Delivering His Gifts (Mountain Men of Liberty #10)- K.C. Crowne Page 0,14

know. To me, that said so much about her character, but I couldn’t go overboard with the praise.

He looks very sweet, but you don’t have to give up your dog. I’m sure we can find another one for my friend.

Her response was lightning fast, as if she was prepared for my argument.

I know Oscar. There is no better emotional support dog. None that I’ve met, at least. It could take months to find another dog as good as him. I took him in when he needed a home, but if he can help someone else live a better life, then it’s worth it to me.

I leaned back against the bed and let out a deep breath.

Seriously, why did she have to be so damned perfect?

Danielle

“She’s packing her stuff and will be right out,” I said dryly, my arms crossed in front of my chest in a defensive manner.

My ex-husband, Greg, stood only inches away. He’d always had trouble with personal boundaries. He crowded into my personal bubble, and that was one of many reasons we didn’t make a good match.

“You left her inside alone? Jesus Christ, Danielle,” Greg said, trying to push past me and get into my house.

I placed a hand on his chest to stop him. “She’s not a baby anymore, Greg. She’s starting kindergarten in the fall. She is just fine.”

“With all of those dogs in there with her? The big ones?”

“They’re actually in the backyard right now because I’m not completely stupid,” I snapped, lifting an eyebrow. Mostly I kept them outside in case Greg pushed his way inside. Oscar would be fine, and Griz too - probably. If Greg didn’t push too far. Griz was protective of his mama, after all.

“You really should get rid of them,” he growled under his breath.

“Why? They love Skyler, she loves them, and they’re not dangerous. Besides, I know what I’m doing. I’m not an idiot - I know to never leave them unattended, even though they’ve never even looked at Skyler wrong.”

I stopped short, dropping my hand from Greg’s chest. My gaze fell behind my ex-husband and on the driveway. Mason’s truck pulled in and was headed toward the house.

“Dammit,” I muttered. I should have given him a time to stop by, not leave it as an open invitation.

“Who’s that?” Greg asked, cocking an eyebrow toward Mason’s truck.

“He’s a client. I’m training a dog for a friend of his,” I stated matter-of-factly. “In fact, I’m training one of my dogs for his friend, so I’ll have one less dog for you to bitch about.”

“Well hallelujah,” Greg muttered sarcastically. His eyes narrowed on Mason’s truck as the other man parked and stepped out. Greg scoffed when he saw Mason. “A client, huh? Bullshit. I don’t know why you lie to me, Dani…”

Mason walked up slowly, looking Greg up and down as if sizing him up. He held his hands up and asked, “Bad timing?”

“Yeah, terrible timing. At least bring your fuck buddies over after our daughter leaves for the weekend,” Greg growled antagonistically.

“He’s not—”

“I’m not—” Mason said at the same time. “Listen, man. I’m just a client. She’s training a dog for a friend of mine, a Vietnam vet with PTSD. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Right, like I’m supposed to believe that shit,” he scoffed, his nastiness boundless. “Looks like you found someone as good at lying as you, Dani. Well done, I must say.”

Greg stepped forward, impeding Mason’s space as he often did to me. Greg wasn’t a small man by any means, but Mason was a giant compared to him. He easily had five inches and fifty pounds on my ex-husband, but Greg always thought himself bigger and badder than he was.

“You know,” Mason said. “I really don’t appreciate you talking about her like that. I don’t know what’s going on between the two of you. I don’t want to know. I’m just a client, like I said. But you need to treat the mother of your child with some respect.”

“Mason, Greg—”

I stepped forward and placed myself between the two of them. I knew Greg’s temper, and it wouldn’t end well if I let the two men hash it out. Greg would push Mason to his limits and likely end up in the hospital, and somehow, it would look bad on my part because Mason was a guest on my property.

I placed a hand on both of their chests, pushing backward. Damn bit of good it did, since I was little bitty compared to the