Forever After Read Online Free PDF Page A

pink on her cheeks, and her huge brown eyes blazed at him. Yet here he stood, trying to reason with her. Explaining his dog’s behavior would be better left for later.
    She backed up another step, her gaze flicking around the yard as if she were searching for a bolt hole. She was as frightened as her kid was, whether of him or his dog, he wasn’t sure. What with all the recent television coverage of police brutality and corruption, lots of people didn’t trust lawmen these days.
    He gave her another once-over, taking in details with a well-trained eye. Mid to late twenties, extremely skittish. The way she watched him was starting to make him feel too big for his skin. At six feet five in his stocking feet and two inches taller in riding boots, he probably seemed gigantic to a little gal like her.
    “What we have here is a major misunderstanding,” he tried.
    “A misunderstanding? You get him out of here. Do I make myself clear? Now! Or I’m going to call the—” She broke off, her gaze flicking from the badge on his shirt to the holstered semiautomatic riding his hip. “I’ll call the state police. I’m sure there’s a leash law here, and you’re breaking it by letting that maniacal animal run loose!”
    Heath couldn’t let that pass without a rebuttal. “This maniacal animal is the same canine deputy you read about in the newspaper several months ago. The one that went into the burning apartment building to rescue the little girl?” Her lack of reaction told Heath she hadn’t read the story. Fantastic . “Look, lady. During the course of his career, Goliath received seventeen citations, all for rescuing children. He’d never harm your daughter. Die for her, maybe, because that’s his nature.”
    She whirled and headed for her back door. “If you’re not gone when I get inside, I’ll call the state police. And if that dog ever comes here again, I’ll file a complaint.”
    For a fast July minute Heath was amused at the idea of his neighbor reporting him, of all people, to the police. But then as fast as it had come, his amusement faded. If she involved the state cops, this situation could turn really nasty. He tightened his hold on Goliath’s collar and pulled the dog from her yard as quickly as he could.
    Once they reached the road, Heath relaxed his hold on the animal. “Great work, partner. You really know how to make points with the ladies.”
    The instant the Rottweiler was free, he tried to make a U-turn. Heath’s heart leaped, a sick dread gnawing at his middle. He grabbed the dog’s collar again.
    “Don’t even think about it, you blockhead. That little girl is off limits. Understand? What the hell’s gotten into you?”
    Goliath only whined and gazed miserably at the old farmhouse, for all the world as if he’d left his heart behind. Gently but firmly, Heath seized the dog by his ears, thenleaned down for a little nose-to-nose communication.
    “Goliath, listen up. You listening?”
    Sad brown eyes looked into Heath’s.
    “That lady doesn’t like you. I know that’s a real hard thing for a charming fellow like you to understand. But sometimes there’s just no figuring females. Show your mangy hide around there again, and she’ll file a complaint with animal control, sure as the world. She’ll tell them you’re vicious and out of control. You know what happens then, buddy? The gas chamber.”
     
    Meredith Kenyon jerked open the back screen door, only to have the blasted thing pull away from the frame at the bottom. Understandable, since the door had only one good hinge to begin with—the top one. Arms locked around her daughter, she didn’t bother to lift up on the handle as the contraption slammed closed behind her. If the remaining hinge screws pulled free from the rotten wood, so be it.
    Three steps into the utility room, she halted. Sammy clung to her frantically, her small body shivering so badly her teeth chattered. Swaying from side to side, Meredith rubbed the