Adam told the doctor and his bombshell wife who he was and explained what had happened to Lexi. Fordham tried to frown but his brows barely moved. Must be injecting himself with Botox, Adam decided. It figured; cosmetic surgeons, even ones as young as Fordham, couldn’t afford telltale wrinkles.

“That’s strange. Lexi never wanders,” Fordham told him in a puzzled tone. “We’ve had her since she was a puppy. Nearly five years. She never once ran off.”

“Maybe the dog’s confused,” Ashley suggested in a breathy voice. “She thinks this is her home. She isn’t used to her new place yet.”

Fordham gave the sexy blonde an affectionate squeeze. “Good thinking, sweetheart. It’s also possible thieves snatched Lexi and sold her to a test lab. There are several in the area. Golden retrievers are easy marks. They’re trusting and anxious to please. Experimenter’s favorites.”

“Oh, no,” Ashley moaned. It seemed a little put on, but who was Adam to say. “How terrible.”

“I’ll make some calls first thing in the morning,” Ryan offered. “If she’s at a local lab, I’ll be able to track her down.”

“Good idea,” Adam said, and he meant it. He was positive Ryan Fordham was telling the truth. It would be so easy if Whitney’s ex had taken the dog, but it was more likely the retriever would vanish into thin air. Whitney might never know what had happened to her pet.

“It would help if you could convince Whitney to sign those papers. She agreed to the settlement already, but the judge screwed up. He didn’t notice the document hadn’t been properly recorded.” Ryan gave his wife a one-armed hug. “Then we can go our separate ways in peace.”

Adam found himself nodding. He hadn’t known her long, but he wanted Whitney to feel free, to want to start over. These papers-and the dog-seemed to be her last link to her ex. Was she playing it for all it was worth? he suddenly wondered. Could Whitney have the dog stashed somewhere, using this as an excuse to get back at her husband or something?

Why had he become involved? He was thinking with his dick. After nearly three years without sex, he’d gone bonkers over the first attractive woman to cross his path. Granted, Whitney was sexy as hell-and interesting-but he didn’t need to be involved in a domestic dispute like this.

“Look, Doc,” he replied, aware he’d made “Doc” sound like a four-letter word. “This isn’t any of my business. Take it up with Whitney.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

WHITNEY STUMBLED INTO the cottage. Da Vinci and Maddie greeted her with high-pitched yips. They ran in happy, excited circles around her feet. It was all she could do not to shout: Which one of you opened the gate? Who let Lexi out?

She collapsed onto the small well-worn sofa, admitting that it must have been Lexi who’d used her nose or paw to spring the latch on the gate. The other dogs were too little to reach the lever. Lexi had never done anything like that-ever. She’d never shown the slightest tendency to wander. But there was always a first time. Blaming the other dogs, yelling at them wouldn’t bring Lexi back.

“Please, God,” she whispered, “I’ll do anything.”

Then she remembered what her mother had always said. You can’t make deals with the universe. God has more important things to do.

Still she prayed, because that was all she could do. Hot tears slowly seeped from her eyes and drizzled down her cheeks. Lexi’s collar had a tag with her name and this phone number clearly engraved on it. Whitney had always taken precautions not to lose Lexi. When she’d first left the home she’d shared with Ryan to house-sit, she’d immediately gotten Lexi a new tag and called the chip center to update the information. She’d switched the tag for another one the first day she’d moved in with Miranda. She’d contacted the chip center again with the current information.

“It’s too soon to give up hope,” she told Da Vinci, who’d hopped up beside her and was trying his best to lick the tears dribbling off her chin.

A paralyzing depression gripped her. How do we sense things before we know them? she asked herself. When she’d left Adam to feed the dogs, something had alerted her. A sense of dread like a slow-moving fog had engulfed her on the stone path from the main house to the cottage.

The minute she’d opened the front door she’d…known. She’d raced to the back door to the small yard where she’d left the dogs. The gate was ajar. Lexi had vanished.

She’d rushed around like a crazy woman. Searching and calling. Searching and calling. Yet in her heart of hearts, she’d known she wouldn’t find Lexi.

Even when she’d had the hissy fit at Ryan’s, she’d known deep down that it was a vain hope. When he didn’t get his way, Ryan did little vindictive things like “accidentally” throwing out cherished photographs of her mother. But she didn’t believe he’d taken Lexi.

Another wave of tears brimmed in her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. What had her last words to Lexi been? “Go on, now. Do your business.”

She tried not to think of what she’d read on the Golden retriever rescue Web site. Almost three-quarters of lost Goldens were never returned to their owners-despite having identification on them. They were intelligent, loving dogs. People who found them tended to keep them.

“Lexi belongs to me,” she whispered to herself.

She remembered every day and every training session. Lexi had been so easy, caught on so fast. Still, Whitney had been the one-never Ryan-to put in the necessary time.

Why would a dog that was so well trained run away? It didn’t make sense. She had to admit Ashley might have been correct. Lexi could have been confused by leaving the home where she’d been raised to move first to a house-sitting place and then here. She must have released the latch to go search for Whitney.

Because Lexi had simply vanished, Whitney realized she would always wonder about her dog. Was Lexi locked up somewhere, alone and afraid? Was she in pain? Did she need a vet?

And some part of Whitney would always hope that one day she would open the door and miracle of miracles-Lexi would be there. Sitting, of course. Waiting to be petted.

Whitney realized she would wonder and worry for years. Even when Lexi’s natural lifespan was over, Whitney would continue to agonize over her loss. She would still know that no matter who’d kept Lexi, the Golden was hers. And no one else’s.

“SHE’S A NUT CASE,” Ashley said just after Adam and Whitney left.

Her voice was still shaky. How many overly emotional women could he handle in an hour? Ryan eased his arm away from his wife’s shoulders.

“Whitney’s crazy about that dog. Always has been.”

It shocked Ryan to realize Whitney cared more about Lexi than she had about him. He hadn’t known it until just now. Seeing how distraught and unreasonable Whitney was convinced him. Even when he’d walked out on her, Whitney hadn’t been this upset.

“Let’s get to bed,” Ryan told Ashley. There wasn’t anything he could do in the office tonight. Getting laid would take his mind off his problems for a few minutes.

On their way to the master suite, Ryan heard his cell phone ringing in the distance. It was still in the office, where he’d left it beside the computer. Who would be calling him at this time of night?

“A wrong number,” Ashley suggested.

“Probably. I’ll check and turn it off.”

He hurried back to his office and grabbed the cell phone off the stack of bills on his desk, dreading answering it.

“Fordham,” the man said before Ryan could utter a word.

“Yes.” He tried to project confidence even though his balls ached at the sound of the voice.

“Dom wants to meet you tomorrow. He has a plan.”

Ryan listened to the instructions, then hung up. He sank into his chair. He ran his tongue over his lips, but his mouth had gone bone dry.