Page 7 of Maverick
Kat laughed. “Oh, well, that I can definitely believe.”
I stared after her, licking my lips as I watched her ass sway while she filled up Noodle’s water and food bowls. I’d seen pictures of the woman before, but they didn’t do her justice. They sure as hell didn’t show how well she filled out a pair of jeans. Her hair was midnight black and pulled into a sleek ponytail. The urge to wrap my hand around it was strong. She was far from my usual type with her expensive clothes and big city air. But who was I to discriminate?
I walked around the kitchen and living room. Larry had one of those open floor plans where everything was connected. I checked each of the windows to make sure they were locked. “How long are you planning to stick around?”
“I’ve got six weeks of family leave, but it depends on how much Dad needs me and how his recovery goes. It should be enough though.”
Six weeks. I fought to hide my grin. I could work with that. Though, to be honest, if it was based on what Larry needed, she wouldn’t be going back at all. Poor bastard.
“I’m going to check through the rest of the rooms, but these windows are all locked.” She didn’t say anything to stop me, so I took that as permission. I’d been in Larry’s house dozens oftimes. He used to love fishing on the coast. Whenever his freezer got too full, he’d call us over for an old-fashioned fish fry. We hadn’t done that in years. I needed to talk to Pixie. Maybe it was our turn to host one.
Larry had a nice house. Sure, it needed some work, but there were four bedrooms and a full bath upstairs in addition to the master suite downstairs. The brothers and I had been concerned about him staying out here all by himself. Maybe after Kat left, we’d see about moving one of the guys over. I could present it like we needed help, ran out of room on our end and needed to rent something close by. That could let the man keep his pride while also keeping him safe.
But I’d keep that idea to myself for now. Wouldn’t want to give the pretty lady a reason to leave before her six weeks were up.
The bedrooms all checked out. Not that I thought the old girl would have jumped out of a two-story window, but it could have been how a two-legged someone got in. I opened the door to the bathroom to make sure nothing was amiss, when I spotted something that definitely did not belong.
***
“Ah, thank you, Katie. This hits the spot, not like the swill they served me in the pen.”
I watched from the edge of the kitchen as Larry took a big spoonful of the delicious smelling soup.
“Dad, you were in the hospital, not jail.”
He shrugged. “Same difference. Bad food and they wouldn’t let me leave. Thanks for the rescue and getting my girl back.” He patted Noodle’s head where she rested in his lap.
“Good to see you up and around, old man. We missed you across the way.” I smiled as I made myself known.
Larry looked up from his bowl, blinking rapidly. “Mav? Where in the world did you come from?”
Kat chuckled. “He found Noodle and brought her back. He offered to check the house and see if he could find out how she got loose.”
Larry nodded and returned his focus to his soup. “Good call, sweetie. These boys might not look it, but they’re pretty smart.”
Her gaze raked over my body. “Good to know.
“And speaking of that,” I began, “I didn’t find anything unlocked or tampered with. That’s not to say someone could have used an unlocked door to get inside and then locked it on their way out.”
“Well, that’s not very comforting.” Kat crossed her arms over her chest.
“It’s not, but I actually think Noodle was outside when Larry left.”
Kat raised an eyebrow. Nope, I wasn’t about to admit that she’d been right.
Larry sputtered in his soup. “I didn’t leave her outside!”
“I know that’s not your normal M.O., Larry, but this time I think you did. Because if someone had been in your house, I’m pretty sure they would have taken this.” I placed a now unloaded nine-millimeter Glock on the kitchen table.
Kat flinched. I didn’t like that. Given her father’s love of guns, I assumed she’d be comfortable around them. Plus, out here in the country, she needed to be able to defend herself. “Larry, you know we talked about keeping these locked in your gun safe.”
Larry rolled his eyes. “It’s just me and Noodle. There’s no kids around here to accidentally pick one up.” He turned his head and stared pointedly at Kat.
She shook her head. “Don’t you start with that. I haven’t even been here twenty-four hours.”
“You’re thirty years old and my clock is ticking! I won’t be here forever, and I’d like to see my grandbabies before I go.”
“Oh hush. You’ve got plenty of time left. And so does my uterus.”
