Read Online Here Comes Trouble by Kathy Carmichael - Free Book Online Page B

do you know someone called Doc Danger?"
    "No. Why?"
    "No reason."
    Quin stood in the middle of her kitchen, so she
hung out by the sink, as far from him as she could
get. Her nerve endings were at a fever pitch. Down
girl, down.
    "It's going to be getting cold at night soon,"
said Quin, his eyes on the animal. "I've been
thinking about it. That's probably how Tramp got
into that dumpster to start with. He'd probably
climbed in to get warm and the lid must have
fallen and trapped him inside."
    "I'm glad you found him."
    "When I brought him home, Mom took one
look at him and yelled, Not in my house! She
agreed I could keep him in the yard until I found
him a new home."
    "There you go."
    "I can't send him back to live in squalor, Stell."
    "Squalor? Your backyard is hardly squalid."
    "Yeah, but that's my point. He can't live in the
dumpster and it's going to get cold."
    "With summer on the way?" Now Stella knew
what he was after and it wasn't pretty. Someday
she'd planned to get a dog, something small and
cute and pampered. Not a guardian of Hades.
"Why do I always let you talk me into doing things I don't want to do? Do I have a sign saying
`patsy' on my backside?"

    Quin gave her his come-hither smile again. "If
it helps, you're a pretty patsy and your backside
is Littlemouth's finest."
    Stella rolled her eyes. She wasn't up to Quin
flirting with her. To be honest, she was pretty annoyed with him. "If you're going to start talking
like that, I'm going outside to play with my dog."
    "My dog."
    "I thought you just gave him to me."
    "I didn't give him to you. I asked you to keep
him." Quin couldn't believe Stella would jump to
such a ridiculous conclusion about Tramp being
her dog. That wasn't at all what he'd had in mind.
It's just that when he thought of the notion of
home, he thought of her.
    "Same difference." She snatched up Tramp's
ball, then opened the back door. "You're not sticking around for long, so it looks like Tramp belongs
to me."
    Quin followed Stella and the dog into the yard.
Stella tossed the ball high into the air. Tramp ignored it.
    Quin's brow wrinkled. Tramp had thoroughly
enjoyed retrieving the ball earlier. What was
wrong now?
    "Go get it, Tramp."

    The mutt scrambled to the ball, scooped it in his
mouth, then offered the toy to Quin.
    Quin patted his leg and whistled as he walked
over to join Stella. The dog followed him. "Looks
like he wants a mother and a father."
    "I'm not ready for joint dog custody," Stella
said with a toss of her head. "Besides, I'm still
mad at you."
    Amazing how Stella could look so attractive
when her face was covered in dirt and her hair
was all tangled. The urge to toss her over his
shoulder and drag her off to his cave came over
him. He tamped it down.
    "You said it yourself. I can't keep him. Tramp
needs a home. He'll adjust." Tramp settled himself
at Quin's feet.
    "Maybe he's trying to tell you he doesn't want
to live with me?"
    "Nah. I hadn't thought about it before, but it'll
probably take him awhile to realize you're his new
mommy."
    "Let's just stick with owner." She walked over
to join them. "You don't want a mommy, do you,
Tramp?"
    Quin watched as she leaned down to allow the
dog to sniff her hand. He growled faintly. Stella
quickly backed off.
    "My fantasies of motherhood involve children,
not ferocious beasts."

    "Stop that, Tramp," ordered Quin.
    The animal immediately silenced.
    Stella crossed her arms and glared at both him
and their dog.
    Quin took a step toward her and Stella's eyes
widened as she took a step away. He resisted an
urge to wipe his sweaty palms on his jeans and took
another step toward her. She took another step
back. He dashed after her. Stella turned and ran.
    Adrenaline pumped into his bloodstream, making his heart pound. He expected to react this way
during the thrill of chasing down a lead or while
undercover on a story.
    He anticipated where she'd head next, and crisscrossed under the