Read Online More Than a Mistress by Leanne Banks - Free Book Online Page B

Pendleton figured all wrong. She’d thought he was the most solid, sensible, upstanding man she’d ever met.
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    â€œHe’s nuts,” she said to Troy later that night.
    Troy laughed lightly. “I could have told you that.”
    Sara cradled the phone and looked at the latest puddle on her kitchen floor. “I really need to speak to Daniel, please.”.
    â€œHe’s…ah, not available. I’ll give him a message.”
    Sara frowned. “You’ve already said that three other times today. What am I supposed to do with this dog? You know, the Humane Society doesn’t approve of surprising people with pets for gifts.”
    â€œDaniel knew you’d like this one.”
    â€œDaniel knew wrong. I have no idea what to do with this puppy.”
    â€œGet a gate for the kitchen. Put a soft blanket in the box—”
    â€œThe box is wet.”
    Troy snickered. “Get another box. If he won’t go to sleep, try an alarm clock or a hot-water bottle, and call Daniel in two weeks.”
    â€œTroy—” Sara heard the click and knew she was talking to a disconnected line. Hanging up her phone, she admitted to herself that she needed to talk to Daniel for more than one reason. Sara cringed in embarrassment when she remembered how upset she’d gotten over the rose Daniel had tried to give her. He probably thought she was nuts.
    He’d brought the rose at a weak moment for her, and it seemed she was having more than her share of those lately. Her feelings for Daniel were getting stronger. Denial wasn’t working. Her mind needed no provocation to drift to thoughts of him.
    Over the next few days Sara repeatedly tried to get in touch with Daniel. She simply could not keep the dog. She didn’t have the space. She was gone during the day. And the animal yipped all night.
    By the end of the week she’d bought a license tag, leash, an assortment of dog toys and named him Pavi. She installed a gate in the kitchen doorway and sneaked home during lunch to take him for a walk. Whenever the cute little fellow greeted her, he wagged his tail so hard, he nearly lost his balance.
    Sara faced the truth. She was now the owner of a dog.
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    Three days before Christmas, when everyone was finishing their last-minute shopping and doing their baking, the temperature shot up into the fifties, and Beulah County got twenty inches of rain within two hours.
    Emergency volunteers were called in, and Carly and Sara closed the office to help at the community center. People brought in food and blankets. Medical personnel volunteered their services.
    In the northern part of the county a few families had been trapped by the sudden deluge. Daniel and some other men worked late into the night to bring them to safety.
    Sara was getting ready to leave the community center when Daniel finally showed up around midnight. Just seeing him kicked her nerve endings into overdrive. She watched him strip off the yellow rain poncho and push back the drenched hair from his head. Even from a distance she could see the weariness on his face. He must have felt her staring at him, because he looked up and held her gaze for several moments.
    Her breath stopped. His face and body said he was tired, but the expression in his eyes said he wanted her. Badly. And Sara felt a tightening inside her. Her breasts felt heavy, her face went flushed and her upper thighs tingled.
    He gave a quick nod and looked away. Sara swallowed hard. She’d spent so much energy denying, avoiding and rejecting her unwanted feelings for Daniel that she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed him, just seeing him.
    She felt uncomfortable about approaching him. What could she say that wouldn’t sound idiotic? Especially since the last time she’d seen him, she’d burst into tears. Sara felt a flush of remorse and embarrassment creep up her cheeks. At a loss, she went to the food table where she’d been