Free On the Scent by Angela Campbell Page A

inside. Crazy cat. Hannah would have made a lot more progress unpacking if Abbott stopped jumping into and making a bed inside of every box she opened.
    The sound of the doorbell startled all three of them. Hannah jumped. Costello clambered to his feet barking, and Abbott darted out of the box and under the nearby sofa for safety.
    She glanced at the clock she’d recently sat on the mantle. Almost ten. Brian had said he would be changing shifts with Zach soon. The idea of seeing him again spawned a ridiculous flutter of butterflies in her stomach.
    Pushing to her feet, she dusted her jeans off then tugged at her ponytail to straighten it. Lord, she probably looked atrocious.
    She opened the door, but instead of the man who’d been occupying her thoughts more than he should have, a well-dressed, dark-haired, middle-aged woman stood there smiling and holding …a casserole dish?
    Not far behind her, Brian stood propped against the hood of his car, watching. He nodded and gave a discreet two-fingered wave, which was the code they’d decided for “All clear.”
    â€œI hope you don’t mind me intruding, but I wanted to come over and introduce myself.” The woman held out her hand. “I’m Carolyn Carter, from down the street.”
    â€œOh.” Hannah accepted the gesture. “Hannah Dawson. Nice to meet you.”
    â€œHannah.” The woman repeated her name as if it were the lyric of a song. “What a beautiful name.”
    â€œThank you.”
    Carolyn cast a backward glance at Brian before beaming a friendly smile in Hannah’s direction again. “I know how hard it can be getting settled into a new neighborhood. I thought the least I could do was bring you over a casserole as a housewarming gift.”
    Oh, right. This was the part where she should invite the woman inside. Hannah rubbed her forehead and cringed at her social ineptness. “I’m sorry. Would you like to come in? I’ve been unpacking, and I’m afraid it’s a bit of a mess right now.” She used her foot to guide Costello back and out of the way.
Please, Lord, don’t let him hump my new neighbor
. “Forgive my manners, but I’m not used to having company.”
    The woman stepped inside and immediately began looking around. “Don’t worry about it, dear. I won’t stay long. Like I said, I wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood. I’ve lived here for six years, and believe me, if I didn’t come over to greet you, no one would.” She held up the dish. “Do you like chicken and broccoli?”
    â€œI love it.” Hannah awkwardly took the offering and moved to the kitchen. “Thank you.” After storing the casserole out of paws’ way, she turned and found the woman bent over and scratching behind Costello’s ear. The dog’s tail wagged in ecstasy. “That’s Costello. My cat is around here somewhere. He’s Abbott.”
    â€œAbbott and Costello.” The woman clapped once and laughed with delight. “That’s precious. I used to love to watch their films when I was a little girl.”
    â€œSo did their former owner. She named all of her pets after her favorite movie stars.”
    Carolyn Carter stayed for at least ten more minutes, doing her best to learn as much about Hannah as possible. Was she married? Did she have children? Had she always lived in Atlanta?
    â€œI don’t mean to pry, dear, but I can’t help but wonder—” She leaned closer to Hannah and said, “Are you a famous actress or something?”
    Hannah’s eyebrows shot up. “Me?” She laughed. “No, I’m a nurse.”
    Carolyn glanced at the window. “Oh, I just assumed with the police cars patrolling the neighborhood and that man outside —” She waved her hand dripping with rings dismissively. “Never mind me. I’m an aging housewife whose only excitement is what I see on