And she was too pretty to hug.
I opened the door a little wider, and she and Eric shimmied through while I tried to keep any dogs from escaping. Silly me. When their noses caught the scent of what she had in her hands, they had no desire to bolt out the back door.
They swarmed her.
And Sadie was the worst.
She jumped on Lexie from behind. Lexie stumbled forward, fumbling the dishes. Fortunately, she was close enough to the counter she dropped them onto it as if she’d meant to do that all along.
“At least I know they approve of the food.” She brushed a strand of hair out of her face that had come loose from where she had it pinned back.
I appreciated her good nature.
More so, right then, I was thankful for two smiling, welcome faces. I took a deep breath, trying to find calm in the midst of my latest storm.
“You know they more than approve of your amazing food, Lexie.”
At least the dogs weren’t distressed now but were jumping with excitement rather than fear. Food would do that. If only it was as easy to switch gears as a human.
“I have two more.”
“I’ll distract them since you brought their supper.” I held up a bowl. “There’s a doorstop if you need it.” I pointed toward the floor close to the exit.
She kicked it in place on her way out, careful to make sure no one went rogue and followed her.
Sadie barked, and I tapped her nose. “We gave you the wrong name.” She kept talking right over me. “Trouble. That’s what we should’ve called you.”
She trotted over to her kennel and stamped her paws impatiently.
“I’m hurrying,” I said before I placed her bowl on the floor.
“Where’s Milwaukee?” Eric searched frantically for his favorite dog.
She was hard to spot in the mass of bodies.
“Right . . . there.” I pointed to where she stood near the back of the pack, tail going a million miles an hour.
He barreled toward her and made himself at home on the floor. “Can I have her ball, please?”
I dug in the toy basket and tossed it to him. He threw it and Millie happily fetched.
Lexie breezed back in, kicking the doorstop out of the way, and set the next delivery on the counter. A fond expression formed on her face when she took in Eric playing with Millie.
“Did you drive by the front on your way to the alley?” I asked carefully.
“Yes. Why?” She adjusted her long necklace which had gone askew.
“Was there anyone at our door?”
“I didn’t see anyone.” Her cheeks turned pink. “But we might’ve been giving a concert to ourselves.”
At least our inspector problem seemed to be gone for the moment.
“Bobby McGee!” Eric cried.
“Good thing I love that song,” Lexie said.
I scooped dog food into a bowl. “Do you take requests?”
She laughed. “Nope. Just Bobbie McGee.”
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Her eyes rounded at the severe knock on the back door.
Not again. We’d never had that many visitors in one day. Under normal circumstances, I’d welcome them.
Bark. Bark. Bark.
If this kept up, these dogs would be hoarse soon.
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
“Are you going to answer that?” Lexie asked.
“Do I have to?”
I trudged to the door and put one hand on the knob. Was I ready to face this inspector?
No. The answer was a resolute no.
I can’t do it. I can’t risk them. If I didn’t open the door, maybe I could delay whatever was in store for them.
Lexie and Eric probably thought I was crazy.
“Pepper. Are you there? It’s Lincoln.”
I yanked the door open with relief . . . and surprise.
He bulldozed his way in. Muffy jetted straight for him. He held out his hand in the stop position. Muffy bumped it with his nose . . . and jumped on another of Lincoln’s expensive suits.
“Have you seen Teague?” The man seemed unflappable. He’d been kind to us, but he still scared me a little.
For him to be here asking about his brother? My heart, which had barely slowed from the earlier excitement, sped up again.
“Wow. No hello or how are you?” Lexie muttered.
I recoiled. She’d never once had a snip to her tone, even when she’d been bombarded by dogs.
Lincoln glared then turned that sharp gaze to me.
“Not in a few hours.” I clapped for Muffy to come. Instead, he sat at Lincoln’s feet and pawed his thigh.
Lincoln absently touched his head but didn’t correct him for his behavior like he usually did.
“Hi.” Eric threw the ball for Millie again and waved at Lincoln.
Lincoln blinked in surprise. He parted his lips and then shut them as if he didn’t know what to say.
“That’s how you greet someone.” Obviously, Lexie wasn’t at a loss for words.
“I thought he was going to see your father?” That little niggle of worry blossomed as I attempted to defuse an escalating situation.
“Do you have a boyfriend?” Lexie tilted her head.
I got hot all over. No way was I thinking about that. Especially not in front of an audience.
“That’s irrelevant,” Lincoln dismissed, finding his voice again. “So Teague hasn’t been by in the last hour?”
“It’s not irrelevant to me.” Lexie made a face. “And didn’t you hear her the first time? She said a few hours.”
I bounced my gaze back and forth between them. The hostility was palpable.
“Who is this?” Lincoln demanded.
“Why don’t you ask me instead of Pepper?” Lexie planted a hand on her hip.
His nostrils flared. “I need to find my brother.” He sounded as if getting that simple statement out without shouting was an exercise in self-control.
Eric threw the ball close to Lincoln. Millie skidded toward him, but Muffy caught it first. A tug of war ensued, and Eric got in the middle of it. Muffy easily and gently yielded the ball to him.
“What’s going on?” I tugged on the strap of my overalls.
Lincoln cut his eyes over to Lexie as if she weren’t privy to this conversation. She folded her arms and leaned on the counter, not going anywhere.
“He came by the office and was supposed to see me after he finished . . .” It seemed the thought of Teague giving in was as unbearable for him as it was for me. Maybe more so. Lincoln understood the gravity of consequences in a way I couldn’t. “They were both gone.”
Everything in me went cold. Had their father taken Teague somewhere?
“Did you call him?”
I regretted the question when his lethal look fired in my direction.
“Beau doesn’t know where he is either.”
Realization dawned on Lexie’s face. “Are you Beau’s brother?”
“Not that it’s any of your concern, but yes,” he said shortly.
“How? She’s actually pleasant.”
The ball hit Lincoln’s shin. Eric laughed. Slowly, Lincoln stooped. Oh no. He’d been patient—for him, at least. I hoped he hadn’t hit his limit.
He scooped up the ball and tossed it. When Millie retrieved it and started to bring it back to him, he snapped and pointed at Eric. She returned the ball to Lexie’s brother.