The Military K-9 Unit Collection. Valerie Hansen

a personal side of her he had not noted. The mutual love was so evident, so strong, it seemed to fill the tiny living room.

      Zoe kissed Freddy’s cheek as he wrapped his pudgy arms around her neck and shouted, “Mama!” Seconds later, he noticed the dog and started to squirm. “A puppy!”

      “Whoa. Hold on, honey. That’s not a puppy you can play with. That’s a member of the air force, just like Mama is. The dog is working right now.”

      “That’s right,” Linc said. “Star and I are going to go check your house while you and your mother wait right here. We’ll be back in a few minutes and then I’ll introduce you. Okay?”

      The eager child was nodding. “Uh-huh.”

      “Good.” Linc looked around. “Where’s your babysitter, Sergeant Sullivan?”

      “Beats me.” She turned to her son. “Where’s Portia, Freddy?”

      “She has time-out.”

      Zoe was obviously confused. That made two of them. Concerned and on high alert, Linc gave her a hand signal to wait, then took Star and began to work his way through the apartment, room by room. Only one door was closed.

      He placed the heel of his hand on the grip of his holstered pistol, prepared to make entry and threw open the door.

      Portia’s ensuing scream was loud enough to be heard over the roar of a jet engine.

      * * *

      Zoe clasped Freddy tightly and took cover behind the kitchen island. It wasn’t until she heard the clicking of Star’s nails on the hardwood floor that she raised enough to peek over the top. There was her so-called babysitter, clasping an iPad to her chest and breathing hard. Linc and Star were herding her ahead of them and it was evident she was one unhappy teen.

      Rising, still holding her son close, Zoe scowled. “Where did you find her?”

      “Sitting on a bed with the door shut, so she could instant message her friends without being disturbed.” He gave the girl a light tap on the shoulder to urge her to fully face Zoe and the boy as he continued. “I’m glad you weren’t gone long, Sergeant. If you had been, who knows what might have happened.”

      “I agree.” Swallowing her anger, Zoe spoke as sternly as possible while her insides quaked with fear for Freddy’s welfare. “I’m afraid I won’t be able to use your services again, Portia. I’m sorry.”

      “Whatever.” The sullen teen flipped her long blond hair back defiantly.

      “We’re both fortunate that the person who scared you just now is one of the good guys,” Zoe said. “It could have been anyone.”

      Portia huffed. “Here? We might as well be in jail.”

      “Normally, I’d agree with you,” Zoe said, eyeing Linc for clues to his opinion of how she handled the situation and feeling assured they were both on the same page.

      She addressed the girl. “I put aside two hours’ wages for you before I went to the store to make sure I had the right change.” She sat Freddy on the counter and steadied him while she reached up to open the overhead spice cabinet. “It’s right—”

      Stunned, Zoe stopped with her hand raised. “I know I put it here. I remember doing it.”

      Linc spoke quietly. “Is it possible you only meant to leave the money and it slipped your mind because you were distracted?”

      “I don’t think so.” Zoe was beginning to wonder herself, although there was no way she’d admit it, particularly not to him. “All right, Portia,” she said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a handful of bills. “Here. If this isn’t enough, I can write you a check.”

      The girl grabbed the money without counting it. “I don’t need your check. I only took this job in the first place to get out of the house.” Still clutching her iPad, she hurried to the door and let it slam behind her.

      “Whew.” Zoe let out a breath. “I wouldn’t want to be that girl’s father. It’s hard enough being a single parent without stumbling into the job late the way the captain did. It’s too bad he wasn’t able to be a stronger presence in the girl’s life when she was younger.”

      “Yeah. Deployment can mess up families.” Linc eyed the half-open kitchen cabinet and scowled. “You know, you have been under a lot of stress lately.”

      “Meaning?”

      He shrugged. “Maybe it’s finally getting to you. You’re all by yourself with a child to worry about. You’re under suspicion. Your convict brother could show up here at any minute and you still have to perform your normal teaching duties. That’s a lot to process.”

      “Why don’t you just spit it out?” Zoe demanded. “You and your boss are sure I imagined the shooting and now you’re suggesting I’m losing it over little things, too.”

      “Are you?”

      “No.” It was almost a shout and frightened her son into reaching for her. Penitent, Zoe lifted him into her arms and stepped back. “I’m sorry if I scared you, honey.” Looking at Star, she asked Linc, “Did you mean it when you promised he could pet your partner?”

      “I did.” To Zoe’s delight, the man even smiled slightly, although it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

      “Let’s go into the living room where we can be comfortable,” Linc said, leading the way. “I normally don’t take Star’s vest off when we’re working, but I’ll make an exception today.” He sat on one end of the small sofa with his K-9 at his feet and proceeded to unbuckle her harness.

      “Where should we sit?” Zoe asked, realizing that whatever Colson said, she’d end up close to him. There was no way she was going to get one inch away from her three-year-old son in the presence of a trained attack dog so, like it or not, she was going to have to grit her teeth and cozy up to the security man.

      “Right here is fine,” he said, keeping his attention focused on Star while indicating the empty end of the settee.

      Yup. Really close, she thought. Oh, well, I can do anything for Freddy’s sake. I certainly don’t want him to grow up scared of authority or become a criminal like his uncle, Boyd. Boyd’s latest crimes made her almost wish she hadn’t taken back her maiden name. Given the treasonous acts associated with her late husband and her plans to make the air force her career however, it had seemed the lesser of two evils. She supposed it still was.

      To Zoe’s surprise, the cop seemed to mellow as he relaxed and petted the rottweiler. His voice was low, his expression appealing. When he spoke softly to Star, the K-9 gazed into his eyes with total adoration. The pair had gone from imposing threats to friendly neighbors in the blink of an eye. Why couldn’t Sergeant Colson act this way when he was shadowing her? She would have liked him a lot better if he had.

      That thought stopped her heart. Liked him? Her? No way. He was just another problem to face, another hapless bird sucked into her jet intake, ready to cause a crash. So why was she having such a hard time continuing to dislike him?

      Because he was being so kind to Freddy, she answered easily. A big scary cop and a trusting little boy were relating to each other as if they were meant to be best buds.

      Linc held out his large hand and Freddy grasped it without hesitation. The sight of the man safely guiding her son’s little chubby fingers toward a dog powerful enough to harm them touched her heart. Her son had never known his father, never had a male role model. And until that moment, Zoe had not realized the enormity of what he’d been missing.

       FOUR

      Linc wasn’t surprised by the way Star treated the trusting little boy after a proper introduction, but his own reactions to the situation gave him pause. A feeling