Page 14 of After the End
They made it back to their place in record time, but a sheriff’s department vehicle was parked in front of their house when they arrived. The porch light illuminated the front, and the cabin didn’t have a back door, so there was no way to sneak back in and pretend like they’d been home the whole time. He and Ellie shared a look before moving out of the trees.
As soon as he spotted them, Deputy Chris Jennings climbed out of the squad car and shut the door. As they drew closer, he leaned back against the quarter panel and crossed his arms. “What have you two been up to?”
“Hey, Chris,” Ellie said cheerily, not sounding at all guilty about the trio of stolen puppies in her pocket. “We were training.”
“Training?” George could tell the deputy was fighting a grin. “At three in the morning?”
“Sure. Night tracking.”
“Uh-huh.” He raised his eyebrows. “You didn’t happen to find any dogs during this night-tracking training, did you?”
“Dogs? What a random thing to ask.”
A chuckle escaped from Chris, and he turned it into a cough. “Not exactly random—not when we got a call from a Mr. Larry Johnson, complaining that some enormous local had just stolen a dog and three puppies out of his late mom’s shed.”
“Really?” Eyes wide, Ellie blinked innocently. “Why would someone steal dogs? They must’ve had an excellent reason.”
“Why indeed.” After a long silence, Chris pushed away from the squad car, and George tensed, planning how to shift all the blame onto his own shoulders and away from Ellie. “Well, if you see any dog-nappers in the area, give me a call.”
“Will do,” she chirped. “Speaking of dogs, I heard something about Martin Leek and thought you might be interested.”
Chris stiffened at the name. “What’s that?”
“He’ll be away from his place tomorrow morning. It might be a good time to do a surprise kennel inspection.”
After regarding both of them for a long moment, Chris smiled, slow and smug. “Thanks for the tip. I just might make a trip to Liverton tomorrow. You going to Rory’s self-defense training on Thursday?”
Ellie smiled. “We’ll be there.”
“See you then.” He opened the door but paused before getting into the squad car. “Oh, and George?”
George stared at him, keeping his expression carefully blank.
“Next time you steal a dog, try to find a better hiding place.” He nodded toward the wriggling lump in George’s shirt. “I mean, that’s just insulting.”
Ellie muffled a snort of laughter behind her hand as Chris got into the driver’s seat. After lifting his hand in a wave, he slowly drove down their driveway. As soon as the taillights disappeared, George fished Lemon out of his shirt. Holding her in front of his face, he met her liquid dark eyes. Her body felt fragile in his fingers, as if he’d crush her if he held her too tightly. Stretching forward, she licked his nose, and he smiled.
“We should get you back with your babies.” As if she understood, Lemon started to squirm. Afraid that she would wiggle right out of his hold, George tucked her against his chest, cupping one hand around her. With a sigh that shook her tiny body, she finally relaxed and snuggled against him. He ran a finger over her silky head. “Poor mama. You’re safe now.”
When he glanced at Ellie, he was alarmed to see tears running down her face.
“El…” He stepped closer, pulling her against him with his free arm. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she sobbed into his chest. “That’s just the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.”
George was confused. “Then why are you crying?”
“Sorry. I’m just emotional.” Sniffling, she pulled back far enough to look up and meet his gaze, eyes bright with tears. “It’s normal, though.”
“Normal?”
Wiping at her wet face with her fingers, she beamed at him—a huge, brilliant smile. “I’m pregnant.”
He stared at her. “Pregnant?”
Her tears overflowed again, but she was laughing, too. “We’re having a baby.”
“A baby?” It was too unbelievable, too amazing for his brain to process. Even now, after they’d been married for eight months, he’d still wake up and reach for Ellie because he worried that she wasn’t real, that she wasn’t really his wife, that she was just a wonderful, incredible dream that would disappear when he woke. This couldn’t be his life, could it? This happy, love-filled existence couldn’t be his. Staring down at Ellie, he felt a jolt of amazed wonder as it started to sink in. “Ababy.”
