The Lucky Dog Matchmaking Service Read Online Free PDF

they’d rescued together.
    Jason waited patiently for his turn to speak. “Valley fever is a pretty big deal. If you’re worried about your health—”
    Lara petted the dog and confessed the truth. “Oh, I’m not worried about my health. I’m worried about my boyfriend.”
    “Why? Is he immunosuppressed?”
    “No, but I think he might be at the end of his leash, so to speak.” She gave Jason the rundown on Evan, Maverick, the cake, the drywall, and the phantom engagement ring. “He claims he’s going to become a dog person, but I don’t know.”
    Jason’s eyebrows shot up.
    “What?” Lara demanded.
    “We get lots of husbands in here who got a puppy ‘for the kids’ or ‘for my wife,’ and most of them still see the dog as an expensive nuisance. Take it from me. Dogs, you can change. Men, not so much.”

Chapter 4
    “Happy birthday!” Evan met her at the door with a fresh bouquet of roses. He kissed her, then pulled away, frowning. “Why do you smell like cotton candy and dog poop?”
    “Don’t ask.” Lara had a feeling the tale of Titus and the birthday party wouldn’t put him in the right frame of mind to welcome a new rescue dog. “I just want to take a long shower and go to bed. But first . . .” She took his hand and led him out to the garage. “Are you ready to meet the new recruit?”
    “Oh no.” Evan shook his head ruefully when he saw the scabby, shedding dog curled up in the back of the station wagon. “Not another one.”
    Lara gave his fingers a squeeze. “This is Linus. He’s a good boy.”
    Evan tugged his hand away and crossed his arms over his maroon Arizona Cardinals T-shirt. “So now we’re up to how many dogs? Some people would say you’re getting into hoarding territory.”
    “None of those people have ever worked in dog rescue.” Lara popped open the car’s back door and tried to coax the skittish red mutt out. “It’s temporary. I’ll find him a home in no time.” She fished a treat out of her pocket and used it to entice Linus to jump onto the garage floor.
    Evan’s expression softened. “Aw. He looks so dumb.”
    “Evan!”
    “What? That’s a good thing! The dumb ones don’t make any trouble. The dumber, the better—that’s my motto.”
    Lara shot him a filthy look. “Cut the poor baby some slack. A vet tech found him abandoned in a yard with no food, water, or shelter. He’s had less than twelve hours to adjust to civilization.”
    Linus shrank back against a tire and whimpered pathetically. While Evan went back into the house and herded the other dogs into the yard, Lara offered Linus a metal bowl brimming with kibble and canned food. He scarfed the food down so quickly that he started to choke.
    “Come on.” Lara dragged a spare crate down the hall. “We’ll let him rest in the office for a bit before we introduce him to the others.” She stopped at the linen closet to grab a stack of old towels, which she used to pad the bottom of the crate. It took only a few minutes of sweet-talking and bribery to persuade Linus to duck inside the crate.
    Finished, she sat back on her heels and turned her full attention to Evan. “Okay. How was your day?”
    “Not as good as yours is going to be.” He helped her to her feet, led her out of the office, and pointed toward two new cardboard boxes next to the front door. “The UPS guy just dropped off some birthday loot for you.”
    Lara ran the blade of Evan’s pocketknife along the seams of the smaller carton, revealing a perfectly packed, beautifully wrapped box topped with a bow and a card signed in unfamiliar handwriting:

    Happy Birthday, Lara.
    Love, Mom

    “Looks expensive,” Evan observed as Lara untied the wide satin bow and peeled off the floral-printed paper.
    “I’m sure it is.” She was equally sure that her mother had never laid eyes on the contents of this box; nor had she filled out the tag or tied the bow. Justine was a very busy woman who liked things to look a certain