expect the answer you’re looking for.” I realized I was gazing at the pup, my stomach tightening.
“You won’t let anyone get through to you, will you?”
I rubbed my eyes and forced myself to glance away from the injured dog. I couldn’t handle taking care of an innocent animal. Not now.
Maybe never.
“How sad.” She gave me a hateful look before walking around me and turning off the light. As I stood in the dark, a list of questions rushed into my mind. Sadly, I knew the woman well enough to realize I wasn’t going to get anything else out of her. Maybe it was time for me to do a bit of hunting myself.
I trailed behind her and back to her front porch. The first hint of morning was just crossing the horizon. She leaned against the railing, her body rigid. “You’re right. They won’t stop there. Will they?”
“They will if you heed their warning as well as mine.”
“And you know I can’t do that. I signed a code of ethics to care for all animals, large and small. I wouldn’t be doing my profession justice if I gave up on this.”
Damn, the woman was stubborn.
“What I know is that you have your entire life ahead of you right now. While I’m not stupid enough to think that you’re going to stop searching for answers, you need to be more careful.”
She bit her lip, barely darting me a look. “I realize that.”
“I hope you do, Danni, because a few of them play nasty. You haven’t just ruffled feathers with your accusations. You’ve gotten under their skin. To that end, you’re coming with me. You’re going to stay at my place for a couple days until I can figure out what the hell is going on.”
After making a strangled sound, she laughed. “I can’t do that. This is my home and my place of business. No one is going to push me out. No one. Not only do I have clients to see, that baby dog you refuse to name needs to remain right where he is for at least a full day, maybe more. I can’t risk moving him.”
I was afraid she was going to say that. Inhaling the early morning air, I thought about the options. “I have some work I need to get to today, but I’m coming back tonight. You can’t go anywhere just yet, not until your tires are replaced anyway. I expect you to stay put.”
“You want to keep me a prisoner here?”
Leaning closer, I brushed a stray strand of hair from her face. “Truth is I want to keep you safe. I told you that already.” For some reason, I expected her to jerk away. When she closed her eyes, nuzzling against my hand, my cock began to throb. The way her heated mouth had been around my shaft had blown my mind. But being inside of her had felt right. “Then you’re going to promise me that you won’t call a friend to come get you. Right?”
“Well, I do need to get the tires replaced.”
“Leave that to me.”
Now she pulled away, shaking her head. “I already told you that I’m a big girl. I’ve been tackling car repairs and basic maintenance of whatever shitty place I lived in for a long time. I think I can handle making a few phone calls.”
“My dad has a mechanic’s shop in town. He’ll send out one of the guys. Is that good enough?”
“Your dad?”
“Yeah, he’s not really running it any longer, but he keeps on top of things.”
She studied me for a few seconds before nodding, resigning herself into allowing me to help her. “Okay. I would appreciate that. I don’t know anyone here, at least not any longer.”
“You used to live here before?”
“You trying to get to know me, cowboy?”
“Now, what do you think?”
Her laugh was genuine, although her stance remained tense. “Yeah, my dad took a job back East when I was young. I think I always missed Montana.”
“That’s why you purchased this place. You’re right in that it seems a hell of a lot of work.”
“I know it does and between selling everything I own, borrowing money from my parents and taking out two loans, I made it happen. I’ll be eating macaroni and cheese for months, but it’s worth it. I love the place.”
“The land alone is gorgeous, and I can envision what you’re going to do with the entire place.” The care she had was incredible. There was no doubt about her