“I’m going to go check on Mrs. Krupkowski’s Chi. Ingrid, would you be sure Nina and Marty are comfortable?”
Ingrid nodded her multicolored head. “They stayin’ awhile?” Her wide eyes held a distinct glimmer of hesitance.
“They are. I’ll explain why later. For now, just make sure they have everything they need, okay?” Ingrid sidled off with a reluctant drag to her vinyl boots.
She turned to face Beck, keeping the memory of his tender hands and sweet demeanor with Delray at arm’s length. “What was that about?”
His face unsuccessfully attempted to hide the reaction he’d had when he was caught up staring at the medicine cabinet. “What was what about?”
Okay, so he didn’t want to embellish. At this point, as tired as she was, she would respect that. “Never mind. So, I hear a bottle of Tide calling you.”
“Tide?”
Whether he was playing stupid or genuinely didn’t know the name brand laundry detergent, Katie couldn’t decipher. “Yeah, you know, the laundry?”
“Right. Heaven forbid the bloodsucker should sleep on sheets that smell of anything other than spring meadows.”
“They’re here to help,” she reminded him, moving around him to head to the small guesthouse she used to board clients at the back of her aunt’s property. His chest brushed hers when she scooted past him, sending a zing of awareness to her traitorous nipples, making her crankier.
If he just didn’t make her girly bits sha-wing, everything would be so much easier. Even talking dogs.
He grinned, playful and full of his special brand of mischief. “You won’t hear me say otherwise. In fact, I’ve decided that each day when I wake, I shall berate myself for creating the kind of drama typically only seen on television. Then I’ll skip downstairs to prepare breakfasts fit only for the likes of the queen mother in order to remind myself of my place, and I’ll do it with a smile on my face and a song in my heart.”
Katie couldn’t help the giggle threatening to spill from her lips. Hearing words like that, coming from a man so gruffly handsome had to mean he was gay. “Washing some sheets will do for now. I’ll let you know about songs and smiles later.”
Beck’s chuckle, melodic and low, followed her out the door.
STUFFING the pink set of sheets into the washer, Beck poured the allotted amount suggested on the back of the laundry soap bottle into the water and slammed the top of the washer shut.
From where he stood at the laundry room window, he was able to allow his eyes to follow Katie as she ran the tiny Chi back and forth over the lawn, throwing a ball and encouraging the dog to fetch it and bring it back. He’d like to focus more on her backside. In fact, he’d like to focus on all of her, but there was a much more important question that needed to be asked.
Did this dog talk, too?
From the moment he’d scooped up Delray, he’d complained about his stomachache loud and proud in Beck’s head.
At first, he considered the notion he was actually going crazy. After all, he couldn’t remember his name, had no idea how he’d landed here, had been accused of being a predatory cat, and he was housed with women who could do things he assumed he’d only seen in movies.
However, Katie changed that notion. She could hear Delray, too. He’d known it the second she’d asked him what he’d eaten. She’d done a fine job of hiding it. He had to admire her for not running out of her office screaming, but instead, remaining the die-hard professional she clearly wanted everyone to know she was.
There had been a moment or two when Nina’s accusation that he was indeed a girl had quite literally become a reality. The first thing he’d wanted to do was run the hell out of Katie’s office and clap his hands over his ears to stop Delray’s incessant jabber.
But he wasn’t going to let some woman have one over on him. No matter how sexy she smelled, no matter how extraordinary she looked.
If she could take it, so could he.
And he had.
He’d also heard Delray’s parting shot to Katie. Whatever was going on at the animal park had to do with him, and as an end result, Katie.
Which meant, when the coast was clear, some investigation was in order.
For now, he’d just fancy her pear-shaped backside from his position at the window.
Or maybe see if Yancey or Dozer or one of the other dogs in the house was up for a debate on the economic situation. Which wasn’t good, if what he’d read on the Internet this morning with Ingrid was true.
Beck ran a hand over his chin, littered with dark stubble, in wonder.
He could hear dogs talk.
Jesus Christ.
“TINKERBELL, I have one more question.” Katie held the small, fawn-colored Chi in her lap while she rocked the dog in a chair she’d handpicked for the boardinghouse play area. Toys suited for Tinkerbell’s size were scattered at her feet on the throw rugs she’d flung casually to allow the dogs some warmth on the tile floor.
Knowledge was power, right? So instead of letting this latest round of surprises freak her out, Katie decided to use it to her advantage.
If she was the literal version of the Dog Whisperer, then so be it. If Delray could hear grumblings at the animal park from way over the hill into the outer lying country roads that surrounded Piney Creek, maybe an animal that lived in town could offer more information.
Unfortunately, her first test on Yancey and Dozer was unsuccessful. They’d merely mumbled incoherent strings of words that made no sense in her head, and she hadn’t wanted to disturb the mob who’d slept peacefully beside Teeny. But Tinkerbell, Mrs. Krupkowski’s Chi, was a wealth of words and pampered pet demands.
She scratched Tinkerbell under her chin, her soft fur a comfort beneath her fingers. “So that question . . .”
Like more? Oh-m-gee. I’ve answered like a million already.
“Well, like technically, it’s only been two. But I can see how you’d lose count,” Katie said, getting the hang of this Dr. Doolittle syndrome.
Tinkerbell sighed, leaning against her as Katie scratched her ears. Fine, but if I answer a question, you have to totally promise you’ll tell the old lady I hate, hate, hate the pink skirt she got from Prettypooches .com. It’s soooo not a good color on me. And all that tulle is scratchy on my delicate skin. I’m much more a nice cantaloupe or even a honeydew. Everyone makes fun of me when I wear the pink tutu. I just don’t think I can stand it one more day if that stupid papillon Lisette makes fun of me when we go to the park. Like it’s all a crime to wear a tutu.
“I promise to pass the message on. Cantaloupe tutus. Now the question. How did you know you could talk to me and I’d hear you?”
Tinkerbell tipped her tiny nose in the air. Duh. I, like, smelled you.
Katie held the dog up, letting her legs dangle while she captured Tinkerbell’s gaze. “Smelled me?”
You smell like one of us.Well, maybe not totally like one of us. I so don’t get how you can walk on two legs and not have six nipples but still smell like another animal, but whatever. We always know each other by scent.You don’t think I’d, like, sniff butts just to sniff butts, do you? That’s so barfy. It’s for recognition purposes only.
“I don’t know what I was thinking.”
So is that all you want to know? I’m exhausted after that silly game of fetch. What makes you all think we want to chase after a dirty ball anyway? I’m much happier with a beef-bouillon-dipped bone, thank you. Now, I want to go back to my princess bed and nap. I can’t be expected to be “mommy’s pretty, pretty, precious girl” if I don’t get the proper amount of pretty, pretty sleep.
Katie remembered Delray’s words, ringing in her head before he’d left her office, and it prompted her to prod further. “Can you hear the other animals down the road, too? You know, the exotic animals in the park?”
Tinkerbell stretched her front paws out on Katie’s lap, nuzzling her nose between them. Oh, totally. I mean, like, who can’t hear them like moaning all the time?
Katie’s pulse raced. “What do they moan about, Tink?”
I can’t always understand them, but most of them just want to go home, wherever that is.They make me glad I have old lady Krupkowski, even if her breath smells like sardines and she wears cheap perfume.
Katie’s heart constricted. She’d known all along those animals were suffering—now she had proof. Okay, so maybe it was the kind of proof only a psychiatric patient confessed at therapy, but it was proof. “Have they made any mention of a cougar named Spanky?”
Is that the new one?
A warning signal slinked up her spine. “I don’t know if he’s new or old. I just know he exists.”
He hasn’t been there very long. Like, maybe just a few weeks. I remember hearing something about him and something about some experiment or something . . . Tinkerbell’s bulbous, round eyes began to drift closed.
Shit, shit, shit. They were using the animals to experiment on them? Those bastards. She’d always known it. A slow spiral of angry heat wove its way into her belly and burrowed there. “An experiment? What kind of experiment, Tinkerbell?”
Like I would know? Don’t be silly. If they’re not talking about how to keep your coat shiny and where to get the latest wee-wee pad, I tune them out. Mostly because they’re loud and depressing.
Katie rose, her heart chugging with fear. “Can I ask you one more favor, Tink?”
Like, if I said no, that would stop you?
Katie placed the dog in one of the cages on her fluffy pink princess bed with the marabou trim. She leaned her elbows on the top of the cage to gaze upon a very tired Tinkerbell. “I am the key to your next treat, young lady. Helping me will only behoove you.”
Be-what? Tinkerbell asked, groggy with sleep.
“Never mind. I mean, it’s in your best interest to help me.”
So totally like a human. Half human. Like, whatever. Always withholding so we’ll do stupid pet tricks like roll over and dance.You kind of have me at cheesy-liver treats. So what else do you want?
“Keep an ear out for me, would you? If you hear anything else from the animal park, use those ears for the greater good and listen to what they’re saying, okay? It’s really important.”
Tinkerbell moaned. Ooookay.
Katie rubbed the dog’s jaw with a finger, and smiled at her. “Thanks, Tink.” She closed the cage door, secured it and turned to leave.
“I knew it.”
Katie whirled around at the sound of Beck’s gruff accent.
Beck approached her with feet that clomped over the tile floor. He stopped but an inch in front of her, all with his too-short flannel shirt and sex-on-a-stick scent.
Katie’s eyes narrowed. “Knew what?”
He pointed a finger under her nose as he gazed down at her. “I knew you heard Delray in that examining room, and you can hear Miss Fancy Pants here, too.” Beck thumbed his finger at Tinkerbell’s cage.
Excuse me. My pants are neither fancy nor pants. It’s a tulle skirt, thank you, and if I were you, I wouldn’t be tossing stones at my clothes.And another thing, I like quiet when I nap. So could you two take this outside? Please? I’m so not used to all this interruption. First it’s Goldilocks with all of her questions, and now you, with the funny talk that sounds like that chef guy Gordon Ramsay the old lady likes to watch, and the shirt that looks like it belongs on my neighbor’s gross teenager. Can I get just a little respect here? I’m a paying client.That means, there’s a level of decency due me.
Beck’s eyes narrowed right back at her, blue, deep, and glittering. “You heard that,” he accused Katie, who had to slap her good hand over her mouth to keep from laughing in snort-like fashion.
“So?”
“So I heard it, too.”
“That’s all kinds of awesome, Beck You know what this means, don’t you?”
He jammed his face in hers and gave a low growl her body responded to by unintentionally leaning into him. “More revelations? I’m gobsmacked.”
Gob-who?
“Quiet, young lady!” he seethed at Tinkerbell, shooting a glare in her direction. “What the hell is going on here, Katie?”
“Like I’d have the answer to that? You’re the one with the answers. I have no idea why I can communicate with dogs, and neither do you because of that amnesia you keep waving under my nose.”
Beck’s flare of irritation went as quickly as it had come and was replaced with a mixture of awe and vividly apparent confusion. “This is absolutely barmey.”
“I’m taking a stab here, but I’m guessing you mean crazy?”
“I do.”
“Yeaahhhh,” she said, fighting the irony of that statement. “You don’t need to tell me about the crazy. What we need to do is get your memory back and find out what happened to you at the animal park. Remember anything about any experiments? Does that notion ring a bell?”
Beck frowned, the wrinkles on his forehead leaving a troubled frown in their wake. “Experiments? No. Nothing. I don’t remember anything associated with the park but the name Daniel Green. Not at this point, anyway. I’m hoping that will change.”
Katie tucked her arm behind her back. “Tink here says she hears the animals moaning. She thinks they’re depressed, and she also mentioned experiments.”
“Well, if Tink, a dog, says so, it must be true. Aren’t Chihuahuas a breed well known for their ability to diagnose depression?” His look was disgusted.
Heeeeyyyy, Tinkerbell muttered a sleepy protest.
She heard his sarcasm and cocked her head in its direction. “You’re disputing the validity of what I say? You wanna give that more thought? I’ll wait.”
He shook his dark head, his hair swinging down to fall over his stubble-riddled chin, giving him that sexy biker look. “Forget I said that. Okay, you’re right. That I doubted even for a moment should have me drawn and quartered. So what next?”
“We go to the animal park and see if we can hear those animals, too. If we can, the mystery of you is potentially solved, and we go from there.”
A shadow fell over his eyes, leaving a shroud of his hesitance visible. “You’re under a restraining order. You can’t go to the animal park without the possibility of arrest—most especially in light of Wanda and Nina’s predicament.”
Did he not want her to go because he was really concerned, or was he just stating a fact? Maybe what he didn’t want was for her to find something. “We don’t have a choice. If they were experimenting on the animals there, and those experiments had to do with you, we need to know about it. Tink says you only arrived there a few weeks ago, which is strange. Normally, when a new exotic arrives, they post flyers all over town so they can rake in more cash at the expense of some poor animal that’s supposed to roam free. Why do you suppose you were there, and did Daniel Green know you were half human?”
“All this and more answered on the next episode of Escape from Paranormal Island,” he muttered, mocking a narrator’s voice.
“Joke all you like, but I’m finding a way into that animal park tonight.”
“Not without me, you aren’t.”
A shot of pleasure zinged through her veins at the possessive tone of his statement. Her . . . Beck . . . the deep velvety cover of night, the . . . the gay part of that equation, Katie.
Her pleasure fizzled like cold water had doused her sunbathed skin. “Okay. So we wait until the staff’s gone home and break in in the hopes we can find something—anything—that will give us a clue about what happened to you. We need to find out what’s going on with you so you can, I don’t know . . . get back to your life.”
Beck assessed her from beneath hooded eyes, his next words devoid of any emotion other than empty and colorless. “My life.”
“Yes. Your life. You must have had one before this. It will also mean I can get back to mine.” Her big, fat life. Big. Full. Fabulous.
“Because it was so full,” he remarked, giving Tinkerbell a scratch on the head before making his way to the door
.
“Hey!” she yelped, pushing her way through the door he held open for her. “I was well on my way to making it full until you showed up. I just want to get back to normal. You know, the days where I do nothing but sit around and hope for patients? Those days held a certain kind of comfort in their quiet anonymity.”
“And they all consisted of running away from something. That’s why you take the piss when people in town treat you like their roadside rubbish.”
“I do not.” Though, admittedly, it was hard to be affronted. He wasn’t far from the truth.
He took hold of her arm when they crossed the lawn, turning her to face him. “Of course you do, Katie. I’m not sure why you do, but you do.”
Anger at his accuracy made the tips of her ears burn. She hadn’t always been so willing to let life and the people in it trample her, but her shame was bigger than her will to fight back these days. Everyone in town knew the sordid events of her arrival. After leaving New York with the kind of shattered reputation she’d had, how could she expect the people of Piney Creek to see her in any other light but a tainted one?
Aside from her fancy city ways, their hatred of her had a great deal to do with what she’d hoped to leave behind her.
Forever.
Beck’s eyes pierced hers through the fading sun, making her squint. “Want to talk about what keeps that sharp tongue from assaulting others besides me?”
No. Not with someone she barely knew, someone who didn’t even know who he was. “Not even a little.”
His thumb ran a maddening circle along the bare skin of her forearm. “I’m a good listener.”
“How do you know?” she challenged, needing to get away from this man who, despite his appearance, was intuitive—even if it was intrusively so. If she kept distance between them, a dissonant distance, she just might survive his heart-pounding, womanly parts all agog, presence.
“I should think that’s obvious. I’ve listened to you women babble all day. Quite patiently, I’ll add. That’s how I know. So, tell you what.”
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