Free Promise Made (The Callahan Series) by Mitzi Pool Bridges

all by yourself,” Dugan warned.
    But Piper was perfectly happy. Dugan would have sworn the stupid dog grinned again.
    “At least you smell better,” he said, starting the engine. Earlier, he’d taken Piper to see Jane Parr, who raised Cocker Spaniels and occasionally groomed dogs.
    Dugan had to admit Piper looked a hundred percent better. His black hair fairly gleamed. Even his toenails were clipped. “Don’t get used to it,” Dugan warned.
    Piper kept on grinning.
    It took only a few minutes to get to Grace’s. Something was different tonight. Kate’s car wasn’t in its usual spot. Dugan looked at his watch. It was eight-thirty.
    Had she left town? His heart dropped into the pit of his stomach.
    No. She would never leave Grace as long as Grace needed her.
    Maybe she’d been called back to Austin on some kind of emergency. But even then, she wouldn’t leave Grace.
    A dim light shone in the rear of the house, nothing in the front. Would they leave a light on if Kate had taken Grace with her back to Austin?
    Probably.
    What if she had car trouble or the car was in the shop and she was inside watching TV with Grace?
    Only one way to find out, you idiot, go to the door and knock. His insides tightened. This was stupid. Why did he care so much anyway? Kate meant nothing to him now. No matter how he preached that to himself, he couldn’t stop the questions.
    His legs heavy, Dugan slammed the door of the cruiser and started down the walk. Piper barked his disappointment. “What did I tell you?” he mumbled as he rang the doorbell.
    In the back, lights flared a little brighter. Footsteps hurried to the door and Yogi barked his head off.
    “Did you forget…?”
    Ed stood there, his white hair slightly tousled, a startling gleam in his eyes. What had he interrupted? Was Kate right? Were Ed and Grace involved in a romance? He couldn’t quite wrap his mind around it.
    Weren’t they old ?
    But Ed’s jaunty step plus the look on his face belied any argument Dugan could come up with.
    “Figured it was Kate and she’d forgotten her key,” Ed explained, running a hand through his hair.
    “Just me,” Dugan said.
    “Come in.”
    Ed held the door open. Dugan stepped around him and into the foyer. From the back, Grace called out, “Is that you, Katie-Girl?”
    “It’s Dugan, Grace,” Ed called back.
    Dugan followed Ed into the den and took in the situation immediately. A kick in his rear that sent him right out the door would be appropriate about now. A candle burned low on an end table where two glasses of wine sat next to a plate of cheese and crackers, a bowl of fruit next to it.
    How dumb could he be?
    “Sorry. Just wanted to see how you were, but I can see you’re just fine.” He backed up, ready to run.
    Grace laughed. To Dugan, it sounded young and flirtatious, not old at all. She looked festive in her pink cast and brightly polished nails.
    The back door slammed. Kate! Yogi barked again and ran to greet her.
    Too late to run, but he’d give it a try.
    “I’d better go. Piper’s in the cruiser.”
    “You should have brought him in,” Grace said. “Introduce him to Yogi.”
    “Not a good idea, Gram,” Kate disagreed, as she walked in and gave Grace a kiss on the cheek. “He smells.”
    “Does not.”
    “Last time I saw him he looked as if he could use some help.”
    “Had him groomed,” Dugan growled.
    Kate dipped her head, but not before he saw the smile.
    Okay, he was a sucker.
    She looked wonderful. A sense of purpose about her he hadn’t seen before made him look again. In her arms she held a laptop computer plus a file of some kind. What was she up to?
    “Katie-Girl has found a way to stay busy. She’s happier when she can work.”
    “Work?” In Austin? If not, what happened to her job there?
    Kate flipped on the light in the unused living room that didn’t look like a living room anymore. A desk sat against the far wall and faced the room. She dropped the file and computer on it.