Just Enough Light by AJ Quinn Read Free Book Online Page B

first time she laid eyes on them.
    She’d pulled over and somehow rescued him. Barely dodging a speeding SUV, she managed to grab him, coming away with nothing more than torn jeans and skinned knees. She’d then tucked the shivering pup inside her sweatshirt, sharing her body heat with him while she took him to see a vet she knew in Denver.
    Susan had shrugged when she saw Kellen at her door with a bedraggled puppy of questionable parentage in her hands. Without saying a word, she examined the pup thoroughly and declared him surprisingly healthy, albeit malnourished and underweight. Together they’d then cleaned him up and discovered that beneath the filth was a likely purebred German shepherd puppy, maybe eight weeks old, with bright trusting eyes. The pup had looked up at the two women and had unerringly chosen Kellen. Crawled into her arms, licked her neck, and promptly gone to sleep.
    In that moment, she knew he’d chosen her as much as she had chosen him. Just as she knew the two of them would be going home to Haven together. He needed a home. And she had one to share.
    Bogart had paid Kellen back for his life a thousand times over. He’d grown into an incredible dog. Beautiful, intelligent, and tireless. Along the way, he’d insinuated himself into every aspect of her life, taking to canine search-and-rescue training as if he’d been born to it.
    But more important, he had an innate ability to sense her moods and could bring her out of a bad spell with a lick or a nudge of his nose. Even when she’d been hospitalized. Somehow Annie had pulled off a minor miracle, convincing the staff that it would be in the best interest of both patient and dog to allow Bogart into her room. And there he’d remained, watching over her, comforting her, until she was strong enough to leave the hospital.
    Unconditional love, Kellen thought wryly. She would have laughed if anyone had told her she’d ever get unconditional love. And not only from Bogart, but from Cody and Ren, who offered it to her each and every day in so many different ways. As did Annie, for that matter. Pretty damned amazing, especially for someone who’d grown up not knowing love of any kind.
    Resigned to the truth that sleep would not be returning, Kellen crawled out from under the duvet and padded on unsteady legs to the kitchen. Trying not to think or do anything beyond what had become an everyday routine. She turned on the coffeemaker she’d prepared before going to bed, fed Bogart, and let him out. Then with nothing left to do, she headed to the shower.
    Once there, sitting on the tiles with her knees drawn up against her chest and her head pressed to her knees, Kellen let the water beat down on her and hoped it would wash away the remnants of her dream. Hoped it would wash away the blood and the fear and the horror. She deliberately blanked her mind, concentrating on her breathing until she was conscious only of the heat enveloping her, cocooning her as it wrapped heated arms around her.
    But she was still cold.
    Twenty minutes later, she’d prepared a thermos of coffee and was dressed with silk long johns under her jeans, thick socks in her boots, a black turtleneck, and a black down-filled vest. She opened the door and was hit by a brief, fierce surge of passion.
    Haven was still shrouded in darkness as she inhaled the cold air infused with pine. She felt it chill her face. Saw the remnant of the moon still visible in the sky. Felt the pines and spruce trees surround her, tall, but not high enough to block the beauty of the rugged mountains.
    At thirty-two, she had traveled extensively. Lived in large cities and small towns, slept in alleys, in cars, and under bridges. She had never before understood how anyone could feel connected to one place.
    But here? As she stood mesmerized by her surroundings, she felt sheltered. Protected. And here she welcomed the dawning of a new day. She stood still. Let her senses swim and enjoyed the bite of the cold as