Kaleidoscope Eyes (23 page)

Jed would have been hurt if he hadn’t been so convinced Andy was right. “Gee, thanks, pal.”

“I calls ’em as I sees ’em.”

“Call ’em whatever you like.” Jed hopped back on the bed, grabbing the remote. “Just get me my footage.”

“Yes, master. Anything else, master?”

“Yeah.” Jed waved the remote at his sarcastic friend. “Move.
The Andy Griffith Show
is on.”

Andy did as he was bid. “You’re gonna regret all this, Jed. You wait and see.”

He didn’t reply. He didn’t need to. Because all he saw was a future full of promise. And once their show was on the top and signed for another season, Andy would see it that way too.

After all, that’s what this was all about. Winning. Getting the prize. And he almost had it. He could tell. Annie was almost ready to trust him.

So nothing, not even his best friend, would stop him now.

TWENTY-TWO        

O
CTOBER
8—A C
ATTAIL
D
AY
(A
UBURN
)

Annie’s feet pounded the pavement as she ran.

She schooled her breathing, keeping it even, not too shallow, not too deep. Oxygen was the key to running without injury.

That, and not tripping on her moose of a dog.

“Kodi—” she panted between gritted teeth—“quit running into me!”

The dog tossed a glance up at her, nudging against Annie’s leg as she did so. Fortunately, they’d been through this little dance often enough that Annie didn’t miss a step.

If only she could say the same about her relationship with Jed.

Relationship? Good grief, they hardly knew each other, and she was calling it a relationship?

She really was pathetic.

Still … she and Jed
had
spent time together every day since
they met. That first coffee together was such a success that they’d continued on into lunch. The next day brought dinner and a walk. The next, breakfast and a drive. She had yet to convince him to go running with her, but that was okay. That gave her some time alone to try and sort through her jumbled emotions.

Which was exactly what she was doing now

As much as she’d enjoyed her times with Jed, something was nagging at her. It took about a mile before she figured it out. Then it hit her like a brick.

She’d told Jed all about herself—growing up, her family and siblings, Kodi and search and rescue, her art, even her synesthesia. It was safe to say he knew pretty much everything about her. But what did she know about him?

Zilch.

Come to think of it, every time she tried to find out anything about his life, even his work, the conversation would take a detour right back to her. Not that she’d been conscious of that fact while it was happening.

Until now.

The gate to her driveway came into view, and Annie slowed her pace, reaching into her pocket and drawing out the remote. She punched the button with perfect timing, and she and Kodi sailed through. She hit the button again, and the gate eased shut.

Walking up and down the driveway to cool down, Annie made a decision. It was time to mine the depths that were Jed … Jed …

Good night! She didn’t even know his last name!

Definitely time to garner some information from the man.

“Come on, Kodi. Time to get a drink.”

Annie led the way into the house and made sure there was plenty of fresh water in the shepherd’s bowl. She was just pouring herself a glass of orange juice when the phone rang. Fascinating how pleasant that sound had become. Mostly because she was fairly certain who she’d find at the other end of the line.

She was right.

“Mornin’, sunshine. How ’bout I take the prettiest woman in town to breakfast?”

“Mm, that’d be nice, Jed.” She lifted one foot and planted it against the kitchen sink, stretching forward, working the kinks out of her hamstring. “But I can’t. Kodi and I have training today.”

“Really? Where?”

She switched legs. “We’re going up in the woods near Crater Lake to do some wilderness training.”

“Well … how ’bout I come along?”

“Are you sure? I mean, it can be a long day with lot of work. Besides, don’t you spend enough time outside already, with your work and all?” She bit her lip, waiting to see if he’d take a swing.

“Hey, spending time with you is plenty of excitement.”

Strike one.

“Obviously you lead a boring life, sir.” She pulled a chair out from the kitchen table and sat down. “You probably leave work at 5:00 p.m. on the dot, go home and fix a nice, healthy meal, and hit the hay by ten.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Annie pondered that a second. Not really confirmation, but not really denial either. In fact, it was pretty much like most of Jed’s responses. Noncommital.

Strike two.

She hunkered down in the chair. “So you’re more of a morning person, huh? Good thing you’re a … a … ” She put as much innocence into her tone as was humanly possible. “Oh, my memory is getting so bad! What did you say you did for a living?”

“Right now? I’m living for the next time I get to see you.”

Annie let her forehead fall to the table. Strike three.

“So where shall I meet you and what time?”

“Meet us here. You can ride up with us.”

“It’s a plan. See you soon. And Annie?”

“Mm-hm?”

“I’m really looking forward to seeing you and Kodi in action.”

She hung up the phone, then sat there, sipping her OJ and running the conversation through her mind again and again. Was Jed hiding something from her? What did she really know about him?

Stop it, Annie!
She stood, taking her glass to the sink. One thing she knew for certain: Jed Whatever-His-Name-Was just happened to be one of the nicest men she’d ever met. He’d tell her about himself when he was ready.

Until then, she’d just enjoy his company.

Jed turned to Andy, not the least disturbed by the storm clouds in his friend’s expression.

“We clear on the plan?”

“It’s a stupid plan.”

Jed sighed. “Stupid or not, are you clear on it?”

“What’s not to be clear? I follow you to the training area. I park someplace Annie won’t see me. I follow you guys without getting caught. I break the law by filming Annie without her permission.”

“You’re not breaking any laws, Andy.”

“Sez you.”

Jed looked at his watch. “We’d better go. Follow me to Annie’s. I’m riding with her from there. But I’ll keep you in my sights so we don’t lose you.” He held the door of their hotel room open. “Ready?”

Andy pushed up from the chair, hitching his equipment up on his shoulder. “No.”

Jed nodded. “Good. Let’s go.”

“You want me to get lost?”

Annie clipped Kodi’s leash onto her collar. “Jayce, I’m always ready for you to get lost.”

He sidled up next to her and laid his head on her shoulder. “I love you too, Auntie dearest.”

Annie nudged him away with her elbow, holding out Kodi’s leash for him. He took it, kneeling in front of the dog, taking her
face in his hands, massaging her cheeks, talking in a high-pitched voice. “Whaddya say, girl? Huh? Shall I, get lost? Wanna find me, Kodi? Wanna come chase me down and drag me home?”

Annie eyed the boy. “You are one warped puppy, Jayce.”

His grin was equal parts playful scamp and adoring nephew. “Hey, Kodi likes it when I talk this way.” He turned back to the dog. “Don’t you, widdle girl?”

Kodi answered with an enthusiastic swipe of her long tongue across his face.

“I have no problem with the tone, brat.” Annie pulled Kodi’s shabrack out of her backpack and slipped it inside her belt. “After all, I taught you to talk that way to get Kodi psyched for working. But the words, son, now those concern me.”

Jayce looked past Annie. “So where’d Mr. Wonderful go?”

She poked at him with one booted foot. “You should be so wonderful when you grow up.”

“Grow up?” No one could sound as mortally offended as a teenage boy “H
ello?
Like fifteen isn’t grown up?”

“Sorry! How about when you’re as old and ancient as I am? That better?”

Jayce huffed, only slightly mollified by her self-denigration.

“Anyway, my poor, decrepit brain forgot Kodi’s tennis ball in the Jeep. Jed went back after it. Can’t have training without the reward, now can we?”

“Not if you want a happy puppy, we can’t. Ah, there’s the dreamboat.”

Annie turned, and Jed waved as he approached. Having him there, walking toward her with that smile on his face … it seemed the most natural thing in the world. Like he’d been a part of her life forever.

Clearly, she had lost her mind. Either that, or she was twitterpated. Utterly and completely twitterpated.

It was the only thing that explained her trust in a man she’d just met. But trust him she did. She had a hard time believing any of this was happening. Whatever “this” was.

Kodi danced in circles when she saw Jed, wagging that big head back and forth and greeting him with a hearty “Arrrooowww!”

That was another reason not to worry If anyone was a solid judge of character, it was Kodi. And she adored Jed.

“Hey, Jed, toss the ball!” Jayce’s call pulled Annie from her thoughts.

“You got it.” He cocked his arm. “Go long, Jayce!”

The boy jumped up and ran, Kodi racing alongside him, barking encouragement. Jed pitched the tennis ball, lobbing it high in the air, and Jayce jumped for it, giving a whoop when he snagged it with one hand. The boy did a little victory dance, then came trotting back toward Annie.

He and Jed reached her at about the same time, and when Jayce reached out to punch Jed’s arm, she shook her head. Those two were cut from the same cloth. They’d talked pretty much nonstop on the hour-long drive up here—mostly about football. God bless testosterone.

Annie studied the clearing and the forest surrounding it. They were just south of Crater Lake, and though the weather was on the chilly side, at least it wasn’t raining or snowing. Just cold and overcast. Perfect weather for what they were going to do. “Okay, you two. Time to get to work.”

She pulled the shabrack from her belt and knelt to slip it on Kodi. Fastening the vest into place, she looked up at Jayce.

He grinned. “Runaways?”

“Go for it.” Annie gripped Kodi’s collar, holding her back as Jayce jogged toward the trees.

“Runaways?”

Annie nodded, keeping her eyes fixed on Jayce. “They’re warm-up exercises. Jayce finds a place just beyond the clearing to hide, then we send Kodi after him. She finds him, and we heap praise and hugs on her.”

A whistle sounded. Jayce was ready. Annie crouched beside Kodi, hands on either side of her collar. “Okay, Jed. Just make sure you don’t get between me and Kodi.”

He nodded. “You want me to stay here?”

“That’s not necessary just stay behind us.” She paused. “Are you looking for someone?”

Jed’s head whipped back toward her. “What? No. Why?”

Annie shrugged. “I don’t know, you seem to be looking around a lot.”

“It’s just really beautiful out here, and I don’t want to miss anything. So where did you want me?”

She chuckled. “Just stick close, okay?”

An easy smile played at the corners of his mouth. “With pleasure.”

How did he
do
that? Make her pulse jitterbug with no more than one or two words?
Concentrate, Annie.

Right. Concentrate. She could do that.

She leaned forward a fraction and felt Kodi’s muscles tense beneath her hands. She infused her tone with high-pitched excitement. “Okay, Kodi, Jayce is out there.
Find
him!”

The dog shot forward, running full tilt to where she’d seen Jayce disappear into the trees. Annie and Jed trotted along behind Kodi.

“How long will it take?”

Annie grinned. Kodi was already running back to her. She gave an alert, planting those paws on Annie’s thighs. “Good girl, Kode. Show me!”

Kodi spun and galloped back, Annie and Jed following behind her as she led them to Jayce. Annie clapped her hands. “Good girl! Good find! What a smart doggy you are!”

Kodi almost wiggled herself in half, then vaulted after the tennis ball Jayce threw. The shepherd snagged it, carrying it back, head held high, and gave the slobbery prize to Jed.

He chuckled. “Pretty pleased with yourself, aren’t you, girl?”

“That’s the whole idea,” Annie said as Jed threw the ball. “This exercise isn’t supposed to be hard, but to prime the pump.”

“Get the dog ready to work?”

“Exactly. I mean, just imagine how excited you’d be about working if you started out with a session of praise and hugs.”

“Depends on who’s doing the hugging.” He waggled his brows.

“Ha ha.” But for all her mockery, Annie couldn’t help feeling a surge of warmth at the look in his eyes. She turned back to her nephew “Okay, Jayce, let’s go again.”