by Emma Renshaw
Vow of Worth
Emma Renshaw
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Epilogue
Enjoy This Book?
Acknowledgments
Also By Emma Renshaw
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About Emma Renshaw
Vow of Worth
Copyright © 2020 by Emma Renshaw. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
Copy Editor: Stephanie Marshall Ward
Proofreading: Julie Deaton, Janice Owens
Cover Design: Hang Le
Paperback Formatting: Stacey Blake, Champagne Designs
Visit my website: www.emmarenshaw.com
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For Stoney, Cowboy, Maggie, Bella, Sammy, Ranger, Doc, Harley, Barkley, and Hersey. All the pups, past and present, who have given my life so much love and light. I love all of you so much.
And as always, for my husband. You’re the best dog dad in the entire world! I love you so much.
1
Kiernan
“You little fucker,” I growled.
I should’ve known this dog would give me hell when I spotted him at the shelter. He fooled me. All alone, curled up in the corner, as his brothers and sisters played together in the center of the large pen. I thought he was being excluded. With one little look from his large puppy eyes, he stole the heart right out of my damn chest, and I knew he was the dog for me. I had grand ideas about taking him everywhere with me. He’d be my constant companion; I’d just load him up in my truck. He’d hop in with nothing more than a short whistle, and we’d hit the road as our favorite country music played through the speakers. I had dreams of training him so he could assist me out in the field. He’d be my running partner and would bring a little noise into my life, instead of the quietness that I came home to every night.
Sure, I didn’t ask Roman if he’d be cool with a dog hanging out at the office of MarxMen, but I knew he’d accept it once Pepper Jack turned those amber eyes on him. Or least once Caden met him and convinced his dad to let him wander around the office. Roman had trouble saying no to his kid.
If Pepper Jack hadn’t peed on Roman’s couch before I had a chance to introduce them, it would’ve worked.
Probably.
Maybe.
At this moment, I definitely knew Pepper Jack would cause me trouble. He sat on his hind legs and pulled against the leash, refusing to go inside the vet clinic. He’d never been here before, so I had no idea how he knew he wouldn’t like it. And this damn dog was giving me a run for my money. I could bench press hundreds of pounds and run miles without breaking much of a sweat, but here I was, panting and sweating while fighting with a puppy that weighed less than fifty pounds. This dog had turned my entire life into a chaotic mess.
A line of people and their pets were behind us, waiting to get inside, but it didn’t bother Pepper Jack one bit. The woman behind me huffed and tapped her foot against the concrete sidewalk while glaring at me. I clenched my jaw. “Fuck,” I muttered under my breath and bent down to scoop up Pepper Jack. He flopped on his back while in my arms and stretched out until his legs were completely straight. I turned sideways, waddling through the door, so I wouldn’t hurt him, but he reached out, hooked a paw on the doorway, and held on for a second. I was out of breath by the time I marched up to the front desk, and a bead of sweat rolled down the side of my face. “Hi. How are you? I have an appointment at two.”
“What’s this little guy’s name?”
“Pepper Jack Brooks.” As I said his name, his head lolled to the side and his tongue fell out of his mouth, and I swore he was smiling. The woman behind the counter gushed over him as I held back my eye roll. Of course he would act this way in front of the vet staff. Pepper Jack’s smile grew as each vet tech stepped up to rub behind his spotted ears. The huge, wide smile is something pit bulls are known for, but the white speckled spots all over his tan fur aren’t. The animal rescue didn’t know what he was mixed with. His litter had been dropped at the door in the middle of the night.
I juggled him in my arms as I snagged the tablet from the receptionist. I set Pepper Jack on the ground. He curled into a ball and fell asleep as soon as his eyes closed, letting out a loud snore that scared the nearby cat. He hissed from inside his carrier, but Pepper Jack didn’t even flinch in his slumber. He ignored all other animals. The first time I took him to the dog park, he did the same thing he’d done with his brothers and sisters: sat in the corner and ignored the others. A woman brought her dog over to introduce him, and Pepper Jack stuck his snout in the air, refusing to make eye contact.
He didn’t growl.
He didn’t lunge.
He wasn’t aggressive with other dogs or cats, but he damn sure wasn’t friendly with them either. I was pretty sure in his mind he was the only dog on the planet. At least the only one that mattered. The king of his own little world.
I kept one eye on my snoozing dog while I filled out the vet’s forms. I wouldn’t put it past him to use the restroom in the front lobby to mark his territory in front of the other pets and owners.
“Pepper Jack.” The vet tech called for us from an open doorway. He popped up and walked alongside me easily as I rose from the bench, and I released a sigh of relief. From one moment to the next, I wasn’t sure what I was going to get. For the first two nights, he’d been docile, sweet, and the best copilot. Day three, it had all turned to shit. I woke to a living room full of couch fluff, and the one surviving cushion was occupied by him. His front legs were crossed and his chin was tilted in the air as he stared at me, challenging me. Before that moment, I would’ve laughed at anyone who said a dog could smirk, but I swear Pepper Jack was smirking as he surveyed the damage.
So here I was for a wellness visit, vaccines, and an assessment to join in on the class the vet offers. It covers everything from basic training to obedience to behavioral issues. According to my sources, these classes are the best Austin has to offer.
“Hi, I
’m Alicia. I’ll be assisting Dr. Conroy today.” Alicia took the leash from my hand and guided Pepper Jack onto the scale. I rolled my eyes when the measly number popped up on the screen. How in the hell had he given me so much trouble as we were coming in? He trotted by her side into the exam room, not giving her a lick of trouble, immediately following orders, all with a wagging tail. If he kept this up, they wouldn’t believe that I wanted behavior training.
Alicia took Pepper Jack’s temperature, checked his paws and tail, and ran her hands down his body while asking me a few questions. She marked a few things on a tablet. “Dr. Conroy will be right in.”
“Thank you, Alicia,” I said.
I tugged my phone from my pocket, connected to a VPN, and logged into MarxMen’s secure network to look at the afternoon update on our current accounts. Roman had started MarxMen in Nashville fresh out of the army, and I’d joined him, standing by his side while it grew and when we’d moved it to Austin after he’d reunited with Harper. It had expanded a lot in the past several years. It had gone from focusing on security to taking on anything from security detail jobs, to patterning with the police department, to tracing criminal activity, to legal hacking for companies. Well, mostly legal hacking. I’d tackled a lot of the bother so Roman could spend time with Harper and their son. Now they had another kid on the way. I didn’t have anything to go home to, so I could pull the all-night shifts and take the business trips to secure contracts.
I locked my screen, immediately severing the connection, as the latch popped and the door swung open. I leaned to the side to deposit my phone back in my pocket to focus completely on Pepper Jack’s appointment. My gaze shot up as I heard a soft gasp. My gaze locked with deep brown eyes that were wide open with shock. I scanned her face. As part of the training drilled into me during my army days, I observed every nook, cranny, and person inside every room I walked into. I’d never had trouble with women. I wasn’t an idiot. I noticed when women stared at me. In fact, I liked it.
I saw their expressions. Appreciation. Lust. Curiosity. Outright shock was a new one though. I wiped a hand over my face. Was there a piece of the burrito I had scarfed down at lunch hanging from my chin? I glanced down at my shirt, making sure Hudson hadn’t switched my shirt at the gym and given me something scandalous or some shit. That fucker liked his jokes more than anyone else.
Dr. Conroy recovered quickly and gave a little shake of her head and cleared her throat. A strand of deep brown hair fell from her neat bun. Everything about her seemed to have its place, and I had the urge to mess it all up. Her gaze flitted nervously around the room, looking everywhere but at me, until she settled on Pepper Jack. His head was tilted far to the side; he was observing her too.
I know it, buddy. She is damn pretty.
“Dr. Conroy?” I asked, standing up. She hadn’t said a single word since coming into the room. I was only assuming this was the vet and not someone who had stumbled in here by accident.
“Oh. Um. Yes, that’s me. I’m Dr. Conroy. Who do we have here?” Her cheeks were stained a gorgeous hue of pink. I wanted to smile but held back. Her olive-green scrub top fit her nicely. Better than I had ever seen scrubs fit anyone else, and I somehow knew she’d had them tailored to fit her.
“I’m Kiernan Brooks and this is Pepper Jack.”
She crouched down in front of him, stroking his neck and looking into his eyes. “Hi, Pepper Jack. Ready for your exam?”
His long tail whipped against the tile floor and he lunged forward, attacking Dr. Conroy’s face with kisses. She chuckled. “Pepper Jack,” I hissed and pulled him off of her. “I’m sorry. He’s never done that before. Though I’ve only had him for two weeks.”
“It’s alright. Getting messy is part of the job. Let’s get him on the exam table.”
“You don’t look like you get messy,” I said and smiled. Her still-pink cheeks deepened in their shade. She still wouldn’t look at me. She cleared her throat. I bent and picked up Pepper Jack and placed him on the table. He tried to scurry away, but I caught him and held his wide face in my palms. “It’s okay, bud. It’ll be quick. I swear I’ll give you a treat after.” I shifted my eyes to Dr. Conroy. “Sorry if promising a treat isn’t the right thing to do, I just don’t like it when he’s scared.”
“I use incentive-based learning in my classes,” she said.
“I would like an assessment for your classes. He’s really going to need them.”
She licked her lips before biting the corner of her bottom lip, and her eyes shifted from side to side. I glanced at the beads of sweat along her hairline then focused on her eyes. She was truly nervous. But why? Me? I angled back another step, leaving more space between us and a clearer path to the door. It was as much space as I could offer while holding Pepper Jack, keeping him from escaping.
“I can recommend other training classes in the area.”
“I want to take yours. It’s why I chose this clinic.”
Her gaze rose and finally met mine. “Why?”
“I heard you were the best.” I shrugged. I’d done my research, asking everyone I knew with a dog. Over and over again, Dr. Conroy’s name had come up. I wasn’t going anywhere else or taking any other classes. Pepper Jack and I probably wouldn’t survive without them, and my house would be just a pile of sticks.
“I am the best,” she stated. She wasn’t gloating or being arrogant. It was a simple fact for her.
I grinned. “See. That’s why I want you.”
Her cheeks reddened again at the double entendre. She broke eye contact, grabbed the tablet from the counter by the door, and placed it on the exam table in front of her.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Dr. Conroy.”
“Your first name.”
“You don’t know?” She patted her pockets and turned to grab a stylus from a holder on the counter. She quickly tapped on the screen of the tablet.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know your name. I didn’t catch it on my way in.”
“You can just call me Dr. Conroy.” She clicked the pen, effectively ending the conversation, and turned back to Pepper Jack. She worked through his exam and administered his shots quickly. I stayed silent, watching her work, and lowered him to the floor when she finished. She tried out a few basic commands and walked him on the leash around the room. I answered her questions about his behavior and told her what I’d experienced over the past two weeks. And through all this, even though we were speaking, she didn’t look at me a single time. Not for a second.
“That’s it for today. Everything checks out, and he’s now up to date on his shots. You can check out at the front, and I will leave a list of other training facilities you can call.”
“I’d like to train here.”
“I don’t think that would be wise. You’re not a fit for our classes.” She crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips.
“What’s different about Pepper Jack that he can’t join in? He has no training and judging from the state of my living room and my partner’s office, there’s sure as hell behavioral issues.” I leaned down, rubbing Pepper Jack’s head. Sure he had his troubles, but he could fit in in a class. “He’s a good dog.”
“It’s not him. It’s you. You aren’t the fit.”
She spun toward the door to exit. “You don’t even know me.”
“I know exactly who you are, Kiernan. You just don’t remember me.”
2
Caroline
The moment I was accepted to Texas A&M veterinary school, I thought my life would change for the better. It was my moment of escape. The moment I’d dreamed of my entire life. And for a short while, it was sweet bliss to be states away from my family.
I had no idea my sister would soon join me in Texas and my parents would follow her, unable to bear the thought of not being near her. I thought the mandatory family dinners were behind me when I left Tennessee, but when my sister and parents moved to Texas, they resumed. Now they were only onc
e a week instead of daily. I wished I were a person that could stomp my foot down and say no or just be a no-show at dinner. There was always something that stopped me from following through on that.
A desire for their approval, maybe.
A lingering hope that they would finally notice me.
But every accomplishment, every milestone I hit in my personal life or career never seemed to be enough for them. My hands shook as I lifted my glass of ice water to my lips to take a sip from the straw. The ice shifted and the water lowered, creating a slurping noise as I drank. I internally cringed and bit the inside of my cheek, already nodding to the words I knew were coming.
“You were raised better than that. Have some manners and don’t slurp, Caroline. You are not a child,” my mother hissed in a low voice.
“Yes, ma’am,” I answered hollowly and automatically. I took a deep breath and surreptitiously glanced at the watch on my wrist. My sister was late for dinner, and my insides were clawing at my stomach. It was surgery day, which meant I was lucky if I had time in my schedule to stuff a peanut butter cracker into my mouth. I hadn’t eaten since my quick breakfast as I was rushing out the door at six a.m.
“Honey, that is such a lovely color on you.”
