Beauty and the Beastmaster - Linda Winstead Jones Page 0,10

would be a good mother to her child. She didn’t need any man. Looking back, she wished she’d left Florida as soon as the divorce was final, that she’d gotten as far away from her ex as humanly possible. Like, Alaska. She heard it was cold, but beautiful.

Mystic Springs wasn’t nearly as far away as Alaska, but so far it had served her well. It was a weird place, but she had a good handle on most of the people. Some of them were perfectly nice. Others had an odd dislike of outsiders. She hadn’t figured Silas out yet. He was complicated. Their date had been pretty bad, but she couldn’t hold him responsible for her shoe or for the weather. He’d been a little awkward, but so had she. They’d both been cajoled into the date.

Not that it mattered. No matter how sexy Silas was she was staying far, far away from his sperm, and anyone else’s.

He’d been silent for a while, but he finally spoke up. “Uh, you can leave a little.”

She’d been cutting so fast she’d trimmed away too much. Silas usually wore his hair a tad long. “Sorry. Is it too short?” She tried to cover her tracks, tried not to let on that she’d been distracted by the thought of sperm. “I thought I’d try something new.”

“It’s fine,” he said, sounding more than a little uncertain.

Was it, though? Gabi moved more slowly, more thoughtfully, as she continued.

Now and then she looked down at Mia and Judge. The bloodhound was a big dog, but Mia wasn’t at all afraid. The baby — a toddler now, who toddled around on unsteady legs more and more often — picked up one ear and let it drop, while the dog pinned adoring eyes on the child. Mia giggled, and when she ran her chubby little hands over Judge’s neck, the dog seemed to smile.

Impossible, right?

When Gabi was finished with Silas she whipped away the cape and took a brush to his shoulders to make sure she hadn’t left any hair behind. He wore khaki today, as he often did, and his dark hair would really show if he wasn’t careful to clean it all. She set the brush aside, saw a stray she’d missed, and reached out to pluck it off his arm just as he stood.

He dropped cash on her station. Too much.

“I’ll get some change…”

“No change,” he said gruffly.

“But…”

“Don’t argue. You’re going to need the extra money for dog food. I’ll bring you a bag of the brand Judge likes to get you started.”

Gabi laughed, hoping it didn’t sound as maniacal to Silas as it did to her. “I’m glad Mia and Judge are getting along, it’s actually very sweet, but I don’t intend to keep your dog.”

Silas sighed as Mia draped her entire body over Judge’s back and giggled. “I don’t think it matters at all what you or I intend.”

Gabi didn’t want a dog. The last thing she wanted or needed was something else to take care of. She had her hands full taking care of Mia and herself!

She tried to come up with a reasonable explanation, a firm but gentle insistence that she could not have a pet of any kind, but just ended up saying, in a too-uncertain voice, “No.”

“Ok,” Silas said calmly. “Come on, Judge.” He headed for the door. The dog did not.

Silas turned. He and the dog shared a glance. It seemed their eyes locked. Was that even possible? Finally, Judge stood slowly. His head hung low but he walked toward Silas, each step seemingly torture.

And Mia started screaming again. Judge looked back, his sad eyes blaming Gabi for his heartbreak. Who was she kidding? Bloodhounds always had sad eyes, right?

Mia reached out a hand, flexing her fat little fingers, and as Silas opened the door to leave the baby screamed, “My doggie. My doggie!”

Shit.

Standing on the sidewalk, Gabi muttered as she fumbled with her purse and her keys and the baby on her hip, until in a movement that spoke of sheer frustration she thrust Mia at Silas.

He took the kid. What choice did he have? It was take her or let her drop to the sidewalk. With his hands beneath Mia’s armpits he held her away from his body almost as far as possible, while Gabi locked the door to the beauty shop and dropped the keys back into her purse.

Gabi didn’t criticize the way he held her child, just slung the purse strap over her shoulder and