Free The Cowboy's Rules: 2 (Cowboys After Dark:) by Maggie Carpenter Page B

you’re right,” she sighed, “but can I ask you something?”
    “Sure,” he replied, pulling her closer.
    “Have you ever-”
    “Nope,” he interrupted, knowing her question before she could finish. “Just kinda struck me when I was doin’ a little perusin’ of some catalogues. Thought it looked like fun. I was right.”
    “Oooh, you were,” she mumbled, and closing her eyes she sank into the blissful peace of their afterglow.

CHAPTER ELEVEN
    I t was the chilly night air that finally got them up, and though they had brought jackets they were both shivering as they made their way to the car. Happy but tired they drove back to the house, but the moment they stepped into the kitchen Mickey bolted up barking furiously.
    “Jeez, Mickey, what’s up?” Cassie frowned, dropping down to try and calm him. “Chad, what’s wrong with him?”
    As Chad crouched down next her, the dog continued to bark and twirl in circles, then raced through the kitchen into the dining room, where he paused and looked back, summoning them to follow.
    “Has he ever done this before?” Cassie asked as they walked after him.
    “Uh, not like this exactly,” Chad replied. “He has done the follow me thing, but he’s frantic right now. I don’t know what to think.”
    Continuing to bark the dog ran forward to the front door, then stopped, staring up at it.
    “I don’t see anything,” Cassie remarked looking around.
    “I do,” Chad grimaced. “Look, there’s a chip in the wood near the lock. Someone has slid some kind of tool through the door jam. They must have been trying to get it open somehow.”
    “You’re kidding! Okay, this is freaking me out,” she exclaimed. “It must have been awfully thin. How could they possibly have done that?”
    “That’s why it chipped the wood. Even if he had been able to somehow move the lock, he wouldn’t have been able to open the door,” Chad remarked.
    “Because?” she pressed.
    “I made sure that was in place before we left,” he replied, pointing to a slide bolt at the top of the door.
    “I’ve never seen you lock that,” she commented.
    “I’ve been locking things up tight since the construction began. I don’t know who those day laborers are, and I just wanted to be extra careful. Good boy, Mickey,” he said, leaning over and making a fuss of the cattle dog. “Good boy.”
    Delighted his Master had discovered what had happened at the door, Mickey barked happily, wagging his tail, then trotted down the hall, stopped, barked again, then headed into Chad’s office.
    “Now what,” Chad exclaimed.
    “I’m getting even more freaked out,” Cassie declared as they started walking towards the hallway.
    “It’s okay, if they had gotten in Mickey would have had them for dinner,” he chuckled, but I’m with you, I’m not likin’ this one bit.
    Moving into his office they found Mickey with his paws up on the window sill, but when Chad studied the frame he couldn’t see any evidence of tampering.
    “I’m going around the side of the house for a minute,” he declared. “You wait here.”
    “I will not,” Cassie exclaimed. “I’m coming with you.”
    He stared at her determined expression and shook his head.
    “I know that look,” he grinned. “Okay, come on, Mick, you come too.”
    Grabbing their coats and a powerful flashlight, Chad led the way through the kitchen door and around the side of the house. As they approached the office window he beamed the light on the ground.
    “Damn,” he growled.
    “Oh, crap,” Cassie sighed.
    Fresh footprints were evident in the soft, damp soil; it was clear someone had been standing by the window, either peering in or attempting to get it open.
    “It’s official,” she shivered. “I am totally and completely freaked out.”
    “Let’s see where they lead,” he suggested. “Go on, Mick, track.”
    Mickey dropped his head to the ground, his super sensitive nose picking up the scent, and trotting forward he led them