Evangelina Green by Susan Firtik Read Free Book Online Page B

Her mother pointed to only one with some black on it body.
"You named this one today, remember?” she nudged. "Now what was
that perfect name? Pepper?"
    Kim shook her head, her lower lip jutting
out, but the tears had stopped.
    "Pocket? No? Hmmm?
What was that
name? Ponder? Powder? Poncho? No, those don’t sound
right...”
    The child shook her head at each guess,
beginning to smirk at each attempt.
    "I know...it must be Pickles!" Keaton joined
into the game.
    Kim smiled her toothless best. "Patches."
She whispered as she stroked the tiny feline.
    Keaton smiled and lifted Patches out of the
basket situating himself between Kim and the other kittens, then
nodded to his assistant who quietly took the basket and kittens out
of the exam room. Kim held Patches while Keaton performed the exam.
After the shots and the initial exam, instructions were given on
how to care for Patches and just a short while later, a smiling
mother and happy child thanked him and promised to try and come to
visit. Kim walked out the front talking animatedly to Patches.
    He and his assistant cleaned up the exam
room and talked for a while about where she was moving for her new
job. It was nearing lunch and quiet in the front area, so he
decided to get some much needed paperwork done during the lull.
Keaton suddenly seized and dropped to his knees.
    PANIC—FRIGHT—ANGER . They all hit him
in the gut all at the same time. It hit him so quickly and so hard
he doubled over and had difficulty breathing. Lina! He scrambled for his cell
phone and dialed Jason hoping he was working at the mansion today,
praying he wasn’t too late.
    "Yo! What’s up cuz?”
    "Lina! Where is she?" Keaton growled into
the phone. "She’s in trouble! I can feel it!"
    "Hold on, K, I haven’t seen boss lady but I
can ask around and see if anyone...”
    "NO! Go to the…go…the back
garden— hurry !
Call me back, I’m on my way."
    Since the practice was closing and
transferring patients to other vets, or simply moving their other
files to the mansion office, the appointments had dwindled. Keaton
ran out, yelled toward his receptionist, “Early lunch." And he was
out of sight before she could even reply.
    "Lina, please, baby...I’m coming! Hold on!
Hold on!”
    He kept repeating, "Hold on!" as he
flattened out to the right to take a turn on his Harley. He knew he
should slow down, but the feelings—her feelings—were so strong.
Why? He knew the answer but he didn’t want to answer his own query.
He also knew why he felt her emotions so strongly. She really was
his mate. Damn! Upset at the timing, but grinning at the thought of
kissing his sweet Lina, Keaton screeched around the last turn
before the dirt and gravel road to the mansion. He’d traveled the
28 miles in less than ten minutes! Gotta love Harleys!
    ****
    Jason streaked to the back garden sensing
the magic, but unable to identify its source or intention, only to
find Lina face down, unmoving, on the ground. He immediately knelt
down to check for injuries, calling her name softly so as not to
startle her.
    "Lina? Boss lady?"
    She moaned and tried to roll over and sit
up. Her head was splitting, she was dizzy but as she sat up and
relaxed into Jason’s arms, she felt a bit more coherent.
    "Are you hurt?”
    "No. At least I don’t think so. And I am
really glad to see you. I’m actually feeling much better now.
Thanks."
    Then he noticed his surroundings and saw the
dogs hovering just outside the fence. He stared into the eyes of
the unofficial leader of the pack and managed an understanding of
sorts. He was no threat to her so the dogs backed away into the
surrounding weeds, back into the woods. He was still touching her
in a way she found to be soothing.
    "What happened?” Jason asked her when he was
satisfied as to her physical well-being.
    "Would you believe I just ran off a drunken
Pete Warren?"
    "With you, boss lady, I would just about
believe anything.”
    He was smiling to soften the blow. He and a
few