Good Guys Love Dogs Read Online Free PDF

any
    effect on his behavior?
    â€œI grew up in one
of the roughest parts of this city,
    but when I was about Luke's age, I
spent some time in
    Virginia at a football camp.
Needless to say, things were
    a little different in that part of
the country. It made an
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    INGLATH COOPER
    impression on me I've never
forgotten. I realize that
    temptation exists everywhere, but I
believe a change of
    scenery would be good for my son.
And I've realized
    recently that I've let my work get
in the way of spending
    as much time with Luke as I should
have. I've decided
    to take a one-year leave of absence
so I can do that.
    The judge's eyebrows rose above his
glasses.
    â€œYou're a single
parent, Mr. McKinley?
    â€œYes, I am.
    The judge sat for several long
moments, thrumming
    his fingers on the top of his desk.
“If you think your
    time and attention can make a
difference in your son's
    life and where he goes from here,
then I'm not going to
    stand in your way. I'll grant
permission for him to leave
    the state under the terms of his
probation. But I'll want
    him to report to an officer there on
a regular basis.
    If Ian had been pleased by the
judge's response, no
    one else had been. His partners at
CCI were less than
    thrilled at the prospect of his
taking a leave of absence.
    Rachel even less so. Since they'd
been engaged only for
    a few weeks, she couldn't believe he
wanted to put
    things on hold for a year. He'd
explained to her how
    important it was to him to try to
get his relationship
    with Luke back on track, but she'd
accused him of
    overreacting, telling him that the
situation wasn't as dire
    as he perceived it to be.
Nevertheless, Ian saw it as a
    turning point—and
he believed it had happened for a
    reason. Luke was almost a grown man,
and Ian felt as if
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    GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
    this might be his only chance to
right some of his
    wrongs before the boy moved out on
his own.
    When Rachel realized she wouldn't
change his
    mind, she reluctantly agreed to
postpone their wedding
    plans. He reassured her that nothing
would be different
    between them. Once school ended, he
would return to
    New York and pick up his life where
he'd left off. And
    maybe by then he could mend the rift
between him and
    his son.
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    6
    abel Atkins waited at the door while
Ian parked
    Mhis car at the rear of the house a
few minutes
    later. “Did they
get you all fixed up, Miss Smidge? she
    asked, wiping her hands on her
apron.
    â€œShe'll be fine.
Ian followed his plump, flour-dusted
    housekeeper into the kitchen.
    â€œWel , that's
certainly good news, she said, giving the
    dog an affectionate pat on the head.
    Ian had known Mabel little more than
a week, but he
    already felt as if he'd known her
forever. She made no
    attempt to hide herself from the
world. Blunt and to the
    point, she took great pride in her
work. Although she claimed
    to have once been more than five
feet tal , she now stood
    an inch or two under that height and
frequently complained
    that she would soon need a step
stool to reach the sink. She
    wore her hair in a kinky perm and
had a penchant for
    chocolate malt bal s, which she kept
in the cabinet above the
    stove, high enough to make her think
twice about pul ing
    them out.
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    GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
    Ian spent his first few days in
Keeling Creek thinking
    he'd do everything on his own. He
and Luke could manage.
    But when the laundry started to pile
up and the dirty dishes
    multiplied exponential y, he'd given
up and gone in search of
    a housekeeper.
    They'd been in town less than a week
when he'd asked
    Maude Cutter at Cutter's Grocery if
she knew of anyone who
    would be interested in the job.
She'd said Mabel was just
    the woman he was looking for. And
she'd been right. Mabel
    fit in as if she'd always been here.
She'd taken a firm hand
    with Luke, too, informing him of
kitchen rules on her first day
    in the house. Luke needed that kind
of structure, something
    Ian hadn't been around enough to
give