Hammer's Fall (The Breakers' Bad Boys)(24)

Evie’s eyes widened as she peeked into the bag, then she laughed. “Oh, wow. You even decorated them?”

“Only the peanut butter ones.” Kalista took out the three containers and set them out on the trunk of the car. They had made a chicken-flavored treat in the shape of bones, miniature bones that were sweetened with a touch of honey for smaller dogs and the puppies, and paw shaped peanut butter treats with little round colored frosting spots in pale pink and blue for decoration.

She handed Evie a sheet of paper. “This is a list of all the ingredients in each of the treats so you know there is nothing harmful added. We can also tweak the recipes as needed if you think they need something else. I noticed some people add in a vitamin supplement that we can discuss if you’d like.”

“That would be great, but these look fantastic as is! Well, time for a taste test,” Evie said with a smile as all four of her dogs rushed back, each of them carrying a tennis ball in their mouth. They abandoned their toys as Evie held out the treats for them. All four of the dogs gobbled up the treats, eagerly whining for more and nudging hands, making both women laugh. “I’d say they’re a hit. Why don’t we take these into the kennel and hand out a few?”

“I’d love that,” Kalista agreed.

“Excellent. I’ll take you through the front and give you the grand tour.”

The women walked down a wide path that wound around the large pond toward the barn-like building with the four dogs pacing them. Several weeping willow trees offered shade on the shoreline and would make the perfect spot for a picnic on a hot summer day. Kalista noticed there were several people playing with various dogs on the wide expanse of grass, while a few others walked dogs around the pond.

When she asked about it, Evie explained, “We’re pretty busy around here on the weekends. Lots of volunteers come by to play with the dogs and help care for them.”

“That’s great. I wish I knew about this place. I would have come by here long before now if I had known.”

Evie frown. “I guess we haven’t really advertised outside of the animal clinic.”

“I’d be happy to put up a poster or something for you in the bakery, especially since I think we are going to start selling the dog treats. It might help draw in a new crowd of volunteers.”

“That would be amazing, thanks. We can always use more people to help around here. During the week we have interns coming in to work in shifts, and lots of the guys come on over from the boarding house to help out. It’s sort of like therapy for them. Taking care of the dogs actually helps them acclimate back into civilian life even when they can’t talk to other people.”

“I imagine it would good for both the dogs and the men,” Kalista said quietly. She couldn’t even imagine how lost a soldier would feel coming back from a war-zone. It would take a great deal of strength and fortitude to move on from that to try and live a normal life. She wondered if that was the reason Jared had started his fighting career after he left the Army. Kalista didn’t know if his time serving overseas still haunted him, but she imagined what he had seen and done wouldn’t be easy to forget.

The huge wooden barn was painted a bright red that was both eye-catching and cheerful. On one side of the barn was a large paw print with the words “The Beaumont Rescue Center” painted over it. There were various cages set up in rows outside, and an interesting looking obstacle course was set up next to a big fenced in play area. Several dogs were in the play area and she could hear them barking in greeting as they walked toward the building.

When they entered the front door, Kalista was surprised to see a nice front office with several chairs in a waiting room. Two young women sat at the front desk, one typing diligently on a computer while the other spoke to a beautiful woman with long, dark, curly hair the color of mahogany and a tall, handsome man, who leaned on the counter. The man had the same good looks as the woman, and both had hazel eyes that sparkled with interest as they turned at the sound of the bell on the door as Kalista and Evie entered the room.

The woman with curly hair smiled at them. “So, this is the woman we have to kill.”

Kalista blinked, unsure how to react to that statement. The woman let out what could only be described at a husky laugh that Kalista was sure drove men to their knees when they heard it.

“Kali, these are my cousins, Francesca and Beckett Savante.”

“Hi,” Beckett said, reaching out to take Kalista’s hand. Instead of shaking it, he raised it to his lips.

“Careful, big brother. Hammer is likely to beat the crap out of you if he hears you are putting moves on his girl,” Francesca said.