Chapter 4

Seth had stared down the barrel of a gun many times, but never had his potential assailant been a beautiful woman. A beautiful woman who also happened to be his neighbor.

Oddly enough, he didn’t feel afraid having Rose point a gun at him: he felt pride. She knew how to handle a gun, and her stance bespoke a woman who had done a lot of practicing with the weapon in her hand.

It also told him that she’d gotten the gun for a legitimate reason.

He kept saying her name, calmly, slowly, until she returned to herself. He saw a flash of something—embarrassment?—in her eyes before she finally put down the gun and set it aside.

At his request for whiskey, she frowned, but she allowed him to come inside without further comment. Callie growled low in her throat; Seth gave the dog a wide berth. He knew what German shepherds could do when protecting their masters. There was a reason the military used them so often.

“I just have rosé,” Rose said, a slight smile plying her lips finally.

“Appropr