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‘You had no right.’
‘No.’ She lifted the book she’d been referring to. Caught her breath. Decided she’d hardly committed murder. ‘I’ll put this back,’ she said placatingly. ‘No damage done. I don’t think I’ve done anything appalling.’
But then … he’d scared her. Again.
Shock was turning to indignation.
He was angry?
She met his gaze full on. Tilted her chin.
Horse nosed her ankle. She let her hand drop to his rough coat and the feel of him was absurdly comforting.
What was with this guy? Why did he make her feel—how he made her feel? She couldn’t describe it. She only knew that she was totally confused.
‘I’ve only fitted eight stones,’ she said, forcing her tone down a notch. Even attempting a smile. ‘You want me to take them out again?’
‘Leave it.’ His voice was still rough, but the edges of anger were blunted. He took the book from her. Glanced at it. Glanced away. ‘How’s the dog?’
‘He’s fine.’ She was still indignant. He sounded … cold.
The normal Gabe?
A man she should back away from.
‘We need to make a decision,’ he said.
‘I have,’ she said and tilted her chin still further.
‘Hi!’
The new voice made them both swivel. A woman was at the gate. She was middle-aged and sensibly dressed, in moleskin trousers and a battered fleecy jacket. She swung the gate open and Horse whined and backed away.
Even from twenty yards away Nikki saw the woman flinch.
‘It’s okay,’ the woman said, gentling her voice as she approached. ‘I hate it that I lock these guys up and they react accordingly. I can’t help that I’m associated with their life’s low point.’
Horse whined again. Nikki felt him tug against the cord. She wasn’t all that sure of it holding.
Gabe was suddenly helping. His hand was on the big dog’s neck, helping her hold on to her curtain-fashioned collar. Touching hers. His hand was large and firm—and once more caring?
Where had that thought come from? But she felt Horse relax and she knew the dog felt the same. Even if this guy did get inexplicably angry, there was something at his core …
‘Raff told me you’d found him,’ the woman was saying. ‘Hi, Gabe.’ She came forward, her hand extended to Nikki, a blunt gesture of greeting. ‘We haven’t met. I’m Henrietta. I run the local dog shelter. This guy’s one of mine.’
Horse whimpered and tried to go behind Nikki’s legs. Nikki’s hand tightened on his collar—and so did Gabe’s.
Hands touching. Warmth. Strength. Nikki didn’t pull away, even though Henrietta’s hand was still extended, even though she knew Gabe could hold him.
‘You want me to take him?’ Henrietta asked.
No.
Her decision had already been made but she needed Gabe’s consent. He was, after all, her landlord.
‘I’d like to keep him,’ she said, more loudly than she intended, and there was a moment’s silence.
Henrietta’s grim expression relaxed, then did more than relax. It curved into a wide grin that practically spilt her face. But then she caught herself, her smile was firmly repressed and her expression became businesslike.
‘Are you in a position to offer him a good home?’
‘Am I?’ she asked Gabe. ‘I think I am,’ she said diffidently. ‘But Gabe’s my landlord. I’ll need his permission.’
‘You’re asking me to keep him?’ Gabe’s demand was incredulous.
‘No,’ she said flatly. Some time during this afternoon her world had shifted. She wasn’t exactly sure where it had shifted; she only knew that things were changing and Horse was an important part of that change. ‘I want to keep him myself. Just me.’ Her life was her own, she thought, suddenly resolute. No men need apply.
No man—not even her landlord—was needed to share her dog.
‘I need to do a bit of reorganisation,’ she said, speaking now to Henrietta. ‘At the moment I’m working away …’
‘I can’t look after him,’ Gabe said bluntly. ‘Not when I’m at sea.’
‘I’m not asking you to,’ she flashed back at him. There were things going on with Gabe she didn’t understand. He had her disconcerted, but for now she needed to focus only on Horse. And her future. Gabe had to be put third.
‘I’m reorganising my career,’ she told Henrietta. ‘At the end of this month and maybe next, I’ll need to go away for a few days. After that I won’t need to.’ That was simple enough. She’d hand her international clients over to her colleagues.
Her colleagues would think she was nuts.
Her colleagues as in Jonathan?
Don’t go there.
Could she keep working for him?
‘I might even be rethinking my career altogether,’ she said, a bit more brusquely than she intended. She glanced down at the stones and then glanced away again, astounded where her thoughts were taking her. How absurd to think she could ever do something so … so wonderful.
Was she crazy? This surely could only ever be a hobby.
Concentrate on Horse. The rest was nonsense. Fanciful thinking after an upset night. ‘Whatever I do, I’ve decided I can keep Horse,’ she managed. ‘If I can get some help for the first two months.’
But Gabe was looking at her as if she was something that had just crawled out of the cheese.
‘You’ve decided this all since last night?’ he demanded. ‘Do you know how much of a commitment a dog is? He’s not a handbag, picked up and discarded on a whim. Sixteen years …’
‘We’re not talking Jem here,’ Henrietta said sharply.
‘Jem?’
‘Gabe’s dog,’ Henrietta told her. ‘Gabe found Jem on the beach sixteen years ago. She died three months back.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Nikki said, disconcerted, but her apologies weren’t required or wanted. Gabe’s face was rigid with anger.
‘We’re not talking Jem. We’re talking you. What do you know about dogs?’
‘I’ll learn.’
‘You mean you know nothing.’
‘You’re trying to talk me out of keeping him?’
‘I’m talking sense.’
‘I can keep him for the days you’re away,’ Henrietta interjected, but she was watching Gabe. ‘I run a boarding kennel alongside the shelter, so if you really are going to reorganise …’
‘You’d let her keep him?’ Gabe’s voice was incredulous.
‘It’s that or put him down,’ Henrietta snapped. ‘Nikki’s offering.’
‘And if I say no?’
There was a general intake of breath. If he said no …
What would she do?
Take Horse and live elsewhere? Somewhere that wasn’t here? There were so few rental options.
Go back to Sydney.
No! Here was scary, but Sydney was scarier.
Move on. Who knew where? With dog?
This was dumb. To move towns because of a dog …
But this afternoon she’d felt his heartbeat as he slept. The thought of ending that heartbeat …
Horse was as lost as she was, she thought, and she glanced at Gabe and thought there were three of them. She could see pain behind Gabe’s anger; behind his blank refusal to help.
She couldn’t think of Gabe’s pain now. She’d do this alone.
No. She’d do it with Horse.
‘He’s my dog,’ she said, making her voice firm.
Henrietta turned to Gabe. ‘So. Let’s get this straight. Are you planning on evicting Nikki because she has a dog?’
‘She doesn’t know what she’s letting herself in for.’
‘You work at home, right?’ Henrietta asked her, obviously deciding to abandon Gabe’s arguments as superfluous.
‘Yes.’
‘Fantastic. When do you need to go away again?’
She did a frantic mental reshuffle. ‘I can put it off for a while. Three weeks …’
‘Then you have three weeks to learn all about dogs,’ Henrietta decreed. ‘If at the end of that time you decide you can’t keep him then we’ll rethink things. So Gabe … I have a happy ending in view. What about you? You’ll seriously evict her if she keeps him?’
They were all looking at him. Nikki and Henrietta … Even Horse seemed to understand his future hung on what Gabe said right now.
‘Fine,’ he said explosively.
‘That’s not what I want to hear,’ Henrietta said. ‘How about a bit of enthusiasm?’
‘You expect me to be enthusiastic that there’s a dog about to live here? With a totally untrained owner?’
‘You’re trained,’ Henrietta said. ‘I’d feel happier if you were offering, but I have a feeling this guy will settle for what he can get. If the heart’s in the right place, the rest can follow, eh, Nikki?’
‘I … yes,’ she said weakly, wondering where exactly her heart was.
‘That’s great,’ Henrietta said and patted Horse. who was still looking nervous. ‘What will you call him?’
‘Horse,’ Nikki said. ‘I’ll need stuff. I don’t know what. Can you tell me?’
‘Gabe might give you a …’ Henrietta started and then glanced again at Gabe. Winced. ‘Okay, maybe not. Let’s take your new dog inside and I’ll make you a list myself. Unless you want to evict her first, Gabe?’
‘I’m going to the boat,’ he snapped. ‘Be it on your head.’
He headed for the boat, away from women, away from dog. Away from stuff he didn’t want to deal with.
He needed to sort cray-pots, mend some. He started but it didn’t keep his head from wandering. He kept seeing Nikki, sorting through her pile of rocks. His mother’s pile of rocks.
He kept seeing Nikki curled in front of the fire, sleeping beside Horse.
Horse. It was a stupid name for a dog.
What was also stupid was his reaction, he told himself. What was the big deal? His tenant had found herself a dog. It was nothing to do with him. As for the stone walling …
She wouldn’t touch it again.
Why not let her finish it?
Stupid or not, he felt as if he was right on the edge of a whirlpool, and he was being pulled inexorably inside.
He’d been there before.
There was nothing inside but pain.
