by Sheila Kell
Continuing to the door, Hart said as he passed the desk, “Tonya told me. I’ll see you there.”
Matt didn’t like leaving anything to chance, so he shadowed Hart down the hallway, through the break room, to the door, and then watched him drive away in a shiny, new pickup truck.
He didn’t care what Caitlyn wanted or how much she trusted, Matt was having Devon check Hart out as deep as he could get. None of the glossed over basic stats and background.
Nodding to Ken who’d been patrolling outside, Matt went back to the facility and steeled himself for what was to come. Maybe she felt she had a right to get angry at his high-handedness, but she didn’t. He was only trying to protect her, and that also meant from lechers like Tate Hart.
Sure, part of it was possessiveness, but that didn’t matter. She’d made a breakthrough by making love to him with her mouth. It only confirmed his knowledge that they should be together. Somehow.
As he walked into her office, one sight of her made him freeze to the spot. Caitlyn had her head in her hands, and her shoulders shook. Holy crap, had his actions made her cry? She’d always told him that he could be a bit over the top, but he’d worked on that after she’d dumped him. That word—dumped—tasted like cardboard on his tongue that he couldn’t spit out.
He’d used it to keep reminding himself they were through and that he’d been the one to be stupid enough to fuck it up. Now though, since she’d had forgiven him, he couldn’t disregard all the lectures he’d given himself and be the man she needed.
Hesitantly, he took a step closer to her, and whispered, “Caitlyn, are you all right?”
When he reached the desk, she looked up at him, and her expression shocked him. She’d been laughing. Here his heart had worried that he’d done something wrong and she’d been enjoying a private joke. Well, hell.
“Is it just me, or is it pretty obvious that he wants to take me out, even though we’ve identified you as my fiancé?”
Wondering where she was going with this, he said slowly, “I got that feeling.”
“I’m beginning to wonder if he’ll give me the money without a date.”
Anger at that fucker dropped like a stone to his gut. “If that’s his condition, what will you do?”
Caitlyn twirled a lock of hair around her finger as she seemed to consider her response. “I’ll give him a dance at the fundraiser, but that’s it. I would’ve considered a business dinner with him if he’d allowed someone to come with me. But it would’ve had to be business, not what I think he wants.”
He placed his hands on her desk and leaned his upper body forward. “But you said you need that money.”
“No amount of money is worth my self-respect,” she all but growled at him.
Fuck. He hadn’t meant to upset her, but her answer pleased him.
Surprising him after her tone of voice, she smiled broadly, so much it reached her sparkling eyes. “I’m glad you’re here, Matt. Before, I wouldn’t have been able to handle someone like Tate Hart. Heck, I still might not have been if you hadn’t been right here. I can’t fathom being alone with a man.” She cleared her throat. “A man other than you, that is.”
His heart did a summersault. They might not be truly engaged any longer, but he considered it only a matter of time.
THE INITIAL EXCITEMENT of Tate’s potential donation had glided off a slippery slope after the way the man had behaved. If he expected something for his million dollars besides a tax write-off, she’d have to decline his offer. Her gut clenched at the loss of what could be a bigger and better Helping Paws. But she had standards, and they didn’t include whoring herself out for donations.
With her hard efforts, she’d achieved a lot and wasn’t disappointed they hadn’t grown more at this point. Things were comfortable. It wasn’t wrong to want to help every veteran who needed a service dog. In the beginning, she’d even considered training dogs for children with autism but decided to stick with the one group of clients since there was an abundance of need.
While considering this, she flipped back through the packet Rick had given her of the not-so-recent donors. She’d had Tonya add them to the fundraiser. Someone who’d donated at least once was a prime candidate to donate again. If they saw where their money actually went to include the final product, they’d surely pull out their checkbooks one more time.
As she studied the numbers, she became perplexed. With her finger, she followed along the line of Vivian Blanche who had donated $9,000. Hadn’t Vivian promised $10,000? That’s what she’d donated in the past, albeit once every year or so. Caitlyn clearly remembered the conversation that led to that last donation. In fact, she knew she could probably get more out of Vivian as the widow had nothing to spend her money on, and she loved dogs and veterans. Her late husband had been in the army, though Vivian had mentioned training dogs for people with epilepsy. It’d be something to consider for the future.
Mrs. Blanche—Vivian as she preferred to be addressed—was bigger than life, growing up with old family money and no children to inherit when she finally passed on. In fact, Caitlyn had been surprised when Vivian had talked about her considering the foundation in her will. Vivian didn’t strike her as a woman to not keep her word, so the donation difference bothered her more than she’d like to admit.
She flipped to a couple of names who she distinctly remembered the promised donation amount. Upset, Caitlyn flopped back in the chair. Except in the beginning, she’d never checked what someone promised and what they actually sent before today. It frustrated her they didn’t live up to their commitment, but she was relieved they at least sent something.
It also told her why her mental calculations of where they should be were wrong. The differences would be why they were running lower on funds than she expected. She’d never followed back up with the donor after their check had been sent. A thank-you was sent, but she never mentioned the monetary amount itself. People didn’t always remember what they promised when they wrote the check.
While she was making a note to Rick to confirm certain donations were correct, Tonya interrupted her, and the distress in the woman’s eyes had her stomach knotting.
“Caitlyn, Cooper’s missing,” Tonya cried frantically. Wringing her hands, she continued, “He was there earlier. I just thought to say goodbye—which is why I stopped in to see him. He’s not there.” She fretted with her hands.
Icy dread slid down her spine. It took her a moment to clear her mind of the fear of what could happen to a loose dog outside the fenced barrier. Wild animals to include foxes and poisonous snakes were out there. “Matt.” He immediately came to her mind in a crisis, and she didn’t question it. Time to do that later. “We need Matt. Let me get him and see if Rick is still here.”
Tonya pivoted and hustled off.
“Meet us out front,” she called after her employee before hustling from behind her desk to the break room where Matt was talking quietly with Ken, Clifford Ewing, and Marshall Hollister—two of the veterans due to receive dogs. Clifford was matched with Belle and Marshall was matched with Gabe. They must’ve arrived early to work with their soon-to-be service dogs. She loved how devoted the men were to the process and how well they understood the need to be involved while the dog learned and matured. She knew Mac Thuhoiska, who would receive Sadie, would be here soon. Hadn’t Melvin Holden come in today to work with Cooper? Maybe he didn’t close the kennel all the way.
Seeing the look on her face, Matt surged to his feet and came to her, putting his hands on her biceps, comforting and supportive. “What’s wrong?”
“Cooper’s not in his kennel. It’s getting dark, so we need to find him.”
“Melvin was working with him earlier,” Clifford offered.
“Good. Maybe he just has him out practicing,” she said hopefully, knowing that wouldn’t be true because he’d have remained in sight of the training facility as per her rules.
Marshall wiped his hand across his jaw. “I haven’t seen him in hours. I just figured he
’d gone on home for the day.”
The men had arrived early for their ten-day final training with the dogs. They’d worked with them so much during the past year that she expected things to go smoothly. Yet, this was not efficient by any means.
Matt and Ken exchanged a look before Ken excused himself and rushed out the door. Maybe he was getting more help. She could only hope. Thank goodness they’d have extras with Clifford and Marshall. Marshall may be a double amputee below the knee, but by the way he used his prosthetic legs, you’d almost never know. Wistfully, she thought on a side note, just like Matt losing part of his leg.
“Tonya is getting Rick, if he’s still here, to help,” she said a bit weaker than she wanted.
In a soothing motion, Matt rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “Do the dogs get out often?”
Caitlyn shook her head. “No. But someone must not have closed his kennel all the way. He’s probably checking out the woods. He’s as curious as a cat.” She pulled from him and turned to the door, but he grabbed her forearm.
“Wait,” he requested.
She tried to shake off his hold, but it was ironclad. Okay, so not a request. How dare he halt her from searching for her dog? “We’re meeting out front,” she informed him.
“I’d rather you weren’t searching, but since I know you won’t sit back while someone else does, you stay right beside me, Caitlyn Marie.” The use of her middle name and his tone brooked no argument. He’d only used her middle name when it was serious.
“Fine. Whatever,” she said flippantly, then immediately regretted her tone, but she was impatient to get started. “Let’s just get to searching.”
Before they stepped outside, he reminded her, “Remember.”
She nodded sharply. There were potential threats to her canines out in the woods. He needed to understand that time was of the essence.
The first thing she did when she went outside was call to Cooper. Tonya came up beside her. “I’ve been trying too. Nothing.”
Fear clenched her gut. If the dog wasn’t responding to their commands, something was definitely wrong.
Now she wished she’d taught the dogs to hunt. It would’ve come in quite handy.
“Rick’s already gone for the day,” Tonya informed her.
Although she wished she had him here to help, it was well past time for him and Tonya to take off for the day. With Clifford and Marshall here, it was no wonder Tonya had stayed. She was just as fanatical as Caitlyn about making sure the dogs were locked in right.
Ken approached with Brad and the other two HIS men who’d been sleeping since they worked the night shift. They were armed to the teeth. What the hell did they expect to face in the woods? A shiver overtook her, and she rubbed her arms to warm herself.
The fact that neither Marshall nor Clifford commented or acted surprised to the weaponry told her Matt had informed them of the potential danger from Travis. Had he told them why? No. She couldn’t believe Matt would explain that unless absolutely necessary. Without question, he had been right to warn them there was a potential for trouble while they were there.
Caitlyn couldn’t stop her errant thoughts. They flowed through, each pushing the other out of the way to get some attention instead of allowing her to focus solely on what was happening.
What if someone on the board decided she was endangering the employees and dogs and asked her to step aside? As much as she liked to believe she owned Helping Paws, she didn’t. She may have used her blood, sweat, and tears to get it started, but to follow the rules for a reputable charity, she had to include the board of directors who’d hired her to run Helping Paws. Although she never liked to think about it, at any time, they could ask for her resignation. She gulped. Or they could fire her. No, she’d step down before it came to that drastic of a measure.
Pushing her mind to think of the here and now and not what could happen, once again, she shouted to Cooper, hoping to see the dog come trotting toward her. But that didn’t happen, and her anxiety grew.
“Neftali says Melvin and a dog entered the woods over there about an hour ago.” Ken pointed to a spot on the tree line.
“Did you hear that?” Brad asked.
Everyone stood stock still, and with the quiet, they could’ve heard a pin drop through the light wind that breezed through the air. Eventually, the group’s disappointment showed.
“I swore I heard a dog. It was faint, but it was there,” Brad assured them. “It came from that direction”—he pointed to the woods on the east—“but I can’t be sure exactly where. I can probably get in the general direction though.”
“Let’s split up and see what we can find,” Matt said, taking the lead. He assigned areas for individuals to search, having Brad lead him and Caitlyn to where he thought he heard the sound.
They walked across the yard and entered the woods with the snakes, foxes, and who knew what else could be deadly to the dog. Cooper might win a war with a fox, but he could end up hurt or worse, with rabies. Clearing the rest of the land needed to be added to her wish list of improvements to make. Especially if they decided to add hunting, they’d need a larger clearing to train the dogs.
Training idea aside, being included in the search meant so much to her and by Matt allowing her to go—albeit with rules—he continued to endear himself in her heart more than she thought possible. She’d follow his orders and he’d keep her safe. Finding a dog that wandered should be harmless for them, although not easy if the dog was injured and couldn’t bark or whine loud enough for them to hear.
Caitlyn’s thoughts drifted to Neil Holbrook in the woods and she shifted closer to her fake fiancé. Sure Neil was in jail, but it brought to her mind that she might have made a bad choice joining this hunt. Not only did she have Matt, but she also had Brad to protect her should the situation warrant such an action. She relaxed, but only a fraction.
As she called to Cooper, Brad cautiously held up branches that would’ve hit her in the face while Matt followed behind and took the brunt of his brother’s snapping the branch back. Shaking her head, she held back an untimely laugh. Men.
After an indeterminable amount of time of watching her white shoes become dirty after stepping over tree roots and marching through foliage, Caitlyn finally heard what she thought might be the whimper of a dog. Her heart soared and she rushed her steps, tripping over a dead log, but was caught by Matt’s strong arms before she face-planted in the path they were creating. “I hear him,” she said excitedly.
She’d find out how this happened and make sure it didn’t happen again. Her facility could not be lax in the protection of their dogs. Nor could she allow a new trainer to unsafely take care of their animal. If Melvin couldn’t properly protect Cooper, then she’d have to reevaluate his application.
They’d pushed under a particularly thorny bush when she saw Cooper. Matt grabbed her arm to keep her from racing to him. Relief gushed forth that Cooper was okay, but she wasn’t fool enough to believe he’d tied himself to a tree with his leash. Wait. Where was Melvin?
Caitlyn’s breath hitched when she took in the full scene before her. Lying on the ground near where the dog was whimpering, was Melvin. Fear and anxiety crept into her body. “That’s Melvin,” she breathed out unsteadily. “He’s going to be Cooper’s new handler,” she informed Brad and Matt, unsure if they had met him with the other vets.
Pulling her tighter to him, Matt scoped out the area. “On me,” Matt said quietly but urgently.
Caitlyn turned to question that bizarre command when his team came rushing toward them, somehow being quiet while crashing through the woods, and formed a box around the two of them. Nice and tight. If she moved her arms, she’d elbow someone.
As the net around her tightened, she noticed Brad lean over Melvin and checked for a pulse. He gingerly felt around the man’s head, being careful not to actually turn it. “Based on the goose egg, it looks like he’s been hit from behind.”
“Ken, the house and grounds need t
o be swept before we head back,” Matt ordered. “Leave Brad behind. He and I will protect Caitlyn until it’s clear. Then you can come back for Melvin if he’s not awake yet.”
Marshall and Clifford strode to them, looking out of place without weapons at the ready. “We can carry Melvin back,” Marshall offered.
“What’s the problem? Why can’t we grab Cooper, let the guys carry Melvin, and head back?” She wanted to kneel and check on Melvin and then soothe Cooper who was a whining bag of bones, but she stayed as she’d promised she’d do. Not that she thought they’d actually allow her out of her protective box of hulking men.
Matt gave her a look that made her feel like she’d just asked a stupid question. “I don’t know why the two of them were out here, but while they were, obviously someone hit him over the head and tied up Cooper. My guess is they expected everyone to search, leaving your property clear or you to search on your own and be vulnerable. Until my guys say it’s okay, we don’t return and you stay tight with us.”
Her fear warred with her anger. Someone had messed with one of her vets, and one of her dogs, and that meant they’d been on her property. How dare they! Then, her other side told her that meant this had occurred without them knowing it. Was she really as safe as she’d thought with Matt’s team?
“JESSE, WE CAN’T cover this vast wooded area with the few men we have,” Matt stated to his brother on the phone.
“I can’t help you, Matt. Christ knows that I wish I could, but we’re already stretched. To give you a team for Adam, I cut down the size of the teams for our planned job. If you can wait a few more days, I might be able to swing something, but not today. What about the safe house? It’s available and much easier to guard than what you’ve got there.”
Although his brother couldn’t see it, he shook his head in answer. “Caitlyn worries that if Ripley finds out where she lives and she’s gone, he might torture the employees to find out where she went. Like he did her dad. Because of the dogs, they can’t leave the place unattended.”