She Can Run by Melinda Leigh Read Free Book Online

contemplating shifting over a seat, but moving closer to her mother would mean moving closer to Jack. Clearly that wasn’t an option. Katie wouldn’t even look at him.
    Jack had to do something. There was no reason for her to be afraid of him. And, yeah, damn it, it bugged him.
    “Katie, I would like to ask you for a favor.” Jack made it a point not to even lean in her direction. He kept his voice low and even. Still, her face paled and her fingers trembled at the sound of his voice. It made Jack’s chest ache just to watch her, but he continued. “It’s about Henry.”
    At the mention of his name, the dog hauled his furry butt off the floor and rested his head in Jack’s lap. Jack scratched Henry’s head. Despite having zero work ethic and the attention span of a gnat, Henry was a good soul. The big dope was simply more of a lover than a fighter.
    “Henry is a highly trained police dog, you see.” Sort of. He wasn’t exactly lying. Henry had been trained extensively. The fact that none of that training had stuck was another issue. “With my injury, I can’t practice with him every day. He might forget everything. That would be a real shame.”
    Henry’s eyes glazed over as Jack rubbed just the right spot behind his ear. Jack focused on the dog, keeping Katie in his peripheral vision. The little girl’s eyes were still wide as saucers, but she no longer looked like she was going to lose her lunch.
    “Do you think you could take over his practice? It’s a pretty big responsibility.”
    The child’s nod was almost imperceptible.
    “Can you read?” How the hell old was she anyway? Five or six? A really small seven?
    She nodded again.
    “OK then. I’ll write down all his basic commands for you.” Jack picked a small piece of ham off the plate. “You give him a command, like down .” The dog didn’t move. “And you give him the treat if he does it.”
    Still standing, Henry’s whole butt wagged.
    “Only if he does it.” Jack showed him the ham. Henry drooled. “As you can see, he’s already forgotten a lot.”
    The dog sighed and sank to the floor with a protesting groan. Jack gave him the treat. “That was a little slow, buddy.”
    Henry swallowed the ham and closed his eyes.
    “Do you think you can do that?”
    She gave him another minuscule nod and looked at him for the first time. Baby steps .
    Ben came through the door wheeling a large suitcase, a couple small duffels slung over his shoulder. Katie slipped off her chair to follow him down the hall.
    Beth cleared her throat as she stood up to follow the kids. “Thank you.” Were her eyes actually misty?
    Jack had a moment of satisfaction after Beth disappeared through the doorway before Mrs. Harris burst his Good Samaritan bubble. “Does this mean you’re through feeling sorry for yourself?”
    He winced. “Was I that bad?”
    Mrs. Harris gave him a pointed stare.
    “Sorry.”
    “You’re entitled to be angry, even depressed about your injury, Jack. But you’re going to have to move on. Why do you think your uncle wanted you to live here? It wasn’t like he got a kick out of controlling people. You know he wasn’t like that.”
    Jack shrugged. She had a point. Danny had never tried to interfere with his life. He’d merely kept in touch and invited him to spend the occasional weekend at the estate.
    “If you ask the attorney, you’ll find out he wrote that stipulation into his will about a month after your accident— after Quinn told him he thought your knee was shot.”
    Jack’s mouth dropped open.
    “Danny said you needed to come home. You just didn’t know it.” Mrs. Harris’s gaze moved to the glass door. “And I think, somehow, he knew he was going to die.”
    “I’m going to miss him. I should have visited more often.”
    “Probably.” Mrs. Harris didn’t pull any punches. “He worried about you, Jack. Sean and Quinn have families to keep them on track. Danny thought you needed roots, too.”
    “Maybe he was