“You’d know that,” the hipster in the front row said. “You’re the guy who started PetPic, right?”
Just in case Jessica Jane Curtis didn’t know, but of course, she did. “Yep.”
“Really?” Another woman, Marilyn, sat up with interest. “Wow, I’m on PetPic! I mean, it’s all ads now. But some of the pictures and videos people post slay me.”
“Oh, I know.” An older man in the front row turned around. “That’s what made me fall in love with dogs and know exactly what I wanted to do when I retired.”
“Glad to hear,” Garrett said, looking back at his phone as much to end the conversation and derailment of the class as to read more brilliance from Jessica Jane Curtis, journalist.
“I adopted a dog that someone posted,” announced a kid who barely looked twenty, obviously not reading Garrett’s social cue.
“That’s great.” Garrett didn’t look up. “That’s one of the reasons I started the site.”
It certainly wasn’t the first time he’d heard stories like this, and he couldn’t help the swell of pride that the idea had made people happy, saved some dogs, and made himself and his siblings more than comfortable in the process. But this wasn’t the time or place.
“What a fantastic legacy to have so young,” Jessie said, still turned to look at him. “I’d love to know more about it.”
Wouldn’t you just?
He held her gaze for a long minute, trying for a glare but getting a kick in the gut—and lower—that had to be because he didn’t completely believe her or trust her. Surely that gut reaction wasn’t because her eyes were an evocative combination of fierce and fearful that wouldn’t let him look away. And, no, it couldn’t be because they’d had a half-hour grapple almost twenty years ago and he still remembered how sweet and soft and sexy her body had been.
No, his gut was on fire because she was a writer for a tabloid-type website who’d waltzed into this place without enough class, grace, or ethics to come clean with him about that.#p#分页标题#e#
“Can I talk to you after class?” she asked sweetly.
“No.”
He stood and walked out of the room without caring how rude it was. He’d already let himself be crucified to protect someone he loved. He wasn’t about to put himself in that situation again.
* * *
His departure felt like a slap, making Jessie reel.
Apparently, he’s a real son of a bitch.
Well, at least Forbes got that much right. But then Dr. Kilcannon’s words came back to her, and she tried to dig below that gruff—and sexy—exterior. Although he might be handsome and built and love dogs, if he was a son of a bitch, then he wasn’t sexy to her. She hated guys like that.
Except, this morning? With Lola? He hadn’t been anything like that.
She slipped her handbag off the back of the chair and stood, making Duane turn to her. “I’m a guest,” she explained. “Thanks for a great class.”
She left through the same door Garrett had, determined to find him to tell him why she was there and that she was leaving. Unless…
No.
Pretty crystal-clear answer.
Outside the back of the classroom, she scanned a huge open field she hadn’t yet seen, spotting two men throwing something to a German shepherd.
Neither one was Garrett, unless he’d changed into a dark T-shirt, but she could make out that one had very dark hair and a tall, lanky build. Could that be Liam? Next to him, running around with the dog, was a young man with chestnut hair and a bit more muscular build. Shane?
He glanced at her, then tossed a long red stick in her direction. When the dog ran after it, he followed, getting close enough that she could make out his features. He stared hard, and the corner of his mouth lifted in a half smile.
Definitely Shane, she thought. Still handsome, still flirtatious. And she didn’t want to get into it with one more member of the Kilcannon family, so she nodded and turned away before he got any closer, heading back to the central training pen.
There, six dogs were barking and running, and several people were blowing whistles and yelling commands, but none was Garrett.
She’d try the kennels. If he wasn’t there, then she’d say goodbye to sweet Lola and go back to the bed-and-breakfast and get some work done researching new subjects and editing a story before dinner with Molly. The Garrett Kilcannon experiment had failed.
In the kennels, the constant sound of barking echoed through the halls, but she could see how you could get used to it quickly. As she strolled down shiny white tiles past large pens and kennels, she stopped at a few and admired the dogs of all different breeds.