His Garden of Bones (Skye Cree Book 4) by Vickie McKeehan Read Free Book Online Page A

had all started. And if he braved the frigid weather, he might as well land back on familiar turf.
    Or maybe he would revisit his old college haunt, go back to Corvallis, Oregon, and relive the glory of his time spent there.
    He itched to take a road trip. It’d be just the thing to pick up his spirits. It might make him forget how playing with fire, or in this case, Skye Cree, could get him caught. Playing tag was a sign that he needed to stay on guard, be more cautious.
    “That’s why it’s so important to give up my extracurricular activities, keep my interests closer to home. Keeping my gardens tidier, weed-free, and without flaws is the goal.”
    He scrubbed the panther’s ears again with his big hands. “The two of us have always made a good team. Your predatory instincts were handed down to me through my ancestors for a reason. Remember how my parents acted when I told them I had a spirit guide? Remember that? They thought I was crazy and refused to believe me. They might’ve laughed behind my back then but they aren’t laughing now, are they?”
    Dillard continued to talk to himself like that, sitting atop the roof of the church until the sun came up. Watching Skye Cree head to her car, he made a pact. If the woman thought so highly of her hunting skills and came for him, he would be ready.
    It was inevitable that one day soon they were destined to meet face to face. His fate rested on the opportunity of a lifetime. He didn’t intend to waste it. Maybe it was because his adversary bore such a striking resemblance to his little Camilla that she fascinated him so. The Cree woman was a little older than he was used to hunting. But it didn’t negate the fact that she’d be a prize asset, a lovely addition to his purple field of dahlias.
    “Imagine that, my friend. Imagine if we could add Skye Cree to our garden. Imagine having a woman like that with us and keeping her forever. Either way, she’ll soon learn a thing or two about what she was truly meant to do.”
     
     



Chapter Three
     
    T he moment Skye burst through the front door at home—a few minutes after eight a.m.—she started toeing off boots and shedding her clothes. Drained, she tossed her jacket on the bench in the hallway and watched the dog and the wolf in their exuberance both skid on the hardwood floors.
    She went in search of orange juice, hoping to put an end to a craving she’d had since Harborview. Heading for the kitchen, she followed the animals to the fridge. After pouring a bowl of chow for Atka, she pulled out the plastic jug, drank straight from the bottle. Even though she could’ve used several over-easy eggs and a couple slices of bacon, she passed on the temptation, too tired to bother with food. As she slugged down more juice, she was just grateful to be back home.
    Home was an old country farmhouse on Bainbridge Island, thirty minutes west of Seattle across Puget Sound. The house had been built in 1909 amid green rolling hills complete with pretty gabled windows and a wraparound porch to die for. The private stretch of beach and the spectacular view across the water were each a bonus.
    The renovated four bedrooms and three bathrooms were no doubt a lot of space for two people. But Kiya and Atka helped fill part of the void with doggy noises and doggy merriment, not to mention the doggy trouble they got into on a daily basis. The canines often used the cherry orchard out back and its rows and rows of trees to dig and explore. That tendency to dig had forced her to fence off the part of the backyard she’d dedicated for planting and growing a vegetable garden.
    After months of settling in, Skye had yet to really flex her homemaker muscles. Sure, she took her turn throwing together breakfast, same with cooking evening meals. She often switched off chores with Josh to maintain that balance necessary to achieving happy and successful coupledom. But when it came to anything beyond that, she had trouble keeping the hydrangeas,