Puppy Love For The Veterinarian
A New Leash On LoveWhen June Leavy finds two puppies abandoned outside during a storm, she immediately feels a bond with the adorable animals. Swindled out of her life savings by her no-good ex, she, too, was left with nothing but heartache and struggles of her own. But when she arrives at the local veterinary clinic, June is met by dangerously handsome Dr. Ethan Singh, whose sexy smile threatens to disarm her hard-won emotional strength.Back in Peach Leaf, Texas, to recover from an ugly break-up, Ethan gently tends to the puppies and their charming caretaker. But as the storm rages, so does the electric attraction between Ethan and June. Is this real, or a cruel phantom of lost love? Stranded alone at the clinic, only one thing is certain: They’ve got all night to figure it out…
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âOf course Iâm not going to stop you from leaving, June. But I have to tell you, I donât think itâs safe, and Iâd really rather you not put yourself in any more danger than you already have today.â
Ignoring the fact that this man shouldnât care about her well-being so much, June ran through all of her options in her headâall zero of them. She sighed. He was right. She was stuck there for the foreseeable future. Sheâd never in her life experienced such a dangerous storm, and she definitely didnât know how to safely travel in one. Besides, she had the puppies to think of now. The minute sheâd picked them up, theyâd become her responsibility, and she couldnât just abandon them with a doctor who had other patients to care for, especially one who was only temporarily managing his fatherâs clinic.
She looked up at Dr. Singh, who appeared almost as uneasy as she.
âI hate to break it to you, June, but under the circumstances, the smartest thing for you to do is to spend the night here with me.â
* * *
Peach Leaf, Texas:
Where true love blooms
AMY WOODS took the scenic route to becoming an author. Sheâs been a bookkeeper, a high school English teacher and a claims specialist, but now that she makes up stories for a living, sheâs never giving it up. She grew up in Austin, Texas, and lives there with her wonderfully goofy, supportive husband and a spoiled rescue dog. Amy can be reached on Facebook, Twitter and her website, www.amywoodsbooks.com.
This one is for the animal rescuers; thank you for the wonderful lives you save. And for my Maggie dog, who has my heart.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Epilogue
âJune, hon, why donât you go on home now? I can finish closing up here myself, and it looks like things may get worse than they originally predicted.â
June Leavy looked up from her mop bucket and followed the owner of Peach Leaf Pizzaâs eyes to the small television behind the counter, tuned in to the evening weather segment. January in west Texas could be unpredictable, but the idea of the twelve to eighteen inches of snow the meteorologist called for actually covering the ground and sticking was just surreal.
She studied her bossâs face, not missing the lines around Margaretâs mouth and the shadowy thumbprints beneath the older womanâs usually lively eyes. It had been a busy day, amid a busy week; they were both exhausted, but the work would be completed much faster with two pairs of hands.
June shook her head, causing a few more strands of hair to escape her ponytail. âNonsense. Iâm almost finished with the floor, and then all thatâs left is taking out the garbage.â
Margaret offered a weary smile as her thanks, but June could see the relief in her bossâs face. She would never admit it, but Margaret Daw was getting older. It was time for her to retire and June could feel that the day was coming when her boss would ask her to take over. Margaret had all but asked her about it on more than one occasionâwho could blame a new grandma for wanting to spend more time with the adorable twin babies recently born to her pediatrician son and daughter-in-law?âand besides, June was her only full-time employee and comanager. In many ways, it just made sense.
June sighed and sloshed the mop back into the gray water, wondering again how she would respond if and when the day arrived. She could see the pros and cons list sheâd pored over so many times in her mindâs eye, her options jotted out clear as day on the yellow pad sitting next to the remote control on her coffee table. But no matter how many times she mulled over the bullet points, the decision wouldnât be easy.
Margaret was a wonderful bossâkind and fairâand the job provided steady income. There was something comforting in the daily tasks, in kneading the dough each morning, chopping fresh vegetables and taking orders, in the warm, familiar faces of Peach Leaf Pizzaâs many regular customers. She would miss the banter, catching up with people sheâd known her whole life and the excitement in kidsâ faces when they piled into the red leather booths after winning baseball games or performing well in dance recitals.
But she had dreams of her own, too.
And until recently, June had been so close to turning them into reality. So close, in fact, that the bruises from losing everything hadnât yet healed.
Now her choice was between picking up the pieces and starting overâletting herself believe that she could somehow regain what was lostâor sticking with the safe option, taking over the pizza parlor and borrowing her neighborsâ joy as they lived their lives.
