Brash Read Online Free PDF

back—with menace and fortitude.
    And tats.
    She inhaled deeply.
Come on, Grace
.
Shake it off.
Get a clue.
This was important, what she was trying to do for her father. And she wasn’t going to allow some silly attraction to ruin the chance to keep her father’s last years comfortable and stable and healthy.
    â€œI’ll see you inside, Cole,” she said, then turned on her heel and headed for the house, the tomcat’s mating call behind her on the breeze.

Three
    Not surprisingly, the vet had one of those homes that reeked of cute and quaint and nesting. Yellow cottage with red shutters on a nice bit of land, a couple of bedrooms, probably painted pale blue with lots of white bed stuff. Not that he’d seen the bedrooms. Or was planning on it. He was just guessing by how the living room and kitchen looked. Brick fireplace as the focus, not a TV. Seriously, how did she watch the Cowboys? Couches and chair, worn leather and prints. Clean and comfortably neat. And it smelled good. Well, everything except the long-eared thing that had attacked him the minute he’d stepped inside the house.
    Now that thing’s head was resting on his thigh.
Damn dog,
Cole thought as he stroked her head and massive ears.
    The vet entered the room from the kitchen.After telling him to take a seat, she’d hustled her fine ass in there and started brewing up something. Coffee or tea, looked like from the two steaming mugs in her hand.
Yeah, buddy, focus on her hands. Nothing else is safe.
Her face held too many emotions. Same with the gorgeous green eyes framed by the longest damn lashes in the world. Then there was everything from the neck down. Jeans that took every sexy curve at ninety miles an hour. Bare feet. Shit. Nothing sexier than bare feet. Except maybe fitted tank tops with a hint of pale pink bra showing.
    â€œCoffee?” she asked, rounding the table before the couch.
    He shook his head. He loved coffee, and that shit smelled really good. But he wasn’t getting any more comfortable here than was necessary. Miss Secrets and Restraining Order was trouble. He wanted to hear what she had to say, then get out.
    â€œYou gonna tell me why I’m here, or should I guess?” he said in a terse tone.
    She placed the coffee before him on the table, then slipped into the chair to his right, curled her leg underneath her. “Do you have somewhere to be, Mr. Cavanaugh?”
    His eyes narrowed. Why wasn’t his asshole attitude putting her off today? Seriously, what was she playing at?
    â€œBelle looks very content,” she added, sipping her coffee.
    â€œShe’s droolin’ on my pants.”
    â€œAnd that bothers you?”
    â€œâ€™Course it bothers me.”
    â€œAnd to think,” she said evenly, “you were so interested in adopting her. What could have changed, I wonder?”
    â€œDidn’t know how much she drooled?” Yeah, the adopting thing. It had been his cover, his lie, to get into her office and find out where her father was being stashed. Who would’ve thought the long-eared drooler would get under his skin, make him wonder if he could handle being a dog owner.
    â€œI suppose I could order her to get down,” Grace remarked, then grimaced. “It’s just, she’s been through so much—”
    Nostrils flared, Cole ground out, “Right. Okay, Doc. We both know the dog’s fine. But my patience with you is wearing real thin.”
    Her eyes lost their momentary luster and she released a weighty sigh. “I’ve decided to help you.”
    â€œHelp me with what?”
    She didn’t get to the point right away. Which seemed to be her way of not dealing with the hard or uncomfortable shit. “You need to understand, I was just trying to protect my dad.”
    â€œNot following you, honey. And now Belle here is snoring—so you’d better speak up.”
    â€œI still want to protect my dad—”