The smile was still on her pretty face as she led him into the next room. It was there that he understood the reason for the lack of cats. Most of them were running, climbing, or lounging in the wooden structures along the walls, and several kittens were playing with toys and one another on the floor.
“This is a far cry from the shelter I worked at in Virginia,” he said with a grin, enjoying the free spirit of the felines, healthy and safe in this special environment.
Emily’s brows rose. “I didn’t know you’d worked in a shelter before.”
He shrugged, stroking a black cat sprawled out on a wooden shelf. The fact they were the least adoptable always ticked him off. They were no different than any other cat. The black color was not a conduit for bad luck.
And he would know, because he was that conduit.
Between that messed up Delta mission a few years ago involving Mac’s ex-fiancé that had nearly gotten them all killed and Holden’s next to last mission that could’ve claimed Braddock’s life, yeah,hewas the bad luck magnet.
It was probably a blessing that he’d been out of the country when his sister had needed help and he sent Sinjin. The outcome might’ve been significantly different.
He just hoped that bad luck hadn’t followed him to Harland County.
“When did you work there?” Emily asked, pulling his mind out of his dark thoughts.
Shaking his head, he shrugged again. “When I was a teenager,” he replied. “Started as part of a Boy Scout project, but then I was hooked.” It was there he’d discovered his love of working with animals, especially dogs. “Their cat area was just stacks of cages. This is nice.”
She grinned. “I know. It’s like Disneyland for cats.”
“I can’t wait to see the dog area.” He returned her grin.
Holden wasn’t sure how long they stood there but all the tension left his body, and the room and its feline occupants started to fade into the background. Then he became acutely aware of his heart beating loudly in his ears, and how the warmth flooding Emily’s face and eyes somehow found its way into his chest.
The experience was new, unexpected, a little exhilarating…and a lot dangerous.
So was the sudden urge to kiss her lush lips, especially when her tongue darted out to wet them, and heat darkened her gaze as the space between them slowly disappeared.
Chapter Four
Ameow sounded near Holden’s left ear a second before a tiny, gray-striped kitten launched himself from a nearby shelf onto his shoulder, snapping him out of his stupor.
He glanced at the feline, surprised the little guy barely used his claws to keep his balance. “Well, hello. Thanks for the one second warning.”
Emily chuckled as she plucked the kitten from his new perch. “Lazlo is our resident jumper. Sorry, I should’ve warned you.”
He shrugged, reaching out to pet the furball. “No harm done.”
She cleared her throat. “I…uh…should get on with your tour.”
Yeah, andheneeded to get a better grip on his focus.
After she set Lazlo on the floor, Emily led him out of the room, her shoulders straight and demeanor shifted back into friendly tour guide mode as she took him from one section to another.
The state-of-the-art Animal Control area impressed the hell out of Holden, with its top-notch computers and dispatch equipment as well as the animal hospital and its high-tech machinery, not to mention the dedication of the vet and vet tech staying past quitting time to work on a dog.
“He was hit by a car,” Emily said, disgust twisting her lips as she stared at the sedated pit bull. “A hit and run. If it hadn’t been for someone with a heart driving by and calling us, the poor thing would’ve died alone on the side of the road.”
“Sometimes people suck.” He silently added a few obscenities to that statement.
She nodded. “And sometimes they don’t, because the call sent me to him, and I was able to bring him here. Dr. Shackleford and Lyndsey will do whatever it takes. He’s in good hands.”
Lyndsey?
His gaze returned to the vet tech. ItwasGabe’s wife. Holden hadn’t recognized the woman who’d hosted the barbeque, probably because her hair was pulled back and she wore a mask.
But mostly he hadn’t recognized her because his attention had been on the dog…and Officer Harrison as she related the story.
