From
New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Lori Foster
comes the heartwarming story of two best friends who cross paths with a pair of
new-in-town brothers with one angry little boy in tow. A standalone story of
second chances at life and love, with found family and rescued animals, perfect
for fans of Jill Shalvis, Sarah Morgan, and Lori Wilde.
Ivy Anders is a local
veterinarian and, after ending a dead-end relationship, has adopted a strict
no-strings policy towards people—except for Roxi Mage, her best friend. Corbin
Meyer didn’t know he had a son until the mother showed up and left him with an
angry ten-year-old. Without question, Corbin accepts full custody and moves the
boy to Sunset to give him a fresh start. To help his son adjust, Corbin takes
him to the local animal shelter to adopt a dog. When Corbin and his son walk
into Ivy’s life, she sees the new single dad struggling with his heartbroken
young son, and her heart melts a little. Roxi works with Ivy at the shelter. An
assault survivor, she is shy around men. So when Corbin’s older brother turns
on the charm, Roxi overreacts—then is embarrassed on top of feeling vulnerable
and wounded. This summer, their lives will grow entangled, helping each to
discover the rewards of opening your heart and letting others in.
Buy Links:
Bookshop | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | IndieBound
Chapter One
Ivey Anders shoved back a wayward curl and gently secured
the dog against her body so it couldn’t move while her tech, Hope Mage,
carefully clipped away the twisted wire. The poor thing, a stray by the looks
of it, had gotten itself tangled pretty tightly and one hind leg was in bad
shape. Ivey wanted to get it to the clinic where she could properly assess the
damage.
Mud caked the fur, making it difficult to find any other
injuries just yet, but there was one astounding fact Ivey couldn’t ignore.
Behind her, the homeowner groused that the dog had likely
been stealing eggs from his chicken coop.
Voice calm, temper mostly in check, Ivey said, “You
didn’t hesitate to call me, did you, Marty?” It was well-known that Marty was
not a fan of dogs, or cats for that matter, and mostly considered them a
nuisance. However, they’d come to an agreement some time ago. Marty, who owned
a fair amount of wooded acreage, was supposed to call her if a stray showed up,
and she, as the local vet, would take care of the “problem” for him.
Laura, his wife, was quick to say, “I called.” Defiant to
Marty, she added, “Soon as I heard the poor thing, in fact.”
Which didn’t mean much. The animal might have been there
for hours. Possibly more than a day, though Ivey couldn’t bear the thought of
that.
“She’s pregnant, you know.” Refusing to take her eyes off
the dog and unwilling to raise her voice since it might frighten the animal
more, Ivey said, “If she took an egg, it would have been from starvation—and
you already know I would have compensated you for it.”
Affronted, Marty grumbled, “I wasn’t worried about one
egg, just don’t want to lose my chickens.” He cleared his throat. “If it helps
any, I was out here this morning and she wasn’t caught then. Afternoon I
watered my garden, and that’s why there’s so much mud. So I doubt she was hung
up there more than a few hours.”
The fist around Ivey’s heart loosened just a little.
“That helps tremendously, Marty. Thank you.”
More times than she could count, Ivey had taken on
problems with stray animals who needed special love and care. It didn’t matter
that she’d been working as a veterinarian for years now, seeing all manner of
hurt, neglected or just plain ill animals. She still loved them all, and when
one hurt, she hurt with it.
“No thanks necessary,” Marty complained, his tone gruff
with insult. “Not like I’d let an animal suffer.”
Ivey had a feeling their definitions of suffer varied a
bit, but she realized this mattered to him, and she was too grateful to quibble
so she just nodded.
Almost got it,” Hope murmured, and with one last clip,
the wire loosened. “There.” Fingers gentle, she disentangled the dog’s leg,
exposing a painful wound.
Ivey murmured to the small animal all the while, cooing
softly, petting and holding her secure. The second she was able to sit back on
the muddy ground, she pulled the dog into her lap. With her face close to the
top of the dog’s head, she whispered, “There now, that’s better, isn’t it?
We’ll get you all fixed up, I promise.”
“Here.” Slipping off her zip-up hoodie, Hope offered it
to Ivey to wrap around the dog. “Do you want me to get the carrier?”
Busy swaddling the dog, careful not to jar her, Ivey
shook her head. “She doesn’t weigh more than ten or eleven pounds. I’ll carry
her to the truck and we’ll see how it goes.” Feeling mud seep into the seat of
her pants, she realized she couldn’t get up without letting go of the dog.
Lifting a brow at Hope, she said, “A little help?”
“Oh sure.” Hope caught her under one elbow, and Laura
hurried forward to take the other, giving her the leverage she needed.
Marty stepped back to avoid getting muddy.
Carefully, the two women got Ivey on her feet. The thick
mud was heavy on the seat of her pants, dragging on her stretch jeans that had
loosened throughout the day. At least her rubber boots wouldn’t be ruined.
Since they treated all sorts of animals, including those on farms, she and Hope
each kept a pair at the clinic.
“Let’s go.” Plodding forward, Ivey led the way to the
truck. Halfway there, the dog started panting. Concerned, she hastened her
step, not at all worried about getting mud on the truck seats. “No need for the
crate. Just get us back to the clinic.”
Picking up on her angst, Hope ran around to the driver’s
side and got the truck on the road in record time. “Everything okay?”
“Not really, no. Something’s wrong.”
“What should I do?”
Poor Hope. A sick cat had kept them an hour past closing,
and then Marty had called… “I’m sorry.” Ivey barely took her gaze off the
stressed dog. “Do you think you could assist me at the clinic?”
“Of course I will! You don’t even have to ask.” Frowning,
Hope muttered, “Did you think I’d drop you off with a dog in distress? Tell you
good luck?” She snorted. “Have I ever done that?”
She and Hope were close enough that Ivey knew she’d
inadvertently insulted her. “No, you haven’t. But it’s Friday night after a
very long day.”
“It’s Friday night for you, too, you know.”
“What a sad situation for us both.” Despite her worries,
Ivey chuckled. “Most women would have plans, and yet we never do.”
“You have Geoff.”
Ivey made a face. “Lot of good that does me.” Likely
Geoff was settled on the couch already, watching sports or playing a video
game. The excitement had left their relationship a long time ago, so she
doubted he’d even notice her absence.
For her part, Hope never dated. That bothered Ivey a lot,
but she loved Hope enough that she would never pry.
Smiling at her friend, Ivey said, “I’m glad I won’t have
to do this alone.”
“Not ever,” Hope vowed. “Even if by some miracle I ever
do have something worthwhile lined up for the weekend, I’d still be here for
you, okay?”
Her friendship with Hope meant so much more than any
other relationship Ivey had, including her lackluster romance with Geoff.
“Smartest thing I ever did was hire you.”
“I’m so glad you did,” Hope whispered. “Otherwise we
might not have become friends, then where would I be?”
“Let’s just agree that we’re better off together.” Though
Ivey was ten years older than Hope, they’d still hit it off from the start,
meshing together as if they’d been lifelong friends. Where Ivey was take-charge
and sometimes a little too outspoken, Hope was an intent listener with an
enormous heart.
Ivey often wanted to challenge the world, and Hope,
sadly, wanted to hide from it.
Or more accurate, she wanted to hide from any interested
men.
Hope had an affinity with animals, plus a gentle but sure
touch. She was never squeamish, but she exuded sympathy. Ivey valued her. The
clients loved her. And the animals trusted her.
Unfortunately, they were still five minutes away from the
clinic when the dog went into labor. “This is definitely happening,” Ivey said,
doing what she could to make the animal comfortable.
Leaning closer to the steering wheel, Hope drove a little
faster. “Be there soon.”
They’d barely gotten in the door when her water broke.
Hope ran ahead to prepare an area, moving with practiced ease as she opened an
already cleaned kennel and set up a whelping box, then filled it with bedding
material. The box had three tall sides to contain the coming puppies, and one
low side for the mother to step out for food and water.
Knowing Hope had it in hand, Ivey began cleaning the dog
as quickly and efficiently as possible. She managed a cursory job, removing the
worst of the mud, when Hope rejoined her. “We’re all set.”
“With luck we’ll have enough time to clean and wrap her
leg before she gives birth.” Usually that happened within two hours after the
animal’s water breaking, so they didn’t have a minute to spare.
A day that had already been long just turned entirely
endless.
Excerpted from The Summer of No Attachments by Lori
Foster, Copyright © 2021 by Lori Foster.
Published by HQN Books.
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR:
Since first publishing in January 1996, Lori Foster has become a New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher’s Weekly bestselling author. She lives in Central Ohio where coffee helps her keep up with her cats and grandkids between writing books. For more about Lori, visit her website at www.lorifoster.com, like her on Facebook or find her on Twitter, @lorilfoster.
Social Links:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
0 comments:
Post a Comment