Megs turned to Creed. “What you need to give him is space.”
Kenzie needed to know. “How was he? Did he seem like he was managing?”
Megs nodded. “He said Gabby had had an accident, but he kept that puppy close. You’re a genius. I think he’s in love.”
The words “in love” made Kenzie’s pulse skip.
If only Harrison loved her as much as he loved her puppy.
* * *
Conrad turned over,put a pillow over his head, trying to sleep. But it was no good. Gabby cried and whimpered in her crate.
He’d just taken her outside to go potty, so it couldn’t be that.
He threw back the sheet, climbed out of bed, and walked naked to the kitchen to read through Kenzie’s instructions again.
It’s not unusual for a small puppy to whine or cry at night. It’s important that she gets used to sleeping in her crate. As long as she’s gone potty recently and has her blanket and a toy, she is fine. It will pass. DON’T TAKE THE PUPPY OUT OF HER CRATE AND BRING HER INTO YOUR BED. It will just make the problem worse.
Well, it was after midnight, and Gabby was still crying.
It broke his heart, but then he wasn’t a dog trainer. Kenzie knew what she was doing—didn’t she?
He took a leak, washed his hands, and went back to bed, doing his best to ignore the whimpers. Five minutes. Ten. Twenty.
It felt so mean to ignore the puppy.
Thirty minutes.
“Damn it.” Why, exactly, had he agreed to do this?
You want to get inside Kenzie’s pants. That’s why.
He sat up, looked over at the crate, a shaft of moonlight shining through the frilly curtains to reveal Gabby looking pleadingly up at him.
That was it.
He got out of bed, opened the crate, and lifted Gabby into his arms.
She wagged her tail, licked his face, clearly happy to have contact with another living creature.
He got back into bed, settling Gabby beside him. “Don’t tell your mommy you slept with me, okay, little girl?”
That didn’t sound pervy at all.
Gabby curled up, closed her eyes, and fell asleep, allowing Conrad finally to do the same.
Chapter 5
Conrad swunglike a pendulum in mid-air, dangling above an abyss, ice all around him, enclosing him like a tomb. Heart thudding, he glanced around, tried to figure out where he was and what the hell had happened. He reached for the rope that was tied into his harness, but something frozen in the ice caught his gaze.
“Bruce!” Conrad stared in horror, his shout echoing along the crevasse.
God, was Bruce dead?
He must be. He was blue and encased in the ice, like a fish in a frozen sea.
“No!” Conrad’s throat constricted. “No.”
