He veered left toward a stand of dripping trees and began to sniff the ground with great authority.

“Come back here.” Rafe walked more quickly toward Winston, intending to grab him before he reached the road.īut Winston stopped of his own accord before he got as far as the pavement. Rafe concluded that the attitude was either the result of generations of fine breeding or something that had rubbed off from Hannah. Winston ignored him, displaying a breathtaking disdain for a clear and reasonable command. “Hannah will chew me out but good if she finds out I let you play in traffic.” Not that there was much on this quiet road, especially at this hour of the morning. When he got close to the edge of the property, Rafe decided it was time to call him back. Winston’s progress was slowed by numerous pauses, but none appeared to be any more intriguing to him than another. Rafe followed, watching to see if the dog paid any unusual attention to any particular point along the way. After only a couple of minutes he headed on down the long drive toward the trees that veiled the house and gardens from the narrow road. Winston sniffed a bit, but his interest in the locker appeared casual at best. Having concluded his personal business, Winston hurried over to see what was going on at the garbage can locker. There were no signs of animal tracks in the vicinity and no claw marks on the wooden lid. Rafe went down the steps and followed the little path that led to the storage locker used to house the garbage cans. Winston stepped smartly outside and headed for the bushes at the edge of the porch. He opened the door to a damp, fog-bound morning. After a short search he discovered his low-cut boots fooling around with some dust bunnies under the bed. He found his trousers and reached for his shirt. Rafe shoved aside the blankets and got to his feet. There he sat down and stared intently at Rafe. “Things were going pretty damn good until you showed up and made like Mr. And don’t think it hasn’t occurred to me that the big dramatic act last night at the door might have been just your deliberate attempt to disrupt the mood of the evening.” “No point in calling you that particular name, is there? You are a son of a bitch. “Sonofa-” He broke off when he saw Winston. The shock brought him to a sitting position in a hurry. He awoke at dawn when a cold nose was thrust against the bottom of his bare foot. It took more than a sexy tussle on the sofa to throw him. Logic told him that a few kisses shouldn’t have rattled him this much.

Either one sounded interesting, now that he considered the matter.

Eclipse Bay by Jayne Ann Krentz