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Her stomach flip-flopped as she waved away his comment. “Oh, no problem. I was done anyway since Nancy was about to leave. Okay, so here is her current vaccination—”
“Long as you didn’t change for me. I was enjoying the view.”
How the hell was she supposed to respond to that kind of comment? Was he flirting? Being kind? Being creepy? Gah, she was beyond out of practice. “Uh, thanks. So as I was saying, here’s her shot record.”
Curly chuckled and, thank God, let her get down to business. They ran through everything quickly since he mentioned this wasn’t the first dog he’d owned.
“My phone number is on there. Please feel free to call or text if you have questions or problems. And I’m more than happy to help with training or anything. I’ve been working with her a bit, so she knows basic commands, but she’s still a little gal who needs a ton of reinforcement.”
“Thanks, Brooke. I might do that.”
Her stomach flipped again. Not because she was excited, he might call her. Too much liquid in her belly. Had to be.
He sat on the concrete floor of her lanai with his new puppy crawling all over him. When he smiled, his face transformed from cautious and untrusting to open and happy.
“My pleasure. So what are you going to call her?”
“I’m gonna keep her as Harley. Don’t wanna confuse her since that’s what you’ve been calling her, and it fits pretty damn well.” The puppy discovered a frayed string on his jeans and went to work attacking it. He laughed and scooped her into his arms, staring her straight in the face. She licked his nose. “Right, Harley? You like that name, don’tcha, girl?”
The dog yelped as though she understood him, and they both laughed.
So often, she related to her abused and neglected fosters, but never before had anyone looked at her with the instant love and adoration Curly shared with Harley. While she found nothing more fulfilling than matching a pet with its perfect owner, she couldn’t help the stab of jealously she experienced when those animals found their loving forever families. Especially as she’d never find hers. The dogs were so much more adaptable than she was. They had the incredible capacity to trust again when shown consistent love and respect.
Brooke didn’t think any amount of love would work to soften her toward a relationship.
Ugh, none of that.
She cleared her throat. “Think she approves. All right then, Harley it is. I always recommend keeping the name they are used to, but sometimes owners insist on a new one. It can help them connect and bond with the dog, but it can make training trickier.”
He rose to his feet, still cradling the big puppy to his chest as though she were a lapdog instead of a big ol’ girl, and Brooke’s heart melted. There was nothing sexier than seeing a tough man be tender with something or someone smaller and vulnerable.
“Come on, Harley. Let’s get you settled at home.” He set the dog down, clipped on the leash she’d gifted, then hefted the bag of supplies Brooke provided to all new owners. “Oh, before I forget. Tomorrow night my guys will be going to a bar where Jinx will try to make a connection with Prick. Pulse’ll be with him. Guys' night out. Me and the rest of them are gonna go hang there too so we can observe. We’ll keep away from Jinx and Pulse, so Prick doesn’t suspect we know each other. We may rile shit up a bit to throw him off and get Jinx on Prick’s good side.”
Brooke’s heart sped up. Yes. This was the first step in ensuring she didn’t end up with any more injured dogs. Though part of her worried one of the men would get in trouble on a mission she’d initiated, the majority of her couldn’t wait to get the inside scoop on Prick’s operation. “Yes! I want to be there.”
Curly laughed. “Ain’t happening. Especially since Prick knows who you are.”
Brooke jammed her hands against her hips. Gone were the days when she blindly followed a man’s orders. Now, the only one to direct her actions was her. Curly was about to find that out. She had as much right as he did to be at that bar. And she wanted to see Prick go down in the worst way. “I’m going,” she said with finality.
Curly’s eyes narrowed, and he stepped closer. She had to tip her head up to find his eyes. Without the gleeful puppy at his side, he’d have been intimidating as hell, but the adorable dog softened his edge.
Until he spoke.
“I get that you’re independent as fuck, and I respect the hell outta it, but there is no way in fucking hell I’m letting you anywhere near that bar tomorrow night.”
