Guarded by Mary Behre Read Free Book Online

facing the harsh truth—and the inevitable cruelty that went with it. The child had chosen lies.
    It made her stomach twist into knots. “How about I drop you off down the block? She won’t see my car.”
    “I don’t know . . .”
    So many people in this town pretended not to see Beau. He probably
could
walk four blocks in tattered clothes and no one would know. Or care.
    That sparked a rage inside of her so hot it frightened her. She wasn’t this kid’s mother. She had no claim to him whatsoever. She couldn’t let herself get any more involved than she already was. Taking a mental step back, she pushed down her anger at the town’s dismissal of one of its youngest residents and focused on getting him food.
    “Wait one second.” Shelley hurried to her office and returned within seconds, wallet in hand. She pulled out twenty dollars and handed it to the boy. “Go to the diner, buy lunch for you and Jacob. I’m sure he’d appreciate a break. And food. Then you can finish bringing in the donations. Deal?”
    Beau’s face lit up, then immediately dimmed. “I can’t take your money, Doc. Ain’t right.”
    “Excuse me,” Dev’s deep voice broke in. “But if you’re helping out the clinic, it seems like a fair deal to me. I think that’s called payment for services rendered.”
    “That’s right. Thank you, Dev.” She turned to Dev, who gave her a friendly smile. A strange green color pulsed around him. She blinked in confusion.
Are my eyes playing tricks on me?
    “Okay.” A slow smile slid across the boy’s face. “In that case, see ya!” He was out the door, the bells jangling as it closed behind him.
    He bolted up the street as Shelley, fighting back tears, watched him through the window. Although she wasn’t sure why her eyes stung. It’s not like the boy was hurt, this time. Just hungry.
    She couldn’t let herself get so involved. She couldn’t get attached. Not to a needy child. Not to anyone.
    “You okay?” Dev whispered in a deep baritone.
    “Yeah. Sorry. It’s . . . it’s . . .” What? Certainly not fine.
    “Small-town life.” Dev nodded. “I can imagine. It’s why I prefer the city.”
    The silence that followed was awkward. Because, really, there was nothing to say to that. Nothing that would have made a difference anyway.
    “So how about that lunch? And then we can talk about why you wanted me to come to town.”
    “Sure, but we need to go to the zoo first.” She glanced at their clothes. “After our shower.
Showers
.”
God, I’ve got to stop saying that.
Because, yes, the image of a shared shower was hot and wet in her head. Hoping to hide the heat crawling up her cheeks, she hurried down the short corridor to her office calling over her shoulder, “Okay, just let me get my ferret.”
    Dev followed behind her, his steps nearly silent on the linoleum floor. “You have a ferret?” The wonder in his voice made her grin.
    “Yes, and her name is Lucy. Wait till you see her. She’s beautiful.”
    Shelley glanced at her reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall behind her desk. It was supposed to make the room look bigger. It didn’t work. Instead, it afforded Shelley a frontal view of herself walking into the office.
    Yeah, Lucy might be beautiful, her owner, however . . .
    Shelley cringed at her reflection. She had dirt smeared down one cheek, the center of her shirt, and up both sleeves—no doubt from where she’d hugged Dev. Her blouse was once again hermetically sealed to her muffin-top tummy, accentuating every single curve.
    Jeez! She looked like the before picture in a laundry-soap advertisement. Dev’s reflection appeared slightly behind hers. Despite the mud caked on his suit and—
oh my Lord
—in his hair, he exuded a devastatingly sexy charisma. The kind that would have beauty queens lining up to offer him their showers along with a chance to run a loofah over his body.
    The man might be quiet, but
day-um
he rocked the word
sexy
. And wow,