Wilder Hearts. Karen Rose Smith

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СКАЧАТЬ That is, unless she found someone else to puppy-sit.

      Think, she told herself. There had to be someone she could call.

      Oh, wait.

      Talk about lightbulb moments.

      Maybe Millie would take Wags and keep him at Tails a Waggin’ today. Then Simone could get some sleep before she had to work.

      “Come on, you guys.” She turned and headed up the back steps to the service porch, the dogs on her heels. She was going to call Mike at the station and tell him he could pick up Wags at the pet store when he got off work.

      Once inside the house, she grabbed the phone book and looked for the number, then placed a call to the Walnut River Fire Department.

      Woofer, who couldn’t have gotten much sleep either, curled up at her feet, while Wags took off, exploring the part of the house that had been off limits to him all night.

      Someone grabbed the phone on the second ring. “Fire department.”

      She didn’t recognize the man who’d answered, but supposed it didn’t matter. “This is Simone Garner. Is Mike O’Rourke available?”

      “He sure is. I’ll get him for you.”

      She was placed on hold for a moment or two, until a familiar voice came over the line.

      “Hey, Simone. How’s it going?” His tone was light and upbeat.

      Hers, unfortunately, was not. “This isn’t going to work, Mike.”

      “What’s the matter?”

      “The dogs. I didn’t get any sleep last night. I’m going to have to ask Millie Baxter if she’ll look after Wags so I can get some rest before I have to go to the hospital. And I hope she’ll say yes. If so, can you pick him up at Tails a Waggin’?”

      “Sure.”

      “You’ll have to watch them tonight. Woofer isn’t always happy about sharing his territory with a pesky pup, so sometimes they’ll have to be separated.” She glanced up long enough to see that Wags had returned, carrying something in his mouth.

      When he growled as though he’d captured a pint-size prowler and was going to shake the life out of it, she took a closer look at what he’d locked his teeth onto.

      Her shoe!

      “Oh, no!” She dropped the phone on the counter and hurried toward Wags, who had chomped down on one of the brand-new black heels that she’d spent entirely too much money on.

      But the moment Wags saw her coming, he dashed off, taking the shoe with him.

      She’d probably never have reason to wear it again anyway, but that wasn’t the point. “Come back here with that! You’re going to ruin it.”

      As Wags ran through the house, dodging her at every turn, she swore under her breath.

      Now this was something she could blame on Mike.

      Mike gripped the receiver and strained to hear what was going on at Simone’s house.

      “Honey?” The endearment slipped out before he could catch himself, and when there was no response from her, he blew out a sigh of relief.

      What in the hell was going on over there?

      He could hear her yelling at Wags, who’d undoubtedly taken something of value.

      “No, Wags. No!” she said. “Bad dog.”

      He heard the approaching footsteps as she returned to the phone.

      When she got back on the line, he asked, “What happened?”

      “Wags chewed up my brand-new shoe.”

      Uh-oh. The puppy was going to wear out his welcome, if he hadn’t done so already.

      Maybe Mike had better find him a home with one of the guys in the department who had a family. He’d have to ask around.

      “I’m really sorry about the shoe, Simone. I’ll buy you another pair.”

      “You don’t have to do that. I probably wouldn’t have worn them again anyway. It’s just that…that…” She sniffled, then broke into tears.

      Damn. Simone never cried. At least, not out loud or in front of anyone. He’d seen emotion well in her eyes, but she’d always managed to hold it back. So what was with the tears?

      Maybe it was that time of the month.

      Of course, it could be something else. A buildup of some kind of stress, and Wags had been the last straw.

      Either way, Mike had dumped the puppy on her, and the timing had been bad. Talk about guilt trips.

      “I’m really sorry for the trouble I put you through, Simone.”

      “You’d better be sorry.” She sniffled again, the words practically drowning in her throat. “See what happens when I don’t get my rest? I fall apart.”

      “Aw, don’t do that…”

      As much as he dreaded the sound of her crying, a part of him liked to see the emotional side of her; it was so rare that anyone did.

      Again she sniffled, and he wished he was there to put an arm around her, to let her lean on him.

      “I can’t handle this two nights in a row, Mike.”

      And he couldn’t handle her tears—at least, not at a distance.

      “I’ll take care of everything,” he said, not sure that he could. “If you drive to the pet store and ask Millie to look after Wags, I’ll pick him up there when I get off duty. Then, if you don’t mind, I’ll sleep on your couch and take care of the dogs for you tonight. And when you get home from work, you can go into your bedroom, close the door and get a full night’s sleep.”

      It was a last-ditch effort to pull things back together, and he really expected her to say no, to suggest he and Wags find somewhere else to hang their hats.

      But she surprised him. “Okay. But if that doesn’t work, you’ll have to figure out something else.”

      Nice save. “Okay. Will do.”

      “I’ll leave a key under the potted plant on my porch.”

      A grin tugged at his lips. He’d been hoping she would give him a key to her place, although he had to admit, these weren’t quite the circumstances he’d had in mind.

      But hey. He wouldn’t complain.

      A selfish side of him wanted to hold on to every little inch Simone gave him.

      Later that afternoon, while seated at the desk at the nurses’ station and reading the doctor’s orders СКАЧАТЬ