by Ali Parker
“Okay?” Her frown deepened. “Are you regretting your donation or something?”
“No. It’s not that.” I let my head drop forward and pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes. “Some bozo wrote an article in the Sunday paper about how my donation had to be shady because I wasn’t at the festival.”
“Why does that mean it has to be shady?” She sounded as confused as I felt.
“I don’t know. I made the donation in my dad’s name. Apparently, one cannot just make a donation to support a cause and not want the glory that comes with it. There has to be an ulterior motive.”
“That’s absurd.” She chuckled but there was no humor in the sound. “I hate it when people use fundraisers and donation as a platform to be petted and revered for their good deeds. That’s so not what it should be about.”
“Right?” I slammed my fist down on my desk and looked up. “That’s exactly how I feel. There were a lot of animal lovers at the festival and a lot of people who are doing good work who will benefit from the proceeds. I just wanted to help support them. What’s wrong with wanting to help?”
“Nothing.” She shook her head with a sad gleam entering her eyes and her brow furrowing. “Unfortunately, people don’t always see it that way. There are a lot of people who firmly believe that you don’t give something for nothing. I’ve seen it a hundred times.”
“What do you mean?”
She shrugged. “My family has always been supportive of local charities. Mom helps organize fundraising events and that sort of thing often. I can’t even tell you how many times she’s approached a business to ask for a donation and then got asked what they would get out of it.”
“Assholes.” A hum of disapproval came from the back of my throat. “Since when can you not support your community without wanting something in return? These animals and the people who care for them need our help. Why does any business need to get something for providing that help?”
“Well, there are a number of reasons,” she said before cutting herself off and giving me a small smile. “But you don’t really care about those. I guess the question is, why didn’t you just put the clinic’s name on the donation? Even if you didn’t want anything in return, it might have gotten your name out there a bit.”
“I’ve never been boastful about money. I know what it’s like to have nothing and this is my way of giving back. If I hadn’t gotten the help I did, I wouldn’t have been here.”
“So you’re paying it forward?” Her smile widened. “I like the way you look at things.”
“Yeah, well, the journalist didn’t. I made the donation in my dad’s name because even if this is my way of giving back, I’m also doing it for him. Now people think my dad is a fraud and his name is associated with criminal activity.”
“That sucks.” She rubbed her hands over the tops of her legs, eyes narrowing as she contemplated something. When she spoke again, she was hesitant, her voice soft. “It’s not that I don’t think you can handle this yourself, but my mom has some contacts. Would you like me to ask her to call the paper?”
My eyes widened in surprise. “You’d really do that for me?”
“Of course.” She shrugged, smiling again as she stood up. “Mom’s seen it all when it comes to this kind of thing. She might be able to help. She’s used to dealing with egos and accusations.”
“I like that.” I laughed. “Egos and accusations.”
Kayla shrugged again. “It’s funny because it’s true. Anyway, just let me know if you want me to talk to her.”
“Thanks, but I think it’s okay for now.” Dragging other people into it still felt unnecessary. “If it escalates, I might take you up on your offer.”
“Great.” She jerked her head in the direction of the kennels. “I promised Mr. Muffin out there a walk. I’d better get to it before he gives us a bad review.”
“We definitely can’t have that.” I took a deep breath and felt some of my negativity and broodiness melt away. “Thanks for talking to me. It felt good to get it off my chest.”
“Anytime.” She grinned before heading to the door. “I’m here to help, right? I’m happy to do that in whatever way I can.”
“Thanks.” I definitely jumped to conclusions about her before, I thought as I watched her walk out of the office.
The bell above the front doors jingled as she disappeared into the corridor. I gave my computer a final glare before standing up and deciding to put it behind me for now.
There was a client out there and I couldn’t afford to scare anyone off with my surly, pouty face. Plastering a smile on instead, I walked out to the front.
A man was waiting at the counter with a young dog on a leash by his side. He drummed long fingers on the plastic top and was looking around with interest.
“Hi there.” My smile brightened. “How can I help you?”
He turned to face me, and my jaw nearly unhinged itself. Darn, dude. Could you be any hotter?
Thick, dark brown hair fell across his forehead. Warm hazel eyes with more blue and brown than green in them. Full lips that tipped into a sexy smirk when he saw me. Tall, muscular, and casually but well dressed.
If I had a type, he would be it. Then again, I was pretty sure he was everyone’s type. He was just one of those guys.
Which also probably meant he was a cocky douchebag, like all those guys tended to be. They were pretty and they knew it, so they treated everyone else like we were below them.
Sigh.
His smirk grew after he’d given me a similar once over to the one I’d just given him. When his eyes landed on mine, my heart sped up a little.
So sue me. He’s probably an ass, but he really is a beautiful one.
“Hi,” he said. “Yes, I hope you can help. Tiger here needs a checkup.”
“Then I can definitely help you.” I moved closer to them, trying to ignore the way my knees felt somewhat weak from the smooth, deep sound of his voice. Why was it that those people always had to have it all? Couldn’t his voice have been high-pitched and squeaky with looks like that?
I mean, give the rest of the population a chance.
His smirk melted into an easygoing smile. “That’s great news. He needs his shots too.”
“Oh, poor baby.” I lowered myself onto my haunches in front of the interesting-looking dog, falling into my old habit of focusing on the animal instead of the person. “Don’t worry. My shots don’t hurt. Let’s get you looked at, pretty boy.”
When I looked up at his owner, I realized I was basically kneeling at the man’s feet less than a minute after having laid eyes on him. I was sure women hurled themselves down in front of him at any given moment, but I really didn’t want to be one of them.
His smirk was back when he seemed to notice the same thing, but it was almost wicked this time. Like there was a comment he was dying to make but he was trying his best to be good.
I cleared my throat, scratching the pup’s ears before pushing to my feet. That’s enough of that. “What breed is he? He’s beautiful. Interesting.”
“American Leopard Hound?” he said, but it came out sounding more like a question. “I just got him this morning.”
I snapped my fingers, nodding slowly as a genuine grin lit my face. “I haven’t actually met one of them in person before. They’re an old breed, right? Old but very scarce these days.”
“Yeah. So I heard.” The corners of his mouth pressed in as he glanced down at the dog. It growled when he tried to get it to move with him. “To be honest, that’s why I chose him. No else seemed to want to, but I’m starting to see why.”
“What do you mean?” My gaze went to his before it bounced back down to the puppy. The dog was sitting pretty much as far away from his new owner as he could get while attached to the leash, while the beautiful man stood ramrod straight with his muscles locked and his chiseled jaw tight.
I vaguely noticed that he had a super sexy five-o-clock shadow thing going on, but I forced my mind to pay
attention to what was important instead—the actual reason for his visit.
The guy gave me a deadpan look. “What I mean is that he seems like a bit of an asshole.”
I was so surprised that I laughed, shaking my head as I moved to take the leash from him. “You’re both just a little uncomfortable with one another. Do you have any other animals at home?”
“No, this is the first dog I’ve owned since I was a kid,” he said. “I used to travel a bit for work and it didn’t seem fair to get one if they would just end up being someone else’s responsibility.”
My heart skipped a beat. Damn it. Why did I have to have things in common with the beautiful creature?
The universe needed to cut me a break. “I know what you mean. I only got mine after I finished school and all that for the same reason. It’s natural that it will take both of you some time to adapt, but I’m sure you’ll end up being great friends.”
“I hope so.” He sighed but I could’ve sworn I saw real hope creeping into his expression.
I flashed him what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “Bringing him in for shots first thing might not make you his favorite human for a little while, but it is the responsible thing to do. Would you two like to come through to the exam room with me?”
“Sure.” The guy smiled. “If you can get him to move, let’s go.”
I didn’t even have to tug the leash before the little boy fell into step beside me. Animals tended to like me, though. They could sense I was comfortable with them just as surely as some humans sensed I was most definitely not comfortable with them.
“Of course, he’d be completely happy to walk with you,” the man grumbled behind me.
I laughed as I opened the door to the sterile examination room, motioning him in ahead of me. While I replied, I picked Tiger up and placed him gently on the stainless-steel table.
“He probably senses your discomfort with him. It’s also very possible that he’s scared and confused. He doesn’t know you and you don’t smell familiar. I, on the other hand, probably smell like an entire kennel to him. It’s familiar.”
“If you say so.” The gorgeous guy was even gorgeous when he frowned.
I held up the end of the leash to him again, careful not to touch him when we transferred it. “Let me just grab the medicine we’ll need before we get started. How old is he?”
“Six months,” he said without hesitating. “He had his routine vaccinations after birth but nothing since.”
I nodded. “We’ll get him all caught up. Don’t worry. I’ll be back in a second.”
Mae was still lying in the tiny basket in my office when I walked in, and she barely lifted her head when she saw me. Someone was still angry with me over cutting her walk short this morning so I could get to the clinic to check my emails.
“We’ll go for a longer walk later, girl,” I promised while unlocking the cabinet on my wall. “I just need to help out the good-looking guy and his cute little puppy first. Do you want to come meet them?”
She huffed out a breath and buried her head in her paws, which I took for a no. “Fine, but it’s your loss. We don’t get eye candy like that around here often.”
Especially not eye candy who really didn’t seem like as much of a douche as I’d expected him to be. Between the conclusions I’d drawn about both him and Kayla, I was starting to wonder if maybe I was the douche.
I vowed to be extra nice to him as I got the necessary vaccines out. He might not know what I’d thought, but I still wanted to make up for it.
And if it kept him around a bit longer? Well, I certainly wouldn’t complain.
Chapter 8
COLTON
“She thinks you walked with her because she smells like a dog, but it was really because she’s hot, right?” I arched a brow at Tiger. “Yeah, I know what it was all about. You can’t fool me.”
The dog tilted his head at me before lying down on his front paws. I rolled my eyes at him. “Don’t give me that cute and innocent act. I saw the way you looked at her. As soon as she walked in, you became like a different dog. It was all to get her to cuddle you. I know it. Don’t even try to deny it.”
Wait a second. Since when do I talk to dogs? I looked down at the puppy, suddenly noticing he was trembling slightly.
With a heavy sigh, I laid my hand on his back and decided to just roll with the talking-to-him thing. He was obviously terrified, and that vet tech had said that he’d be scared and confused.
Maybe hearing my voice would help. I didn’t really know what to say to him, so I just kept talking about the one person we both knew. “I’ve always liked curvy women, and that woman has curves with a capital C. I don’t blame you for trying to get cuddles from her.”
His ears twitched, so I figured he was listening. “The brunette thing is new for me, though. I’m usually more into blondes, but with those lips and that cute little mole above them? I’d say the brunette thing is definitely working for me right now.”
Tiger blinked up at me, and I nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. Her eyes are beautiful too. They remind me of a creamy cappuccino. If you tell anyone I secretly love those, you and I are going to have a problem.”
He squirmed under my hand, and I figured maybe it was best not to issue warnings right now. Then I realized this was a dog I was thinking about and I inwardly groaned at myself. Pathetic, man.
Shaking my head, I kept stroking the damn dog while taking a good look around the room we were in. There were no clues about the owner of the clinic in here—none that I could see anyway.
No pictures or certificates hung on the walls, and I doubted the posters showing the anatomy of several types of animals could provide any clues. I also didn’t see a script pad lying around, nor was there anything else with a name on it anywhere.
I hadn’t seen anyone other than the woman who was helping us since we walked in, but then again, maybe she could help me. She was obviously a vet tech here. Surely, she would know who the owner was.
As if she’d been summoned by the thought clicking into place in my head, the vet tech walked back in. She carried a tray with several glass vials and bottles on it, injections, and a small package of pills.
Smiling as she set it down, she turned to face me and gave Tiger a sympathetic smile. “Okay, boy. I’m going to take a look at you first. Then we’ll get on with all the unpleasant stuff. Deal?”
He lifted his head from his paws and licked his lips. Of course, if I looked at her that way and licked my lips, I’d probably get slapped.
When Tiger did it, she cooed and went over to give him another cuddle, cradling his head right against her breasts while she hugged him.
Lucky little bastard.
I answered her questions absently while she examined him, offering her all of the scant information I had about him. The guy at the pet shop honestly hadn’t known too much about his pedigree, who’d brought him in, or his treatment history.
So while she looked him over in an attempt to determine certain things for herself, I had the perfect opportunity to look her over. Her dark hair was pulled back into a messy bun behind her head, but I could see from the escaped tendrils and the sheer size of the bun that her hair was long. It probably hung at least to her middle.
Those full, almost naturally pouty lips were slightly pursed as she ran her hands along Tiger’s back. For the second time in as many minutes, I felt jealous of the dog.
Not only did he get to have his head between her breasts, but now he had her hands all over him. It was only once I again reminded myself that he was dog that I managed to shove the ridiculous jealousy down.
Focusing my attention back on her, I started noticing things about her I hadn’t really noticed before. Her fingernails were painted a bright yellow that seemed to glow at the tips of her tanned hands. I’d thought she was wearing makeup before, but I now realized there was nothing thick or clumpy on her eyelashes. They just were that long and that dark.
Her eyes were trained on
my dog, but I still saw them narrow a split second before she pulled her lower lip between her teeth. She jutted out one hip and tapped her fingers on the waistband of her jeans, clearly deep in thought.
As she leaned forward over Tiger, the top of her black shirt gaped open enough for me to see perfectly round globes before she straightened back up. Meanwhile, I realized that I was getting turned on by just about every move she made.
With my attention having been pulled to her lips, her hips, and her breasts in the last minute, I was halfway to sporting a semi. In the middle of an examination room at a veterinary clinic.
There was something wrong with me. Maybe Ross had been onto something when he said I needed to get laid more often. Because this was not okay.
Sure, the vet tech was really hot but she was examining my dog, not giving me a strip show. No way should I have been getting turned on by watching her do that.
“Okay,” she said suddenly, yanking my mind away from my worries over what I was apparently deeming to be sexy these days. “I think they got his age right. Around six months would’ve been my best guess as well. American Leopards, like a lot of other bigger breeds, sometimes have issues with hip dysplasia. This little guy looks healthy though.”
“That’s good news.” I wondered if she could do something about his demeanor. “Anything else I should know?”
“How much do you know about the breed?” she asked as she walked back to the tray she’d brought in and uncapped a syringe.
“Not much,” I admitted, suddenly feeling like an idiot. “I should’ve researched before I got him, but I saw him, and I couldn’t leave him there.”
She gave me a soft smile over her shoulder while pulling back on the plunger. “Researching would’ve been better so you knew what you were in for, but I get not being able to leave him behind.”
“So what can you tell me about him?”
After carefully disposing of the glass vial she’d used to fill the syringe, she came back to us and held it up to tap her nail against it. “They’re hunters, scent dogs. He’s going to need plenty of daily exercise and some training, but the breed is also known to be loyal, affectionate, eager, and devoted.”
