. Sure. Why not?

  His next text read, Enjoy your afternoon. Just take it easy and relax, if you can.

  With that text, she realized, even while he was out doing what he was doing, still her care and her concerns were on Bauer’s mind. He was a hell of a good man. So, what the hell was her problem? On that note, she headed up to her bedroom and to the journal that she used to write in all the time.

  Turning back the pages, she took a look at all the old notes she had written about her breakup, including the promises she had made to herself to never get hurt quite so badly ever again. She realized just how foolish it all was. If she didn’t put herself out there, sure, she would never get hurt, but she also wouldn’t experience some good things in life either. In fact, she could hurt herself by not allowing love to come into her life.

  By doing what she had done, she’d locked herself into the same empty, lonely place. She needed to ask herself some hard questions. Did she want to be in that place, or did she want more for herself? She had buried herself in more work, in the struggle of running her own business, but it didn’t have to stay that way. She could have so much more in her life, and one of them was right there for the taking.

  All she had to do was reach out and accept him and his offer.

  Bauer returned to the halfway house that he’d been at earlier, but that first visit had been during lunchtime. The woman he’d spoken to told him that he’d have better luck talking to somebody more knowledgeable if he came back after lunch. This woman was a new hire, and the regular staff would be coming in around one o’clock.

  He checked his watch, noting the staff should have had time to get in and to get situated for the day, so that he could at least maybe get some answers this time.

  As he walked up to the front door and stepped into the residence, some guys stepped out, laughing and joking with each other. He didn’t know where they were going, but wherever it was, it was all in good fun. He smiled, and, with that smile still on his face, he turned to see a woman studying him.

  “Are you the guy who came earlier?” she asked.

  “I am.” He gave her a quick nod. “I’m looking for any information you had on Ken’s family.”

  “Ken is in the hospital,” she replied.

  “I know. I’m trying to help the veterinarian who was looking after the dog to see if we can find out who else in Ken’s world might have some answers for us.”