Craig soon knew why. Just as they locked the door behind them and stepped onto the sidewalk, Gary came down the street.
He was weaving slightly, as was the blonde next to him, the two of them somehow holding each other up. When they reached the house, however, and Gary saw Craig standing there, he stopped dead, forgetting his companion. “What the hell is going on here?” he demanded.
Craig didn’t let Julie answer and he didn’t allow Gary any closer, immediately stepping between them. “Animal control,” he said drily. “We’re taking the dogs.”
“Tell him, Gary!” the woman said. “Tell him that he’d better not have touched even one of your things.”
Gary straightened his shoulders, but it was obvious he was no more eager to get into a fight now than he had been back at Finnegan’s.
“You better not have touched anything,” he warned, but he didn’t make any move to back up his words.
Julie stepped to Craig’s side and glared at his date. “And you’d better not touch anything of mine—like my bed!”
Craig had a feeling things were about to get ugly.
But Kieran grabbed Julie’s arm and looked at Gary. “We’re leaving, Gary. No more whining dogs to ruin your special moment.”
“Yes, let’s go,” Mary Kathleen urged.
“Come on, honey,” Craig said, slipping an arm around Julie’s shoulders.
That made Gary’s jaw drop. “You’re with—with him now?”
“Let’s go,” Craig insisted.
He led her down the sidewalk toward his car. Gary and the blonde stepped aside, Gary still looking stunned.
“What the hell is that?” Gary cried after him. “Your fucking harem?”
Julie tensed as if she was about to turn and confront Gary, but Craig kept her moving and helped her into the car.
With the dogs. Two sizable greyhounds. Sweet—but big, they sat in the backseat with Mary Kathleen and Julie, but one of them kept licking his ear. He liked dogs, but that was a little too personal.
Eventually they reached Mary Kathleen’s place down by the Reed Street fire station.
“You went above and beyond,” Kieran told him as they all got out of the car. “Thanks so much for getting us here and dealing with Gary. You don’t need to give up the rest of your night, though. You should go home.”
“Are you going to stay here tonight, too?” he asked her.
“No, but I can grab a cab.”
He shook his head. “Not on my watch,” he said softly. “It’s late—there’s barely any traffic. Come on, I’ll see you home.”
She hesitated, then acquiesced. Everyone said good-night and thanked Craig for his help. Even Benji and Sally seemed happy to be there, wagging their tails nonstop.
“You were a lifesaver tonight,” Kieran told him as they drove.
“It was nothing.”
“Making Gary believe you’re with Julie? That will have him think twice.”
“Frankly, I’m amazed Danny hasn’t belted the guy yet. All of you seem to be very close.”
“Our dads were best friends,” Kieran explained. “We’ve known each other since we were born, I’m pretty sure. She’s like the other girl in the family. And,” she added, swinging around slightly to study him, “she’s not only gorgeous, she’s smart and talented.”
“Brakes on there,” he said.
“She’s not your type?”
“I don’t have a type.”
“Seriously, thank you. I’ve tried to talk Julie into getting out of that place since her marriage fell apart three months ago. I know there are smart lawyers out there, but the idiots they’ve hired have warned them that the other one will clean them out and the division of property will become a nightmare if they don’t hang in until their court date. But...”
“But?”
She shrugged and glanced at him, looking uncomfortable. “But I’ve seen what can happen when a marriage turns toxic. Today at work I interviewed a woman who—according to one of my colleagues—‘pulled a Bobbitt.’”
“Ouch,” Craig murmured.
“The guy is going to live and, of course, rip her to shreds in court. I’ve told my bosses that she suffered terribly at his hands, but claiming self-defense when she was the one wielding the knife is going to be hard.”
“Makes me even happier I was able to help Julie get away from Gary.”
“He’s never been violent, just cruel. But who knows what people will do? I don’t think the woman I interviewed was ever violent before she suddenly picked up a knife and whacked off her husband’s...you know. I guess there’s only so much anyone can take. Gary’s already nasty, so if he started thinking Julie was persecuting him or cramping his style... Well, let’s just say I’m glad we won’t have to find out,” Kieran said. She flashed him an awkward smile. “Funny. I’m a psychologist—I’m supposed to know so much about people, but the more I learn, the less I seem to understand. Please don’t tell my employers I said that.”
“If you felt you knew everything, you wouldn’t be any good at your job,” he told her.
When they reached her apartment, he once again got lucky and found parking on the street, and this time the media weren’t lurking nearby. “I’ll see you upstairs.”
“I’m fine. I can see myself up.”