A Sheltering Love. Terri Reed

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СКАЧАТЬ to lose herself in those dark eyes with one glance.

      She didn’t need or want a man in her life. Never again would she allow herself to be vulnerable to the whims of a guy, to be used and abandoned, forgotten.

      She stepped back, needing to put distance between them. She’d offered help. He’d said no. She needed to accept that. Time to stay focused and in control of her own responses.

      “Be safe.” Her voice sounded breathless. And she didn’t like it.

      This time there was no half-grin, but a full-blown, toe-curling smile that sent her blood zooming. He saluted and then sauntered to a low slung, shiny chrome-and-black motorcycle with the unmistakable winged insignia of a Harley.

      He threw one long, lean leg over the seat, looking at home on the bike. He plucked a black, sleek-looking helmet from where it hung on the handlebars and put it on. A second later the bike came to life with a thundering rumble.

      “Hey,” she yelled over the noise of the engine and stepped closer.

      He gave her a questioning look.

      “What’s your name?” She didn’t know why it was important, but she needed to know.

      His eyes widened slightly, then a slow smile touched his lips. “Nick.”

      His smile made her heart leap. He’d stormed into her life like a knight of old and performed a heroic deed, all the while putting her female senses into overdrive.

      He flipped down the visor on the helmet and rolled away. She watched him turn the corner toward downtown Pineridge and then disappear from sight. It was a good thing he’d roared out of her life before she’d lost her head and done something embarrassing like drool.

      “Well.” She stood rooted to the ground for a moment as her heart resumed its natural rhythm. She held the puppy up and stared into his sweet little brown eyes. The puppy licked at her face. She laughed and hugged him close. Gwen was going to just love the little guy.

      “Well, little Nick, you want to come home with me?”

      Nick Andrews couldn’t get the pretty blonde out of his head. The woman’s heart gleamed in her baby blues and every subtle and not-so-subtle expression that had crossed her face.

      Oh, she had courage, he’d give her that. Not many women—let alone men—would have stood up to those punks. She cared for those street urchins. But she might as well have worn a sign that said “Heartache Welcome.”

      She talked a good game, how they were just kids in need of some help. He didn’t believe it.

      Thankfully she wasn’t his problem. No matter how attractive the package or how much he admired her spunk, he had enough to deal with. He wasn’t exposing his heart to the pain of loss again.

      He gunned the engine and took the exit out of Pineridge that dropped him onto Interstate 84 headed west toward Portland. As he jockeyed for a position in the traffic, a sharp urge to turn back assaulted him.

      He frowned, convinced he was being paranoid.

      Yet he couldn’t shake the image of Tyler’s slicing gesture.

      Nah, the kid didn’t have the guts to do anything serious. Just throw a defenseless animal around, a tiny voice inside reminded.

      Nick’s jaw tightened.

      The kid was a bad seed. Nick had seen eyes like that before. The eyes of a killer.

      Man, he’d have pulverized that kid in the park, would have gladly exorcised two years of bottled rage on the punk, if the blonde hadn’t restrained him with her gentle touch.

      He hadn’t even asked her name.

      Not my problem.

      But yet…

      He wove around a slow-moving truck. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the nagging feeling he should turn back. Serena would have said it was God’s nudging, but God had been quiet two years ago when a nudging could have saved her life.

      So why would God start communicating with him now?

      Twenty miles ahead the freeway split. He could either take the interstate exit for I-5 North heading toward Washington State and on up to Canada or he could take I-5 South toward California.

      He was at a fork in the road, literally. Which way to turn? How far could he go to outrun the past? Where would he find peace? What had he done to deserve such punishment? How could he leave the blonde so unprotected?

      “She’s not my problem!” he shouted.

      The words swirled around inside his helmet until they were sucked out by the rushing wind.

      Chapter Two

      “Here you go, little Nick.” Claire set a plastic bowl full of water on the linoleum floor in the kitchen area. “Nick?”

      The puppy had been sniffing around the kitchen floor moments ago. Now the little scamp was out of sight. Claire walked into the open area of The Zone. She looked under the Ping-Pong table that the Jordan family had donated, and behind the brown corduroy sofa she’d found at Goodwill. “Nick, here boy. Where are you?”

      She wasn’t equipped to care for a puppy. She needed dog food, a collar and a doghouse. Whew, the list was endless and could be expensive. She shrugged. Whatever was needed, she’d find a way to provide. She couldn’t turn the dog out any more than she could a human.

      “Ah, there you are.”

      The little fluff ball was snuggled up against a bright yellow beanbag chair. Claire scooped him up and he licked her chin. “Thank you for the kiss. I wonder who you belong to. I’d sure be upset if I’d lost such a cutie.” She snuggled her cheek into his soft fur. She’d have to make flyers and post them around town. Surely Nick’s owners would be looking for him.

      And if no one claimed him?

      She would keep him.

      She carried him back to the kitchen and set him down in front of the bowl. His black nose sniffed at the plastic rim and then, apparently deciding it was okay, he lapped at the water.

      “Thirsty boy.” Claire smiled at the ball of fur. Tenderness tightened her chest. She’d never had a dog before. She was excited by the prospect, but her internal monitor quickly warned not to expect to keep him. Somewhere out there were the little guy’s owners.

      She found a blanket in the closet under the stairs and made a cozy bed on the floor in the kitchen.

      “Here you go, Nick,” she said, picking up the puppy and setting him on the blanket. He walked in a circle, sniffing at the material.

      A bump sounded from beyond the wall of the kitchen. Nick paused; his ears perked up. Claire walked to the window over the sink and peered out. Nothing on the grassy yard stretching to the woods that edged the property. She twisted her head, craning to see left, then right. Nothing.

      “Probably a squirrel,” she muttered to Nick. СКАЧАТЬ