Beauty and the Beastmaster - Linda Winstead Jones Page 0,20

man. Sexy, with dark eyes that seemed to see right through her. Kind, the way he treated his animals, the way he always knew what they needed.

He didn’t seem to care that she was determined not to enter a serious relationship, but what if he changed his mind? He was probably very persuasive. She couldn’t imagine any woman saying no to him if he set his sights on seduction. Not even her.

If she found herself wavering in her resolve to keep things casual between them, she’d pack up in the dead of night and go. She’d disappear.

She’d done it before.

Springers relied on Silas for pet care, though to be honest those services weren’t often needed for much more than the occasional vaccination or checkup. The magic of Mystic Springs, the power that resided in the residents of their small town, was enough to keep their dogs, cats, and the occasional odd pet — Mike Benedict used to have a collection of snakes, and the newly retired Mayor Frannie Smith had once decided to harbor a family of possums — healthy. He also removed pests, on occasion. Bats, hornets, termites. He’d moved them all from homes to a more natural habitat.

Most of his local clients called him on his cell phone to make an appointment, but now and then someone would just show up.

On this cool afternoon, he wasn’t surprised to see Janie Holbrook’s little red car, a ’67 Mustang that would make any car-nut drool, making her way down his long driveway at somewhere around fifteen miles an hour. What a waste of horsepower. She was a friendly woman, knew everyone in town, and took very good care of her cats. At the moment she had four, if he remembered correctly. They were all wonderfully spoiled. And fat.

She pulled up to his front door.

He had a simple setup in one long building, with living quarters on one side and a larger office on the other. The doors of the dark brown building were side by side, home on the right, work on the left.

The office area was much larger than his personal quarters. He didn’t need much for himself, just a living area, a bedroom, a bathroom, and a small kitchen. The dogs had more space than he did in the back of the building, with both an outdoor pen and an indoor facility with all the comforts any dog might desire. It made sense, since there was only one of him and he sometimes had as many as a dozen dogs in his care. At the moment he had ten. No, nine, since Judge had found a new home.

Janie walked toward him, an incredibly fat calico cat cradled in her arms. She smiled as he opened the door to his office for her and she walked in, heading straight for his exam room where she carefully placed her calico on the metal table.

“Queenie isn’t feeling well,” Janie said. The older woman was a little plump, a little short, and dressed for cool spring weather in a baby blue outfit and matching tennis shoes. The shoestrings were bright pink.

Silas placed a finger under Queenie’s chin and looked into the cat’s eyes. Yeah, cats were different. They didn’t always cooperate, and he had learned not to push. But today Janie’s fat cat was willing to talk to him, in her own way.

“The only thing wrong with Queenie is her weight. Are you giving her the special food I ordered?”

“I am! She loves it. It makes a nice addition to her regular meals.”

Silas looked down at Janie. Her eyes positively twinkled as she teased him.

“Why are you really here?” he asked.

She didn’t try to make excuses, once she’d been caught. Janie gathered a content and very healthy Queenie into her arms and sat in one of the hard chairs against the wall. “I hear you’re seeing Gabi Lawson.”

“News travels fast in this town.”

“It’s not like we have a lot to do,” she said. “Gossip is a favorite pastime. Besides, you know very well how it works around here. At least ten Springers could’ve told you last week that you were going to ask Gabi out again and she’d say yes. Half of them would’ve warned you against it, but, well, you’re going to do what you’re going to do.”

Did Janie know what was in the works? Was she aware of Jenna’s plan? He rarely wished for the ability to see into a human’s mind, but right now he did. “Why would anyone