Page 3 of Quid Pro Beau

That makes me laugh. Out loud. Then the laugh keeps going.

The beautiful man smiles, laugh lines flare from the sides of his eyes and one dimple pops in his left cheek. “I’m Beau, by the way. Nice to meet you, Daisy.”

“You’re a shameless flirt, aren’t you?” I ask. Then I think better of it and shake my head. “Don’t answer that. Is this your dog?”

“Not officially. He’s from Great Dane’s but he got away from me.” He holds up a blue leash. He pets the dog’s belly. “He doesn’t like people. Came to the sanctuary skittish as hell. Spooks at everything. I brought him today to see if I could socialize him more.”

“He came right over to me, plopped himself down in my lap.”

Those whiskey brown eyes meet mine, then boldly rake down my form. “I can’t blame him. Your lap looks very comfortable.”

If I weren’t pregnant by another man’s baby, maybe I would take the bait and say something flirtatious back. But I am done with men. Especially those of the I’m-too-hot-for-my-own-good type. I give the pup another scratch, then stand.

“Well, I should be on my way. Have a nice day.” Then I turn and walk away. By some miracle, I don’t turn around to look at the man or the dog.

chapter two

Beau

I jump down from my truck and grab Mouse’s leash to bring him with me. I never thought I’d be that guy that brings his dog everywhere, but here we are. In part, it’s because Mouse is still skittish. For being a big dog—half Husky, half German Shepherd—he’s just nervous. My guess, he was mistreated somewhere before he found his way to Great Dane’s.

He and I have that in common, I suppose. Mysterious, likely abusive pasts with residual trauma. His has made him not trust many people. I suppose mine has done the same, but I also have the visible evidence of my past. Tattoos cover some of the scars, but not my most recent ones.

Saddle Creek’s VFW hall is on the new side, I’m told. It’s not super fancy, but it’s clean and large, which makes it very serviceable. It’s made for a great meeting place for me and the guys.

The guys being ex Rangers like me. We all served together at one time or another. Now we’re all retired and living in this small Texas town. Dane is from here, and it’s his land that houses the dog sanctuary. Jack came here because he didn’t have anywhere else to go and then met and fell in love with his wife, Lucy.

The rest of the guys—Evan, Cruz AKA Romeo, and Liam—all moved here from their respective hometowns. Me? I’ve never belonged anywhere except the Army, so I figured I’d give Saddle Creek a try and see how the dog sanctuary life worked for me. Frankly, I thought I’d be here a week, maybe two before I moved on. But it’s been a little over two months now and I’ve even rented a house. Turns out, working with my Ranger brothers and dogs is a perfect fucking fit.

Shortly after arriving here, I took an online training course to get certified in dog obedience. I’ve designed an agility course for them, and sooner or later all of the dogs will find their way to me. But Mouse, he’s mine. He took to me immediately. Just like earlier today when he found Daisy.

Can’t say I blame him when it comes to her. She’s the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen. A mop of long blonde hair and the smile of an angel. I’d seen her sitting there against that tree, Mouse, somehow laying across her lap like he belonged there. That image had scratched at something inside me. I’m not even sure what it was. But it had given me enough pause that I was able to hear her speak to my pup before I approached her.

As I step inside the VFW, I’m hit with the scent of freshly brewed coffee. My nose twitches at the smell. All these years and I still am not a fan of the beverage. Kind of sucks because chances are it could have helped me with my ADHD. Instead, I rely on copious amounts of exercise to manage my excess of energy and lack of dopamine.

I lead Mouse over to where my buddies are already sitting. Romeo is carving something out of wood, which is an excellent way of channeling his expert knife skills.

Dane and Jack are talking about the plans their wives made without consulting them. Liam is reading on his e-reader, and Evan and Flynn are in a quiet discussion.

“Sorry I’m late,” I tell them as I pull out a chair and sit next to Liam. I don’t even bother trying to see what he’s reading. Unless he’s set his reader to the special dyslexic font, I won’t be able to tell. “Mouse got away from me downtown.”

Flynn answers his phone and stands but doesn’t quite make it away from our table before he’s agreeing to whomever is on the phone, then hanging up.

Liam sets down his e-reader.

“Everything okay?” Evan asks. He’s always been the sensitive one in our group. Of course he’s also the youngest, so he hasn’t lived quite long enough to be jaded like I am. But also, he comes from a close-knit family.

Flynn braces his hands on the table. “I need a favor.”

Romeo doesn’t look up from his whittling. “Is it illegal?”

“If it is, I’m in,” I say. Of course I’m only joking. I might have had a messed-up childhood and adolescence, but I don’t break the law.

Flynn rolls his eyes at me. “No, it’s not illegal. It’s family.” He blows out a breath “Temple and I need to go to Houston to deal with some issues with her grandmother’s estate.” His jaw tightens, then he adds, “We’re hoping we’ll only be gone about a week.”

“If this is about that thing your wife calls a dog, I’m out,” Dane says.

“Piglet IS a dog, but no, he will be going with us,” Flynn says.