Ever After (Love to the Rescue Book 3) (29 page)

After watching Mojo try in vain for several minutes to get Casper to play, she headed for the house, chilled from too long outside in only a thin jacket. The dogs bounded ahead and waited for her at the sliding glass door.

“Lead the way, Mojo,” she told the brown dog. His tail beat the vinyl siding as she opened the door, then he scrambled across the kitchen to check his bowl, as if the dog food fairy might have filled it while they were playing outside. “In a little while. Let’s get Casper settled in first.”

Despite his emaciated appearance, Casper had been well fed at the shelter for the past three days, and she didn’t want him to get sick from eating before his nervous stomach settled. Cara flipped on the gas fireplace, then led the way upstairs.

Casper tucked his tail as he followed her into the master bedroom.

“It’ll be a while before we make it up here tonight, I’m afraid. It’s New Year’s Eve, and I’m going out. But I wanted you to see it first in the daylight. You can join Mojo and me in the big bed.” She eyed his soiled fur, then grabbed an old sheet and spread it over her pink-flowered comforter. Before she went out tonight, he definitely needed a bath.

She kept talking, knowing that her calm voice and demeanor, as well as Mojo’s, would put Casper more quickly at ease. She sat on the bed and patted it, inviting them up. Mojo leaped up and made himself at home, while Casper stood anxiously at her feet. She told him all about tonight’s party while stroking his chin until, with a shy wag of his nub, he hopped up on her other side.

“That’s a good boy.” She lay back and closed her eyes, a dog on each side.

What was better than that? Maybe she’d take a quick nap before Merry arrived. Gina’s funeral had left her drained.

The chiming of the doorbell sent Casper into fits of hysterical barking. He launched himself off the bed and ran a lap around the bedroom. Mojo jumped down and headed for the hall, his bark mixing with Casper’s as both dogs raced downstairs.

Cara glanced at her watch as she hurried after them. Merry wasn’t due for another two hours. Whoever it was had lousy timing.

She sprinted into the kitchen and grabbed a handful of peanut-butter dog biscuits from the counter.

“Come, Casper.” She used the biscuits as a lure, and the dog crept into his crate, still eyeing the front door with suspicion. She rewarded him with a handful of peanut-butter yummies, then draped the crate with a thick blanket, hoping the darkness would help calm him.

The doorbell pealed again. Casper’s booming bark filled the room, accompanied by the sound of his body slamming into the metal bars of the crate. So much for calm.

“Shhh,” Cara whispered, then hurried toward the front door. “Coming.”

Mojo stood in the hallway, tail wagging in anticipation of their visitor.

Without pausing to check the peephole, she yanked the door open, then gaped at the man standing there. He filled her doorway, tall and solid in worn jeans and a black leather jacket. Dark brown hair was pushed back from his forehead with a slight wave. His brown eyes settled on hers, and a little ping of warmth traveled through her.

“Matt Dumont. I live next door.” He jerked his head toward the townhouse to the left of hers.

Cara nodded. Oh yeah, she knew who he was, and she’d been doing her best to avoid him for the past year. Well, now she had a name to put with the face formerly known as “Mr. FMH,” a term she and her friend Olivia had coined back in college for a guy that was “fuck me hot.” Matt sure was, not that she had any intention of acting on it.

She glanced down at herself, painfully aware of the streak of bloody slobber on her shirtsleeve and the way she was panting for breath after wrangling an uncooperative sixty-pound boxer into his crate. Of course, if they had to meet after all this time, she’d be a mess.

She pasted on the sweetest smile she could muster as Casper growled from the kitchen. “Nice to meet you. I’m Cara Medlen.”

“’Bout time I knew your name, don’t you think?” The corner of his mouth hitched in amusement as those cocoa eyes searched hers. He was even more handsome up close, staring at her like that, so intense she almost forgot to breathe.

“I guess so.”

“So, what’s the story with your dogs, Cara?”

She sucked in a breath. “What story?”

His eyes narrowed, less warm now. “You tell me.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. What was it with her neighbors and their closed-mindedness about her foster dogs? “We haven’t broken any rules, Mr. Dumont, so if you don’t mind…”

She moved to close the front door, but he stepped forward, blocking her. “Actually, I do mind.”

Cara felt the force of his stare right down to her coral-painted toenails.

“The white dog—is he receiving some kind of medical treatment?”

He was so close now she could smell the faint scent of his aftershave. Too close, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of backing away. She straightened her spine, wishing for a few more inches so she could glare at him without having to look up. “What exactly are you suggesting?”

“I can see into your backyard from my upstairs hallway.” He tilted his head. “I think I know what’s going on here.”

Cara scrunched her nose. What in the world was he accusing her of, mowing her lawn in the wrong direction? Crap, had he been watching last week when she tripped over Mojo and fell in a pile of dog poop? She’d stripped out of her jeans right there in the backyard and run inside half naked. Her cheeks burned. “Perhaps you should be more specific.”

He glanced down at the dog at her feet. Mojo sat, ears back, his shoulder against Cara’s left leg. A crash echoed from the kitchen as Casper thrashed in his crate. “You fighting these dogs, Ms. Medlen?”

She couldn’t help it; she snorted with laughter at the absolute absurdity of his accusation. “Are you serious?”

Mattie pinned her in his laser-like gaze, looking deadly serious. “That a pit bull?”

“A boxer. Thank you for your concern, Mr. Dumont, but maybe next time you should mind your own business.”

And with that, she slammed the door in his face.

Unleashed

For Keeps

“4 stars! With one super-hot cowboy, one spitfire of a woman, and several lovable dogs, Lacey draws readers into a tender story that will make your heart melt. An engaging plot and colorful, genuine characters make the author’s latest a sweet, enjoyable read.”

—
RT Book Reviews

“Your heart will be captured many times by the genuine scenarios and the happily-ever-after for all, both human and canine.”

—HeroesandHeartbreakers.com

“Lovable men and lovable dogs make this series a winner!”

—Jill Shalvis,
New York Times
bestselling author

“Dog lovers rejoice! The stars of Lacey’s cute series opener, set in Dogwood, N.C., have four legs instead of two, and their happy ending is guaranteed.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“Delightful…a great story… You’ll fall in love!”

—MyBookAddictionReviews.com

“Both the man and the dog will rescue your heart. Don’t miss it!”

—Jill Shalvis,
New York Times
bestselling author

“Endearing! Rachel Lacey is a surefire star.”

—Lori Wilde,
New York Times
bestselling author

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EVER AFTER
by Rachel Lacey

After being arrested for a spray-painting spree that (perhaps) involved one too many margaritas, Olivia Bennett becomes suspect number one in a string of vandalisms. Deputy Pete Sampson’s torn between duty and desire for the vivacious waitress, but he may have to bend the rules because true love is more important than the letter of the law…

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not
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TO DESIRE A HIGHLANDER
by Sue-Ellen Welfonder

The second book in
USA Today
bestseller Sue-Ellen Welfonder’s sexy Scandalous Scots series. When a powerful warrior meets Lady Gillian MacGuire—known as the Spitfire of the Isles—he’s shocked to learn that
he
’s the one being seduced and captivated…

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