Driftwood Bay (Hope Harbor #5) - Irene Hannon Page 0,3
hearing was never going to be the same.
In the tiny foyer, he wedged the pup in the crook of his arm, freeing one hand to flip the lock and twist the knob.
As the door swung wide and the female visitor came into view, Toby fell silent. As if he was dumbstruck by the vision on their doorstep.
Logan could relate.
Despite the smudge of dirt hugging the graceful curve of her jaw, the stunning woman on his porch took his breath away too.
Early thirtyish, she was six or seven inches shorter than his six-one frame, with model-like cheekbones. Her classic oval face was framed by long, light-brown hair with golden highlights. Generous lips, big brown eyes, trim figure—she had it all.
As Toby resumed barking and wiggling, his own vocal cords kicked back in.
“Hi.” He raised his voice to be heard above the yapping. “Can I help you?”
“Um . . . I’m your neighbor. Jeannette Mason.” She gave him and the dog a discreet once-over as she indicated the property to her left.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Logan West. I’d offer to shake hands, but as you can see, they’re occupied.” He conjured up a smile.
She didn’t return it.
“I noticed.” She hiked up her volume too. “Actually . . . your friend there is what prompted my visit.”
The corners of his lips sagged. Based on her serious demeanor, the woman hadn’t stopped by to welcome him to the neighborhood.
Not even close.
“I hope he hasn’t caused any trouble.”
“As a matter of fact, he’s been . . .” Her voice faltered, and twin creases appeared on her brow as she glanced past him.
He swiveled around.
Molly was hovering in the doorway at the end of the foyer, finger in mouth, the corner of the threadbare blanket wadded in her fist.
And there was a scratch on her cheek, oozing red.
His stomach knotted.
Where had that come from?
He started toward her. “Molly, what happened to—”
As if sensing his opportunity for escape, Toby twisted in his arms and leapt free. He landed on all four feet . . . slid across the plank floor, leaving a streak of mud behind from the one remaining dirty paw . . . and tore into the kitchen.
Mercifully, he stopped barking.
Logan crossed to Molly and dropped to one knee in front of her. “Sweetie, what did you do to your cheek?”
She shrugged and hung her head.
“You have a scratch.” He tapped the smooth skin beside it. The scrape wasn’t deep. A thorough cleaning and an application of some antibiotic ointment would suffice. But it had happened on his watch, and he didn’t have a clue how.
Another indication he was in over his head with this single-parent gig.
She lifted her hand to her cheek.
Mystery solved.
All of her fingernails were too long . . . several were jagged . . . and one was streaked with crimson.
Somehow, in the craziness of packing and moving, he’d forgotten about little-girl manicures.
That chore zoomed up on his to-do list—right below rounding up Toby, finishing the canine cleanup job, and mopping the kitchen floor. Again.
The woman behind him cleared her throat.
Oh yeah.
His neighbor was standing on his porch.
“I’ll fix this up for you in a minute, sweetie.” He gave Molly’s arm a comforting squeeze.
Her expression remained solemn as she transferred her attention to their visitor.
Logan stood and returned to the front door. “Sorry. It’s been a bit crazy around here. You were saying?”
The woman rubbed her palms down her jeans, a flash of uncertainty flickering in her eyes. “Look . . . I, uh, can see you have your hands full . . . and I hate to add to your problems . . . but your dog is digging up my plants. Two today, and several yesterday—including one that disappeared.”
So the leggy thing with the weird foliage that Toby had hauled home and deposited on the back porch had been from his neighbor’s garden.
Not the most attractive plant he’d ever seen—but insulting this woman’s garden wasn’t likely to earn him any brownie points.
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience. I’ll be happy to repair the damage or replace anything that was destroyed—and I’ll do my best to keep Toby from escaping again.”
“I’d appreciate that. And I already took care of the damage. The purpose of my visit was to make sure the issue is addressed.” She sent Molly a quick smile and withdrew a step. “I, uh, have to get back to work. Welcome to Hope Harbor.”
With that, she turned and retreated down the walk.