Read Online Stray Hearts by Jane Graves - Free Book Online Page B

staring at him, until the moment grew so uncomfortable that he’d done them both a favor and extricated himself. She’s been thinking about you, too.
    That thought brought on instant fantasies involving Kay in ways he’d prohibited himself from thinking about up to now. Then he took a deep breath and forced himself to look at the situation logically. She was one of the few young, attractive, unattached women who’d crossed his path since he’d become legally and morally free to look, so of course he was going to sit up and take notice. But he reminded himself that this particular woman was off- limits. Period. If he got involved with her and Hollinger found out, Matt was pretty sure he could kiss the grant goodbye. He issued himself a set of marching orders: Run the shelter as if its survival depends on you, and treat Kay as if its survival depends on Hollinger.
    “You don’t like Kay much, do you, Hazel?”
    “Something’s wrong with people who don’t like animals.”
    “I caught her petting a kitten a few days ago. I think maybe there’s a heart in there somewhere.”
    “Doc, you perform surgery, and I’m pretty sure even you couldn’t find her heart.”
    That might be true. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe he’d like to give it a try, anyway.
     
    Kay dragged a bag of trash through the Dog Room toward the back door, eager to dispose of the final remnants of tonight’s Cat Room cleaning. She realized half an hour ago that she'd forgotten to record When Zombies Attack. Again. And because that series recording thing had never made it to the top of her mental to-do list, she barely had enough time to get home, shower, and plop in front of the TV with Sheila before the show started.
    Just as she put her hand on the doorknob to go outside, she looked down and saw Chester lying in his cage. He glanced up at her with that ugly bulldog face, then rested his chin on his good paw and let out a little doggy sigh.
    Kay felt that uncomfortable twist in her stomach again. How did Matt expect to find this mutt a home? A lot of decent-looking animals had been here for weeks, some for months. At least most of them had something going for them. Chester had nothing.
    Well, okay. He didn’t bark a lot. That was a plus. Or maybe he realized the futility of it since he’d never be heard over Rambo, who at this moment was yapping away for absolutely no reason at all. And from what she’d seen, Chester’s personality seemed fairly sedate and agreeable, as dogs went. But who was ever going to look past the paw thing?
    Kay dragged the trash bag out the back door, leaving it ajar as she crossed the yard to the back fence. The rickety gate leading to the alley squeaked painfully as she swung it open. She removed the lid from the trash can, but just as she was about to give the bag a final heave-ho, something big and black streaked past her. She spun around to see Rambo bounding down the alley.
    “Rambo!” She stared at him a moment, dumbfounded. He circled and sniffed, then galloped away from her in blissful, bounding leaps. How in the world had he got out?
    Ashley. She’d been so wrapped up in gawking at Matt that she hadn’t latched his cage.
    Again.
    Kay watched him frolic down the alley, knowing she couldn’t possibly chase after that monster. He was like a bulldozer, mowing down anything that got in his way. Megadog. Supersized dog. Dog to the tenth power. No way could she even think about going after him.
    She started to go inside to tell Matt and Hazel what had happened, but then she realized Rambo was already at the end of the alley and was making a right onto Gibson Street, and all at once she imagined him running out in front of a car and getting hit. Then she imagined the look that would be on Matt’s face when he found him. She’d been around here long enough to know that he loved every one of his animals, even a brainless maniac like Rambo, and he’d dedicated a huge part of his life to keeping