“Must have been an animal scratching at the door. No one’s there,” she said in a loud voice. Meghan’s and Gabby’s relief mirrored her own. What the hell did Ty think by worrying them all? He’d been gone for nearly nine hours! Jason, Gabby and Meghan had brought back Chinese takeout they’d lugged all the way from Kettle Falls, nearly twenty miles away. The food tasted like dust in Julia’s mouth, worry for Ty making it hard to think about anything else. She made an excuse about needing to use the restroom and left the kitchen. Hurrying to her bedroom, she opened the window and waited. She’d been using it to come and go while visiting. A fat tree stump under the window facilitated her entry into the house. Ty jumped through with effortless grace. Greedily drinking in the sight of him, she forced herself to focus on her mad. She seethed. “Would it have killed you to let us know where you were for so long?” Anger—much better than nervous concern. He shook out his thick fur patterned with silver and black that darkened at the tips of his ears and his tail.
