Hounded (Going to the Dogs)

by Dawson, Zoe

  She came out of the bathroom and, without looking at him, went into her room. He didn’t want her to feel bad. At this point, he wanted to date her, but he couldn’t. He had to maintain the distance between them. It was imperative for him to protect her.

  When she came out dressed in ripped leggings, denim shorts and a black eyelet lace top, she checked the windows.

  “It’s still raining. I really want to walk Edgar and Allan. I guess I’ll just take them out to see if they need…”

  “I already took them out when I got up.”

  “Oh. Thanks for doing that.”

  “Poe,” he said softly, rising. “I really hate this polite, we don’t really know each other shit.”

  “I do that when I feel…rejected.”

  “Dang it, girl! I wasn’t rejecting you! If it was up to me, we’d be…never mind. The point I’m trying to make is that the circumstances are weird, but it doesn’t have to be that way with us.”

  “Of course, you’re right.”

  He nodded. “I know I am. I can give you a lift when you go to brunch.”

  “You don’t have to leave the warm and dry to do that.”

  He shrugged. He needed to let off steam. “I think I’ll go pump some iron or hit the bags.”

  “Okay, if it’s not too much trouble. I’m meeting them at Mission Cool.”

  “That’s an excellent restaurant for brunch. Good eggs Benedict.”

  “Why don’t you join us? You look like you could miss an iron-pumping session. Oh, was that too personal?”

  “That you think I’m buff? Hell no. I like hearing that you like my body. I like yours, too.”

  Now that he knew his advances were welcome, that Poe wanted him as much as he wanted her, it was twice as difficult to keep his hands off her.

  “I think I’d better pass.” He wasn’t sure about crashing the foursome’s plans, especially having to interact with Harper on less sleep than he needed. Of course, in the Marines he’d been used to getting very little sleep and catching up when he could. But Harper was much scarier than an insurgent, even unarmed. He just didn’t want to test it and blow his cover, which would leave Poe unguarded.

  “Okay, you up for a session later on today?”

  “Surely am.”

  “I’ll call you after brunch, and you can pick me up and we’ll go to Callie’s. That might be the best place to practice. Is that good for you?”

  What would be good for him is if she was under him right now and they were both naked and burning up the sheets. That would be good for him right now.

  Instead he nodded.

  “I’m ready to go.”

  It was a quick trip to Mission Cool. Poe dashed out of his truck and zipped inside just as Harper’s limo pulled up and she got out holding an umbrella.

  She flashed him a look and hesitated, then walked over to the truck.

  He rolled down his window. “Jared, I wanted to make sure you understood how sorry I am about what I said. I don’t know the circumstances of what happened to you and Aiden. He won’t talk about it and…well, we really don’t know each other well enough for me to pry into your life. I am so thankful you took on this crazy assignment for me. I love Poe like a sister and if anything happened to her…well, I would be devastated.”

  He reached up and covered Harper’s hand on the edge of the window. “I won’t let you down. She’s…very special.”

  “Oh, God, Jared. Don’t get involved with her. Don’t lose focus.”

  “I’m working on that. But it’s not easy. She’s so sweet.”

  “I know. I gotta run.”

  He watched her go into the restaurant and thought about what she’d said. He’d thought the most difficult thing about this assignment would be to get the dancing down and coax Daisy to respond. But he’d been totally wrong. Keeping his hands off Poe from here on in was going to be the most difficult thing he’d ever done in his life—and that included boot camp and trying to survive for ten miles when he and Aiden were being hunted, both of them wounded and running on empty.

  #

  “One more time, Jared and try to look less rigid.” Poe could hear her own despair in her voice. It was now afternoon and they had already put in two hours of intense work, and he wasn’t any better. Daisy was still on the whole unresponsive. Poe was quite frankly worried about the dog and worried she was going to lose this competition. There was no way they were even going to place at this point. Maybe she should just cut her losses and try to work out another way to help her mother.

  But what other way would give her such a huge payout? She knew the easiest way out would be to ask Harper for the money, but she just couldn’t. First, she wanted to do this on her own, and she had worked very hard not to succumb to Harper’s enormous wealth. It simply wasn’t what their relationship was about, although Harper did throw money at a lot of things to make them better.

  Just like she had when Brooke was in that terrible situation last fall with Kristen Wright-Davis and her apparent murder. Even though all the evidence had pointed to Brooke, in the end it had all worked out. But Harper’s offer to get Brooke out of the country was heartfelt. Poe was sure about that. Harper never did anything lightly. But Poe didn’t want to take the easy way out.

  It wasn’t that Jared wasn’t working hard, but he just didn’t look good or natural in the routine. The other really big problem was the basset. Poe was now convinced there was something wrong with her. The rules of the competition were explicit. Each couple had to have their dogs perform as completely in the routine as the owner. If it was the case, Poe could just use her Jack Russells, it would be better. But Jared didn’t own either of her dogs.

  Sweat dripping down his face, and his hair wet, he leaned against the wall, breathing hard. He reached down and grabbed up a hand towel and mopped at this face and hair.

  “I look as awkward as a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest.”

  “You’re improving, slightly.”

  “You’re not a very good liar, Poe.”

  She sighed heavily and grabbed two bottles of water out of a small fridge and tossed one to him. “Let’s take a break.”

  Jared easily caught the water and slid down the wall. Twisting off the top, he took a long swig, tipping his head back. Poe got mesmerized watching his powerful neck and throat muscles work. He’d taste salty right now and masculine, and just the thought of licking him made her a bit dizzy.

  When he drained the bottle and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, his gaze collided with hers.

  Her breath got suddenly trapped in her chest. She looked away and he screwed the cap back on the bottle.

  Her nerves jangling, she said, “I think there is something wrong with Daisy. I’d like to do a workup on her if that’s all right with you.”

  He nodded. “I agree. She’s way too inactive for a young dog. I hope there’s nothing wrong with her.”

  He reached out and ruffled the fur on Daisy’s head. She raised her muzzle off the floor and her tail swished.

  “We’ll find out, and we’ll take care of it.”

  “Okay, back to work?”

  She nodded and stood. “Let’s go through it one more time.”

  #

  The animal hospital was dark this late on a Sunday. Poe let herself in, with Jared following. As they reached the lobby, the janitor, Mr. Leonard called out. “Who is it?”

  “It’s me.”

  “Oh, Dr. Madigan. What are you doing here?”

  The man eyed her and Jared. He had lost his dog recently and, ever since then he’d been very sad. She couldn’t blame him. Since Poe had been the one to help him decide whether or not they should operate, she had a pretty good idea just how much he was suffering.

  “We won’t be long,” she said giving him a smile, but he turned away, grumbling about doctors who thought they could do anything they wanted.

  “What’s with that guy?”

  “His dog Scooter wasn’t going to make it wit
hout an operation. He had advanced cancer. But it proved too much for him since he was elderly, and he died on the table. It still breaks my heart how hard Mr. Leonard took it when I told him. He hasn’t been the same.”

  Jared looked apprehensive as he glanced down at Daisy.

  “Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll be able to help Daisy.” She clasped his hand and the jolt sent her blood zinging through her veins. He felt it, too, but in his eyes was gratitude.

  “You trust me, right?”

  “Yes, Poe. I would trust you with my life.”

  She felt herself start to blush, and in the bright interior of the lobby, she turned away so he couldn’t see her. Her heart melted even more for this big hunk of a man and his concern for his dog.

  “Daisy is lucky to have you, Jared. It’s clear that she’s very attached to you.”

  Jared looked down at the dog again and said, “Really?” There was wonder in his voice.

  “Yes, she follows you everywhere now instead of lying on the floor like a lump. She does seem a bit more animated.”

  They entered an exam room and Poe clicked on the light. Jared bent down and lifted Daisy onto an exam table. She scrambled a little on the metal, her nails scrabbling.

  Jared immediately put his hand on her, steadying her. “It’s okay, girlie. Poe’s real nice. She’s going to check you out.”

  The soft tone and that sexy twang in his voice had the opposite effect on Poe. Instead of soothing her it only made her more aware of him, jumbling her up inside until she had to take a deep breath to release the emotion building in her chest.

  Poe popped her head out of the room when she heard footsteps. “Mindy. I need your help. Could you take some blood from this basset and do me a general health panel and a CBC?”

  “Sure thing, Dr. Madigan.”

  The girl stopped dead when she saw Jared, her appreciative stare making Poe snap, “Now, Mindy.”

  Jared gave her a surprised look and she smoothed out her features. Geez. She hadn’t ever talked to the staff like that before, but she didn’t like the way Mindy was looking at Jared.

  “Okay, if you could hold her, I’ll get some blood for the panel,” Mindy said when she came back into the room. “Oh, she’s so cute. What a pretty girl.” Daisy bayed and Mindy smiled. “Don’t worry sweetie. I’m really good at this. You’ll hardly feel it.”

  He wrapped his arms around Daisy and steadied her as Mindy readied the syringe, found a vein and drew some blood. “I’ll be right back.”

  “It should take about twenty minutes for the results. In the meantime, I’ll give her an exam.”

  “What does a general health panel and CBC tell you?”

  “The health panel is a chemistry test to see if there are any abnormalities. The CBC stands for complete blood count, and it shows the number and types of blood cells present in the dog. That test is important when diagnosing illnesses.

  Poe listened to Daisy’s heart, and the steady rhythm beat back through the stethoscope with a healthy cadence.

  “One of the functions of the CBC test is to evaluate the red blood cells. When the red blood cell count is abnormal, it is indicative of certain problems. In a CBC blood test, the method in which the red blood cell count is determined is called a hematocrit, or packed cell volume. If the hematocrit is low, that means there aren’t enough red blood cells in the body, and that would mean Daisy is anemic. If the count is high, there are too many red blood cells. This is usually the case in dogs who are dehydrated, in shock, have diseases of the lungs, or who are in higher altitudes.

  “The test also measures the number of white blood cells present. White blood cells help to defend the body against bacteria, viruses and fungi. If a dog has an elevated white blood cell count, it could mean there is an infection in the body. The test helps me determine what kind of problem is going on in the dog.”

  She glanced up. “Why aren’t you taking notes? There’s going to be a test afterwards.”

  He chuckled.

  “I won’t go into all of the terms. I think I’ve bored you enough.”

  “That wasn’t boring. That was really impressive. It’s cool to see you in your vet role.”

  “Why because I’m so kooky and lame outside of the animal hospital.”

  “No. That’s not what I meant. I think you’re fascinating inside and out.”

  She blushed again and this time he saw. She was sure he wasn’t talking about her role as a vet, either.

  “You’re really smart, and I never thought I would say this, but you have a sexy brain.”

  She giggled.

  “And a great laugh.”

  “Oh, stop,” she said, pushing at his shoulder, but, of course, he didn’t budge. He was a wall of muscle. Which conjured up the image of what he’d looked like lifting weights. Okay, so at her core she loved the muscles. Most females did. It was a primal survival instinct.

  “I’m sure you’d be equally interesting in your security role. What kinds of things do you do?”

  He looked away and she got a strange feeling in her stomach.

  When he looked back at her, he said, “Oh, now that’s the boring stuff.”

  “Well, elaborate anyway. I went all medical terminology on you. The least you can do is reciprocate.”

  “I look at business and residences to set up security systems, hire personnel to attend high-level functions when celebrities are present, and consult on any kind of security issue that needs my expertise. I’ve even consulted on a couple of government projects.”

  “Hire personnel to attend high-level functions when celebrities are present? You mean you hire bodyguards?” Her chest felt tight. Could this be a coincidence? “Do you do bodyguard work?”

  “No. I’m the boss, so I get to make the rules.”

  “But you could be a bodyguard.”

  “I’ve done bodyguard work, yes.”

  “Okay.” The tightness in her chest eased. “So you could give me advice on this threatening letter business? What is your professional opinion?”

  “In most cases it’s just a scare tactic and nothing really comes of it.”

  “That’s a relief.”

  “But, in a small percentage of cases, the threat can be real and dangerous.”

  “Oh. That’s scary.”

  He stepped close, cupped her cheek, and heat whooshed over her like a flash fire. His gaze locked on hers, so intent, so focused. So trustworthy and steady.

  “I would never let anything happen to you, Poe.”

  “I believe that with all my heart, Jared.”

  “All of your heart,” he murmured. “Now, there’s something that sounds really good.”

  “Here are the results, Dr. Madigan. Oh, I’m sorry,” Mindy said as she paused in the doorway, eyeing their close proximity. Poe stepped away, sure she was flushed. Mindy entered, her cheeks pink, her eyes twinkling as a grin spread across her young face. After handing the report to her, Mindy said under her breath, “Way to go, Dr. M.”

  “I hope she wasn’t uncomfortable because of our show of affection,” Poe said after she practically skipped out.

  “I don’t think so. In fact, I’m pretty sure she just gave you a high five.”

  Poe’s mouth dropped open, then snapped shut again.

  “What?” he asked, looking all innocent, and probably trying to sound innocent, too.

  “Men.” She paused, then said, “Admit it. You like having a conquest affirmed by another. It’s a guy thing. I don’t hold it against you.”

  He grinned. “You’re very cute when you’re trying to create borders.”

  “Okay, Jared, I’ll let you have that, because, after all, you are a man.” Too bad they did have to have boundaries between them. At least the kind that kept her from climbing all over him and having him all over her.

  She looked down at the report. “Let’s see what we have here. Hmmm, everything is normal.”

  “What does that mean?” Jared picked Daisy up, as if he need
ed the dog close to him to protect her from Poe’s diagnosis.

  “It means it’s more complicated. At least, if it’s a medical problem, I can prescribe something, but I’m afraid it’s psychological.”

  “Psychological?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you saying my dog is a mental case?”

  “No, that’s not what I’m saying.”

  “Then what?”

  “I think she’s depressed.”

  Chapter Eight

  Early on Monday morning, Jared didn’t even give his brother enough time to open the door. He barreled inside, grabbed him by his shirtfront and growled, “What did you do to Daisy!?

  “What are you talking about? I wouldn’t hurt a defenseless animal. What the hell is wrong with you, son?”

  “Poe said she was depressed.”

  “What?” He shoved at his brother’s shoulders and Jared didn’t budge. “Let go!” Jared released him. “Who’s Poe?”

  “She’s a vet.” This time he noticed his brother looked like shit, had gone way downhill since the last time he saw him. His hair was a mess, he was unshaven, his eyes bloodshot and he looked hung over.

  “Look, I thought she was lazy.”

  “She’s not. When did she start acting like this?”

  He turned away, shrugging. “I don’t know. I don’t pay attention to dogs. I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

  “Nate, think. This is a living, breathing creature. You must have noticed when she started acting lazy. Think back.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “What’s up with you?”

  His eyes shuttered. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “Why aren’t you at work? You look like something I’d trip over in a pasture.”

  “Nice. I took a sick day.”

  “From the trading floor…wait…didn’t you just have a week off last week? Did your rafting trip turn out bad?”

  “I didn’t go.”

  “Why?”

  “What does it matter to you?”

  “Why didn’t you go, Nate?”