Dawson Fur Hire (Bears Fur Hire 5) Read Online Free PDF

ever works best for you.”
    He had hooked his hands on his hips and stared at her as she fumbled along. “I’m sorry about your sleeping problems but—”
    “I’ll pay you! I’ll hire you. You’re like this security blanket, and I know it sounds stupid but I’m desperate for sleep. I can’t even remember the last time I hit REM, and I work a stressful job at the medical center and I’ve been walking around in a haze for the last two years, hoping for a few hours of chopped-up sleep a night. I feel safe with you.”
    Dalton looked shocked for the span of two breaths before he scanned her tiny apartment pointedly. “Lady, your instincts are broken. And even if they weren’t, I have a job. I don’t need your money and, anyway, I’m not going to be in Galena for long.”
    Her acute disappointment was so heavy she dropped her arms and slumped her shoulders. Trying not to pout too obviously, she sat on the edge of the mattress and sighed. “When do you leave?”
    “When I want. My boss gives me this time of year off.”
    “Why?” she asked, frowning up at him.
    Dalton shifted his weight and stared off into the kitchen as seconds of silence ticked by. “Because of my losses.”
    She straightened her spine. “Is it the anniversary?”
    He still wouldn’t look at her, but he dipped his chin once.
    Oh, she felt like dirt. Less than dirt. She felt like the bacteria on the dirt that earthworms ate and then pooped out. Here she was begging for him to alleviate her insomnia problems, and he was clearly dealing with something incredibly painful of his own. “I’m sorry.”
    Dalton arched his dark, sexy gaze to her. “You’re a nurse, right?”
    “Yes.” Her voice cracked on the word, so she cleared her throat and said it stronger. “Yes, I am.”
    “Then you can afford a place bigger than this, right?”
    She crossed her arms again and tried to glare, but couldn’t hold his gaze. His eyes were lightening by the second and were now the color of milk chocolate instead of dark. “I could, but Mr. Harris is my landlord, and he’s really nice. My rent money has him so close to paying off his mortgage, and besides, I’m saving up.”
    “To float the entire town with your good deeds?”
    “No.” Rude. “For a cabin of my own. I want land and a place outside of town.”
    Dalton looked shocked. “You’re going to be a homesteader?”
    “What? No! I just want land for…stuff.”
    “What kind of stuff?”
    “Geez, you’re nosy.”
    “Not nosey. Just curious.”
    “I like dogs.”
    Dalton’s face hardened in an instant. “What do you mean?”
    “I mean,” she rushed out, “I want to breed sled dogs for the Iditarod someday. I love nursing, but Galena is population five hundred, and most days at the medical center are really slow. I get several days off in a row each week, and I want to manage and sell sled dogs as a hobby, then eventually full time. It’s what my parents did before they moved to Anchorage and retired. My sister and her husband do the same over near Kaltag, right off the Yukon. My family has a reputation for good dogs.”
    Dalton reared back as recognition flickered across his face. “Hawke Huskies?”
    “Yes.”
    “Wow.” He actually looked impressed. “And you turned out to be a nurse? You’re a complicated woman, Kate.”
    “Not complicated, just the responsible one, remember? Getting a successful dog breeding business off the ground isn’t easy, family name or no.”
    “I’d argue nursing isn’t easy either.”
    She gave a surprised laugh. “You’d be right.”
    When she dropped her gaze from his striking face, she got all caught up on his erection, pressing against the front of his jeans. Dalton followed her look down and frowned. “I should go.” He turned and pulled his jacket off the arm of the couch, then pulled it on and zipped it up. He was really going to leave.
    She swallowed down the urge to throw a ridiculous amount of money at him if he would only sleep