“Ryker at Black Ice is dating your girl, Phoebe,” he answered slowly, his eyes watching my fingers as I scratched the little dog’s neck. “He’s the younger brother to one of my old Army Ranger teammates. The one who’s trying to talk me into working at Black Ice.”
As answers went, his was a pretty good one. It explained how he not only knew my full name, but how he was able to do an investigation on me. And word-of-mouth advertising never hurt any new business. “Okay, I’ll watch her. But I want to go on record as saying I don’t like you.”
“You’ll be taking care of her not me, so that shouldn’t be an issue, Ms. James.” Was it my imagination or did his voice carry the tiniest trace of hurt? “You can’t let me down now. She needs you. I mean, just look at that face.”
As if on cue the tiny dog cocked her head and looked beseechingly up at me. I idly questioned how he’d been able to train her in order to make me melt. To my eyes she was some sort of Shih Tzu or poodle mix. My hands tightened on her as I cuddled her to my chest. She was a light brown all over with the rounded head, dark brown eyes, and a little button nose. As I admired both her coloring and personality, I saw her muzzle held a little bit of white and her tiny triangle ears were black. In my mind, she looked like a small teddy bear and felt twice as cuddly.
Bringing that sweet face up to mine I gazed into her eyes and crooned, “And what’s your name, you precious girl?”
When Rio didn’t immediately supply the dog’s name, I looked around her body and wondered if my eyes were deceiving me as I took in his blush. “At the moment, her name’s Pookie. But I’m trying to train her to answer to ‘PK’. If you could work on that while I’m gone, that would be great.”
What would be great was him leaving at the soonest possible moment so I could forget about him and concentrate on his dog.
Because dogs I can talk to without getting rattled or snippy.
Their owners?
Not so much.
About the Authors
D. P. Fletcher
I’m married to the love of my life. We met at a bus stop in Washington DC and we’ve never looked back. A classic case of opposites attract—I was the wild(ish) girl and he was the boy scout. But it works for us. We have one son and the only girl we’re gonna hae, Daisy, a miniature poodle.
A transplant from Northern Virginia, I now live in Denver, Colorado and every day I’m grateful for the blue skies and 300 days of sun.
In my spare time when I’m not huddled over a keyboard, I like to spend time with my family, entertain, read and dream of owning a condo on the beach!
I’m a life-long reader of romance. I can recall snuggling down into the easy chair in our living room and reading everything romance, contemporary, sci-fi, regency—it didn’t matter to me. They transported me to a different world. And they still do.
Connect with me at:
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.dpfletcher.com or www.broken-girls.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100012538726562
Twitter: https://twitter.com/1dpfletcher
J. A. Hornbuckle
If you ask Judy where she grew up, she’ll either tell you, “All over” or “In the backseat of a car” because as a young girl, her family moved a lot due to her dad’s work. But those traveling years didn’t stop when she grew up, and she still loves the adventure of moving to a new place, meeting new people and learning new things.
As an avid, lifelong reader, it wasn’t until her later years that she decided to try her hand at writing. Only to find the process is a LOT harder than it looks, but immeasurably satisfying!
At present, Judy is single and living in Phoenix but as her wanderlust kicks in, who knows where she might be next week or next year? Especially since her full-time job as an author allows her to work from just about anywhere.
Feel free to contact Judy at:
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.jahornbuckle.com or www.broken-girls.com
Twitter: @J A Hornbuckle
Phoebe: Book One of Broken Girls Series Page 30
