Free Blackbird Lake by Jill Gregory

accident—”
    “What kind of accident?” The grin faded, replaced by a look of concern. “Are Karla and Denny all right?”
    “Denny’s dad may have a concussion. Sorry, that’s all I know and I really need to go check on the kids. You’ll have to come back tomorrow.”
    When I’m not here.
    She began to close the door before he could say another word, but at that precise moment, a dog began howling loudly enough to wake an entire graveyard—long, piercing, rouse-the-dead howls—and she saw with a shock that the sounds were coming from the big mutt crouched in the passenger seat of Jake’s truck.
    The wailing shattered all the peacefulness of the night and to her horror, she heard Emma suddenly start to cry.
    Crap!
    Then things got worse. She heard more crying. Then a thump, which seemed to come from Austin’s room, immediately followed by a piercing cry. Next Ashley started to shriek, short, high-pitched sobs.
    All three kids crying? At once?
    “Damn. Sorry about that.” Glancing over his shoulder, Jake frowned at the baying dog in his truck. But turning back to the sexy-as-hell beauty in the doorway, he was struck not only by her obvious coolness toward him, but by the scarcely masked panic now flashing in her eyes.
    She obviously wasn’t too crazy about dogs, especially ones who howled and awakened small children. And she obviously didn’t have the same warm memories he did of their night together.
    She tried to close the door in his face yet again, but he stuck a booted foot in the threshold and placed one strong palm against the door. “Sounds like you have your hands full here…this is my fault, let me help—”
    “You’ve done enough. Help me by leaving—and take that dog with you! Just go!” Spinning around, Carly darted back into the living room, accompanied by more deafening howls from the truck.
    Emma was screaming at the top of her lungs.
    What if she fell off the sofa? Maybe she’s hurt!
Carly thought, panic clutching at her chest, but as she neared the sofa she saw with relief that Emma hadn’t fallen at all. She was sitting up, sobbing, her face soaked with tears—probably because she didn’t know where she was, and the damned howling dog had woken her up.
    “Mumma!” she screamed as Carly scooped her into her arms.
    “You’re okay, Emmy. You’re fine. Mommy’s right here.” Forcing her voice to a low, calming pitch, she smoothed Emma’s damp hair back from her face. “Go back to sleep. You’re fine, baby. Everything is fine.”
    But Emma didn’t seem to believe her and actually, Austin and Ashley didn’t
sound
fine. They were both crying to raise the roof and she took off up the stairs with Emma still sobbing, cradled against her shoulder. She reached Austin’s room first. The seven-year-old was sprawled on the floor beside his bed, tears pouring down his cheeks.
    “I f-fell out of bed,” he wailed. “Mommy!” He stared wide-eyed at Carly. “Where’s
Mommy
?”
    “Sweetie, Mommy had to go meet your daddy. She’ll be home soon. Tell me where it hurts. Did you hit your head?”
    Holding Emma against her shoulder, she knelt and triedto hug Austin with her free arm, but he twisted away from her, still sobbing inconsolably.
    Ashley was yelling her little head off from her bedroom.
    Great. Three crying kids. Jake outside the door.
I might start crying next,
she thought grimly, gently stroking Austin’s back with her free hand.
    At least the dog had stopped howling.
    A moment later she saw why.
    Jake wasn’t outside. Neither was the dog. They were both in the house, standing ten feet away, in Austin’s doorway.
    “How can I help?” Jake asked.
    “Leave!” she ordered. Her heart was pounding. Jake and Emma. In the same room.
    This couldn’t be happening….
    “Go. Now!” she snapped. But Austin had seen the dog and magically he stopped crying. She knew the little boy had been begging Karla and Denny for a dog the last few months, and now, seeing the big mutt