by Sarah Barrie
‘Perhaps you should listen to Madi,’ Harry suggested.
Instead, Jordan leaned casually against the building and played the rope into a slip knot. Maybe they were right, but she just wasn’t sure the dog was as vicious as everyone was so quick to believe.
With one of her shrugs, she spared Reid a casual glance. ‘You’re upsetting the dog you don’t really want to shoot and I’m offering to solve your problem without violence. Look at him.’ She gestured towards the terrified animal now crouched in the corner looking helpless. ‘He’s just Cujo-meets-Jaws, isn’t he?’
Madi eyed the dog warily. ‘Yeah, and big enough and ugly enough to be their offspring.’
Reid’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. ‘Does your opinion come from any actual experience with dogs or are you just being as difficult as you possibly can…as usual?’
‘Five minutes,’ she replied, eyes never leaving the dog.
Reid eyed the dog dubiously again. ‘All right. But one wrong move from that thing and you step right out of the way. Fast.’
Jordan noted Reid didn’t hand the gun back to Harry.
She waited until they’d moved back then sat on a milk crate and, trying to appear uninterested, watched covertly as the dog alternately cast a wary eye over her and pawed through the groceries for anything edible. Jordan estimated it only took about two minutes before it slunk up and stretched to full length, sniffed at her boot and quickly retreated. She pried open a mauled cool bag and found sausages, mince and eggs inside.
‘Hmmm, no wonder you were after this,’ she crooned quietly. ‘Here,’ she offered, and threw him a sausage. Cautiously, the dog grabbed it, then retreated to the corner and practically inhaled it. He took a few steps forward and collected another, then another. Jordan spoke to the dog as she fed it, noticed the tail planted between its hind legs had started to wag nervously. As the dog got braver and closer, it began grovelling along on its side submissively to take the food, gulping it down.
‘You want to be friends, don’t you?’ As it grovelled in again, she carefully rubbed her hand on its chest.
Contact made, the dog’s attitude did a one-eighty. He was suddenly all over her, prancing on the spot and licking madly, leaning into her like an oversized nervous ball of gratitude.
‘Oh yes, you’re just misunderstood, aren’t you?’ she crooned, slipping the rope over his neck. ‘And an absolute sweetheart. Come with me.’
It took a combination of food and verbal bribery to get him as far as the street, where he cowered behind her legs and fought the rope as they neared the others. She backed off with him until he seemed more relaxed and just stood, debating her next move.
‘Well done,’ Matt commented.
‘Now what do we do with it?’ Harry pondered.
‘If we can get him in the Prado, I’ll take him to the shelter.’ Reid approached, and the dog retreated quickly back behind Jordan’s legs with a low growl. ‘If we can get him in the Prado,’ he repeated, ‘because he doesn’t seem to like me very much.’
Jordan nodded. ‘There’s a bit of that going around,’ she replied seriously.
Reid’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Oh, ouch,’ he muttered.
Against her will, her lips twitched in response. ‘Suck it up, princess.’
Taking in the events with interest, Madi cleared her throat. ‘Yeah well, maybe Katrina, our vet,’ she explained to Reid, ‘could scan him for a microchip. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if she’s home.’
‘Good idea,’ Jordan agreed.
‘Okay, but you’re going to have to come with it, Jordan. I’ll run you over there,’ Reid ordered. ‘I’m not letting that thing out of my sight until it’s safely locked up.’
‘We’ll go pick up your stuff and meet you back here,’ Madi told Jordan.
‘Wonderful,’ Jordan muttered. ‘Alright, let’s get him in.’
It took a bit of doing, but eventually Reid, Jordan and the dog were seated in the four wheel drive.
‘She’s just off the main street — two seconds down the road.’ Jordan waved in the right direction and sat back, closed her eyes.
‘Long day?’
‘No more than usual.’
‘Just hoping to avoid idle conversation, then?’
‘I’m not sure who I’m supposed to be today — the probationer you seem to want to befriend or the drug-dealing murderer you want to catch out.’
‘Drug-dealing murderer? That’s an old one. Stung, did it?’
She opened her eyes just enough to send him a quick sideways glance. ‘Well, amongst other things, I am a temperamental female.’
‘Who’s forever quoting me and, hey, if the shoe fits…’
‘I’ll tell you where that shoe’ll fit.’
She heard his quiet laugh, his sigh.
‘I was worried about you,’ he surprised them both by admitting. ‘After the break-in. I don’t like that you won’t let me help you.’
‘Is that an apology?’
‘It’s an explanation, but take it however you like. Is this it?’ he asked as they approached the building.
‘Yeah. Park around the back.’
They pulled up outside the vet surgery attached to Katrina Maxwell’s home and the pretty young woman appeared at the door immediately, laughing when she saw the rear window of the four wheel drive, slobbered over and misted up from the dog’s breathing and drooling.
‘Hi Jordan, and…’
‘Hi — oh yeah. Katrina Maxwell, Reid Tallon.’
‘Hi…what have you got in there?’
‘Stray.’ Reid opened the back door and the dog leapt to its feet and barked out a deep, threatening objection.
Quickly, Jordan stepped in to lead him out, grinning at Reid’s quick retreat. ‘He doesn’t like men very much.’
‘Probably been mistreated. Well, he’s in a state. Bring him in.’
Inside, the examination room was spotlessly clean and organised, and the dog looked around nervously, immediately lifting a leg to the corner of the doorframe.
‘Awesome,’ Reid muttered.
Katrina shrugged. ‘Happens. So you’re the new resident everyone’s talking about. It’s nice to finally meet you.’
She smiled prettily up at Reid, and Jordan rolled her eyes. Another fan of ‘the hottie,’ she decided. Not that it bothered her how many females threw themselves at Reid Tallon’s feet. The man was barely tolerable most of the time. They’d find out.
There was a beep as the microchip reader was run over the dog’s back. ‘Well, what do you know? Give me a minute.’ As Katrina disappeared out into the office to make a call, Reid’s gaze moved back to Jordan.
‘Sorry, what?’ Assuming she’d missed something, Jordan focused her attention on him.
He shook his head. ‘Nice of Katrina to do this, this afternoon.’
‘Yeah. She’s single, by the way. I reckon if you asked her out she’d say yes.’
‘You think I should ask her out?’
She didn’t at all appreciate the obvious grin he was battling with. ‘Nothing to do with me.’
The dog took that moment to jump up, and the surprise impact sent her back a few steps. Before she had time to regain her footing, Reid was on him, dragging him off. ‘Are you alright?’ His eyes scanned her for any trace of injury.
‘Yeah, he was just being affectionate…he bit you?’ She followed Reid’s gaze to the small purple area of broken skin on his forearm.
‘I thought he was going to take your face off. Be careful, Jordan.’
Seeing the dog attempt another spring, Jordan braced herself. ‘Get down!’ The dog immediately cowered, devastated. ‘Look at that…maybe he knows something after all.’
Katrina breezed back into the room holding a piece of paper. ‘The microchip was a dead-end because he was still in the name of the breeder that sold him — new owner never bothered to finish up the paperwork. So I talked to the breeder and it turns out he’s two years old next month and — get this — he’s a
Tibetan Mastiff cross. The breeder remembers the pups because they were an accident. Apparently she was really peeved because next door’s German shepherd got to one of her females. Anyway, there were only two males in the litter and she knew straight away who this one would have belonged to because she’s had trouble with the owner multiple times.’
‘Trouble?’ Reid asked.
‘Yeah, the dog keeps turning up all over the place, authorities keep ringing her over it, she keeps passing the dog back. She says the guy’s a real piece of work — she doesn’t want anything else to do with it. He lives over a hundred kilometres away so she tells me he’s probably dumped it and, by the way, this is his number. So I called his mobile and he tells me he doesn’t want the damn dog and to let the pound destroy it. He’s “not paying no more fines”.’
There was a moment of silence as everyone took in the information. Jordan looked at the dog, the dog looked at Jordan.
‘It’s a dangerous dog,’ Reid reminded her. ‘It’s attacked two people today already.’
‘Attacked?’ Jordan scoffed. ‘I thought you were a tough guy. Besides, you gave him a fright.’
Reid smiled through clenched teeth. ‘I was trying to protect you.’
‘Wow, that would make you my hero.’ She batted her eyelashes mockingly.
Grinning at the pair, Katrina approached the dog cautiously. It wiggled its whole body and licked her happily. ‘Unpredictable temperament, emaciated, riddled with fleas, probably worms, may have heartworm — we’ll check that now — coat’s a disaster…’ she lifted his lips, ‘teeth are okay, colour’s pale, undoubtedly anaemic. What do you want to do, Jordan?’
Jordan sighed. ‘I could give him a few days…just a chance to see what he’s really like.’
‘Okay. But I want to muzzle him while I take some bloods.’
Half an hour later, Jordan headed back to the car with the dog while Katrina held Reid up at the door, chatting. Jordan amused herself talking to the dog for a while, then climbed into her seat and, trying not to be impatient, looked around Reid’s car. It was neat and tidy. There was nothing to see that gave any clues to the sort of person he was — other than the fact that he appeared to like ‘Extra’ chewing gum and that, at least on one occasion, he had read the Daily Telegraph.
By the time he finally climbed in the car, she was more than bored and bordering on pissed off. ‘Oh, I hope you didn’t rush on account of me.’
‘Did I keep you waiting?’ Reid’s look was all innocence. ‘You were right, she was asking me out.’
Jordan gritted her teeth, smiled tightly. ‘Congratulations. You want to go back in — try your luck now? I’ll call Madi and Matt to come and get me.’
Turning in his seat to look at her, Reid gave her a playful grin. ‘Actually, Katrina seemed to think there may have been something going on between us. I wonder where she got that idea?’
Her mouth fell open in disgust. ‘If you think, for one second, that I would have given anyone any reason to believe —’
‘Of course,’ he continued smoothly, ‘I could reassure you that you’re not at all my type, but I wouldn’t want to offend you.’
‘Oh, no,’ she replied dryly. ‘No, that would be the last thing you’d want to do. If we’re finished with this fascinating insight into your personal life, can we go?’
‘Of course.’ With a twitch of his lips, he gave Katrina a friendly wave and drove down the driveway back to the road.
‘For the record, I don’t think you’re a drug-dealing murderer,’ he conceded as the silence stretched in the car.
Jordan sent him a sideways glance. ‘Careful. Start being too nice to me and I might just throw myself at you.’
His eyebrows shot up. ‘Again?’
‘I fell out of a truck!’
‘You sure it wasn’t a swoon?’
Jordan swore creatively at the passing scenery and shook her head. ‘Next time, let me fall on my head. It’ll be less painful.’
He was still grinning when he pulled up and climbed out of the car.
Madi and Matt appeared, Madi taking a concerned look into the back of the Prado. ‘Ah…you appear to still have a certain vicious animal with you.’
Reid frowned at that. ‘She’s not vicious, just a bit wound up.’
‘She? I thought…’
‘Oh, you meant the dog?’
Jordan almost laughed, but clamped her jaw against it. ‘Yeah well…wind something too far, it snaps.’
‘I can confidently say from first-hand experience: it doesn’t take much winding.’
Jordan collected the dog and shut the Prado’s back door. ‘Goodbye Reid.’
‘Just be careful with that dog. I’m still not convinced I shouldn’t have shot it.’
‘What a coincidence.’ Jordan smiled nicely. ‘I was just thinking I’m still not convinced I shouldn’t have shot you.’
‘You might have dropped your towel.’
‘Then you would have died happy,’ she countered, ‘type notwithstanding.’
His laughter followed her into the ute and she slammed the door.
‘And just what was that all about?’ Madi asked a minute later as they drove towards home.
‘What was what all about?’ she grumbled, still not sure whether she was amused or annoyed.
‘You and the hottie?’
‘Just the usual. Being in each other’s company more than five minutes and all of that.’
‘You like him.’
She thought about that. ‘Sometimes, but generally not for long.’
‘That’s not what I meant.’
‘I know what you meant. I think he’s going to go out with Katrina.’
‘Bummer.’
‘Is Matt not enough for you now?’
‘Sitting right here,’ Matt objected.
‘Oh sure, evade all you want,’ Madi told Jordan, ‘but that was some first-class flirting. I know what I saw.’
‘I want to know what Reid saw.’ Matt sent Jordan a hopeful expression. ‘What was that about shooting at him dressed in a towel?’
Jordan sighed impatiently. ‘He let himself into my house while I was in the shower. Anyone else turns up, they call out. Not Reid, no. He just starts quietly poking around, so I came out leading with my rifle. I didn’t know it was him until after I pointed the thing at him. That was just before he arrested me.’
‘Madi appears to have left out key elements to the story.’
‘And just why would you need to hear those particular elements?’ Madi asked curiously.
‘Because the idea of being baled up by a gorgeous wet woman dressed only in a towel holding a weapon is sexy and I’m male?’
‘Was the “I’m male” part really a question?’ Jordan interrupted. ‘Because I’ve often wondered…’
‘Shut up, Windcroft,’ Matt growled cheerfully.
By the time Matt dropped Jordan off, it was nearly dark. Tying up the dog, she did a quick check of the animals before retrieving him and heading up to the house. ‘It’s just you and me now,’ she informed the wagging terrorist. ‘Don’t make me regret this.’
CHAPTER
9
‘It’s kind of nice to have a dog around,’ Jordan told Michael a few days later as they rode back down the mountain.
‘Yeah, but he’s a psycho.’ Michael patted Buster when he bravely tackled some loose ground.
‘I am going to have to convince him that chasing the cattle is not the best way to ensure a long and happy life.’
‘I thought he was going to put those steers through the fence yesterday.’
‘He had them on the run. But he came when I called him.’
‘It’ll be good when he can come with us on rides.’
‘Yes. But not yet. Not while Buster’s still learning the ropes.’
‘Is that…’ Michael tipped his head to the side, listened. Jordan heard it too. A wailing, crooning, miserable howl.
‘Oh hell, the dog.’
Afraid he’d injured himself, they rode back at a canter to find him alternately howling and chewing at the remains of the stable door. The extent of the damage was quite extraordinary.
‘What the hell have you done?’ The dog cowered, then leapt again excitedly as she opened the door. ‘Seriously! I was only gone for an hour. Stupid mutt.’ But he came out, nervously wagging his whole body, desperately pleased to see her.
‘Is he alright?’ Michael asked.
‘Yeah.’ Then to the dog, ‘Stop whining…it’s okay. I guess.’ With this he leapt, sending her flying. ‘No! You have to stop that. It’s like being hit by a Mack truck. Hey, that’s not bad.’ She pondered for a moment. ‘I think I’ll call you Mack.’ In response, she received another bout of excited licking and bouncing.
‘Suits him,’ Michael decided.
‘It really does. You’re gonna be impossible when you get some weight back on you.’ She turned her nose up at the odour he still carried. ‘Michael, are you right to put the horses away?’
‘Sure.’
‘Thanks. I think it’s about time I did something about this coat.’ She took hold of Mack’s collar and began dragging him out. ‘Now, smelly, I hope you don’t have an objection to clippers.’
He did. And clipping the matted hair from his body was a tricky task. Several times he spun at her as the clippers caught in the thick coat and she was sure he was going to nip, but as though sensing she was his last hope, Mack kept his teeth to himself. Clipping under his belly was even more difficult. Scratching him with one hand while half sitting on him, she took her time and, small piece by small piece, the matted fur came away. Eventually, aching all over but happy with the job, Jordan got up and stretched.
‘Not bad, Mack. Now we only have a bony, scaly-skinned, flea-infested bald dude to deal with.’
Michael walked in and cracked up laughing. ‘He looks like a rat on steroids.’
Jordan grinned. He was at that moment, she supposed, the ugliest animal in creation, with a body like a skinny greyhound and a head like a bear. She couldn’t even look at his rat-like tail without smirking. So she didn’t. ‘Yep. Bath time!’
She’d just finished rinsing him off when Merv arrived to collect Michael.