Forever Home. Allyson Charles

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СКАЧАТЬ starting to worry that Lydia was seeing Ana grow up more than her own mother was.

      And no amount of wine in the world could take that worry away.

      * * * *

      Brad’s lungs burned and the back of his throat felt raw. It was his own damn fault. His body couldn’t keep up with Gabe’s, but pride made him run step for step with his friend’s six-minute-mile pace until his legs locked up and his heart felt like it would burst from his chest. He stumbled to a stop along Galt Park’s southern jogging trail and bent over at the waist, heaving for breath.

      The yellow Lab he was exercising licked his chin, and the shepherd mix he held with the other hand strained at the leash, eager to catch up with his buddies.

      Gabe doubled back and trotted over to him, the two dogs he held tangling their leashes. He stopped jogging in place long enough to sort them out. “You okay?”

      “Just”—heave, heave, gasp—“great.”

      “Maybe you shouldn’t push yourself so hard.”

      Brad gave his friend the gimlet eye. They’d known each other for three years, ever since Brad had hired Gabe to be the veterinarian at his new shelter. Gabe should accept by now that Brad wouldn’t settle for a diminished lifestyle. He was finally healthy, and he would push his body as much as he damn well wanted.

      “Let’s go.” He straightened and steeled himself for the last mile. “I’ve got my second wind.”

      “Maybe you do, but Stephanie doesn’t.” Gabe pointed at the Lab, who had rolled to her back and exposed her belly, her tongue lolling to the pavement. “I think we walk from here.”

      Thank God for out-of-shape dogs. Brad fell into step next to Gabe, the dogs forming a rotating wall of fur around them. He rubbed his side. “We’re down to our last couple of thousand in the shelter’s back account. We need to fund-raise again.”

      “Shouldn’t that be a constant occupation?” Gabe asked. “I do enjoy being paid, after all.”

      Brad shrugged. “Easy come, easy go. I’m sure I’ll be able to scrounge enough for operating expenses for the next couple months. Besides, you’re just part-time at Forever Friends. Your vet practice keeps you in pizza rolls and beer.” Gabe had a small office in Clarion Township where he spent half his working hours. The rest of the time he spent at Forever Friends. He took whatever pathetic paycheck Brad doled out, but Brad knew his friend would work at the shelter for free if push came to shove.

      Sighing, Gabe stopped and turned to face him. “That’s a hell of a way to run a business.”

      “Forever Friends isn’t a business.” Pulling a plastic bottle from his hydration belt, Brad squirted some water into his mouth and then did the same for the four-legged runners. “It’s a nonprofit shelter. It’s about helping dogs. You can’t put a price on that.”

      “Sure you can.” Gabe held up a hand and lifted his index finger. “One, it’s the cost of the rent of our building. Two”—he raised his middle finger—“it’s the expense of your employees. You have me and a couple of girls who come in part-time when you need them. And when you can afford to pay them. And I assume you want to pay yourself so you can eat, too. Three, it’s the cost of food and supplies for the dogs. That’s a lot of numbers. You can’t ignore them just because you want to.”

      “Christ, you sound like my parents. My dad’s so worried that I don’t already own a house and a brokerage account, he’s threatening to cut me out of his will.” Which made no sense, and besides, Brad couldn’t care less. His parents had quite a bit of money, but it hadn’t made them happy. When they’d divorced, every fight had centered around their bank accounts. “When Forever Friends needs money, I’ll get money. We’ll be fine.”

      Gabe turned and started walking again, this time cutting across the wide field of Galt Park, which bordered a Japanese tea garden. The park was on Pineville’s south side, just two miles from the shelter, and had become a favorite of his and Gabe’s to exercise the dogs.

      “What’s your plan this time?” Gabe asked. “Another direct mailing?”

      “Maybe.” But he had an idea to kill two birds with one stone. “I was thinking about using Isabelle Lopez. Her rescue is an inspiring story, and I think it will draw attention. Maybe give her an award, get her picture under the Forever Friends sign in all the papers. That kind of thing.” No one had to know she’d broken into the abandoned apartments. They could say she’d found the door open when she went to investigate. And spending more time with Izzy could only help his chances with her. He was charming. He’d wear her down eventually.

      Gabe tipped his head. “That’s not an awful idea. Presuming she isn’t the one who abandoned the dogs in the first place.”

      “She’s not.” Brad blew out a breath. “Jesus, you have a suspicious mind.”

      “Yeah, well, you don’t know people the way I do,” Gabe muttered.

      Stephanie barked excitedly and tugged at the leash. Brad looked in the direction she was scrabbling for. Judge Nichols sat on a bench in front of a small pond. The older man raised a hand in greeting, and Brad and Gabe strolled over to join him.

      “Hello, Judge,” Brad said. “I didn’t expect to see you out here today.” Nichols was the one and only judge for Crook County, and although his jurisdiction wasn’t awash in lawsuits and crime, his schedule kept him busy. Too busy for an afternoon spent at the park on a workday.

      “And I didn’t expect to be here.” Nichols leaned over, stroking the Lab’s back and murmuring in her ear. A gust of wind lifted a tuft of the man’s snowy white hair into a messy peak. He sat up, his shoulders drooping. “But sometimes difficult decisions are easier to make on a park bench than in my chambers.” He looked down at the dog. “I see Stephanie hasn’t been adopted yet.”

      “Animals with physical deformities are hard sells.” Brad smoothed his thumb over the puckered skin covering her missing left eye. “But someone will want her. She’s too much of a sweetheart to go without a home for much longer.”

      Judge Nichols gave a bare whisper of a smile. “I’m glad you’ve kept such an optimistic view of human nature.”

      Gabe snorted. “Delusional one, more like.”

      Brad ignored that. He plopped down on the bench next to the judge. “Something wrong?” Usually the man was as cheerful as everyone’s favorite grandfather. He’d also been a good donor to Forever Friends in the past. Maybe if Brad helped Nichols with his problem, he could hit him up for another donation.

      Nichols spread the love around to a couple of other dogs. “Just wondering why a young man who seems to have every advantage would persist in acting like a jackass, excuse my French. I have to determine an appropriate sentence for a serial offender. But the problem is that I like the boy.”

      “If the punk did the crime, he can’t be surprised when he gets the time.” Gabe widened his stance and crossed his arms over his chest. “Everyone needs to understand there are consequences to our actions.”

      Brad stifled his eye roll. Out of a misplaced sense of guilt, Gabe was a bit of an annoying hard-ass. He had all the love in the world for four-legged creatures. People, not so much.

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