Page 9 of Beauty and the Beastmaster

“I’ll take care of everything, don’t worry.”

Gabi let her head fall back against the chair. She closed her eyes. “I never had a pet, growing up. Mom was allergic to cats and she said a dog would be too expensive and too much trouble. She argued that they’d make too much mess, and they’d just die anyway.” She screwed her lips up, for a moment. “Looking back, I bet she wasn’t allergic to cats. She just didn’t want one. I had a turtle, once,” she added with a sigh.

It was a sad way to live, with no animals in your life. He felt sorry for young Gabi. Judge would be good for her, and for Mia.

He stood, stretching out, making his own mental list. “I’ll be back in a bit with the dog food.”

“I’d appreciate it.” Gabi stood, too, seeming to unwind and unfold in the most sensual and natural way possible. Looking at her, he remembered the way her hands had felt on his head and shoulders as she’d cut his hair. He remembered the feel of her, the smell, the energy, as she stood close behind him.

He nodded in her direction and left more abruptly than was necessary.

Walking down the road, he already missed Judge. He cared for a lot of animals, they were all his, for a while, but Judge had been around for longer than most and dammit, he’d gotten accustomed to the dog being there.

But Judge had found his home, and that was what mattered.

For now. If and when he ran Gabi out of town, would she take the bloodhound with her?

Chapter 3

As much as she’d resisted the idea of taking on the responsibilities of a pet owner Gabi had to admit, Mia loved that big, ugly dog. How could she even think of separating them?

After a short nap Mia and Judge took over the living room floor, rolling around and laughing, nudging one another with noses, hands, and paws. Mia stroked the big dog gently, lovingly. Judge responded in kind, in his own way.

Gabi forgot for a moment, or two, what had brought her here, why she had to hide from the world. She forgot that this would all be more difficult as Mia grew older. Enrolling Mia in school was going to be a nightmare. She’d managed a decent workaround for regular doctor visits, thanks to a clinic in Eufaula that was willing to do a bit of cash business, but if anything out of the ordinary were to happen, if Mia was hurt or seriously ill, what would she do? Hospitals were a sea of paperwork. Computers were not her friend, and they never would be.

If she allowed her mind to wander to too many “what-ifs” it just made her crazy, so she stopped and simply enjoyed the scene before her. There was so much joy in the room, she dismissed all her earlier reservations about having a dog.

One day at a time. That was how she lived, how she would always live.

As usual, deciding not to think about the past and actually doing it were very different. Would Blake ever give up? If he did, if he wasn’t searching for her, if he’d moved his attentions to another woman, how would she know? He’d never struck her as the kind of man to give up, especially not on anything he considered to be his. Men like him considered everything they wanted to be theirs by default. Assholes.

She’d tried to fix the marriage, to fix him. It had taken her far too long to learn that some people couldn’t be fixed. Blake had hurt her, physically and emotionally. He would not hurt their child.

After watching the new friends play for a while Gabi heated up a pot of soup she’d made a couple of days ago, Mia and Judge taking turns being underfoot in the small kitchen. She didn’t mind. It had been just she and the baby for so long, forever it seemed, that having anyone else around was strange. Even a dog. But she liked it. The house seemed more like a home with Judge in it.

What an odd thought for her to have! She’d never wanted a dog. Had actively not wanted one when Silas had mentioned it to her. But now…

Judge seemed to know what she was thinking. He walked past, rubbing against her leg, and looked up at her. She could almost swear the bloodhound was trying to tell her that everything was going to be all right. She wished she could believe him.

The soup was simmering on the stove when Silas stopped by with Judge’s food, which he placed in the walk-in pantry; the list Gabi had requested; and a big, soft doggie bed. Without asking where she wanted the bed placed, Silas carried it into Mia’s bedroom and arranged it on the floor between the window and the crib. It’s not like the nursery was hard to find. The house was simply laid out, with a living room, small dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms and one bath.

There were matching water and food bowls, a leash, and two toys, a red ball and a stuffed moose that had seen better days.

When all that was done, Gabi well and truly had a pet.

She was full of questions, being a novice dog owner. “Does he bark?”

“Only when he wants something.”

“How often does he need to be bathed?”

“I’ll take care of that for you.” At that, Silas looked down at Judge. “He’s usually not cooperative, but he does need a good bath now and then.”

“Shots?”

“I’ll let you know.”

Gabi was reluctant to let Silas go. He and Judge were a pair, a team. It didn’t seem right to separate them. Who was she kidding? Bad date aside, she liked Silas. She liked him more now, when he was acting naturally and was in his element, than she had when they’d both tried to force the issue. If she could afford to consider romance he’d be at the top of her list of possibilities. That was why she didn’t want him to go.