down at her scruffy companion who was staring back at her with adoring eyes and a wagging tail, wanting to play.
“What am I gonna do with you?” Mikayla asked.
Angel’s response was the accelerated wagging of the tail and a loud bark. Play was all she had on her mind.
At the glass doors, Kim paused. “Um…Ms. Shroeder?”
“Yes?”
“Have you ever thought of sending Angel to an obedience school?”
“It’s crossed my mind,” Mikayla said, finding no need to mention that she’d tried it with three different schools, all of which had returned both her money and her dog and declared the task impossible. But Kim didn’t need to know all that. She was already enough of a lost cause as it was.
“Just thought I’d ask. I’ll just go grab my bag out of the guest room,” Kim said and headed toward the bedrooms. Angel glanced at the girl and then back at Mikayla, torn as to which to follow.
Mikayla watched the dog make her decision as she plopped down on her wide bottom. “What am I going to do with you, huh?”
Angel looked up at her owner with big, innocent eyes. A few minutes later Mikayla was in the kitchen, standing with the fridge door open, looking for something to eat when Kim entered, carrying the overnight tote she’d collected from the guest room.
“Here you go.” Mikayla turned and handed the girl an envelope. “I gave you a little more than we agreed on.” She nodded down at Angel who was sitting on her foot. “I know she can be a handful.”
“You didn’t have to do that—but thank you.”
Kim accepted the envelope and looked down at the dog with gentle eyes. “She’s certainly high-strung, but she is a sweetheart. Just mischievous.”
The young woman’s compassionate response made Mikayla regret losing her even more.
“See you later, Ms. Shroeder.” Kim paused again. “You know, I’ve heard about this dog trainer in Davies. Dr. Dusty Warren. He’s supposed to be some kind of dog whisperer, you know—gifted with animals.”
Despite her failure with trainers, Mikayla’s interest was sparked nonetheless. “Really?”
“Yeah, my aunt had an aggressive mastiff and from what she said this guy worked wonders.”
“Dusty Warren, you said?” Mikayla dug out some leftover sandwich meats, cheese slices and mayonnaise from the fridge.
“Yeah, he’s a really renowned vet, and from what my aunt said he has this huge sprawling ranch down in Davies with a full-size hospital and everything. I mean, if you ever consider getting her some training that would be a place to start. Anyway, just thought I’d mention it.” The girl headed to the door, holding up the envelope. “Thanks for the money.”
“Thank you for taking care of Angel!” Mikayla called out.
Angel barely acknowledged the girl’s departure. Her full attention was centered on the sandwich being stacked on the marble island counter top. Her fluffy tail wagged as Mikayla began to cut it in half.
“Dr. Dusty Warren, huh?” she muttered to herself. “A dog whisperer.” Hearing a slight whimper, she looked to see Angel wagging her tail and glancing back between the sandwich and Mikayla.
Mikayla raised an eyebrow. “And exactly why do you think you deserve this after your behavior this morning?”
Angel glanced at her expectantly and returned her attention to the sandwich.
“I wonder if this Dr. Warren is really any different from the others.”
As if sensing her chances of getting some of the sandwich were slimming, Angel made another whimpering sound.
“Oh, all right.” Mikayla dropped half the sandwich into Angel’s food bowl. “Although you really don’t deserve it.”
Angel rushed to the bowl and began gobbling down the sandwich.
Picking up the remaining half of the sandwich, Mikayla collected her computer carry case from where she’d left it near the front door and headed to her study. Before she got her hopes up again, she wanted to do a little research on this Dr. Dusty Warren.
Chapter 2
Dr. Dusty Warren had just finished the procedure of neutering a one-year-old Yorkie, and was in the process of tying off his final stitch in his operating room when he heard the commotion coming from the outer offices of his veterinarian hospital.
He frowned at his nurse, but Nurse Francine Weathers shrugged in confusion. Dusty forced himself to ignore the unidentified noises and focus on his patient.
Then a loud crash, followed by a screech, a scream and an irate voice caused him to put down the instrument and go to the door.
He opened it just as a bolt of reddish-gold fur shot past the door with a long, red cloth trailing behind. He recognized the blur as a dog right before two of his staff came charging around the corner, chasing the dog.
“Come back here, you hell hound!” His front-desk receptionist, Hannah, called, sounding more angry than he’d ever heard her before. Hannah was the most cheerful employee he had.
Right behind Hannah was Tim, one of his property caretakers, and Tim’s reaction was different than that of Hannah’s. Tim was laughing so hard he was out of breath and bracing himself against the wall to keep from falling.
“What the hell is going on?” Dusty asked Tim.
Tim’s eyes widened, noticing his boss standing in the doorway of the operating room.
“Sorry, Dr. Warren, a dog got loose.”
“A dog?”
“A new patient. Hannah was just checking her in when—”
A blue-jeans-clad woman came charging around the same corner as the others and did not even hesitate as she rushed past both Dusty and Tim, following in the wake of Hannah and the dog.
A slight breeze of perfume floated on the air as she passed, but the woman was moving so fast Dusty barely saw her face. The snug fit of the jeans around her curvy hips would’ve been noticeable even in the dark.
“Who was that?” he asked Tim, who still hadn’t moved from his position on the opposite wall.
“That’s the dog’s owner.” Tim looked down the hall where the three had disappeared around the corner. “It’s Mikayla Shroeder.”
“The author?”
“In the flesh.” Tim nodded.
Dusty shook his head, trying to shake off his growing confusion. “Can you finish up here?” he called to Nurse Fran over his shoulder.
“No problem,” she called back.
Dusty let
