Chapter Ten
E mily was blessed… and frustrated.
Three days had passed since her friends helped paint her living room, and the ESI guys donated and installed an incredible security system. And they wouldn’t allow her to pay them. All she’d provided were some roast beef sandwiches, iced tea, and coffee. Heck, Lyndsey wouldn’t even let her pay for the cinnamon buns.
Yes, she was very blessed.
Earlier today, she’d rescued four tiny Beagle puppies from under the porch of a little old lady who owned seven cats. Although the woman didn’t own a dog, she told Emily there’d been a white and brown stray hanging around the past week. Given the fact the puppies were about a week old, it fit the timeline.
She’d set a humane trap to catch the mom and had circled back twice that day to check it and look around, but so far, no luck. All of the ACR officers were aware and would continue to scour the area.
It was now evening, and she was lingering at the shelter even though her shift had ended a half hour ago.
Emily glanced down at the squawking, squirming puppy in her hand as she tried to feed him with a dropper. Hopefully, the mother showed up soon.
She was hoping someone else showed up soon, too.
Three days had also passed since she’d shared several drugging kisses with Holden, and she hadn’t seen the guy since. Between her hours and his, they had yet to rendezvous for more “taste tests” as she’d coined them in her head.
Yes, she was very frustrated.
That was new for her. She’d never experienced sexual frustration before, and she wasn’t even sure if that was what to call it since they hadn’t even had sex. Yet.
God, she hoped there was a yet .
With a quick shake of her head, she swallowed a snort. Thoughts like that were so out of character. She’d only known Holden a little over a week and was fantasizing about falling into bed with the guy. A very handsome, hot guy.
“There is no timeframe on lust,” Mel said, snagging Emily’s attention. The woman was helping her feed the puppies.
But how had she known her thoughts?
“I’ve been in your shoes,” her friend answered, as if reading her mind. “Besides, I can feel your restlessness. So does the puppy. Why do you think he’s fussing? It isn’t hunger. He finished his dropper.”
Emily glanced at the squirming, tiny little dude in her hands. Mel was right, the dropper was empty. She’d finished feeding him milk, but he was still feeding on her frustration. Blowing out a breath, she concentrated on calming her pulse and her thoughts before she set the puppy back in his makeshift bed where his other siblings currently slept. He snuggled into the litter and settled right down.
“Now that their immediate needs are taken care of, let’s focus on you,” Mel said, sending Emily’s brows up. “Relax. I don’t swing that way, I’m talking about Holden. He arrived about ten minutes ago. I saw him through the window behind you. He’s in the yard, walking two pit bulls and a Doberman.”
What?
Her heart shot past calm and headed straight for alarm. There were several pit bulls in the shelter, but only one Doberman, and Klaus was a handful.
“I think I better go see if he needs help,” she said, surging to her feet.
Mel grinned. “Yeah, you go help him and yourself.”
Smirking, she left the puppies’ kennel then headed straight for the door that led to the fenced in walking area out back. Her mind questioned how she hadn’t seen him but then realized he’d probably grabbed the dogs from the outside access to their kennels and never stepped foot inside.
As Emily entered the yard, Holden gifted her with one of his amazing smiles. The kind that lit his gorgeous eyes and messed with her pulse.
“Hi, Emily,” he said, approaching with three calm dogs at his sides.
How the heck had he managed that?
“Hi,” she replied, feeling shy for some stupid reason. She pushed it aside and straightened her shoulders, knowing it was best to remove any sign of weakness before he brought the dogs closer.
“Smart girl,” Holden said, admiration flickering through his gaze.
Of course, he would pick up on her transition. He would need to be super observant to train dogs, and no doubt, to work with one in a hostile area.
“Feel like helping me walk them?” he asked, and when she nodded, he handed her the leash of one of the pit bulls.
“This is the quietest these three have ever been,” she said, keeping her gaze straight ahead, not on the dogs.
All three dogs walked calmly, and Emily was happy she hadn’t ruined their strides.
“Just treating them like dogs and not like humans.” He shrugged. “So many people never get that right.”
She nodded. “Mostly because they don’t know. I’ve talked to Kade about offering a free Doggy 101 course with every adoption.”
“That’s brilliant,” he said, his expression alive with interest. “If people knew how to walk a dog, feed a dog, exercise a dog, play with a dog, all using dog psychology, there wouldn’t be nearly as many animals in the shelters.”
“Exactly,” she gushed, then immediately dialed it down when two of the dogs glanced at her. “That had been my argument.”
Holden glanced sideways at her as they continued to make their way around the perimeter of the area. “What did Kade say?”
“He loved the idea.” She grinned, pride and happiness warming her already warm insides. “He’s working out the logistics and timing, and said he needs to find the right teacher. Can I throw your hat in the ring? I think you’d be perfect.”
Emily knew she was right. He understood dogs and that people were the ones who needed the be trained in order to handle them correctly.
He raised a brow and that brilliant smile returned to light his face. “I’d like that. And thank you for the vote of confidence, especially since I almost triggered Queenie the other day.”
She wasn’t sure about Queenie, but he’d definitely triggered something in her. “No worries. She’s very sensitive. I’m working on it, but it’s slow going.”
“Would you be offended if I asked if I could help?” His sideways gaze was on her again.
“I would absolutely love that,” she told him earnestly. “And of course, I’m not offended. Queenie’s welfare is what matters, not my pride. I’d never put it before an animal. And even though I’ve worked with them for years now, doesn’t mean I don’t have more to learn. I welcome it. So, whenever you can find time to come over and help her, just let me know.”
“Is tonight okay?” he asked. “I realize it’s short notice, but it seems like our schedules actually lined up today, unlike the past few days.”
So, he was bothered by that too…
“Tonight would be great,” she replied, her voice sounding a bit more eager than she’d intended.
“Great.” He smiled, stopping outside the Doberman’s kennel. “I still have another hour here yet. I hope that’s okay. There are a lot of dogs that need walking.”
The dog entered his kennel quietly, and even allowed Holden to remove his leash without protest. She watched him repeat the process two more times with the pit bulls and marveled at how he got them to sit calmly in front of their open kennels before telling them to go inside.
Yeah, this guy definitely had an affinity with dogs.
It was beautiful. And even though she chipped in and walked a few dogs too, her attention kept straying to him and the way he managed to get the dogs to stop barking and jumping without saying a word.
He told her they could feel him through the leash and there was no need to talk.
It was a pleasure to watch him, for several reasons, and all of them brought a tingling warmth to her body.
By the time the hour was through, Emily was excited that she was going to get to watch the guy work his magic on her dog. Granted, Queenie wasn’t full of pent-up energy or anger, or was even territorial. No, she was fearful, and Emily knew that was the worst type of aggression. The kind that was very easy to escalate into the red zone and then the dog would bite.
That hadn’t happened with her yet, and she wanted to keep it that way.
She discussed this on the way to their cars. “I’m hoping you can give me some pointers on how to help Queenie move past her fear.”
He nodded. “Yes, I can definitely do that, but I want to evaluate her first. Alone, if you don’t mind. It’s better if you aren’t in the room. I don’t want anything to influence her.”
She understood. “Yeah, I do feel she sometimes uses me as a crutch. Its—”
Emily sucked in a breath and blinked at her silver Subaru.
Someone had used bright orange spray-paint and wrote the word BITCH across her hood, window, and part of her driver side, including the door.
Perez…
I’m not leaving without my dog, bitch.
The crazy man’s words sounded in her head.
Holden muttered a curse before pulling out his phone to call Gabe, all while glancing around the area.
Emily’s heart was in her throat as she quickly scanned the parking lot too. Several cars but no occupants met her gaze. It appeared as if she and Holden were the only people outside the shelter.
Kade had security cameras, as did the Humane Society, but it was doubtful they’d caught anything. She had parked off to the side where the employees parked. But perhaps one of the cameras caught a glimpse of the jerk driving in or leaving. Especially if it was with as much zeal as last week when he’d nearly hit Gabe’s Tahoe.
She eyed her car and bit back a curse. It was the first car she ever bought that was new. Granted, that had been over five years ago, but still. Her chest was as tight as her jaw that cracked. She’d worked extra shifts to save up a good down payment to afford the reliable vehicle.
How had the creep managed to graffiti her baby without anyone seeing him?
Jesus…had he been in the parking lot when she’d arrived at the end of her shift?
She didn’t think so. Surely, she would’ve spotted his old Bronco.
Although, it wasn’t as if she was actively looking for it.
Unease rippled through her and the hair on the back of her neck stood up again.
Was he watching her now?