Chapter 6

Thank goodness for the entourage of crates piling into the mansion. The dogs took precedence over Kelsey’s newfound apprehension. Eventually, things would settle down and the fact that she’d be working intimately with Kurt would be catapulted into the forefront of her thoughts again, but for a few hours, she could focus on the dogs.

As crates began filling the old house, Kelsey started noticing little details about the place she’d not paid attention to before. Like the fact that the ceilings were nearly as tall as most of the rooms on the main floor were wide. The rooms led into one another through wide doorways and had always felt more spacious—uh, more like looming—than they actually were. The presence of the dogs warmed the rooms and melted away the coldness she’d felt here with only Mr. Longtail.

The handcrafted molding that lined the ceilings and doors suddenly stood out in comparison to the plastic crates in which the dogs had been transported. At one time, the house really had been a work of art.

Now that the dogs were in, thirty-seven brand-new wire cages were being assembled in various rooms. The cages were a generous donation from a local pet store in response to Kelsey’s interview, and something she was very touched by. They would be roomier than the plastic crates the dogs had been living in the last few days, and the manager of the store had even thrown in comfy bed liners for each dog. These cozy liners were something Kelsey suspected many of the dogs wouldn’t have had in their previous homes. To their owners, they’d been fighting dogs, not pets.

Now it was time to change that.

The crates and bed liners weren’t the only support the shelter had received for the rehab since the story aired. Megan told Kelsey that the shelter’s online PayPal account had received a record number of donations over a single night. People from all over were calling to see how they could help. There’d also been a handful of complaints and questions from concerned viewers, but from what Megan had shared, none of them had been too heated.

After the dogs were inside, it became apparent that only five or six dogs would fit in each room, allowing a bit of distance between cages. Deciding which dogs should be placed in rooms together was like putting together a complicated puzzle. This task was left to Rob and Kurt, while Kelsey and the others assembled the cages. The two men took the dogs out of their crates one at a time and walked them on leashes out to the backyard and then, when they were deemed sufficiently calm, past the other crated dogs. Kelsey was amazed at the way the dogs were immediately reactive to some but not others. Even while busy assembling the cages, she could tell that a handful of the dogs were strongly dominant, though most seemed amazingly relaxed for all they’d been through—in life and in the last few days of being pulled from their homes and everything familiar.

There was a showdown of sorts in the first hour, minutes after Patrick showed up, that left Kelsey breathless. Kurt was walking the giant tan-and-black shepherd mix on a tight, controlled leash. He was the dog who’d been causing the incredible commotion as the vans had pulled in. He’d stopped barking, but judging by the ruffled hair on the back of his neck and his raised tail, he was anything but relaxed.

At first, everything stayed calm and quiet. Then, out of nowhere, the anxious dog bolted toward one of the crates, yanking Kurt to his knees and snarling at the door. It happened nearly too fast to process, but Kurt was on his feet again in seconds. Somehow, he got the dog to sit at attention. Judging by the giant dog’s tense muscles and gaze that darted back and forth between the crated animal and Kurt, it was begrudgingly.

As soon as the chaotic barking that had erupted throughout the house quieted, Kurt looked her way, his face lined with tension.

“I won’t let him catch me off guard again, but I know a dog who’s going to be a lot of work when I see one. If you’re set on him staying, no one, absolutely no one, handles him until I say so.”

Kelsey nodded. “I’ll make sure of it. Promise.” Beside her, Patrick let out a troubled humph. He drummed his fingers against the pocket on the outer thigh of his cargo pants like he did when he was thinking through something.

Kurt gave a light shake of his head but said nothing further about the dog leaving. Megan used the break in the conversation to excuse herself and leave for the shelter, where a different mountain of work was waiting. While Rob and his guys were polite enough, Kelsey was glad Patrick would be sticking around to keep her company this afternoon. The companionship of her shelter coworkers was immensely comforting in the face of all this upheaval.

Patrick didn’t lose a minute before he dove into cage assembly. Kelsey knew she shouldn’t be surprised when one of his pants pockets held a thin but sturdy pair of wire cutters that snipped through the zip ties securing the unopened cages better than the rusty metal scissors she’d found in a kitchen drawer.

“Nice kennels,” he said, jiggling the snaps in the corner that were meant to hold water bowls snuggly in place. “Some of the dogs may need to adjust to the openness of the wire. The ones who’ve mostly lived in enclosed crates.”

“I thought about that.”

“We can cover them with light blankets if needed.”

“Yeah. We’ll see what they say.” She nodded toward the two guys in the next room, who were deep in conversation about a Rottweiler that Kurt had on a leash.

“You’re in charge of the dogs’ basic care.”

“I guess I am,” Kelsey said, not feeling quite as confident as Patrick sounded. Hearing several of the dogs snap and growl had solidified the knowledge that they’d been trained not to get along with one another. In a ring, at least. Many probably had lived docilely with other dogs in their house.

Kelsey suddenly realized that these dogs had no idea they hadn’t been brought here to fight. This made her want to comfort them all. As she was considering how to do that, Kurt looked directly at her from the adjacent room.

“I think this Rott is pregnant,” he said. “She’s probably not more than three or four weeks along, but I’m betting she is. The vet didn’t catch it, most likely because she’s underweight by fifteen pounds.”

Kelsey stood up from the crate she and Patrick were working on and headed into the next room. With her approval, Rob had brought over a few females who were still due to be spayed. With so many dogs having been confiscated, and some of them in worse shape than others, there was a backup on spaying and neutering. Kelsey had offered that the shelter would pay for the spaying of the few females they were getting who still needed it.

She eyed the dog carefully. She was fairly good at spotting a pregnant dog, but she couldn’t see what Kurt had noticed in the Rottweiler. “How so? She doesn’t look pregnant to me.”

“There isn’t a single male she’s tolerated, and her nipples are a bit pink and swollen.”

Pink, swollen nipples. Of course.

“Want Rob to take her back with him?” he continued, scratching the dog on the back of her neck while she stood obediently alongside him.

“To the warehouse? To go somewhere else?” Kelsey’s shoulders squared defensively.

Kurt let out a soft sigh as if he knew her answer. “That’s what I’d suggest.”

“No way. Who knows where she’d end up. Here we can give her whatever TLC she needs.”

“If you ask me, this op doesn’t need the extra chaos. We have to focus on retraining these dogs. Puppies and pregnant females are a distraction. Added to that, she’s underweight and looks a bit malnourished. Who knows how it could play out.”

“I’ll take care of her. I have a lot of experience getting weight back on dogs.”

“She seems docile enough with people, but if you’re serious, you should know there isn’t a male dog here she likes, and there are twenty-eight of them stuck in crates all around. And most of the female fighters we’ve taken in don’t like other females.”

Kelsey tugged on her earlobe. “Then let’s keep her in a room by herself.”

“We’ve filled all the ones down here, and until the stairs are fixed, the dogs won’t have access to the top floor.”

“There’s the screened-in half of the back porch. It’s September, and the weather’s good. We can keep her out there until we can get her upstairs.”

Kurt pursed his lips and looked at Rob, most likely hoping he’d back him. Rob simply shrugged. “If she’s willing to take on the extra work.”

With a slight shake of his head, Kurt offered the leash in Kelsey’s direction. “Why don’t you take her for a walk around the yard and see how you two get along? And ask your friend to go with you, just in case.”

Kelsey took the leash and had to refrain from jolting backward when their fingers brushed. Her skin prickled as if she’d gotten a shock. Kurt immediately locked his hands around his hips as he stepped back, drawing her attention to his lean torso. It was a really, really nice torso.

“I don’t think I need to remind you to stay on this property. With all the dogs. Until they’ve passed several handling tests.”

She nodded and let the pretty girl sniff her closed hand. Having worked so long around dogs who were mostly mysteries, she’d committed the basics to memory. Always read the dog’s cues when interacting with them for the first time. Stand straight or drop to a squat, never lean over them—it was threatening—and avoid direct eye contact until the dog relaxed. “You don’t. I know. The yard’s plenty big anyway.”

One of his eyebrows rose slightly. “Then I’ll let you get acquainted.”

* * *

“Pepper, definitely Pepper. Don’t you think?” Kelsey looked at Patrick for confirmation. Since most of the dogs’ names weren’t known, finding the right name for each of them was one of Kelsey’s top priorities.

Patrick gave the stocky Rottweiler another once-over before answering. “I think you’re right. Pepper suits her.”

“Then Pepper it is.”

They’d been outside for twenty minutes when Kelsey sank to the ground in a warm patch of sun at the far edge of the front yard, a spot nestled under the yard’s most enormous trees. Kelsey figured they had to be as old as the house.

The Rott had been super laid-back with Kelsey, and Patrick was seeing how she did with him. Most animals seemed to pick up on the fact that he was a bit different. Patrick had Asperger’s. He was brilliant but a bit quirky. Most animals were comfortable around him from the start, though a few were skittish. Pepper seemed fine.

Kelsey crossed her legs and rubbed her calves, enjoying the feel of the grass beneath her. She was wiped out from the intensive cleaning yesterday and from assembling the crates this morning. When the laid-back Rottweiler noticed her on the ground, she pulled Patrick in Kelsey’s direction. The Rott collapsed in the grass alongside Kelsey with a plop. Since Pepper had trusted her enough to sit next to her, Kelsey decided to go with it, even if sitting on the ground beside a powerful dog who might still be wound up from an unstable past wasn’t the most responsible of ideas.

They sat together for several minutes. Pepper was content to lie still and have her ears rubbed. Her nubbin of a tail wagged contentedly.

Maybe she didn’t have much trust to reestablish with people after all.

Even as underweight as the dog was, Kelsey guessed she was at least eighty pounds. She was thin for a heavyset Rott, but she hadn’t been starved. The vet had put her at about five years old, and by a simple glance at her belly and the two rows of exposed teats, it was clear she’d had at least one litter already. And, unlike many of the dogs, she didn’t have any visible scars.

“Maybe she was only bred and not fought. She seems so trusting of people,” Kelsey said.

“Most breeds that end up in the fighting rings were originally bred to have strong trust in their owners.” Patrick’s tone was matter-of-fact, but Kelsey knew it wasn’t because he didn’t care. He just had difficulty connecting with his emotions. He rarely got upset, but when he did, he immersed himself in a laborious project and didn’t stop until he was physically spent. He was cute with his soft brown eyes and always disheveled hair. He drove her nuts at times with his penchant for routine, but he was one of her favorite people.

“True.” Kelsey let out a sigh and forced thoughts of Pepper’s past out of her mind. Animals were often better than people at living in the present.

Mr. Longtail emerged from a thick hedge at the edge of the yard. He headed toward the group with his tail erect and unusually fluffy. Kelsey shortened the leash that Patrick had passed her way when Pepper sat down. Pepper watched the cat approach with only mild curiosity, as though she’d been around cats before and knew they weren’t prey, which definitely wasn’t something you could say about many dogs.

To Kelsey’s surprise, the cantankerous cat walked right up to the Rottweiler and started to sniff, first the dog’s face, then her paws and down her side. Pepper did nothing more than wag her tail, after glancing Kelsey’s way as if in confirmation that this was okay.

“Well, she could easily be adopted into a house with cats,” Kelsey praised, patting her. She relaxed and resumed rubbing Pepper’s ears, which the dog seemed to really enjoy.

Finished with his sniff test, Mr. Longtail rolled onto his back and wiggled back and forth, marking his scent. Clearly, he didn’t mind that the dog next to him was practically ten times his size.

“I see why Sabrina Raven liked him,” Patrick said. “He’s not your average cat.”

Kelsey shook her head as Mr. Longtail stood up and strolled toward the back of the house without seeming to give them another thought. “No, he definitely isn’t. And I’m no longer worried about him getting too stressed out by all the dogs. He’s just so full of himself. He probably thinks they’re here for his amusement.”

“Possibly.” Patrick watched the cat appreciatively before turning back to his Swiss Army knife. He was using the pair of microscissors to trim his nails. “Does the contract Megan signed tell which of you has more say? You or the handler?”

Kelsey’s brows furrowed. “No, but he does, I would guess. He’s the professional.”

“He’s letting it be your decision to keep Pepper.”

“I suspect he’s being courteous.”

Patrick pressed the scissors back into the thick knife and slipped it into a pocket in his pants. “You blush when you look at him.”

Kelsey stopped rubbing Pepper’s ear midway through a stroke. Patrick had always been one to call things as he saw them. And they knew each other too well for her to try to hide her thoughts. “Back at the warehouse when I saw the shape one of the dogs was in, I pretty much threw up on his boots. And it’s obvious he thinks I’m not cut out for this. He said as much this morning before you came.”

Patrick frowned. “I thought it was because you two liked each other.” Patrick was twenty-six and seemed to have zero interest in a relationship of his own. It came as a surprise that he’d have even the remotest interest in her finding one.

Kelsey glanced at the house, a blush stinging her cheeks. She couldn’t see anyone through the open windows, but she was reassured that she and Patrick were too far away to be heard. “I’d have to be blind not to notice he’s good-looking,” she admitted, “but that’s as far as it goes.”

Having had her ears abandoned, Pepper let her head sink to the ground and licked her lips contentedly.

Patrick nodded but pursed his lips like he did when he disagreed but thought better than to say it aloud.

“Patrick, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but he and I are going to be working together for a few months. Anything like you’re suggesting could get, I don’t know, weird.”

“It was good for Megan to fall in love,” Patrick said as matter-of-factly as if he was stating that the sixty-five-degree day was refreshing.

A hearty laugh bubbled out of Kelsey, and it caught Pepper’s full attention. The dog lifted her head and stared straight at her. With more agility than Kelsey would have given her credit for, Pepper was on all four feet in a flash. The hairs on the back of her neck ruffled as she stared Kelsey down.

Kelsey realized how naive she’d been to allow herself to remain so comfortable on the ground next to such a powerful dog with a possibly traumatic history. “It’s all right, girl,” she chanted, keeping her voice calmer than she felt. “It’s all right.”

Pepper took a step closer, and Kelsey dropped her gaze to her lap as she chanted the simple phrase. In the same calm voice, she added, “Don’t move unless you have to, Patrick.”

There was a flash, and Kelsey felt a warm, wet tongue swipe the length of her cheek. The relief that swept over her brought tears to her eyes. Patrick let out a sigh like a balloon deflating as Pepper inundated Kelsey with fresh licks.

Taking Patrick’s outstretched hand, Kelsey stood up and gave the dog a pat on the shoulder. She wiped her cheek dry with a shaky hand as Pepper shook her massive head, her collar jangling. “You’d almost think she’d never heard anyone laugh before.”

From the direction of the house, a door swung open. Kurt and Rob appeared on the stoop of the front door, frowning in Kelsey and Patrick’s direction. They’d seen what happened from the windows. Because of course.

Kelsey’s growing confidence about being a good fit for this rehab disintegrated. Now for sure Kurt had to think she was an idiot. And if Patrick had been harboring hopes of Kelsey making a love connection while here, they were probably vanishing into thin air too.

Everyone kept silent as Kelsey and Patrick walked Pepper toward Kurt and Rob. When they got close to the house, Kurt said calmly, “Can we please agree to stay standing around the dogs until we know them better?” Now that she was closer, Kelsey could see two deep lines making a V across his forehead.

She wanted to sink into one of the dry cracks in the ground but instead locked her shoulders as they headed up to the porch. “We can if you can accept that I do know some things about dogs. I’ve worked in a shelter for seven years, and I haven’t misjudged a dog’s character yet.”

Color flashed above Kurt’s collar. As he opened his mouth, Rob placed a hand firmly on his shoulder.

“Of course you do,” Rob said, smiling congenially, “or none of us would be here today embarking on this rehab. Kurt, why don’t we walk them around inside and show them where we’ve placed the dogs? Kelsey, we’ve set up our biggest kennel on the screened-in half of the porch for the Rottweiler. And before I leave, we’ll go over the feeding schedule these dogs have been introduced to the last few days.”

Kurt’s features softened a bit, and the lines disappeared from his forehead. Kelsey felt the muscles around her spine relax in response. Although something told her this wouldn’t be their only disagreement, she gave Rob a nod.

What on earth would happen when no one was around to play peacemaker?

* * *

She wasn’t getting it. That’s what irked Kurt most. Undeniably, it was best to be calm and comfortable around any dog. But this wasn’t the shelter. The thirty-seven dogs brought here were going to be put to the test. He might not be able to accurately determine their individual stress levels. However careful he was, one of them could snap before this was over.

And Kelsey needed to understand this. But Kurt suspected she intended to dive in like Snow White, singing and turning them into her soul mates. Maybe that would be fine, and maybe it wouldn’t.

And that had him on edge. So did the people who kept driving slowly down the street and gawking at the house as if they suspected what was going on inside. That was the thing about the world now. So much information was at anyone’s fingertips. It was public record that the estate had been donated to Kelsey’s shelter. It wouldn’t take much detective work for anyone who’d listened to Kelsey’s interview to figure out this was where the rehab would be taking place.

Kurt suspected that protesters would be camped on the street out front by tomorrow. And there’d be nothing he could do about it. The mansion stood at the end of a quiet city street, but unfortunately not a private one. As long as no one came onto the property, people could protest all they wanted. And that would likely set Kelsey and anyone else coming in to volunteer on edge, which the dogs would notice. Hell, just having come off duty as he had, the potential of an angry mob out front made the muscles in his arms and legs practically lock up. Which wouldn’t serve him well when it came to working with the dogs.

Directly across the street was a big house with lots of scaffolding on the outside and a half-dozen sawhorses visible through the windows. He guessed it was empty and being rehabbed. That meant their only actual neighbor was immediately to the east and blocked by a long row of hedges. The second story was partially visible through the expansive trees, and Kurt had caught a glimpse of an older woman in one of the windows watching Kelsey and Patrick as they walked the Rottweiler.

Thankfully, the mansion’s backyard was big and very private. After he was caught up inside, Kurt would head out there to inspect the privacy fence for weak spots. He’d need to run to the store to get hefty locks for the gates as soon as he had time. He also needed to start building a few separated exercise runs as soon as possible. Hopefully, he’d have time to make a mental supply list and get those items tonight.

What he could really use was Rob’s help for a few more days, but Rob had a warehouse of other dogs that needed his attention. There was Kelsey’s coworker, Patrick. Kurt wasn’t quite sure what to make of him. Patrick’s conversation and demeanor were a bit unusual, and Kurt wasn’t convinced all the dogs would take to him, but he seemed handy enough. If he kept hanging around, Kurt hoped to put him to good use.

It was the first day, and he could feel his ADHD kicking into overdrive. Everywhere he turned, something needing his attention called to him. The stairs. The fence. The far-east corner of the roof that seemed to be leaking. The electricity. Thirty-seven attention-deserving dogs.

Kelsey was a hard worker and would match him effort for effort. He knew this before the afternoon was halfway over. It was nearly three o’clock, and she hadn’t slowed down for as much as a bite of food all day. And while she wasn’t the frail type that looked like a strong wind could blow her over, he could see the fatigue setting into her features.

“Pizza,” he said after passing her in the kitchen and deciding to act on a whim. She was at the sink, washing the new stainless-steel water bowls. Rob and Patrick had left twenty minutes prior, and it was Kurt’s first attempt to break the silence that had been hanging in the air ever since. “And not the crappy chain kind. I’m talking traceable-to-a-genuine-Italian recipe.”

Kelsey’s lips pressed together as if she was working to keep back a smile. Switching to a new bowl, she turned to face him, resting one hip against the sink as she worked her thumb under the edge of the sticker. The sun was streaming in the window, causing her long, golden highlights to shine. “Was that supposed to be a statement or a question?”

“Unless you’re superhuman, you have to be hungry. I’m hoping that since this is your stomping ground, you’ll know someplace worth trying. I haven’t had a really good slice of pizza in years.”

“Hmm, that seems pretty close to torture. What kind of crust do you like? Are St. Louis–style cracker crusts popular in Fort Leonard Wood?”

Kurt made a face that made her giggle. “Popular enough, but for now I’d like to skip any pizza that’s associated with the word ‘cracker.’ The best pizza I ever had was in this little mom-and-pop shop down in Branson. The owners were first-generation Italian. They said the secret’s in the crust. It should be hand-tossed and made fresh in-house. And not too thick or too thin. Know any place like that? My treat.”

“With you having been deprived of good pizza for so long, it’s a lot of pressure, but I think I can come up with something. What are your favorite toppings?”

“I’m not picky as long as they’re processed in a factory and not grown in a garden.”

She laughed again. “I would’ve figured that.”

“Let me guess. You’re a vegetarian?”

“No, I’m not. I’ve given it consideration, but I haven’t been able to go more than a few weeks without Philly cheesesteak sandwiches calling my name. Black-and-blue cheeseburgers are pretty high up on my list too.”

“Both worthy candidates, if you ask me.”

He could practically see the tension falling off her and knew it wasn’t a good time to mention that he wasn’t ready to leave her here alone in case she’d want to play Snow White with one of the dogs while he was away. Instead, he chose a safer route.

“Come with me. I could use a tour of the area,” he said, locking the dead bolt on the back kitchen door in case one of the passengers in the cars that had been casing the place decided to try something stupid. This reminded him that the Rott was kenneled alone on the back porch. It was screened-in but could be broken into easily. He unbolted the door. “On second thought, let’s put the Rott’s kennel in the kitchen before we leave. I’ll move it if you’ll walk her out back for a bathroom break.”

Kelsey bit her lip. He’d done his best not to leave her an out. Maybe that was a mistake. She seemed pretty willful.

“That wasn’t a question, and you didn’t say please,” she said, her voice light, “but I’ll go with it, considering you’re still acclimating back into a world where people actually do say please and thank you on a regular basis.”

Kurt splayed his hands. “You’ve got me there. Kelsey, would you please accompany me on a quick excursion for takeout pizza and beer?”

“I am a bit starving, so yes I will—what was it Rob called you?—Staff Sergeant Crawford?”

“Kurt will be just fine. I’m hoping to settle into civilian life as effortlessly as possible.”

It was Kelsey’s turn to make a face. “Should I remind you that the cops at the warehouse the other day seemed to pick up on your military vibe even before you shared it with them?”

“There’s a Semper Fi sticker on the back of my Mustang. I’m guessing it was that more than any sort of vibe. Though we can go with vibe, if you’d like.”

“Oh,” she said. “Makes sense now.”

She followed him to the back porch, and their hands brushed again as Kurt passed her the Rott’s leash. The hair on his arms stood on end, and a wave of yearning rocked through his core. It’d been a while since he’d been with a woman and even longer since he’d been with someone who stirred him the way she did.

The wind picked up, and Kurt caught her soft scent—flowers and a touch of citrus. He didn’t know whether it was perfume or a hair product. He wanted to lean in and smell it again. Wanted to brush his thumb along the ridge of her jaw. Wanted to wrap his arm around the small of her back and pull her against him.

The fact that Kelsey didn’t seem the type to let anyone do any of those things until she was ready made him want her even more.

He cleared his throat hard and hoisted the bulky kennel as she headed for the backyard, talking softly to the dog. He wished the kennel was heavier. Wished it was more of a distraction. He’d be needing a lot of distractions over the next few months. Without them, he was going to end up letting her in.

And doing that would make a complicated rehab even more complicated.