by T. J. Kline
“Or that you were going as slow as you were.” He forced himself to look away from her and the sadness that he’d caused to fill her eyes, looking back at the dog. “Okay, Lucky it is.”
Justin put his palm against the bedding, checking the temperature, and the dog licked his hand. “All right, Lucky, let’s introduce you to your babies.”
He made his way to the sleeping puppies, sliding the heating pad and bedding into a shallow tub to move them together. As soon as he got close to Lucky, her tail began slapping against the blankets with as much excitement as her exhausted body could muster. He moved each pup, one by one, closer to her, allowing her time to sniff each one and help her bond with her offspring. When he slid the runt in front of her, Justin watched her nose it before looking up at him, her eyes questioning.
He’d seen it plenty of times before. Animals seemed to have an instinct about which babies had issues that might affect them later. He’d been worried about this one. This puppy’s breathing wasn’t as good as it should be, and he wasn’t taking as much at the feedings as the others were. He didn’t want Alyssa to be upset if this one didn’t make it, and from the looks of it, there was a good chance it wouldn’t.
“What’s wrong? Why isn’t she licking that one the way she did the others?” She was still beside Lucky’s head, watching her every move intently.
“He’s weak. There’s probably something wrong with him. Animals tend to let the weak fend for themselves.”
“But he’ll die.” Her voice was tentative.
How did he make someone understand that this was just nature’s way of culling the weak and sick from the gene pool? It might seem harsh to her, but it was usually for the best.
“If there’s something wrong with him that I can’t see yet, there’s a good chance he will anyway.” He looked down at the puppy as Lucky nosed it, barely licking it. “But she knows. She’s just letting instinct guide her, and from what I’ve seen in all my years doing this, instinct is rarely wrong.”
Alyssa stood up and looked down at him, still on the balls of his feet beside the dog. Her eyes snapped with emerald fire and determination. “You can’t let him die.”
Justin sighed and moved the puppy where it could nurse from its mother more easily, shrugging his shoulders. “Alyssa, look, it’s just nature’s way—”
“Well, it’s not my way.”
He stood up in the small space, surprised by the stubbornness in her voice but just as impressed by the conviction in her eyes. Justin felt his professional philosophies slip in the face of her adamant refusal to let nature take its course with this puppy. The kindest thing to do would be to euthanize the pup if it wasn’t going to make it, but so far Justin hadn’t been able to find a thing wrong with it other than low birth weight and depressed breathing.
“Do you have any idea how much work hand-raising a puppy is? Because that’s what’s going to happen with this one.” He let his eyes fall to her stomach, wondering how far along she actually was. “You need your sleep.”
“I don’t care how much work it is.” Tears filled Alyssa’s eyes and her voice was choked.
Damn it.
Causing the sadness he’d heard in her voice earlier was bad enough. There was no way he was going to make a pregnant woman cry.
She swiped at a tear that seeped from the corner of her eye. “I’ll find some way to pay you.”
“This isn’t about the money, Alyssa.” Did she really think that was all he cared about?
Her eyes darkened before she took a step back, bumping up against the wall of the kennel, and he could practically see her building a barrier around herself, trying to put as much space between them as the small kennel allowed. He took a step closer, closing the distance between them. “You have to understand—” he began.
She moved away from him. The hesitation he saw in her eyes hurt. Even after all he’d done tonight—rescuing her and the dog, giving them a roof, offering her a job—she didn’t trust him, and for some reason, he really wanted her to. He felt as if he’d just killed any chance of gaining her trust.
She bit the corner of her lower lip, looking at him through her tear-soaked lashes. “Please, tell me you’ll help save him. I’ll stay as long as it takes for him to get stronger, at least long enough for me to take him with me when I leave.”
Taking care of the puppy would be a round-the-clock commitment for the next few weeks at least. She had no idea what she was getting herself into, but instead of giving her any of those warnings, he found himself keeping his mouth shut, knowing it meant spending days—and nights—together. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out why he was willing to put himself through that kind of temptation.
“SHE TOOK WHICH BMW?” Elijah’s voice didn’t betray nearly as much fury as he felt inside right now.
The M4 cost nearly two hundred thousand dollars of his hard-earned money. While he was bent over backward, catering to the eccentricities of overpaid actors, she got to reap the rewards—but taking his new car was too much. Of course, he wouldn’t be where he was today if it hadn’t been for Alyssa. Her career had supported them financially, lending her name to his credibility, until he’d become a premier agent. She knew he’d always wanted a traditional marriage, and that her place, as his wife, was at home. But once producers stopped paying the top dollar he demanded, it had become easier to persuade her to retire from acting.
He let out a breath slowly. The problem was that Alyssa had become boring, monotonous, and their marriage was stale. She still looked like the same beautiful woman who’d turned every man’s head—all the voluptuous allure of a Victoria’s Secret model with the talent worthy of the Oscar that still sat in his office—but she’d lost her spark after she retired, even though she’d agreed with him it was what was best for them.
Alyssa’s lack of passion was part of the reason he’d strayed, the reason he’d been forced to seek excitement in the arms of other women. He couldn’t help that they flocked to him like bees to honey. It had always been this way. When he’d proposed to Alyssa, declaring himself off the market, he’d broken several hearts. It hadn’t been long after their vows before he’d realized that the grass wasn’t any greener in the matrimony pasture. The first time he jumped the fence, she’d been filming on location in London and he’d met a potential new client—a shy, young actress from Kansas. It’d been so easy that it became his weekly routine—send his wife for a spa treatment or shopping, and have his rendezvous with some up-and-coming actress looking for an agent without interruption or suspicion. Then there had been Lillian.
He’d never meant to start sleeping with his wife’s best friend. But Alyssa had come down with the flu and insisted he call her friend to fill in at the ribbon cutting when he opened his new agency four years ago. They’d had too much to drink at the party afterward, and in the limo on the way home, when she slid her hand over his thigh, he wasn’t about to forgo that tempting morsel. He’d felt a little guilty about it, but Lillian had persuaded him that it would be their secret. It continued that way for years.
Then she went and ruined it all.
Lillian had been trying to convince him to divorce Alyssa for over a year now. When Alyssa showed up after lunch, demanding answers, he knew Lillian had gone too far. He didn’t have time for either one of their games. He had enough demands at the office without worrying about the two of them. So, when Alyssa threatened him with divorce, he’d called her bluff. He’d never expected her to actually leave.
“The insurance company alerted me of the accident early this morning. Sir, what would you have me tell them?” The voice of his new assistant broke into his thoughts.
“Nothing. Let them fix it, and find out where the car is now.” If she was willing to risk his fury and take his car, there might be some spark left in Alyssa after all. Elijah felt a stir of excitement coil in his gut. “Let’s find my wife and see what she’s planning on doing.”
Elijah reached for the photograph he kept on his
desk from their most recent trip to Miami, right before Alyssa found out she was pregnant. It was a candid snapshot of her staring up at him adoringly while he looked directly at the camera. She was enchanting, in a submissive sort of way. Maybe telling her to leave had been too hasty.
After all, he’d won her over in much more difficult situations than this. He could certainly convince her to come back. Persuading people was his job.
And, even if she did, it didn’t have to stop him from having some fun on the side.
Chapter Four
JUSTIN WOKE TO the chime of bells as the front door of the clinic opened. He stretched his hands over his head and pointed his toes. He’d never in his life been more uncomfortable than he was last night, sleeping in his office chair after insisting Alyssa take the couch. The kink he could feel in his back was going to require some major pain relievers to work it out.
“Hello?” Bailey called out as she flipped on the lights in the lobby and headed toward his office. “Justin?”
He forced his body to cooperate in spite of his discomfort, unfolding himself from the chair, to meet her in the hallway. “I’m back here. Keep it down, will you? We have company.”
“What company?”
“Didn’t you check your phone? I left you messages last night.”
She shot him a wicked grin. “Yeah, well, I was sort of indisposed most of the evening and didn’t get home until a few minutes ago.” She tossed her long blonde ponytail back over her shoulder as she followed him toward the back room.
“I called you with an emergency and you were too busy drinking with your girlfriends to call back?” Justin shook his head, wondering how he was going to get through to his cousin. She had to get her head on straight.
She laughed at him. “Sure, drinking with the girls.” She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and cocked a finger at him as if she was shooting a gun. “If that’s what you want to believe.”
He stopped and looked back over his shoulder at her. “Don’t make me have to go kick some guy’s ass defending your honor.”
“I don’t want to hear any crap from you. There were six, count ’em six, of your ex-girlfriends at that bar last night looking for you. Don’t lecture me about having fun while I’m still young enough to enjoy it when you were worse than I am, Casanova.”
“Bailey, can’t you at least tone it down a little?” Justin shook his head and pushed the door open. “Look, I’m not—” He didn’t even get a chance to finish his thought when Bailey let out a loud squeak beside him and he immediately wished he would have thought to warn Alyssa before bringing Bailey into the room.
“Oh. My. God. You’re Alyssa Cole, aren’t you?” She shoved past Justin then spun to look at him again. “She’s Alyssa Cole. You didn’t tell me Alyssa Cole was here.”
Alyssa brushed her bangs back with her fingers and smiled at Bailey. “It’s just Alyssa.” She didn’t rise from the chair, and it took Justin a minute to see the blond puppy curled on her chest, his head tucked against her breast, sleeping soundly.
Lucky pup.
Bailey rushed forward, sounding more like a rabid teenage fan than the hard-ass rocker she liked everyone to believe she was. “What are you doing here? Are you making a movie?” Her blue eyes darted around the room as if looking for a camera.
Alyssa laughed quietly. “No, it’s far less glamorous than that. I wrecked my car outside last night and Justin came to my rescue. We finished off our night of excitement delivering puppies.”
Justin’s eyes swept over her. He could see Alyssa was barely keeping her eyes open as she leaned her neck to one side, trying to stretch. He second-guessed himself for taking her up on her offer to wake for her shift with the puppies. “You want me to grab him?” he offered.
Alyssa tucked her chin and looked down at the sleeping pup. “In a minute. He’s sound asleep with a full tummy. I’ll let one of you take the next shift.”
“That would likely be me,” Bailey announced. “I’m Bailey, his cousin and all-around helper-slash-vet tech-slash-maid. I do whatever he tells me to do.”
“As long as it’s within office hours,” Justin countered.
Bailey glared at him. “Don’t start, Justin. I’m allowed to have a life, too, you know.” He shot her another warning glance. “And don’t give me that look. It’s too early for your—”
“Not now,” he said through clenched teeth, rolling his eyes to indicate that Alyssa didn’t need to hear their bickering.
“I see how it is. You just want to keep her all to yourself, don’t you?” Bailey winked at Alyssa before heading out the door. It slammed behind her, cutting off any comeback Justin might make as Bailey went back to the front desk.
“Sorry about that.” Justin looked down as Alyssa pinched her lips together, trying to hide her smile by avoiding his gaze. “I have to head out to make a couple of ranch calls this morning, but one is near the shop so I’ll stop in to see what Dave says about your car and get your suitcase. I didn’t even think to grab it before Dave took off.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“I figured you’d want to shower and clean up, so I called my sister Julia while you were sleeping to see if she could take you back to her place. I can bring you back when I get finished with my appointments. She offered to loan you some clothes if you need them.”
Her face scrunched into a frown again and he cursed himself for always being the one to ruin her good mood. “Her clothes won’t fit me.” She linked her hands around her belly and shrugged. “It’s not like this belly doesn’t have its own zip code. How could you forget?”
He laughed. “Julia is pregnant, too, and you might be a bit taller, but you’re skinnier.”
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you that you shouldn’t comment on a woman’s weight?” she teased. “Especially a pregnant woman? It’s not polite.” She arched a single brow at him. “And I’m hardly skinny.”
“Honey,” he drawled, “you’re twig-thin. I’m tempted to feed you nothing but chocolate cake just to put some meat on your bones.”
“You couldn’t make me.” He could see the gleam in her eye and the curve of a smile on her lips.
“You might be surprised. I make a mean chocolate cake,” he joked, giving her a wink before heading toward the door.
The dare he could read in her eyes made him want to try. The woman had him thinking about things he had no right to be considering. Things he wanted to do with her, things that he was sure he could figure out a way to work chocolate into.
“Julia will be here in about thirty minutes, and Bailey can handle the pups until we get back.”
He hurried out the door, trying to get as far from Alyssa as fast as he could, before his thoughts started straying past chocolate cake.
ALYSSA WALKED INTO Julia’s kitchen, wiggling her fingers through her still-damp hair, untangling the mess, but was stopped when a massive nose pressed against the side of her belly in greeting. “Hey, big guy.” She reached her hand down to rub the Great Dane’s head.
“Tango, stay back,” Julia commanded. “I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s okay. He’s so sweet.” She slid into one of the chairs at the table, and the dog immediately placed his head into her lap. She ran a hand over his ears. “I haven’t been around so many animals in years. I didn’t realize how much I missed them.”
“If you let Julia or Jessie hear that, they’ll have you cleaning stalls and feeding dogs before you can change your mind.” Julia’s fiancé, Dylan, came through the back door with his beautiful golden retriever at his side and laughed.
“You hush or you can sleep out in the kennel with the dogs tonight.” Julia threw the kitchen towel at him and winked at Alyssa. “And I wouldn’t dream of doing that until after she’s had the baby.”
It was easy to feel comfortable with this pair. There was a good-natured ribbing that seemed to color every comment. They’d been friendly and jovial, and they hadn’t hesitated to welcome her int
o their home, not pushing for anything more than she was comfortable sharing.
“I don’t mean to pry, Alyssa, but what brings you out this way?”
Until now.
Alyssa took a deep breath, using the moment to compose herself, the way she used to when facing tough reporters. She wasn’t sure how much she should really tell yet. She didn’t want the media to find out about her marriage, or more precisely, the demise of it, until she’d prepared a statement. She and Elijah were still in the public eye enough that people were going to notice she wasn’t appearing at events and begin asking questions. It was bound to make national news, and she didn’t have any sort of scripted answer ready yet. Whom was she kidding? She still hadn’t even wrapped her own head around it. Until she did and decided what she was going to do about her future, she had to keep her secrets under wraps.
“I had to get away for a while and was going to visit my parents.”
“Do they live around here?” Dylan asked.
“Carson City.”
“I’m surprised your doctor let you travel so far along. I’m only four months and mine has already cautioned me against almost everything.” Julia sat down across from Alyssa and laid a hand on Tango’s head as he moved to her side. Dylan’s dog, Roscoe, curled at his feet. “Between him and Dylan, I’m lucky to leave the house.”
Julia might be making small talk, but Alyssa could see the suspicion in her dark eyes. She felt her heart pick up pace and begin pounding against her ribs. She hated keeping secrets, especially when this family had been so welcoming, but she had to make some concrete plans before she went public with the news that she and Elijah were splitting up.
“Isn’t that my shirt?” Three pairs of eyes shifted to see Justin leaning against the frame of the kitchen door.
“You know, I think it is.” Julia laughed and rose to give her brother a hug. “You left it here when you took it off when you and Dylan dug out those tree stumps. Maybe you should keep better track of your clothes. I thought it was one of Dylan’s.”
