Summer Rose by Elizabeth Sinclair Read Free Book Online Page B

again of his dilemma.
    That afternoon, Rose watched Hunter’s truck disappear down the road on his way to make a house call about a sick horse. She heaved a sigh of relief. At least for the time being he’d be gone, and she could step off the eggshells she’d been walking on since the night on the porch.
    No matter how many times she told herself she had to get this attraction to Hunter under control, her traitorous body didn’t seem to hear. Hunter walked into a room, and her heart sped up. Hunter smiled, and her breath caught in her chest. Hunter walked out of the room, and she felt as if the air had been sucked out behind him.
    It had passed the point of ridiculous and was quickly approaching dangerous. She had to get herself back on track. Her hand went to her stomach. She had Beth’s babies to think about.
    “Meooow!”
    Startled from her musings, Rose looked down at her feet to find Pansy winding around her legs. “What’s your problem?” she asked the cat, scooping her up into her arms.
    “Meooow!”
    “Okay, calm down. Dinner will be served in a minute.” She carried her to the back room where the animals confined in cages stayed for a few days to recover or just be watched closely for health reasons.
    “Meooow!”
    This time Thomas’ voice rang out, quickly followed by another plaintive caterwaul from Pansy. The cat jumped from Rose’s arms and raced to the cage holding Molly Goodwin’s pet. The orange, tiger-striped cat wailed again as she rubbed herself across the wire cage. Thomas answered her with an ear-splitting cry.
    Rose stared at them for a time. What on earth could be wrong with them? Two more wails filled the air before Rose figured it out. They were lonely. What harm would it do to let them play together for a while? “So you both want a little company, huh? Well, that’s easy enough to fix.”
    She walked to Thomas’ cage and lifted the latch, then jumped back to avoid Pansy as she sprang from the floor and landed inside the cage. The two cats rubbed against each other and the wailing ceased.
    “Thank goodness,” she said, her ears still ringing with the high-pitched meows. “If you don’t squeal on me, I’ll let you guys visit for a while, but Pansy has to leave before Hunter comes back.” She closed the cage door, then walked back into the outer office to enjoy the peace and quiet and finish some paperwork she’d started in order to avoid Hunter.
    She’d just begun when Davy arrived. “Hi, Miss Rose.”
    “Hey, Davy.”
    “I see Doc’s truck is gone. Did he tell you what I’m supposed to do today?”
    “He sure did.” She pulled pad from the pile of papers she’d been working on. “He wants you to water and feed the peacocks and the raccoons, but stay away from the wolf.”
    “Sadie?”
    She stared at the boy. “Sadie?”
    Davy grinned, his glowing cheeks throwing his freckles into prominence. “That’s what I named her.”
    Rose fought to suppress a smile. Since Davy had been working here, he’d managed to name almost all the animals. “Okay, Sadie. Doc doesn’t want you anywhere near her.”
    “Aw, Sadie won’t hurt me. We’re friends.”
    Rose wagged her pencil at him. “Davy, I will not take responsibility for you getting hurt on my watch. Promise me you’ll keep your distance from the wolf.”
    He nodded reluctantly. “Okay.”
    “When you’re through there, Doc wants you to fill in the hole the Adamson’s yellow Lab dug under the fence again.”
    Davy nodded and dashed out the door.
    Almost immediately, the phone rang. Rose hurried to pick it up. “Good afternoon. Paws and Claws Animal Clinic. How may I help you?”
    Josephine Hawks needed to update Jake’s vaccinations. Rose went through several dates and times before Mrs. Hawks settled on one for the old dog’s visit. During the entire conversation, Rose found her gaze drifting to the doorway through which Davy had raced moments earlier. A feeling of unease slowly formed in the pit of her