Restless Heart by Wynonna Judd Read Free Book Online

Kenny had yet to figure out that she’d adopted a canine roommate. But apparently, all that was about to change.
    “Mike, get over here!” she called in a loud whisper.
    Too late. A figure emerged from the shadows and into her back door spotlight. She couldn’t see his face, but she immediately knew it wasn’t her short-of-stature landlord, Kenny Tabor.
    No . . . it happened to be the one and only Seth Caldwell.
    So he hadn’t left town without saying good-bye.
    “Seth!” she called brightly—and immediately regretted it. Did she really want him to see her like this?
    Thanks to the evening humidity, her hair had taken on a life of its own the moment she’d removed the ponytail holder. Her face was well scrubbed. She had changed into baggy gray sweatpants and a large white T-shirt that was printed with an I , followed by half of a smeared red heart and then Nashville —yet another of her downstairs neighbor Nessie’s flawed inventory castoffs.
    Seth looked up. “Oh . . . hi. Sorry to just show up . . . I, uh, would have called, but my phone died.”
    “No problem,” Destiny assured him, tucking a wayward lock behind her ear as she tried to come up with something clever to say.
    Mike beat her to it, emitting a couple of decidedly cranky barks.
    “Stop that!”
    As usual, he paid no attention to Destiny’s command, instead growling in a surprisingly menacing tone for a creature who looked more like a cartoon character than a guard dog.
    Destiny descended the metal fire escape steps. “Mike! I mean it! Cut it out!” His spiky hair stood up as if he had just put a paw in an electrical socket and he gave Seth a bring-it-on-baby stare.
    “ That’s Mike?” Seth gaped. “He’s a dog ?”
    “What did you think he was, an alien?”
    Seth took a step toward the fire escape. “No, I thought—”
    Teeth bared, Mike launched himself at Seth.
    “Mike, no!” Destiny watched helplessly as Mike’s short little legs propelled him as high as they possibly could. Upon impact with Seth’s thighs, the dog bounced off like a Ping-Pong ball hitting a paddle. His deep bark turned into a high-pitched what-was-I-thinking yelp as he flew backward and hit the ground hard.
    “Mike!” Destiny scrambled down the fire escape and knelt beside the pitiful pooch. “Are you okay?”
    Mike looked up at her with his bulging I-must-have-some-pug-in-me eyes and gave her a weak but reassuring, “Woof.”
    Seth crouched beside them. “I’m sorry, fella.”
    Mike gave him an accusatory glare.
    “Guess I shouldn’t have come barreling around the corner,” Seth told Destiny, “but from what you were saying I thought you were talking to some guy who was giving you a hard time.”
    “You’re kidding.” She couldn’t deny a flutter of appreciation that Seth had thought he was coming to her rescue.
    “Hey, you have to admit that Mike isn’t a normal name for a dog. But then again, you never did like normal, did you?”
    “Normal is so overrated.”
    It was almost like old times, kidding around. Their eyes met and Destiny felt that all-too-familiar pull of attraction.
    “Well, at least some things never change,” Seth said casually.
    “You got that right.”
    If he only knew .
    When Seth’s gaze dropped to her mouth, she wondered, for a wild moment, if he was going to kiss her. The idea so unnerved her that she jerked her head back and tumbled from her knees to her butt, nearly landing on poor recovering Mike. He gave a startled bark, and she scooped him into her lap and gave him a pat on his head.
    Seth cleared his throat. “So why were you upset with Mike?”
    “Because he’s not supposed to be here. He showed up as a stray and pets aren’t allowed, and I know my daddy raised me not to break the rules, but I was afraid to take Mike to a shelter. He has a face only a mother could love and the thought of . . .” She shook her head. “Anyway, he came along just when I needed him most.”
    Seth seemed to be contemplating