Not Just the Girl Next Door

by Stacy Connelly

  Can she ever be more than this man’s best friend?

  His best buddy’s sister. Someone in need of protection. That’s how Zeke Harper has always seen animal trainer Mollie McFadden. He can’t cross the line, no matter how irresistible he finds the girl next door. Until a surprise kiss takes them beyond the bounds of friendship. Now Zeke wonders if this woman who opens her life to pets in need can find a place for him—in her heart!

  “I’m, um, not interrupting anything, am I?”

  Mollie shrugged a slender shoulder. “I was just having breakfast.”

  Some of his thoughts must have shown on his face. Mollie’s eyes widened. “Oh, my—” Reaching out, she socked him in the shoulder just like she’d done when she was a kid. “It was a first date, Zeke!”

  “I know, but—” She’d looked so gorgeous the night before. What man wouldn’t have wanted to take her to bed?

  “But what? Oh, that’s right! You know me so well! You must have realized I was out for some kind of wild affair!”

  Wild affair.

  The words kept bouncing off his stunned brain in more and more dangerous combinations. Mollie...affair. Mollie...wild.

  Truth was, she looked a little wild right then. With her red hair ablaze from the morning sunlight streaming through the lace-curtained windows. With sapphire sparks flying from her eyes. With her chest heaving beneath the black cotton tank top.

  But he didn’t think of Mollie that way. He couldn’t.

  * * *

  FUREVER YOURS: Finding forever homes—

  and hearts!—has never been so easy.

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for picking up Not Just the Girl Next Door, the third book in Special Edition’s Furever Yours series! When the editors at Harlequin approached me about writing for this series, I was thrilled to be included—both as an author and as a dog lover.

  The heroine of this book, dog trainer Mollie McFadden, immediately spoke to me. She’s a little shy, a little awkward and more comfortable around her furry friends than around people! But she has a big heart—especially when it comes to her foster dogs, Charlie and Chief, and her secret crush, Zeke Harper.

  Zeke Harper is a hero who takes responsibility seriously, including looking out for Mollie, his childhood friend. He’s always around to help with fixing up her house or to hang out together with her dogs, but he isn’t ready to see that the girl next door is all grown up.

  Mollie knows Zeke could be her perfect match, but what will it take to prove to him that falling in love with his best friend isn’t such a far-fetched idea after all?

  I hope you enjoy Not Just the Girl Next Door and that you’ll look for the other books in the Furever Yours series written by my fellow Special Edition authors—Melissa Senate, Teri Wilson, Karen Rose Smith, Kathy Douglass and Christy Jeffries.

  Happy Tails!

  Stacy Connelly

  Not Just the Girl Next Door

  Stacy Connelly

  Stacy Connelly has dreamed of publishing books since writing stories about a girl and her horse. Eventually, boys made it onto the page as she discovered a love of romance novels. She is thrilled that her novel Once Upon a Wedding was recently turned into a movie titled Christmas Wedding Planner.

  Stacy lives in Arizona with her two spoiled dogs. She loves to hear from readers at stacyconnelly@cox.net, at stacyconnelly.com or on Facebook.

  Books by Stacy Connelly

  Harlequin Special Edition

  Hillcrest House

  The Best Man Takes a Bride

  How to Be a Blissful Bride

  The Pirelli Brothers

  His Secret Son

  Romancing the Rancher

  Small-Town Cinderella

  Daddy Says, “I Do!”

  Darcy and the Single Dad

  Her Fill-In Fiancé

  Temporary Boss...Forever Husband

  The Wedding She Always Wanted

  Once Upon a Wedding

  All She Wants for Christmas

  Visit the Author Profile page at www.Harlequin.com for more titles.

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  To the real-life shelter workers dedicated to

  finding forever homes for the animals in their care...

  Thank you!

  To Susan Litman and Gail Chasan

  for thinking of me!

  And to my Shadow... I miss you, baby girl.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Epilogue

  Excerpt from Texan Seeks Fortune by Marie Ferrarella

  Chapter One

  Mollie McFadden scooted closer to the good-looking guy in the corner. “Hey, handsome. How’d a fellow like you end up in a place like this?”

  Soulful brown eyes glanced in her direction, then quickly away, but Mollie didn’t let that deter her. She had a reputation for winning over strong, silent types. “I bet you’ve got a story to tell, don’t you?”

  Again a slight flicker of eyelids, this time followed by a big sigh.

  “A heartbreaking one, too, huh?” She inched a little closer but kept her hands to herself even though her heart ached to offer the comfort he obviously craved. “Bet you’re feeling lost and abandoned and alone.”

  Her pulse skipped a beat as he shifted. He might have simply been looking for a more comfortable position, but she didn’t miss how he settled a little closer to her. “But you have to believe things are going to get better.”

  He let out a huff that sounded more than a little doubtful. “I’m telling you, it will. Look at all Spring Forest has been through in the last few months, including a tornado, of all things!”

  Maybe she was reading too much into body language, but Mollie swore a slight shudder ran through his solid frame. “The storm was pretty scary, wasn’t it? But in Spring Forest, people really help each other out. You’ll see if you just give us a chance. In fact...” she leaned closer to whisper “...something tells me you might even find your perfect match.”

  A pair of dark eyebrows rose at that. “I know, I know. It seems hard to believe now, but I have a good feeling about this.”

  And that feeling grew and bloomed and warmed her heart into a melting puddle of goo as the rescue dog named Chief slowly lowered his chin to rest against her jean-clad thigh.

  Reaching out, she gently placed her hand on the soft ruff of fur at his neck. “We’re going to find a great home for you.” Though she’d worked with plenty of pound puppies during her years volunteering at the animal shelter, Mollie’s throat clogged with tears as she promised, “The very best home.”

  The Whitaker sisters, affectionately known by the nicknames Birdie and Bunny, had asked Mollie to come to the Furever Paws Animal Rescue to meet with Chief. As a dog trainer, she worked with many dogs—from purebreds to shelter mutts. Shy pups like Chief, though, were the ones she had a soft spot for. Most canines were outgoing, adventurous and loving by nature. To see one so trapped by fear, c
owering in the back of his kennel, broke her heart.

  Adopters were all too likely to pass up diamonds in the rough like Chief. “Not this time, boy,” she promised. “We’re going to break you out of your shell and show the world how fabulous you are.”

  Mollie cringed a little at the familiar words. They mirrored the bold, confident vow her friend Amanda Sylvester had made. Only Amanda hadn’t been talking about a four-legged companion. She’d been talking about Mollie.

  But Mollie didn’t care about the whole world seeing her as special...just one particular guy who unfortunately only saw her as his best friend’s little sister.

  Chief made a small sound, a mix between a whine and a bark, definitely punctuated by a question mark at the end.

  “Oh, don’t you worry,” Mollie insisted as she shoved thoughts of her pathetic love life from her mind. “The odds are way more in your favor.”

  With his striking black-and-tan coloring, medium build and short fur, Chief had the outward makings of an easily adoptable dog. All he needed was a bit of confidence and adopters would no longer walk by his kennel before he had a chance to catch their eye.

  “Something tells me you’re smart, too.” Even though he was a mix, shepherds were generally regarded as one of the most intelligent breeds. “I bet we can even teach you some tricks, like—”

  Mollie didn’t get a chance to tell Chief about the joys of fetch. A sudden crash shook the window. With a startled yelp, the dog scrambled to his paws and scurried to his corner.

  Mollie glared at the wall as if she could see through to the construction going on outside. She’d asked Birdie to take Chief out of his kennel and into one of the visitation rooms. Though the furnishings were all secondhand donations, the worn brown leather sofas, mismatched end tables and floral area rug had all the touches of a typical living room. Mollie wanted Chief to associate the home-like environment with a safe and happy place.

  Something she was going to have an even harder time accomplishing now. Mollie took a deep breath and forced her own tense muscles to relax. Getting frustrated wouldn’t help. She often felt her own dog, Arti, could tell what kind of a day she’d had before she even walked through the door and kicked off her shoes. She didn’t want poor Chief thinking she was upset with him.

  But despite her best efforts, the loud noise had erased the small progress she’d made. Curled in the corner with his nose practically tucked behind his hind leg, the dog refused to respond.

  Swallowing her disappointment, but reminding herself that changing behavior took time, she slipped from the room and walked down the long hallway toward the main lobby. Thanks to a recent fund-raiser, the Whitaker sisters had plans to spruce up the small space, including updating the furniture and adding some color to the plain beige walls and a new stain treatment to the concrete floors.

  For now, the main bright spot was the small gift shop off to the side where a rainbow of leashes and collars lined the walls in a variety of styles and sizes. The store also offered a selection of bowls and toys and beds. Everything an adopter might need when taking home a new furry friend.

  One of the shelter volunteers was working the front desk, phone tucked against her shoulder as she jotted some notes. “I’m sorry, can you say that again?” the girl asked, pressing her free hand against her ear as the high-pitched whine of a saw filled the air.

  Mollie pushed one of the glass doors open and stepped out onto the front porch. The scent of freshly cut wood drifted on the midmorning breeze, and she followed the strident, no-nonsense sound of Birdie Whitaker’s voice around the side of the building. The sixtysomething shelter co-owner, dressed in a denim jumpsuit over a long-sleeved blue T-shirt, was known for working twice as hard as most people half her age.

  “Is everything okay?” Mollie asked after the woman finished her conversation with the construction foreman.

  Birdie shook her head. “I can’t wait for these repairs to be over. I hope the work will start to speed up now that Rebekah’s applied for a grant,” she said, speaking of the shelter’s new director.

  The brown roof and dark gray siding weren’t much to look at, but the prominently displayed logo—the silhouette of a dog and a cat within a large heart—spoke to the shelter’s main purpose. And, as always, Birdie focused on what mattered most. “We hope to use that money to expand the kennels so we can house more animals, plus create an outdoor space for the cats and a dog run.”

  “The changes are going to be a huge benefit to the shelter,” Mollie agreed. And, more importantly, to the animals. Birdie and Bunny were such amazing advocates for the furry friends in their care—always striving to treat them as potential pets rather than as unwanted strays.

  “But now for the reason why I asked you to come to Furever Paws today. What do you think about Chief?”

  “He’s such a sweet dog, but he’s so skittish.” After explaining her minor success with the dog and then Chief’s reaction to the noise outside, Mollie asked, “Is there anyone here he’s bonded with?”

  If ever a dog needed a foster home, it was Chief. Between the volunteers and a stream of adopters coming through, not to mention the varied mix of other animals, shelters could be stressful. Add in the construction noise, and kennel life had to be terrifying for the poor dog.

  “Well,” the older woman mused, “there is someone.” Spotting another volunteer walking up the gravel parking lot with a gorgeous yellow Lab, Birdie said, “Excuse me for one moment.”

  After speaking to the young woman, Birdie returned to Mollie’s side. “Come with me. There’s something you should see.”

  Leading the way back down the hall toward the visitation room, Birdie stopped at the large viewing window. As she stepped up to the glass, Mollie looked for Chief in his corner, but the dog wasn’t there. Instead, he was sitting in the middle of the room, gazing adoringly at a gorgeous blonde.

  “He doesn’t even look like the same dog,” Mollie said, amazed by the change in his demeanor. Though his ears were still back and his head bowed in typical submissive behavior, Chief had stopped shaking. She might have even seen a hint of a tail wag across the linoleum floor. “Who is that in there with him?”

  Birdie grinned. “That is Charlie.”

  “Charlie.” Mollie took a closer look at the large dog circling the room with her nose pressed to the ground and her tail swishing through the air. “Isn’t she the dog Claire and Matt were considering for his niece before Ellie ended up falling in love with Sparkle?”

  Claire Asher, a teacher at the local middle school and fellow volunteer, had recently gotten engaged to her one-time high school sweetheart, Matt Fielding. The two of them had reunited while helping Ellie train Sparkle.

  “Yes. Matt’s sister wanted a smaller dog. I’m starting to think that might be just as well, seeing how Chief is so attached to Charlie. Bunny is hoping we can find someone to adopt them as a pair, but with larger dogs, that’s not as likely.”

  Adopting them out together would be ideal. So, too, would fostering them as a pair. Not that Mollie had arrived at the shelter with any intention of fostering Chief. She was supposed to be there only to offer her assessment. But hadn’t she known within minutes of meeting the shy dog that the shelter wasn’t the best place for him? As she watched Charlie lower her chest almost to the floor with her tail wagging wildly behind her in a classic play bow, Mollie knew having the happy-go-lucky Lab on her side would make working with Chief much easier.

  Mollie sighed. She’d never been able to turn away from a dog in need. She smiled in memory of her first dog, Shadow. Her parents had never allowed animals in the house, so the stray that she and Zeke Harper rescued had ended up living at his house a few doors down. Mollie had spent almost as much time over at the Harpers’ as she had at her own home.

  Of course, not all of that had been about spending time with Shadow...

  Pushing the thought from
her mind, Mollie turned her focus to the shy shepherd. “Chief needs a quieter environment and to spend one-on-one time with a human to get over his fear.”

  “So you’ll take them—I mean, him,” Birdie corrected quickly.

  But Mollie wasn’t fooled. Knowing it had likely been the older woman’s plan all along, she sighed. “I’ll take them both.”

  * * *

  Mollie knew she’d made the right decision as soon as she loaded Charlie and Chief into her SUV. Chief balked when she led him toward the back hatch, lowering his head and thrashing against the leash. Mollie had anticipated having to struggle to get the good-sized dog into one of the crates she’d borrowed from the shelter. Charlie, however, sailed over the lowered tailgate and settled right in. Clearly afraid of being left behind, Chief followed suit.

  “You’re going to be my right-hand dog, aren’t you, Charlie?” Mollie asked as she left Spring Forest behind and headed toward the rural outskirts north of the small North Carolina town.

  Four years ago, when Mollie had been looking for a home of her own, she’d known she wanted a place in the country. Dog training could be on the noisy side, and she hadn’t wanted any next-door neighbors to complain. Plus, she knew she’d need plenty of outdoor space for distance training as well as agility work.

  Her tiny house on its large lot was perfect.

  She wrinkled her nose a little at the thought. Okay, it was perfect for the dogs. She still had some work to do—maybe even a lot of work to do—before the place would be perfect for her. And she really did have a plan for the needed repairs and improvements and upgrades. Somehow, though, time tended to get away from her, which led to dozens of half-finished projects and an overwhelming number of idea boards on Pinterest.

  “Don’t you worry, though,” she told the dogs. “You guys come first.”

  She’d get around to those repairs soon enough and—

  Mollie braked a bit harder than she’d intended as she caught sight of a familiar sleek black sedan parked off to the side of her house. Her heart instantly skipped a beat. She hadn’t expected to see Zeke today. She’d texted him after Birdie asked her to swing by the shelter. So for him to show up unannounced, at a time when he knew she wouldn’t be around, only meant one thing.