Chapter Four
A meow sounded near Holden’s left ear a second before a tiny, gray-striped kitten launched himself from a nearby shelf onto his shoulder, snapping him out of his stupor.
He glanced at the feline, surprised the little guy barely used his claws to keep his balance. “Well, hello. Thanks for the one second warning.”
Emily chuckled as she plucked the kitten from his new perch. “Lazlo is our resident jumper. Sorry, I should’ve warned you.”
He shrugged, reaching out to pet the furball. “No harm done.”
She cleared her throat. “I…uh…should get on with your tour.”
Yeah, and he needed to get a better grip on his focus.
After she set Lazlo on the floor, Emily led him out of the room, her shoulders straight and demeanor shifted back into friendly tour guide mode as she took him from one section to another.
The state-of-the-art Animal Control area impressed the hell out of Holden, with its top-notch computers and dispatch equipment as well as the animal hospital and its high-tech machinery, not to mention the dedication of the vet and vet tech staying past quitting time to work on a dog.
“He was hit by a car,” Emily said, disgust twisting her lips as she stared at the sedated pit bull. “A hit and run. If it hadn’t been for someone with a heart driving by and calling us, the poor thing would’ve died alone on the side of the road.”
“Sometimes people suck.” He silently added a few obscenities to that statement.
She nodded. “And sometimes they don’t, because the call sent me to him, and I was able to bring him here. Dr. Shackleford and Lyndsey will do whatever it takes. He’s in good hands.”
Lyndsey?
His gaze returned to the vet tech. It was Gabe’s wife. Holden hadn’t recognized the woman who’d hosted the barbeque, probably because her hair was pulled back and she wore a mask.
But mostly he hadn’t recognized her because his attention had been on the dog…and Officer Harrison as she related the story.
By the time they entered the canine area, he wasn’t just amazed by the shelter, he was impressed by the woman giving the tour. Since that wasn’t the reason Holden was there, he pushed through those thoughts and admired the kennels instead.
Like everything else on the property, the area was state-of-the-art. The front and outside doors of the kennels were made of plexiglass, with another in the middle that could be shut to keep the dog inside the air-conditioning. Bright blue painted cinderblock walls separated the dogs, who had their own posh bed and a raised food and water station.
“Amazing,” he said, noting how much quieter the new kennels kept the room, which in turn, removed a stressor from the dogs.
It was relatively quiet, considering he counted over thirty dogs in the space.
Emily smiled. “No chain link in sight means no possible way to cut their paws. And the large ventilation fans will prevent the spread of disease and cut down on odors. The acoustic tiles and cork floors help with noise reduction too.”
He was impressed and told her as much.
Her smile widened. “Just wait. You haven’t seen the large animal areas yet.”
By the time she took him to three other buildings and they finished the tour at the horse shelter where she’d introduced him to the owner, Kade Dalton, Holden was more than a little taken with the place. He admired Emily, too. He could tell by the flush on the beauty’s face and the light in her eyes as she’d interacted with the livestock that she loved all animals, especially helping them. Animal Control and Rescue wasn’t a job to Emily, it was a passion, as important to her as air.
She was an animal advocate for sure, and as someone who had once held the same passion for helping people, Holden understood what made her tick.
An unrelenting drive to make a difference in the lives of the animals she rescued.
“So, what do you think?” she asked as they stood outside the horse barn next to Kade and Sinjin.
“The entire place is outstanding,” he replied. “You must have one hell of a fundraising staff.”
The space, the set-up, the amazing equipment—none of it was cheap.
Emily laughed. “We do have some great people as well as some wonderful benefactors. We’re blessed.”
“Don’t let her fool you,” Kade spoke up. “There would be no Harland County Humane Society if it weren’t for Emily. For over two years, she petitioned the county council to open one, going so far as to get a few key people to back her, including Mac’s aunt and uncle and his cousins. But her smartest move was getting Jordan McCall involved.”
The name sounded vaguely familiar.
He frowned. “Jordan? Oh, wait. She’s married to one of Mac’s cousins, right? I think he said she’s part owner of the bar and grill in town.”
Texas Republic was located across the street from the cottages, and from the high praise of his buddies, the place was definitely worth frequenting.
“Oh, she’s more than that.” Kade chuckled. “Jordan is a force of nature, as I’m sure you’ll see because you’re bound to meet her around here since she just enrolled in classes to become a part-time Animal Control Officer.”
“She did?” Emily sucked in a breath and exchanged a high-five with Kade. “That’s great! She’s going to be awesome.”
“Wasn’t she a sheriff at one time?” Sinjin asked.
Sheriff?
Damn.
“Yes, she took over from me,” Kade informed with a grin. “Before that, she was a cop in LA.”
Holden turned to Emily and nodded. “Getting her on board was definitely a great strategy on your part. Well done.”
“Thanks.” She smiled and that sweet blush filled her cheeks again, which messed with his pulse. “Jordan helped facilitate the donations from McCall Enterprises as well as private donations from her husband and all his relatives, plus Kevin Dalton, Kade’s cousin.”
The name instantly clicked in his mind. “Wait. Kevin Dalton, as in the video game programming genius?”
Kade winced. “Yeah, but please don’t let him hear you call him a genius. There’ll be no living with him after that.”
Holy shit. The creator of Holden’s favorite video RPG—role-playing game—lived in Harland County?
Emily chuckled. “Kevin is cute and smart.”
Some of Holden’s admiration for the genius dimmed at her assessment.
Kade snorted. “His wife thinks so too.”
“Why are all the good ones scooped up?” She sighed, a teasing gleam lighting her eyes.
That didn’t help Holden’s souring mood and he was happy for the interruption of the subject when her phone rang.
“Oh, okay.” Emily glanced at the main shelter as she spoke into her phone. “I’ll be right there.” She pocketed her cell and nodded at them. “There’s someone at the counter who wants to talk to me about an adoption.” Her gaze zeroed in on him. “Kade could take over and explain what’s needed with the dogs.”
He nodded along with Kade, and although he tried not to, Holden couldn’t stop his gaze from admiring the woman in uniform and the delectable sway of her sweet hips.
“Ah, it’s like that, I see,” Kade said.
“Apparently,” Sinjin muttered.
“Wonder if he knows?” Kade asked.
“Negatory,” his buddy replied.
Holden was vaguely aware of the conversation going on behind him, but the guys’ words didn’t sink in until Emily disappeared into the main shelter building, and he regained control of his brain.
“Should we warn him?” Kade glanced at Sinjin.
His buddy shook his head. “No. It didn’t do me any good.”
“Me either,” Kade said. “I suspect it has to do with our thick, military skulls.”
Sinjin nodded. “Roger that.”
“You do know I can hear both of you, right?” he asked, as they began to walk across the field separating the buildings. The men were inferring something about Emily and him, but he wasn’t going to bite. “Last I checked, there’s no crime in admiring a beautiful woman,” he said. “That’s all I was doing.”
“Got it.” Kade held up his hands. “Been there, done that.”
Holden exhaled and relaxed.
“Got married. Had children. Now I’m living the dream,” Kade added, a smile evident in his tone. “If you possibly have any chance at something like this—something I never thought I deserved—then don’t be an idiot and let that thick skull get in your way.”
They were nearing the building when the guy stopped to face him. “In the military, the training starves our hearts and nourishes our brains over and over, until we’re hardened both here and here.” He tapped at his chest and head. “When we return home, we have to remember to reverse some of that in order to return to a more balanced self. And since you work with dogs, you know how imperative balance is to gain their trust.”
Holden wasn’t sure what had happened to the guy in the past, but his eyes told him he’d been through several layers of hell and survived, so he didn’t take his advice lightly.
He just didn’t feel it applied to him.
Still, he nodded, feeling like he was supposed to respond. Besides, the man was right about the importance of balance for anyone dealing with dogs. Holden’s balance was fine, though. No way would he even think of volunteering to work with dogs if it wasn’t.
He shifted his gaze to Sinjin to find his buddy regarding him closely.
“You good?”
“Yeah,” he replied. “Dogs can see through bullshit, so yeah. I’m good. Wouldn’t volunteer otherwise.”
“They can also help us find balance,” Kade said. “So, even if you think you’re good and you aren’t, they will help.”
“Roger that,” he said.
Kade nodded.
Before they reached the back door of the shelter, it swung open, and a white-faced Tracy rushed out.
“There’s a crazy man threatening Emily in the parking lot!” she exclaimed. “I called the sheriff. He’s on his way, but Emily needs help. Hurry!”
Holden’s heart lurched and before it returned to his chest, he was rounding the building, his boots eating up the pavement as he raced to the front of the shelter with Sinjin and Kade on his six.
Alarm gripped his spine and he forced himself to hold onto his control as he neared the front. He could hear an angry man raising his voice, then Emily’s even-keeled response, but he couldn’t make out what she said, only her calm, confident tone.
Rushing around the corner, he spotted them near the entrance. The angry man was a few inches taller and easily a foot wider than Emily, but she stood with her arms down at her side, feet slightly apart, chin up, and gaze on the man spewing profanities as he ranted in front of her. The woman didn’t cower, nor did she feed the jerk’s anger.
Admiration rushed through Holden as he slowed his pace and stopped behind her. “Is there a problem?” he asked, wanting to offer his help but not overstep her authority.
“No,” she answered, keeping her attention on the angry man. “Mr. Perez was just about to leave.”
The guy’s head jerked back, and he frowned at Emily. “Are you loco? I told you, I’m not leaving without my dog, bitch.”
Holden’s back stiffened and his hands curled into fists, as anger, hot and swift, rushed through him so fast he barely recognized it. He was about to step forward and punch out what was left of the bastard’s teeth when a hand clamped on his shoulder.
“Easy,” Sinjin urged in a low voice.
Kade flanked his other side, his gaze on the confrontation. “Emily can handle it. Gabe doesn’t need to make two arrests,” he told him, in a barely audible tone.
“It’s Officer Harrison to you.” Her chin lifted. “And you no longer own a dog. You gave up that right in Houston, when you ignored the notices about leaving her chained in the yard without water or shelter from the hundred-degree temperatures and that she needed to gain weight.”
“Hera was fine,” the man insisted.
“A forty-six-pound Rottweiler is not fine, Mr. Perez,” she stated. “She was woefully underweight and needed medical attention, which was clearly defined in the notice and the voicemails I repeatedly left you. You had more than a week to comply. When you didn’t, she was seized by the Houston PD and Humane Society.”
Jesus …forty-six pounds?
Holden’s blood pressure shot up again. An adult female Rottie weighed nearly double that.
“You can’t just trespass into my yard and take my property,” the guy muttered as if he hadn’t heard a word she’d just said. “I want Hera back now.”
“You violated the law, ignored notices, and were cited for animal cruelty. You can’t get her back,” she stated calmly. “The violation took place in Houston . If you have a complaint, you need to file it against the Houston Humane Society. I no longer work there. That’s a different jurisdiction. I work here now. Harassing me is pointless.”
The man’s face darkened, and he appeared ready to step forward, so Holden straightened his shoulders and glared at the guy while slowly shaking his head. From his peripheral vision, he noted Sinjin and Kade doing the same.
Don’t do it, pal , he silently urged. Although, if he did, it would give Holden the green-light to rearrange the dickhead’s face.
The sound of a siren echoed in the distance.
Holden wasn’t sure if it was his silent warning, the siren, or Emily telling the guy he should leave before the sheriff arrived, but the man backed off and stepped toward a nearby late model Bronco.
“This isn’t over, bitch,” Perez growled, wrenching his door open. “You’re gonna get me my dog.”
As much as he wanted to pound the guy into the ground, press a knee into his back, and hold him immobile until Gabe arrived, Holden knew the police wouldn’t arrest Perez. Technically, he hadn’t broken the law.
Not yet.
He didn’t like the man’s parting words or the hatred in his eyes.
Alarm continued to grip Holden’s spine as he watched the Bronco peel out of the parking lot, nearly clipping the sheriff’s Tahoe.
“You okay?” he asked Emily, gently turning her to face him.
She sighed. “Yeah. That’s one of my least favorite parts of the job.”
“Does it happen a lot?” The thought of people harassing her, especially because she’d saved an animal, didn’t sit well in his already knotted stomach.
“Not really.” She shrugged. “No one’s ever tracked me down to complain before. Especially nearly three months after the incident.”
He stiffened and felt Sinjin and Kade do the same, but before he could continue to question her, Gabe pulled up and unfolded from his vehicle.
“You okay, Emily?” the sheriff asked, and when she nodded, he removed a pad and pen from his shirt pocket. “Okay, start from the top and tell me what happened.”
By the time Gabe finished taking Emily’s statement, then his and the others, Holden had a knot in his gut the size of Texas. He was certain that wasn’t the last she’d seen of Perez.
“Is it okay if I leave?” she asked Gabe. “I have to go home and take care of my animals.”
The sheriff nodded. “Just be vigilant, Emily, not thickheaded. Let me know if he shows up again.”
“Wait.” Holden stepped forward. “Shouldn’t she file a restraining order?”
Gabe glanced at Emily. “Has Perez harassed you before today?”
She shook her head. “No, not really. The past ones were just the usual complaints when I was at his property to serve the notices.”
“But did he threaten you?” Holden repeated the question, fairly certain she was avoiding the answer.
“No more than any other animal abuser ticked off that I removed their target.” She sighed. “Look, Holden, I’m fine. Just tired. I’d like to go home.”
“Maybe I should follow you.” The words were out before he could stop them. “How do you know Perez didn’t head there? If he tracked you here, odds are he knows your address too.”
Gabe scratched his temple. “He’s not wrong.”
Emily eye-rolled them. “Y’all watch too much late-night TV.”
Holden grunted. Other than sports, he hadn’t watched television in years. “I don’t even own one.”
Not currently, anyway.
Emily’s head jerked back. “Now, Sheriff, that right there is a crime.”
Even though Holden wasn’t crazy about her making light of the subject, he was crazy about the light returning to her eyes. It had been absent since she’d walked away from the horse shelter earlier. Warmth trickled into his chest, much like it had then too.
“I’m going to grab my purse from inside then head home to feed my animals.” She walked to the shelter entrance then glanced over her shoulder at them and smiled. “And watch some TV.”
When she disappeared inside, he turned to address Gabe but waited while a mother and son walked by with their newly adopted Labrador puppy leading the way. That behavior was going to become a problem for the family if they didn’t teach the dog to follow and not lead.
It was a common mistake for first-time dog owners.
Holden shook all thoughts of dogs from his head, and once they loaded up in their SUV and drove away, he turned to face the guys again. “Are we all in agreement that Perez is trouble?”
Kade nodded along with the others. “I’ll keep an eye on things here. If he shows up again, I’ll let you know, Gabe.”
“Roger that.” The sheriff nodded then lifted a hand and waved to someone behind Holden.
He turned to see Emily getting into a car parked down the lot in front of the Humane Society building. Twenty seconds later, she beeped at them as she drove by.
“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to follow my wife’s stubborn friend home,” Gabe said, heading to his Tahoe.
Relief eased the tightness in Holden’s shoulders and chest. The possibility of Emily facing Perez alone—should the bastard be waiting at her home—no longer had such a stranglehold on him now. His formidable SEAL buddy would have her six.
“Roger that.” The former sheriff waved at the current sheriff and affirmed his promise to keep an eye on Emily while she was at the shelter. Kade then turned his attention to them. “I’ll talk to you two later. I want to check on Tracy.”
“Of course,” he echoed Sinjin.
The poor woman had been more rattled than Emily.
“You all right?” his buddy asked when they were alone.
No, he wasn’t. Not really.
He shook his head, knowing the guy could spot a bullshitter two clicks away. It was odd how much the confrontation had affected him. Holden was usually an even-keel kind of guy. Calm. Tough to rile up. He didn’t like this side of himself.
Emily messed with his control.
Despite knowing that distance was his best defense and the surefire way to remain in control, he couldn’t in good conscience turn his back on the woman. She was in trouble, even if the stubborn beauty refused to acknowledge it.
“When we get to ESI in the morning, I want to know everything about this Perez guy.”
Sinjin nodded. “We’ll run him through Carter’s computer. His system is so thorough, we’ll know tomorrow what Perez ate for breakfast next week.”
Holden snorted. “Next week, huh?”
A smile tugged at Sinjin’s lips. “Affirmative. Carter might be a jokester, but there is nothing funny when it comes to his computers and any kind of surveillance.”
He couldn’t agree more.
“Now, what about your other concern?”
He frowned. “What other concern?”
“You still going to lie to yourself about Emily?” Sinjin asked.
His head snapped back. “Lie? What are you talking about?”
Jesus…he was stuck in repeat mode.
“I’m talking about the fact you’re pretending you’re not interested in her.”
Oh…that.
He let out a long breath. “I’m not interested in her, I’m concerned about her. There’s a difference.” He waited for his buddy to reply, and when he didn’t, Holden started to walk toward the entrance. “I think it’s time I returned to the kennels. There are a bunch of dogs that need exercising.”
Considering that was the reason Holden was there and he had yet to meet any of them, he needed to get his head out of his ass and his rear in gear.
With his focus returning to the dogs, Holden’s equilibrium returned too, and when he let out another long breath, his shoulders relaxed, and his old friend calm enveloped him.
“Just so you know,” Sinjin said, falling into step next to him, “interest or concern…either one could lead to a relationship.”
He grunted.
There would be no relationship in his future…unless it was with a dog.
Then why did his mind drift to Emily and how hot she looked in her uniform?