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Johnny flashed a grin that lit up his whole face. He had an easy-going manner that seemed to charm most people, and it seemed it was already working. “Sure thing.”
“Better,” Lexi smiled back at him, climbing into the backseat of the car.
“You mind if Bud sits with you?” Kane asked, gesturing at the dog who was his shadow. Bud jumped up, placing two paws on the seat beside her, tongue hanging out in welcome.
“Of course not. Come on, Bud. Sit here with me,” Lexi patted the seat next to her. Bud waited for Kane to give him the signal before climbing inside. Once again, Lexi admired how well-trained he was. He didn’t do a thing unless Kane told him it was OK.
Lexi threw an arm behind him, holding the dog close. He relaxed into her embrace, a goofy look coming over him.
“You better be careful or he’ll start thinking you’re his girlfriend,” Johnny warned.
Lexi laughed. “I would be so honored.”
“You say that now but wait until you smell his breath,” Kane responded without thinking, caught up in the easy-going banter Johnny always inspired.
Lexi shot a look at him, unable to hide her surprise that what — he had a personality? Her expression made him wish he hadn’t said anything. Closing her door, he made his way to the passenger seat as Johnny twisted round to ask, “Where are we headed?”
Normally, Kane would have his client’s schedule at least a day if not more in advance — the more notice he had, the more chance he had of making preparations, but as this was his first official day on the job, they were going to have to roll with it.
“The PAWS shelter on West Olympic Boulevard. Here’s the address.” She showed Johnny the full address she had pulled up on her phone. He set the course on the Sat Nav and started the car. Trees flashed past as they drove down the winding drive.
“How many stops do we have today?” Kane asked.
“Just the one. I’ll be there for most of the day, sorting out the party while getting a few walks in.”
“Walks?”
“For the dogs. I like to take them out whenever I can, they spend far too long cramped up in those cages as it is.”
Kane agreed with her but stayed silent. She said all the right things regarding the volunteer work, but he knew that most celebrities were coached on their responses: some even had speech writers.
“Bud was a rescue,” Johnny volunteered.
“He was?” Lexi looked at Kane, unable to hide her surprise. “I thought you’d gotten him from a breeder.”
A twinge of annoyance flashed in his chest. Why would she think that of him? Now he was forced to explain himself.
“He’d suffered a lot of abuse and wouldn’t let anyone near him, even after he was rescued.”
Johnny smiled at her through the rear-view mirror. “He wouldn’t let anyone near him formonths, but Kane was patient and spent time with him every day until he caved. And the rest is history.”
Lexi’s eyes softened as she turned to smile at the dog. She scratched him under the chin, causing his tail to thump against the door and a big sigh to leave his lips.
“What made you decide to adopt him?”
Kane considered her question but didn’t know how to respond without getting personal. Luckily — or unluckily as the case might be — they had Johnny with them, who had apparently turned into Chatty Cathy this morning.
“Didn’t you say you saw something in him that reminded you of yourself?”
Kane was starting to regret his decision to bring him onto the job. “I don’t recall—“
But Johnny was on a roll, somehow oblivious to the looks Kane was giving him.
“And after all the tours you’d been deployed to, you felt like a canine companion wouldn’t be such a bad thing.”
Lexi looked at him, comprehension dawning on her face. His disciplined manner, the stiff way he sometimes held himself.
“You were in the army?”
