KnockOut

tray that was so old he imagined the first cookie was baked on it during Prohibition.
    He made hot chocolate from an old can of cocoa in the cupboard. As he stirred it into the milk on the stovetop, he said, “How did you get into my house?”
    He didn’t think she was going to answer him, then in a near whisper, she said, “Your bedroom window was up a little bit. Big Louie was barking his head off. I got stuck, and he grabbed my shirt sleeve and pulled me into your bedroom.”
    “You’re some watchdog, aren’t you, Big Louie?”
    Big Louie wagged his tail. Ethan watched him nuzzle his face into the little girl’s hands as she sat all straight and proper on a kitchen chair.
    He poured the hot chocolate into a mug. “Here, give this a try. It’s not too hot, I stuck my finger in it.”
    He watched her sip, then she smiled. A beautiful smile, he thought, no fear in it, at least for the moment. “Are you a worrier, Autumn?”
    She cocked her head to one side and stared at him. She nodded. “I have to.”
    “Why?”
    She buried her face in the hot chocolate. Mackie meowed and jumped lightly onto her lap. Mackie was sixteen pounds of muscle covered with gold-and-white fur. If he sprawled out over her legs, his paws might have reached the floor on either side of her.
    Back off, back off. “I need to call your mama. She’s scared, Autumn. You want her to know you’re okay, don’t you?”
    The little face sported a chocolate mustache. She looked pale and frightened. “I don’t want her to die.”
    ♥ Scanned by Coral ♥

6
    HIS HEART SKIPPED a beat, but he spoke easily, not a bit of uncertainty in his voice. “She won’t die. That’s why you came to me, you knew I’d take care of you, and I’ll take care of your mom, okay? Do you believe me?”
    “You don’t know,” she said, her fingers stroking through Mackie’s thick fur. His purr went up a notch. Lula sprawled against Big Louie, who was lying on the floor on his side, tail thumping on the tile, both sets of eyes fastened on the little girl with Mackie in her lap.
    “Then you’ll have to tell me, won’t you?”
    She shook her head, rubbed Mackie harder, then buried her face in his fur.
    “Okay,” Ethan said. He rose and pulled the pizza out of the oven. “It’s perfect. Let’s eat.”
    After he watched her take a huge bite, Ethan said, “Do you like Titusville?”
    She took another bite, chewed slowly. Mackie, now on the floor, meowed up at her.
    “Take a hike, Mackie, no pizza,” Ethan said. Mackie meowed several more times, his patented “I’m starving” meow, and walked to sprawl down beside Lula, who was still leaning into Big Louie.
    “Mama said she brought me to Titusville once, but I don’t remember it. She said I was just a little kid.” She chewed. “She said she took me to three caves she’d explored, and I thought if I really tried I could remember them and find them, but I couldn’t.”
    “So you came here instead. How did you know where I live, Autumn?”
    “I heard a tourist talking to Mrs. Daily about this charming cottage he and his wife had seen. He described it real good and asked if it was for rent. Mrs. Daily told him the sheriff lived there, it had been in your family since way back before the Big War. She said your mother lived there before she went to Florida, and your older sister lived in Baltimore.”
    He nodded, gave her another slice of pizza, then took another big bite of his own, suddenly aware that he was as hungry as she was. Maggie, his twice-a-week housekeeper, had brought the pizza and forgotten to take it home with her when she left, thank the good Lord. Or maybe she’d left it for him. With Maggie, he never knew. “What about your folks, Autumn?”
    “My mama’s mother died last year because of the big C. I don’t know what that is, but it’s bad.”
    “I’m sorry.” He cleared his throat. “I’m going to call your mama now. I don’t think it’s fair for her to keep on worrying about you, do you? And here you are, stuffing my excellent pizza down your gullet.”
    She gave another little laugh. He smiled as he dialed Gerald’s Loft.
    When he had Joanna Backman on the phone, he said only, “She’s safe. She’s here with me, at my house. She’s eating pizza and playing with my pets.”
    She didn’t say a single word. The cell cut off, and he could see her running out the door, maybe remembering it was cold here in Titusville at night and running back to get her jacket