Coming Home to You by Fay Robinson

Author:Fay Robinson [Robinson, Fay]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-09-14T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“COME ON. Let me touch you. I’ll rub your stomach if you want. Or scratch your back. Wouldn’t that feel good? Don’t you want to come over here and let me see that pretty tail of yours?”

Sitting in a chair in the middle of Bret’s kitchen floor a week later, Kate tried to coax Sallie to come to her. Bret watched unnoticed from the doorway of the living room. The dog cowered by the back door and whimpered, looking first at Kate and then with longing out the screen door into the backyard.

“I don’t understand why you won’t let me touch you. I swear I won’t give you a bath, although I’ve got to tell you I think it would greatly enhance your appeal.”

Bret nearly had to bite his lip to keep from laughing out loud and alerting Kate to his presence. Every day she’d gone through this ritual so Sallie would get used to her and the sound of her voice. He admired her determination to win the dog’s trust, but it was downright comical listening to Kate talk to her as though they were girlfriends. And it was interesting, too. He’d learned quite a bit by eavesdropping.

“I really didn’t mean it when I told Bret you were ugly. I was mad that day because you ate my shoes and they were new, but that doesn’t mean I believe what I said about you. You’re really very…unusual-looking—particularly the way your bottom teeth jut out and can be seen even when your mouth is closed.”

Sallie whined.

“Oh, I’m not making fun of your mouth. I’ve got an ugly mouth myself.”

Bret’s forehead furrowed with disbelief. An ugly mouth? She had a beautiful mouth. It tormented the hell out of him.

Kate opened the can of dog food she’d been holding on her lap, shook it into a bowl at her feet and cut it into pieces, using the can as a knife. “How about something to eat?”

Sallie lifted her nose and sniffed the air.

“Mmm. Smell that?”

The dog took a tentative step forward.

“Big chucks of meat. Gravy. Looks so good I might eat it myself.”

Another step.

Bret held his breath as the dog eased to the bowl and cautiously began to eat. Kate reached out her hand and touched the dog’s head. Sallie jerked, but she didn’t move away, allowing Kate to stroke her.

“That’s a good girl. Now see, I wouldn’t hurt you for anything in this world. We’re going to be good friends.”

Bret cleared his throat. “She’s not so bad once she gets to know you,” he said. “She’s been mistreated, so she doesn’t trust people easily. Somebody tied her to a tree at the garbage dump. Left her without food or water. She was in bad shape when I found her.”

“And you rescued her?”

“More like…she rescued me. She came into my life in the aftermath of my brother’s death. Helping her recover forced me to focus on something positive.” He walked slowly over to where she was sitting, finally able to put a little weight on his leg and needing only one crutch.

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