Sea Haven 02 - Spirit Bound

Levi doesn’t know what I’m like yet. Not really. Not about how crazy I can get. The dog will be mine. Under my protection and care. I take that kind of thing very seriously. I’ll be reading dog books and wanting the best of everything for it. I’ll probably want organic dog food if there’s such a thing.” She blew on her fingers in disgust. “Sheesh.”
    “Levi is not going to leave you because you love a dog,” Blythe said. “He’s going to be just as bad.”
    “Besides,” Lexi added, “he obsesses over your protection and ours. It will give him something to distract himself.”
    Airiana laughed. “Are you kidding? Every dog that comes onto this property will be trained in security. That man will make certain of it.”
    Rikki nodded. “He’s going to get big dogs. And he knows Airiana is a trainer, so expects her to work with him and with the dogs to get them to be guard dogs.”
    “Is that a bad thing?” Blythe prompted gently.
    Rikki rocked more. “No. Yes. I don’t know.” She blew on her fingers again. “It’s a big responsibility.”
    Judith leaned toward her. “Honey, is this about the fires when you were a child? You lost a dog in one of the fires, didn’t you?”
    Rikki had lost her parents and fiancé, as well as several foster homes in fires. For a long time she’d believed she was in some way setting those fires.
    Rikki slowly nodded in response. “I have a difficult time with the idea that something might happen. I know I wasn’t responsible . . .”
    “And the man who is responsible is behind bars,” Blythe reminded, her voice very gentle. “Baby, you can’t let him dictate to you any more than Judith can allow Jean-Claude to dictate to her. You have Levi in your life and things are good. Bringing a dog into your life isn’t going to put him in danger. And you’ll be great at taking care of a dog regardless how it’s trained.”
    Judith sighed. She knew Blythe wasn’t just talking to Rikki. She was reminding Judith that they’d all vowed to live life again, not hide from it. She hadn’t shared her concerns about Thomas Vincent, that he might be far more than he seemed. Rikki hadn’t really indicated that she knew more about him than Judith did, and Levi seemed to share everything with her, yet it seemed that Thomas and Levi were familiar with each other.
    Thomas had called Levi, Lev, in a perfect Russian accent. The childhood memories Thomas had seemed to be violent and ugly as were Levi’s. She knew Levi was Russian, and Thomas’s adopted mother was Russian. Was there a connection? Was she running from the relationship because she feared what Jean-Claude might do? Or because she was afraid Thomas would rip out her heart?
    It was so much easier hiding behind the gates and staying in her own little protected world than putting her heart on the line and taking the chance that Thomas would break it. No, not just break it, shatter it so completely she might not recover. Thomas wasn’t like any other man she’d met. Her spirit had never reacted to a man, wrapping sensuously around him, enfolding the two of them into a single skin.
    That sounded so dramatic and ridiculous. How could she possibly explain such a thing to even those she loved when she didn’t understand it herself? She knew she fit perfectly with Thomas. Everything about him. Everything about her. They belonged. It didn’t matter that they barely knew each other and both had secrets. She didn’t care that his aura was muddy, or hinted at concealment. Maybe he had a secret or two—but so did she. That wasn’t the point.
    “I know Airiana and Lexi wouldn’t mind dogs on the farm, but Blythe, Judith and Lissa haven’t really weighed in one way or the other,” Rikki said.
    “I’m all for it,” Blythe said. “I wouldn’t mind having a dog to go running with me and I’d probably feel a little safer.”
    Judith shrugged. “I’m not certain I’d have a dog—or at least a big dog. But I’m not opposed to them on the farm for anyone else.”
    “Lissa?” Blythe prompted when she remained silent.
    Lissa’s face seemed paler than normal, her firm body shrinking a little as she made herself smaller. She shrugged and remained silent, drinking the last of her tea.
    “You have to weigh in on this issue, Lissa,” Blythe prodded. “Everyone should have a say. Are you afraid of dogs?”
    Lissa shrugged again. “It sounds to me like everyone wants dogs so, like Rikki, I’ll get used to