Alone in the Dark

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"
C
'mon, say yes. You know you want to."

Patience Cavanaugh pushed her strawberry-blond hair out of her eyes and glanced up from

the four-legged patient she was examining to the man who flirted with her.

Granted, there was a great deal to recommend him. Patrolman Josh Graham looked like

every woman's dream come true. Handsome, blond, outgoing with a killer smile, Josh filled

out his uniform quite well. The very sight of him by her side would undoubtedly guarantee

her the envy of every woman within a five-mile radius.

If she were into that sort of thing, which she wasn't.

Besides, the uniform was the source of the problem and the reason why she was going to

turn him down. Again.

Life for Patience was filled to overflowing with police personnel. From her brother,

Patrick, to her two uncles right down to eight of her nine cousins. And even the ninth one,

Janelle, was associated with law enforcement. Uncle Brian's daughter was currently an

assistant district attorney with a very impressive track record.

Patience thought of her father. He'd been a policeman as well.

And he had died in the line of duty.

Unlike the rest of the family, Michael Cavanaugh's work had turned him into a bitter man.

Looking back on her childhood, she could hardly remember a day when there hadn't been

some kind of unrest and turmoil within their small household. The job made him a hard man

to live with. Night after night, she'd watch her mother hold her breath, waiting for her

father to come through the door. Saw the tense interaction between her parents almost

from the moment he walked in. Felt, along with her older brother who tried to take the

brunt of it, the fallout of her father's mounting frustration. Frustration that

encompassed what he saw on the job as well as his own performance, but that she was to

learn about later. What she knew firsthand was that he didn't leave his work at the

precinct. It gave him nightmares when he was asleep.

In a way, his work had haunted all of them.

Even before her father's sudden death fifteen years ago, she'd made a vow to herself

that when she finally decided to get serious about someone, that someone wouldnotbe

associated with the police department. The best way to stick to that silent promise was

not to get involved with a cop in the first place. Socially.

Professionally was another matter. As a vet running her own animal clinic, she treated the

whole of the Aurora Police Department's K-9 squad, making sure the force of five German

shepherds was up on their shots as well as treating them for any injuries sustained on the

job or off.

Which brought her back around to Josh Graham. He had started with the K-9 squad about

eighteen months ago. He'd begun his campaign to get her to go out with him around the

same time. She treated his persistent pursuit with the humor that was second nature to

her as well as her shield. Josh took it all in stride, but he never quite gave up, either.

She went back to examining the dog's ears. "You know my rules about that, Josh."

"Right." Josh moved in a little closer to the examination table—and her. "Those would be your rules of engagement." She had delineated them with tact and force the one time

when she perceived that he was seriously asking her out instead of merely flirting with

her. He grinned broadly at her. "Haven't you heard? Rules are made to be broken."

With swift, sure movements, she worked her fingers around the animal's back and hind

quarters, checking for any new lumps. Usually, they represented fatty deposits that

eventually disappeared, but she liked staying on top of everything.

She spared Josh a look. "Funny philosophy, coming from a cop."

The grin never dimmed. "It's because I am a cop that I know just when they need to be

adhered to and when they need to be broken." He moved as she did, slowly shadowing her

path around the examination table. "Now, your rules are fine when it comes to other cops,

like say Coltrane over there." Emphasizing his point, he nodded at the door as another

patrolman, Braden Coltrane entered with his four-footed partner, King. "Word is that the

reason he's partnered with one of the dogs is because no two-footed cop could put up with

him." She was finished feeling her way around the dog's fur and Josh made it a point to be

right in front of her again. "But me, well, your rule really shouldn't apply to me."

Humor curved her mouth. They both knew she wasn't going to say yes. And they both

knew he was going to push, just a little. It was a game at this point, and diverting. "And

why's that?"

"Because we're soul mates, Patience. I can feel it." He placed his hand over his heart.

Patience turned her attention to checking Gonzo's teeth and gums. The former were

turning a bit yellow. She was going to have to step up the cleaning schedule, she thought.

"Well, I can't."

He cocked his head appealingly. "You would if you went out with me."

She spared him a glance, suppressing the sigh. Another woman, she knew, would probably

have been worn down by now. But another woman hadn't held her comatose father's hand

in the hospital, praying that he wouldn't slip away; that there would still be a chance for

them to find a better footing. To finallybea real father and daughter instead of what

they'd been: two hollowed-out shells with appropriate labels affixed to them. She'd

needed more from him, wanted more. Surly or not, he'd been her father and she hadn't

wanted to lose him to a gunman's bullet.

But she had. And no more restitutions were ever made. It made her feel cheated and

angry. And guilty because she'd been relieved that the tension her father generated in

their home was finally gone. The angry man who should have never been a cop was no more.

She missed the idea of him, if not the man himself.

A small smile lifted the corners of her mouth. "I'd just rather stick to the rules right

now, Josh, if you don't mind."

"'Right now,'" he repeated. "Which means you might not later."

She supposed this was what was meant by a never-say-die attitude. "Which means I'm

being polite." She picked up the dog's chart and made the proper notations. She was aware

that both dog and master were studying her every move.

"I'm not giving up, you know," Josh told her the moment she laid down the chart.

Patience sighed. "Yes, I know, but you are wasting your time. Really. I'm flattered, Josh,

but I'm also serious."

"We'll see," was all he said, flashing her a grin that he'd used to melt kneecaps at forty paces.

She merely laughed and shook her head. "Gonzo's ready to go," she told him. "He's fine and fit for duty." Because the dog nudged her, she petted the animal and was rewarded

with a big, sloppy kiss. Delighted, Patience ruffled the dog's fur.

"Never thought I'd envy a mutt. Down, Gonzo." The dog obediently jumped down.

She patted the animal's head. "On behalf of Gonzo, I take offense at that."

Josh never missed a beat. "You could plead his case over dinner."

She shook her head, laughing. "Go." She fairly pushed Josh out of the room and into the

hall. "You have a beat to patrol."

With that she looked out into the waiting room. It was early, before the official start of

her day. Her clinic was open from eight until five, but she made exceptions for the police

department, having them bring in the canines before office hours so that they didn't have

to spend any time in her waiting room.

She made exceptions for any emergency that might come up, as well. Like people, animals

didn't always come down with something during prescribed business hours. More than once

she'd been on the receiving end of a frantic call that came to her in the middle of the

night. Never once had she turned down a sick animal.

Which was how Walter Payne had come into her life. The meek software technician had

called her, beside himself over his prized cockatiel. The bird had become ill at two in the

morning. She'd never asked what he was doing, keeping company with the bird at that hour.

Looking back, she thought perhaps that had been her initial mistake.

Because Walter's effuse gratitude had turned into something more. The flower he'd

claimed came from the bird swiftly became bouquets left on her doorstep. There were

poems and candy, all of which she politely but firmly declined, saying that payment of his

bill was all that was necessary. But it wasn't all that was necessary from his point of view.

The visits, with and without the accompanying cockatiel, increased until she'd begun to

feel as if she were being stalked.

Not that Walter ever really worried her. She'd felt that the man was harmless in his

adulation. But she couldn't get a case her father had been investigation out of her mind.

She'd been ten at the time and maybe that was why it had left such a chilling impression

on her. There'd been a young woman who'd been repeatedly stalked by a man she'd hardly

known. He'd wound up killing her.

Patience had tried to tell herself that Walter and the other woman's stalker were nothing

alike. Walter was a sad little man who wouldn't hurt a fly, but she'd struggled against

ghosts from the past and at times it wasn't easy not to give in to the fear. Just to play it

safe, Patience had made sure that the group photograph of her entire family, all in dress

uniform—save for her and Janelle—was prominently displayed where Walter could see it.

It was a silent warning and, evidently, he got it. His attentions faded. Which was a good

thing because she'd been certain that her big brother, Patrick, was just inches away from

nailing the computer enthusiast's skinny hide to the back door. She'd made the mistake of

mentioning it to him in passing and he'd been ready to take her in to file a restraining

order against Walter. It had taken a lot of talking on her part to make him give up the

idea; she'd known Patrick had been thinking of the same case her father had had.

Shoving her hands into the deep pockets of her white lab coat, Patience stood in the

waiting room doorway and looked at her only other K-9 patient for the day. The other

three had come by yesterday.

"Brady, you're up next."

"Don't forget to give him his distemper shot," Josh cracked, nodding at Brady as he

passed by the tall, solemn dark-haired man.

Gonzo and King remained oblivious to one another as if they were wearing blinders. Brady

gave a slight nod of greeting in response. His mouth never curved in the slightest.

Brady followed Patience into the examination room. "Graham giving you a hard time?"

Not looking in her direction, Brady gave King the command to get on the examination

table. The sleek three-year-old German shepherd glided on as effortlessly as if he were a

mere ten-pound puppy instead of the one-hundred-and-twelve-pound dog that he actually

was.

Patience raised a shoulder, letting it drop again dismissively. "He's just being Josh.

Persistent," she added when Brady didn't say anything. Not that he would. In all the time

that she'd known him, she'd found Brady to be just a little more talkative than a sphinx. "I

just think it's hard for him to believe that any woman would turn him down."

Brady said nothing for a couple of seconds, letting her lay out her instruments and get to

work. "And did you?"

"As always." It was no secret how she felt about dating policeman. Everyone knew. She

smiled at Brady. "Like I told Josh, I have my rules."

"Otherwise you'd go out with him," Josh answered.

Since he'd actually volunteered a sentence, she thought for a moment. "Maybe."

There was no question that she did find Josh almost as charming as the patrolman found

himself. He had an engaging personality and she saw him frequently enough, either for the

dog's routine exams or whenever her uncle Andrew, the former police chief ofAurora,

threw a party. Her uncle did that with a fair amount of regularity and he usually invited

half the police force. Josh was among that half.

As was Brady, from what she'd heard, but the latter never turned up. Word was he

preferred his own company to that of others.

She glanced at Brady before she turned her attention to the dog's examination. Josh and

Brady were as different as night and day, beginning with their coloring. Brady had black

hair to Josh's blond. The only thing the two men had in common beyond their uniforms was