Family Man

shoulders.
    Zeke dropped his dish in the sand and charged.
    “What the hell?” Fraser straightened abruptly as he caught sight of Zeke racing toward him in a silent, ferocious rush. “For Christ's sake, call him off.” He backed up quickly, stumbling over a length of sea-weed. “ Call him off .”
    Fraser caught his balance, whirled, and started to run.
    Katy rolled to her feet just as Zeke flashed past. She saw the dog launch himself at Fraser's fleeing backside. Zeke's massive jaws opened wide. He caught a mouthful of Fraser's windbreaker and ripped savagely.
    Fraser shrieked and started to struggle out of the torn windbreaker. Zeke jerked hard, tangling Fraser in the jacket. Fraser stumbled and went down, yelling in terror.
    “ Zeke . Stop.” Katy gasped as Zeke planted his front paws on Fraser's chest. “That's enough. Stop, Zeke.”
    Zeke looked at her, wagged his tail, and whined pleadingly, as if asking for permission to go for Fraser's throat.
    “Get him off me,” Fraser hissed.
    “It's okay, Zeke.” Katy approached Fraser and the dog warily. “Good boy. Good dog. Take it easy. We don't want him to sue. That's a good boy.”
    “Get him off.” Fraser started to wriggle out from under Zeke's paws.
    Zeke snarled softly in warning. Fraser instantly stilled.
    “Jesus,” Fraser whispered, staring up at Zeke. “The goddamned dog will kill me.”
    Katy was not precisely certain herself just what Zeke was going to do next. She took another step forward, intending to grab the dog's collar.
    At that moment Zeke raised his head and looked toward the cliff path. He barked loudly, summoning assistance.
    Katy glanced up and saw Luke and Matt descending the cliff path at a run.
    “Luke.” Katy dashed forward and threw herself straight into his arms when he reached the beach. “Thank heaven you're here. I wasn't sure what to do next.”
    Luke's arms closed fiercely around her. He spoke to his dog over the top of Katy's head. “Zeke. Steady, boy. That's it. You can let him up now. I'll take care of things.”
    Zeke obediently stepped off Fraser's chest and trotted toward Luke.
    “Matt, take Katy and Zeke up to the house. I'll handle this.”
    Matt reacted instantly to the soft tone of command. “Yes, sir. Come on, Katy.”
    Katy raised her head from Luke's shoulder. “Wait. I have to explain what's going on here.”
    “I know what's going on.” Luke's eyes were on Fraser. “Go with Matt.”
    Katy realized she was too shaken to argue. It would have been futile in any event. Luke was clearly in charge now. Without a word she stepped away from him and started toward the cliff path with Matt.
    Zeke raced back down the beach, grabbed his bowl, and dashed back to join Katy and Matt.
    At the top of the cliff path Katy turned to glance down at the scene on the beach. “I do hope there isn't going to be any trouble because of this.”
    Matt grinned, his confidence in Luke evident. “Believe me, there will be trouble. But not for you. Luke will handle it.”

    Katy was feeding parsley and basil into the food processor when Luke walked through the cottage door a short while later. Zeke was sitting in the middle of the floor, his dish parked at the ready. His tail moved in a brief greeting when Luke appeared, but he didn't take his gaze off the food processor.
    “What's going on here?” Luke took in the scene in the kitchen with a glance that was probably meant to reflect amusement but somehow failed. There was a cold wildness in his sorcerer's eyes. “Starting dinner already?”
    Matt, lounging against the kitchen counter with a can of soda in his hand, looked at Luke. “It's for Zeke. Katy's making him an entire batch of pesto.”
    “An entire batch all for him?” Luke rubbed the dog's ears. “Zeke's going to think he's died and gone to heaven.”
    “He deserves it,” Katy said softly. She was intensely aware of the subtle tension in Luke. “He was a real hero.” She pressed the machine's lever down for a few seconds, grinding up the fresh leaves. While the food processor was running she quickly added the remaining ingredients.
    “Yeah,” Matt said admiringly. “A real hero. Good dog, Zeke.”
    Zeke acknowledged the accolade with another thump of his tail, but his gaze did not waver from the food processor.
    Katy risked another glance at Luke. His eyes were dangerously green, his expression unreadable. “Luke, what happened down there? What did you do to Fraser?”
    “Not much,” Luke