Читать книгу Shelter of Hope - Margaret Daley - Страница 8

Chapter Five

Story:

Susan stared at the dog lying on the table—injured, defenseless and, from the looks of her thin body, homeless. Susan was a cat person. She’d never thought of having a dog. At least she could make sure the dog found a good home. It was her responsibility, not Nathan Grayson’s. “I helped save her life. I can’t abandon her. I’ll be here at one.”

He took a card from his wallet. “This is how you can get a hold of me if you need to cancel, or if you have questions.”

She took it from his hand, their skin touching. Her breath caught. The man before her wasn’t the typical type she was attracted to. Medium-length sandy-blond hair lay at odd angles, as though he ran his fingers through it a lot. He wasn’t classically handsome, but there was something appealing about his chiseled features—a strength in them that fit what she had seen today. He recognized a need and went right to work to fix it. She liked that in a man.

She moved toward the door. “You can bill me for your services. I may have to pay out over several months, but I want to take care of her until you find a home for her.”

“I don’t charge people for bringing in stray animals that are hurt.”

Exiting the vet’s mini clinic, Susan scanned the yard. It was littered with pens full of various kinds of animals. “Now I understand why you have so many animals here.”

“Most people in Hope know they can bring an animal to me and it will have a chance to live.”

“But aren’t you running out of room?”

“That’s not my most pressing problem.”

“What is?”

“Enough hours in the day to do everything. I’m not even sure I can take Labor Day off to go on the boat with Kim and Zane, but Carly really wants to. I guess I could drop her off. Kim and Zane would look after her.”

Susan thought of the little girl who had such devotion to her father. Susan wanted to help the child spend as much quality time with Nathan as possible. Her own experience trying to get some of her mother’s attention was not so happy—it had hurt when her mother’s latest man had been more important than her. “Tell you what. I’ll come tomorrow to help you, and then again early Monday morning for the chores that need to be done so you can go on the boat. You need to be with your daughter.” She flashed a smile. “Besides, my boss invited me on the boat, too. We all should have a day of play from time to time.”