Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
“Mr. Reynolds,” she said. “Is this Wanda?”
“Yes, and how many times do I have to tell you to call me fucking Grant.”
“Well, fucking Grant, it is rude of me to call you that.”
He would have laughed any other time. Aria never swore, at least he hadn’t heard her do so before. She certainly wouldn’t say anything in front of customers and had even on occasion asked him to be more polite. He found it so cute when she asked him politely to be that way. So fucking adorable.
Aria Taylor was a beautiful woman. It was the blonde hair. No, it wasn’t the blonde hair. It was the … curves.
His teeny, tiny little secret, one he would never tell Bull or anyone else about. Grant gritted his teeth and stopped those memories from building. The past was firmly in the fucking past, and he wasn’t going to allow them to resurface. He hadn’t thought about his pop in years.
“What’s wrong with Wanda?” Aria asked, stepping out of the way so he could pass.
“I have no fucking clue. Trust me, I wouldn’t have come here if I knew what was wrong with her. I went to the kennels like I do all the time, and she was just … like this. So resigned and reserved. Her tail won’t wag. I need to see the vet.”
“Andy’s here. Let me go and get her.”
Grant wasn’t taking no for an answer, so as Aria made her way toward the vet, he went straight into one of the exam rooms and laid Wanda on the table.
“I’ve got you, girl. You don’t worry about a thing. I’ve got you.”
He wouldn’t let her go.
Seconds later Andy was in the room. Like so many other times, she looked disapproving, but he didn’t give a fuck what was going through the vet’s mind. The dog was what mattered.
She asked all the usual questions and then took her time taking Wanda’s temperature and checking her over. By the end of it, Andy shook her head.
“What the fuck is that? There’s nothing wrong with Wanda. She was a perfectly healthy dog. Don’t just shake your head like you don’t have a fucking clue. Do something.” He did not like this pain that filled his chest or his gut. He didn’t give a fuck about the dog. They meant nothing to him, and hell no, he wasn’t going to cry. Crying was for fucking pussies.
“No son of mine will ever shed fucking tears.”
Grant stared at Andy and sighed.
“She is sad,” Andy said. “Physically, she’s more than fine, but it happens to some dogs at shelters for a long period of time—even though I know your kennels are not a shelter and you take care of them. Wanda is clearly miserable. She wants company, a best friend.”
“So … there’s nothing I can do?”
“Can you adopt her?” Andy asked.
Grant opened his mouth and closed it. There was no reason he couldn’t adopt her. Maddie and the guys were always checking out applicants, but the dogs at the shelter had been impossible to rehome, so they were waiting for their forever homes.
“Er, you mean like take her home with me?”
“Yes. If Wanda improves, then it’s down to the shelter, and she’s needing a little extra care. Maybe a foster family or something. If she doesn’t improve, then please bring her back in and I’ll conduct more tests and see if I can find something.”
“Can’t you do those tests now?”
“I try not to put the dogs through unnecessary testing when I don’t believe they will help. I don’t think they will help in Wanda’s case.”
He didn’t like this.
“I know you don’t like that, Mr. Reynolds, but it’s the best I can do for now.”
Stroking Wanda’s head, he crouched down and looked into the dog’s eyes. “What am I going to do with you, huh?”
He was going to fucking adopt her for some time.
“How about you stay with me?” he asked.
He was currently living in Maddie’s old apartment, and seeing as he didn’t need to leave, it would be a nice place for Wanda.
“I truly think it would help.”
Chapter Two
Aria sipped at her coffee, which had cooled down a lot. She had just finished a phone call, helped a troubled cat owner, and had her booked for that evening. There were a few minor ailments Aria had been trained to help with. There was also a list of possible remedies that Phil and Andy have given her to use.
With the appointments booked for the day, she got out of her seat and walked around the desk, checking out the waiting room to make sure it was clean. There was no cat or dog hair, but each night she made sure to run the vacuum around the building. She liked to keep it clean and welcoming. She was opening the curtains when Grant and Wanda appeared. He was no longer carrying the large dog, but Wanda was by his side.