“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 go of the swinging door, removed his latex gloves and went after the two women and the dog, motioning for Tim to follow.
Dusty thought about the large size of the animal that had rushed by earlier. “Is the dog dangerous?” he asked, taking long strides.
“No,” Tim answered a few steps behind him, “just ill-mannered. That thing she has in his mouth is Hannah’s new dress. She bought it for a party she’s going to tonight with her new boyfriend.”
Dusty glanced over his shoulder at his young caretaker, remembering that only recently he and Hannah had stopped dating.
“She had just taken it out of the bag to show some of us and then the phone rang.” Tim continued. “She laid it on the desk, and out of nowhere the dog grabbed it and took off.”
Dusty came around the corner. He stopped dead in his tracks, leaving Tim to put on his brakes to avoid running into the back of him. They were in the pen area and the other dogs locked in the cages were going crazy with the sudden infusion of activity around them.
Before Dusty were his receptionist, Hannah, and the dog’s owner, both flanking the dog. To be fair, the scruffy, mangy mutt barely qualified as a canine. The large dog had dirty, gold-colored, matted fur. She had the large, muscular build and square-shaped head of a Saint Bernard, but the pointed features and blue eyes of a husky. Independently, both were beautiful species of dogs, but combined in this two-hundred-pound monstrosity it seemed an abomination.
Watching the two women, its whole body vibrated with excitement. The dog stood in a wide-legged stance with a tattered red cloth clamped between its teeth, shining blue eyes looking for any small opportunity to escape.
In the cacophony of barks and howls, Dusty heard what sounded like a muffled cry and realized it was coming from his receptionist.
“Oh, what’s the use, it’s ruined!” Hannah’s shoulders slumped, her guard dropped, and the dog seized the opportunity, ducking between her legs only to be grabbed by the collar and tackled by Tim.
“I’m so sorry.” The other woman put her arms around Hannah’s shoulders, and Dusty found his eyes once again drawn to her fitted jeans. “I’ll replace it—today. Just tell me where you bought it and the size and I’ll pick up another today.”
“You can’t!” Hannah cried harder. “It was the last one, I found it on the clearance rack.”
Dusty glanced back to where the dog was wiggling and squirming to get free from Tim’s tight hold around its body. The animal’s legs were spread wide as it kicked and pawed in every direction. Tim hauled the animal over to an empty carry case and pushed her into it headfirst and latched the box closed.
Angel began to revolt, barking and scratching at the sides of the box. Hearing her pet’s cry for help, Mikayla left the young woman’s side and kneeled beside the box.
She attempted to comfort Angel with shushing noises. Seeing it was not working, she sighed. “Sorry, baby, but you brought this