Read Online Beauty & the Beasts by Anne Weale, Janice Kay Johnson - Free Book Online

Sarah.
    “Thanks, Dr. Bergstrom.”
    This time Madeline and Eric sat with Jess’s daughters and Teresa Hughes and her kids. Jess rode with flair and dignity and left the ring clutching the blue ribbon.
    Almost immediately the ten entrants in the costume class swept into the arena, the horses moving in a high-stepping trot that made robes and manes fly. The crowd cheered. Madeline found herself smiling,although she couldn’t imagine any selfrespecting Arab nomad wearing purple satin or robes in a rainbow of velvet. The riders might have looked silly, had the horses not been so magnificent. They cantered and galloped and pranced, ducking their heads and preening as though they knew well their own beauty.
    The rider and snow white stallion in purple satin won; second place went to a bay bedecked in brilliant green and black.
    Madeline sighed in contentment. Eric smiled. “Once you learn to ride, the world’s your oyster. You, too, could don ten yards of gaudy fabric and gallop around the ring.”
    “They were more artistic than that,” she protested. “But no, thank you, I don’t think it’s for me. I’m too shy and retiring.” Not entirely true, but she’d come to dislike the idea of putting herself on display for any reason.
    Eric opened his mouth as though to say something, but changed his mind. She almost pressed him, but refrained; she was afraid she knew what he would have said. You’d look beautiful.
    Steph popped up with a comment just then, and they left the arena with the girls, any private conversation impossible. On the way home Eric put Madeline at her ease by asking when she was doing the next adoption day. Here she was on confident ground; as he’d said himself, the way they felt about animals was the one thing they did have in common.
    “Tomorrow,” she told him. “That big new pet-supply store in north Everett, near the Safeway. Theydon’t sell animals, bless their hearts. Eleven to three. I’ll be surprised if I don’t place eight or ten kittens and turn down half a dozen people who want one just because it’s little and cute. You know, the kind that lose interest when the poor animal has the nerve to grow up.”
    “Yeah, the ones who dump their pets out on a deserted road and figure they can take care of themselves.”
    “I’d like to ‘take care of the former owners,” she said.
    He looked at her with interest. “Do you think you’re successful in screening out that kind of person?”
    “Reasonably.” She wrinkled her nose. “I know we mess up sometimes, because someone I thought was really nice will end up bringing a cat back for the worst reasons. But most of the time…well, I hope. The best way to judge is by asking about the animals they’ve owned in the past. If their nineteen-year-old cat died of kidney failure six months ago and now they’re done with their mourning enough to be ready to choose another one, I can be pretty sure they’ll be good owners. On the other hand, if they used to have cats but are vague about what happened to them, I tend to make excuses.” She sighed. “I just hope that tomorrow a few people come along who are willing to consider an adult cat. I have a couple of especially nice ones.”
    His mouth crooked. “I’ll bet you always say that.”
    “Well—” Madeline laughed “—maybe. Thetrouble is, we always have a dozen or more waiting for adoption, and I like them all. People dump the sweetest animals. I just don’t get it.”
    “I don’t get it, either.” He was silent for a moment. “Maybe I’ll stop by. I’m off tomorrow. Can I bring you lunch?”
    A shiver of something between fear and anticipation traveled up her spine. He was pursuing her. And she still didn’t know why.
    “I usually skip it when I’m doing an adoption. Too busy talking. But that would be nice if you keep it simple. A bagel with cream cheese or a hamburger….”
    He gave her a sidelong amused glance. “Oh, come on, you must want the milk shake and