His Devious Angel by Mimi Barbour Read Free Book Online Page A

audible unison sighs let her know where their preferences lay. And the fact that Bea hadn't yet overridden her even having a choice was perplexing. Given authority in a group who usually never acknowledged that she had a vote, made her feel stunned. This power could be addictive. 
    She looked from one to the other and old habits kicked in. "Sure. Stay if you want to." Then she topped off her capitulation with a big fat lie. "Makes no difference to me."

Chapter Eight  
     
     
    Bea overrode Sadie. “You need to take Liam up on his offer and stop being so bullheaded. Do you have someone else you can hire to walk the dogs at such short notice?”
    Dora cut in. “Sadie, you know those folks expect to get their money’s worth when they pay top dollar for a service. You’ve taken on the responsibility of looking after their animals, and they’ll assume that either you’ll do the job or you’ll have help. I work with them every day, and I know how they think.”
    Liam looked around the food-laden table. The wonderful smell of barbecued ribs was only exceeded by the taste. Corn on the cob, baked potatoes, sweet-and-sour meatballs, salads, and homemade buns had been piled on his plate with never a thought of asking him his preference—which, by the way, wasn’t a problem. Best meal he’d had in ages.
    Listening to the women conversing, he relaxed and decided he didn’t need to be his own advocate when he had Sadie’s family. Whether or not he should have offered, he didn’t really know, especially since he’d clearly heard the shouted “Hang on!” in his head. All he did know was that her dilemma was his fault and, truth to tell, the longer he could put off dealing with his own shit the happier he’d be.
    Once he zoomed back into the heated argument surrounding him, he could see that Sadie had lost the battle. Poor little doll looked whipped, and his conscience kicked in big time.
    “If Sadie would rather work with someone else, that’s not a problem.” He smiled at her to let her see his sincerity. And he liked that she smiled back, a small tug at her pretty lips with their curled-up edges, but nevertheless a smile.
    Bea spoke before the others could. “She has no one else. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but our family own a business called ‘Angels’ and we do home care for the infirm, the elderly, and the rich who can afford to have someone come to their homes and look after them. We employ a number of women who like to look after folks—retired nurses, caregivers, and so on. But early in the program we realized that many of these people had animals they cared about, especially dogs that needed to be exercised every day.
    “Sadie thought up a program where she was in charge of this part of the business. And it’s worked out very well. We’re all happy with her role both as the dogwalker and the fitness trainer. She also does yoga with many of the clients. But this keeps her very busy, and we’ve been telling her for some time to slow down. Except as you might have noticed, she’s as stubborn as her jackass mule-headed father, God bless his soul and keep him smiling.”
    Mama Bertolli tickled his funny bone. He smiled, and then a mushy feeling exploded when she returned it so sweetly. The thought he’d had returned, and he said, “Couldn’t the dogs miss a couple of days? It is an emergency. It’s not like she’s at fault for the accident.”
    “It’s a business, Liam. They would expect us to be prepared. I’ve been after Sadie for some time to take on a partner to train with the animals. We’re talking spoilt canines that many of these people treat like precious babies. They have idiosyncrasies that need to be understood.”
    “The dogs or the owners?” Liam grinned at the thought.
    Bea’s face stayed serious even if her eyes twinkled. “Both. And Sadie has their number.”
    “The dogs or the owners?” He couldn’t help himself.
    “Both.” This time she did laugh.
    Dora piped in