by Roma, Laurie
Kalista looked across the pond and saw a smaller ranch house. It warmed her heart to think of Jared’s mother in a happy relationship after what she went through with Jared’s father. Pushing those distressing thoughts aside, she opened the trunk of her car and took out a large canvas bag that held three gallon-sized plastic containers filled with dog treats. “I was really excited about coming to see you about the upcoming adoption event. I made three kinds of treats to start us off.”
She had taken care to do a little research online before she tweaked the recipes until she was happy with the results. Becca and Anna had helped her make the treats over the last few days, but some unexpected help had come from Anna’s nephew, Nathan Diaz.
The sixteen year old had recovered from his ordeal with his mother’s abusive boyfriend, and had started attending classes at the local high school. When the school day was over, Nate had started coming in to help out in the bakery. With his brother Shane still in the hospital, it seemed best to keep the teen occupied. He had offered to clean the pots and pans in the back of the shop, and had learned to work the register in the front. He had a good work ethic, despite how screwed up his home life had been before he’d moved in with Anna, and he had been very grateful when Kalista officially offered him a part-time job.
Over the last week they had noticed an increase of young girls visiting the shop. Nate was a handsome young man, with a dark, brooding attitude that automatically drew those young girls to him like forbidden fruit. It seemed odd that the young man wanted to work in the bakery with his bad boy demeanor, but he was a natural in the kitchen and seemed to like what he was doing.
He had taken an interest in helping to make the dog treats and had even been the one to suggest a yogurt-based frosting to make the treats cute and appealing. He had muttered that he had looked online at some pictures of homemade dog treats, and it had been sweet how he’d blushed at her praise. Once they’d had a plan, Nate, Anna, Becca and Kalista had a blast baking the samples for today’s meeting.
Evie’s eyes widened as she peeked into the bag, then she laughed. “Oh, wow. You even decorated them?”
“Only the peanut butter ones.” Kalista took out the three containers and set them out on the trunk of the car. They had made a chicken-flavored treat in the shape of bones, miniature bones that were sweetened with a touch of honey for smaller dogs and the puppies, and paw shaped peanut butter treats with little round colored frosting spots in pale pink and blue for decoration.
She handed Evie a sheet of paper. “This is a list of all the ingredients in each of the treats so you know there is nothing harmful added. We can also tweak the recipes as needed if you think they need something else. I noticed some people add in a vitamin supplement that we can discuss if you’d like.”
“That would be great, but these look fantastic as is! Well, time for a taste test,” Evie said with a smile as all four of her dogs rushed back, each of them carrying a tennis ball in their mouth. They abandoned their toys as Evie held out the treats for them. All four of the dogs gobbled up the treats, eagerly whining for more and nudging hands, making both women laugh. “I’d say they’re a hit. Why don’t we take these into the kennel and hand out a few?”
“I’d love that,” Kalista agreed.
“Excellent. I’ll take you through the front and give you the grand tour.”
The women walked down a wide path that wound around the large pond toward the barn-like building with the four dogs pacing them. Several weeping willow trees offered shade on the shoreline and would make the perfect spot for a picnic on a hot summer day. Kalista noticed there were several people playing with various dogs on the wide expanse of grass, while a few others walked dogs around the pond.
When she asked about it, Evie explained, “We’re pretty busy around here on the weekends. Lots of volunteers come by to play with the dogs and help care for them.”
“That’s great. I wish I knew about this place. I would have come by here long before now if I had known.”
Evie frown. “I guess we haven’t really advertised outside of the animal clinic.”
“I’d be happy to put up a poster or something for you in the bakery, especially since I think we are going to start selling the dog treats. It might help draw in a new crowd of volunteers.”
“That would be amazing, thanks. We can always use more people to help around here. During the week we have interns coming in to work in shifts, and lots of the guys come on over from the boarding house to help out. It’s sort of like therapy for them. Taking care of the dogs actually helps them acclimate back into civilian life even when they can’t talk to other people.”
“I imagine it would good for both the dogs and the men,” Kalista said quietly. She couldn’t even imagine how lost a soldier would feel coming back from a war-zone. It would take a great deal of strength and fortitude to move on from that to try and live a normal life. She wondered if that was the reason Jared had started his fighting career after he left the Army. Kalista didn’t know if his time serving overseas still haunted him, but she imagined what he had seen and done wouldn’t be easy to forget.
The huge wooden barn was painted a bright red that was both eye-catching and cheerful. On one side of the barn was a large paw print with the words “The Beaumont Rescue Center” painted over it. There were various cages set up in rows outside, and an interesting looking obstacle course was set up next to a big fenced in play area. Several dogs were in the play area and she could hear them barking in greeting as they walked toward the building.
When they entered the front door, Kalista was surprised to see a nice front office with several chairs in a waiting room. Two young women sat at the front desk, one typing diligently on a computer while the other spoke to a beautiful woman with long, dark, curly hair the color of mahogany and a tall, handsome man, who leaned on the counter. The man had the same good looks as the woman, and both had hazel eyes that sparkled with interest as they turned at the sound of the bell on the door as Kalista and Evie entered the room.
The woman with curly hair smiled at them. “So, this is the woman we have to kill.”
Kalista blinked, unsure how to react to that statement. The woman let out what could only be described at a husky laugh that Kalista was sure drove men to their knees when they heard it.
“Kali, these are my cousins, Francesca and Beckett Savante.”
“Hi,” Beckett said, reaching out to take Kalista’s hand. Instead of shaking it, he raised it to his lips.
“Careful, big brother. Hammer is likely to beat the crap out of you if he hears you are putting moves on his girl,” Francesca said.
“I can take him.”
Both women snorted in derision, and Kalista silently agreed. Beckett was a handsome man with a lean body of what looked to be hard muscles, but he couldn’t even begin to compare to Jared’s enormous strength. Still, it gave Kalista a little thrill hearing Jared’s cousins call her his girl.
Francesca shot Kalista a wide grin. “I blame those damn chocolate dipped shortbread cookies of yours for the five pounds I can’t seem to get rid of. I can eat a whole box when I’m writing.”
Kalista smiled as she relaxed. Francesca was tall, beautiful and had a body that was perfectly proportioned. “Those are a particular favorite of mine, too.”
Evie bumped her shoulder against her cousins. “I already told Kali that her bakery is dangerous, but look what she made for our boys and girls!”
Francesca and Beckett were impressed by the treat samples, and the two women working at the desk cooed over the frosted paws. Beckett had to excuse himself to treat a patient, and one of the young women offered to take Evie’s dogs outside to play while Evie took Kalista on the tour of the facility.
“I would love to join you, but I have some edits to finish up. My publisher will kill me if I don’t get them done in time. Why don’t you bring Kali up to the house after the tour and we can have a glass of wine.”
“I’d like that,” Kalista
said.
After Francesca left, Evie led Kalista into the kennel where the dogs were kept. The setup was impressive. Each dog was housed in a separate cage, lined up in rows in the big open space. In each cage there was a dog house and a few toys, along with big metal water and food bowls. The areas were kept clean, and Evie introduced Kalista to the various volunteers that were inside the kennel as they made the rounds distributing the treats to the dogs. Overall, Kalista was pleased that the recipes she had chosen seemed to be a big hit among the canine community.
As they visited with the dogs, Evie told her stories about how each of them were rescued, and Kalista noticed that each cage had a detailed sheet of paper describing some of the dogs’ attributes and where they had come from. There were some dogs that had been dropped off after being abandoned by their previous owners, but most of them had been rescued from horrible situations when a dog fighting ring was broken up or when an owner was discovered being abusive to the animal.
“It’s a shame,” Evie said. “You can see that all of these dogs are just looking for someone to love them. They have good hearts and will make someone a wonderful companion someday.”
Kalista agreed. “It’s amazing work that you do here. I am so happy you asked me to be part of your adoption event.”
“We get emails all the time about the dogs we put up on our website, but no matter how many we find a home for, we always seem to get more dogs coming in. It’s an ongoing process that can break your heart.”
They walked into a large room in the back of the warehouse where an older woman was sitting in the middle of a fenced in area, playing with a dozen adorable puppies. A large man at the back of the room turned as they entered, and Kalista held back a shiver as his penetrating gaze focused on her. She could see by his dark hair and hazel eyes that he must be the other cousin she hadn’t met yet, but that was where the similarities ended.
His large hands were gentle as they stroked a sleeping puppy, but Hunter had an aura of intensity around him that instantly put her on guard. She could see the angry-looking burn scars that covered his left hand and arm that disappeared beneath his black t-shit. Before he had shifted to his side, she had seen the same scars on the side of his neck. From what Evie had told her about his accident, Kalista knew the burns must have been extremely painful, and she gave another silent prayer of thanks that the former Navy SEAL had made it home alive.
“Hunter, Maddy, this is Kali.”
Hunter merely nodded in greeting, but the older woman sitting on the floor beamed a bright smile at her. Kalista’s stomach flipped as she realized that the woman looking at her was Jared’s mother.
Well, hell…
“Why, hello there, Kali. Why don’t you girls come in here and join me.”
They took off their coats, hanging them up on pegs near the doorway, then Evie carefully opened the gate on the fence and they entered the play area after making sure none of the little dogs escaped. Kalista sat down on the padded floor and was instantly covered with puppies begging for attention. She laughed in delight at their antics, then watched as they scurried over to where Evie was passing out the smaller treats.
“There are two litters here, and they’re all pit bulls. We rescued the babies from an abandoned house about two hours away from here, and the other poor little guys were dropped off at the center by man that found them in a box on the side of the road,” Evie explained.
Kalista gasped. “That’s awful! Who would do such a thing?”
Madeline shook her head and her lips tightened in anger. “It happens more than you would expect.”
Evie nodded. “Pit bulls are one of the most misunderstood types of breeds in the world, if not the most. People are afraid of them, but they are really one of the most loyal and friendly breeds you could own.”
“I don’t know much about them,” Kalista admitted. “I’ve heard about those dog fighting rings and stuff, but even the pit bulls you have out in the main area don’t seem scary or anything like what I’ve heard about.”
“It’s a common misconception that is perpetuated by sick individuals who raise these dogs and abuse them to bring out aggressive behavior,” Evie said furiously. “We’ve had dozens of pit bulls we have rescued and re-trained, and they are the sweetest dogs that have been adopted by loving owners.”
“We’re hoping we can find these little ones good homes at the adoption event,” Madeline added as she handed out a few more treats. “But we are more careful about who we let take one of the pit bulls.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, we like to do home checks whenever we can for all of our adoptions before we release the dogs to their new owners, but we are more diligent when it comes to pit bulls because of the stigma on them,” Evie explained. “We usually make sure there is a fenced off area in the backyard so the dog won’t be able to get out. We also ensure that it is a safe environment for the dog, and we make sure that any existing pet will get along with the dog so there won’t be any aggressive situations.”
“I like to think of it like doggie dating,” Madeline said with a smile. “Just like some people don’t mix, sometimes dogs just don’t get along. For example, two female dogs can get especially feisty with each other.”
A little gray puppy with snowy white paws and hopeful eyes stood staring up at Kalista with its little tail swishing tentatively. She smiled at him as she reached out to stroke his floppy ears. He slowly crawled forward into her lap, then curled up with a sigh. Her heart melted as she stroked her hand over his soft fur and felt herself slide into love as his tail wagged and he licked her hand when she fed him a treat. “Oh, aren’t you a little sweetheart…”
“It figures it would be that little demon.”
Kalista looked up in confusion at Hunter when he spoke, his deep voice a low rumble of sound. She noticed Evie and Madeline exchanging a smile before both women turned to look at her.
“We’ve seen that look before,” Madeline explained, pleased with what she saw in Kali. She’d heard Jared mention the little bakery owner before, and knew from her own experience of visiting the shop that Kali was a smart business owner, but there was a gentle kindness in the young woman that she could see now. It was something her son needed in his life, and it gave her hope that she would finally see him settled soon. “That one there is named Ranger. He is very careful about who he trusts.”
Kalista felt the weight of the woman’s words, knowing instinctively that she was speaking about more than just the puppy curled in her lap. She fought the urge to squirm under the older woman’s gaze. She was Jared’s mother, of course she would want to scrutinize any woman her son was seeing.
She just hoped she would come out of this interrogation unscathed.
Madeline smiled at her again. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Kali. I’m so happy to see my boy finally found a nice girl. When Jared was a fighter he had all of those skanky girls hanging on him all the time, but he never gave into them. Or at least he didn’t that often, and he definitely didn’t keep them around for long. Still, I always taught my boy to practice safe sex, so I didn’t worry…much.”
“Jesus Christ,” Hunter muttered as he set the sleeping puppy down on a pillow.
“What?” Madeline said innocently. She batted her eyelashes at him as she struggled to hold back a grin. Glancing back at Kali, she couldn’t help but add, “It’s about time my boy settled down. I assume you’re being safe with my son, but if not, I’d love some grandkids around here.”
Oh my God!
Kalista felt shock set in and all she could do was blink. Did Jared’s mother really just say she wouldn’t mind if Jared got her pregnant?
“Oh, Maddy…” Evie said with a sigh.
“Well, it’s true. It’s not like any of you are helping out. You and Francesca need to find a man who will sweep you off your feet before you start popping out kids, and Beckett and Hunter should—”
Like a puff of smoke, Hunter suddenly disappeared fro
m the room. Kalista secretly wished she could follow him out of the room, but she remained where she was seated as she watched the door shut after him.
Goodbye escape route.
Madeline let out a gusty sigh. “That one is elusive as ever. We need to find a sweet woman for Hunter so he can settle down and be happy.”
“Hunter would eat a sweet woman alive. He needs someone who could kick his ass and keep him in line,” Evie countered.
Madeline laughed. “You’re probably right.” She turned those dark eyes that were so similar to Jared’s on Kalista. “So, Kali. How serious are things between you and Jared?”
“Madeline—”
“Please, call me Maddy. I know I’m being nosy. You don’t have to say anything, I just want my boy to be happy.”
Kalista cuddled the adorable little puppy on her lap close. “Jared makes me very happy. I hope he feels the same.”
“I’m sure he does, dear,” Madeline said as she reached out to pat Kali’s knee. She was inordinately pleased that Kali called her son by his given name and not the ridiculous name he used for fighting. Who the hell wanted to be named after a tool anyways? She was proud of all he accomplished with his career, but some things she just had to shake her head at. A vibrating noise sounded, and Madeline reached into her pocket to pull out her cell phone. She smiled as she checked the screen. “Ah, it’s done. Tony is at The Fox Hole now.”
“How did everything go?” Evie asked.
“He says everything went perfectly,” Madeline replied as she tucked the phone back into her pocket. “My husband Tony went out on an adoption placement today. Usually Evie likes us to go in pairs, but we let Tony go by himself because he likes to cry a little on his way home.” She smiled. “My man has a soft heart.”
