Page 31 of Until the Sea Runs Dry

“I’m glad you came when you did. I didn’t hear him falling in.”

He looked as if he wasn’t happy about that. Once again, Jane was confused by him. He didn’t want the dog, apparently didn’t like him too much either, but he took care of it and consoled him when he was scared.

The man was a riddle she didn’t know if she’d ever find the answer to.

“I haven’t really had a chance to say thank you for everything you’ve done,” she began, trying to say the speech she had been working on only to find that her mind had melted into a jumble by the sight of his glistening body.

“It’s nothing. The pool house was just sitting there. It was the right thing to do.”

She tried to ignore the flash of disappointment his answer caused. His decision wasn’t personal at all. Just a Good Samaritan helping out his fellow human being. She could have been anyone else and he would have done the same.

“I’m very grateful. This is an incredibly nice thing you’re doing,” she finished.

He fixed his eyes on her face, picking up on the tone she had thought she had disguised. “You sound surprised.”

“I am.”

“Why?”

“It doesn’t seem like the sort of thing you’d do.”

She knew the second the words were out that she’d said the wrong thing. His eyes narrowed and the easy going air that had been there a second ago vanished in an instant.

“You can’t believe everything you read.”

She had touched on some kind of nerve. The last thing she wanted was to insult the man who had gone out of his way to help her, but she could see it in his expression that the warmth between them had gone.

She felt a great deal of embarrassment for not only visiting those gossip sites yesterday, but then allowing them to color her judgment of him.

So much for thinking she was better than that.

She wondered how she could repair the damage when Loki escaped Logan’s clutches and sprinted headfirst into the pool house, leaving a trail of water in his wake.

“Get back here, you little...”

Whatever he was going to say was cut off by the sound of something smashing inside the pool house.

Logan cursed and started inside. Jane followed closely behind.

More crashing sounded as they heard Loki scrabbling inside, having a whale of a time as he tore through the place, destroying everything that came across his path in what he thought was a game of chase.

“Stop it, Fleabag!” Logan shouted. Loki was standing on the white sofa now, soaking it with his paw prints. Every shout from Logan only caused his tail to wag harder.

When Logan refused to move, Loki suddenly lowered onto his stomach, looking for all the world as if he were acquiescing to Logan’s commands.

Jane knew it was a ploy but didn’t have a chance to warn him.

As soon as Logan got within an arm’s reach, Loki shot off the sofa, skidded through Logan’s legs, and scrambled to Jane, hoping to bring her into the game.

Logan vaulted over the sofa, sprinting for the dog as Loki bounded toward her. Jane dropped into a crouch as the puppy suddenly launched himself at her.

She caught the squirming bundle in her arms and was instantly smothered by puppy kisses that sent her into peals of laughter.

“Don’t let go of him. I’ll get some towels to dry up this mess before he wrecks anything else,” Logan instructed, disappearing off and returning moments later with a couple of towels, one that he wrapped around his midriff like a sarong.

Logan took Loki and dried him off, which the puppy didn’t find quite as much fun, judging by the struggling that ensued.

“Did we wake you?” Logan finally asked when the silence was beginning to grow awkward.

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