Branded (10 page)

Nicole directed him to the pet shop.  She did feel
a twinge of fear that someone might single her out as they pushed through the
store’s doors, but no one glanced in their direction as they made their way
past shelves of cat toys and dog leashes.  She led him to the row of cages
alongside a wall.  A young girl employee with blond braids greeted them with a
smile as several dogs yapped their excitement.  Another couple with a young girl
held a squirming white poodle.

“No poodles,” Xander whispered in her ear.  “Or
little yappers.”

Nicole smiled.  “We’ll look until you fall in
love.”

He gave her a quizzical look.

“With a dog.”  She rolled her eyes even as a
delicious tingle rolled through her.

“Let me know if you want me to get one out of the
kennel for you,” the young girl offered.

“Okay,” Xander replied as he squatted down in
front of one dog.  “This one is cute.”  He held his fingers against the edge of
the cage, letting the half-grown German Shepherd sniff him.  The dog growled
and backed away.

The employee walked over to them.  “Sorry.  She’s
not super fond of guys.”

“Dogs discriminate?”  He raised his brows, giving
the girl an incredulous look.

“We think maybe there was a man who was mean to
her in the past.” 

“That’s terrible.”  Xander nodded to the dog and
backed away.  “But I totally understand and won’t hold it against you,” he said
to the puppy.

“Most of our dogs come from the animal shelter,
and not all of them have always been treated well.  We do our best to help them
find good homes.”

“That’s admirable.” 

Nicole glanced over the rest of the available
choices, not seeing anything remotely close to what Xander had in mind.  “Any Australian
Shepherds or Border Collies?”

The girl squinted as though she was digging deep
in her memory.  “We had a cute multi-colored Border Collie in here last week. 
I don’t think anyone adopted him.  They may have sent him to our Gresham store
this week.  The shelter rotates them in hopes of getting them in front of more
potential owners.  If you like, I could call that store and ask.”

Xander nodded.  “That would be great.”

When the girl had walked away, Nicole turned to
Xander.  “Are you sure you’re ready for this?  I feel like I talked you into it
last night, and I really don’t want to influence you.  Dogs are a big
responsibility.”

Merriment sparkled in his eyes.  “Are you having
second thoughts for
me
?”

“Maybe.”  Although there was no reason for her to
be responsible for his choices.  “I guess I am.”

“I’m a grown man, Nicole.  I don’t take any of my
commitments lightly.”  He captured her gaze, and the now-familiar attraction
sparked between them.  “I told you, I’ve been considering adopting a dog for a
while.  Seeing you with Stormy cemented it for me.”  Then he blinked and
shifted his focus to the orphaned pets in front of him, leaving her to wonder
if she made him nervous.  It was all a little strange.  One second he was
flirting with her, the next he sort of shut down.

The girl returned, a bright smile on her face.  “Apollo
is still available.  They do have him at the Gresham store, if you don’t mind
driving farther.”

“Gresham’s not that far.”  He looked to Nicole.  “I
have time if you do.” 

She shrugged.  “You know me.  I have no particular
place to go and all the time to get there.”

He gave her an admonishing glance before he
turned.  “We’ll go check him out.”

“Good luck,” the girl said as they left.

“You know you’re going to need to buy a lot of
stuff, too,” Nicole said as he opened the passenger door for her.  “A leash,
dog food.  They have to have regular check-ups.”

“Stop trying to talk me out of it, already.  I’m
getting a dog.”

He opened his door and climbed in.  “I’m getting a
dog.”  This time he said it with a touch of wonderment.  He slid a sideways
glance at her and gave her a determined look.  “I’m getting a dog.”

*        *        *

The trip to Gresham took them a good thirty
minutes, but Xander didn’t mind.  Nicole was a captive audience when she was
trapped in his car, and it gave him a good chance to question her further.  “Is
Stormy your first dog?”

She shook her head.  “My aunt had a Yorkie when I
started living with her.  Buster and I became fast friends.  She used to curl
up in bed with me. 

“She had a girl Yorkie named Buster?”

She shrugged.  “When you meet my aunt, you’ll
understand.  She’s always been one to go against the grain, especially for a
laugh.”

“I see.”  Except he had no intention of meeting
her family unless it was to extract further information about Nicole.

“In the beginning, I worried she would get mad
because Buster seemed to like me better, and Buster was
her
dog.”

“But she didn’t?” Xander prompted.

“No.”  She gave a soft snort.  “She said Buster
could sense I was a wounded soul, and it was her job to fix me.” 

He caught her gaze for a quick second.

“I think she was right.  After my aunt had her
accident, Buster never left her side.”

“You make it sound like Buster is no longer here.”

“She’s not.  She died a few months ago.  It was a
bad time for my aunt to lose her best friend.”

“She okay?”

She laughed.  “She went out and bought two more Yorkies
who hate it when my aunt pays more attention to me than them.  Jealous little
buggers.”  But she said it with a laugh, and he really wanted to direct the
conversation elsewhere.

“When you say ‘wounded soul’, was it right after
your parents died that you moved in with her?”

She was quiet for a long moment, and he had to
glance at her to make sure she’d heard him.  When he did, he found her studying
him with a measured gaze.

The atmosphere had chilled, and he’d obviously overstepped
his bounds.  “Sorry.  I know you said you don’t like to talk about them.  I don’t
mean to keep bringing up unpleasant memories in your life.  My only excuse is I’m
interested in you, and I figure they’re a part of who made you what you are.”

She visibly swallowed.  “The physical part, but
that’s pretty much it.”

He let her silence settle between them, waiting to
see if she’d give him more than that.  When several minutes had passed, he
reached over and squeezed her hand, trying to regain the ground he’d lost.  “I’m
sorry.  I’ll try not to ask again.”

A heavy sigh escaped her lips, and he glanced to
find her staring out the passenger window at the lead-gray skies.  “My mother
deserted me when I was six and left me with my father who didn’t have the ability
to care about anyone beyond himself.  I learned not too long ago that my mother
had died of a heroin overdose the day I turned eight.  For years, my father absentmindedly
toted me around the country with him while he worked many…jobs.  I ran away when
I was thirteen.  I got a job as a waitress, but someone found out how old I was
and turned me in to the state.  I was pretty angry at the time, but my aunt
came for me.  I thank God for her every day.” 

His throat closed over his next words, and he had to
take a moment for his muscles to relax.  “Jesus, Nicole.”  Hunter and Sam had
given him very vague details on her thief of a father and that she’d been
raised by her aunt.  But there had been nothing about her life prior to that. 
Nothing about her mother.  Even if Nicole was guilty, he felt like the biggest
pile of shit for making her recount her obviously painful story.  “I’m so
sorry.  I didn’t realize.” 

“That’s exactly how I like it.  I don’t want to
claim my childhood.  I prefer to pretend it never happened.”

“But pretending it didn’t happen isn’t exactly
dealing with it.”

“What’s there to deal with?  It happened.  I can’t
change anything, so why keep talking about it?”

She had a point.  “I can respect that.”  After
that retelling, it was hard to believe she’d had any connection with her father
later in life, and that she’d had anything to do with his thefts.  But that
didn’t mean she hadn’t had some kind of obsession with him or that she didn’t
have a goal to outdo him.  Her early childhood could easily have affected her
that way.  Not many people could suffer that kind of abuse and come out okay on
the other side.  Maybe she’d been determined to show him up in some way. A ten
million dollar heist wasn’t something to be ignored.  Then again, her father
was dead now and wouldn’t have known any difference. 

The fact that the pieces didn’t fit as perfectly
as he’d hoped troubled him.  There had to be more to the story.  The best he
could do now was to try to dig his way out of the hole he found himself in and
win back her affection.  “I didn’t mean to upset you.  I’d understand if you’re
no longer in the mood for puppy shopping.”

“No.”  She inhaled deeply and let the breath slide
out of her.  “That’s exactly why we need to continue.  My parents might have
screwed up my early years, but I own my life now.”  A forced smile tilted her
lips.  “I have a date with an attractive man to find a puppy, and that’s what I’m
going to do.”

Her outlook was genuine, he was certain, and he
admired her for it.  If she didn’t have that other, darker side to her, he
could picture himself looking forward to spending a considerable amount of time
getting to know her better.  Sometimes, though, life was a bitch.

Another minute passed, and it seemed some of the
tension eased in the car.

“Do you know what else?”  All traces of
vulnerability had vanished from her voice.

“What?”

“I’m going to enjoy it.”

He glanced at her again, finding a genuine,
determined expression on her face this time.  “Good for you.”

Xander parked the car at the pet store and turned
to Nicole.  “Last chance to change your mind.”

She smiled.  “If you’re getting cold feet and want
to go home, don’t blame it on me.”

“I’m getting a dog,” he repeated for the millionth
time.  He snorted, and then his gaze grew serious.  “You’re sure you’re okay?”

“Positive.” 

He exited and headed for her side of the car.  She
took his hand as they walked to the front doors, feeling lighter than she had
in forever, despite the accusations looming over her head.  She’d revealed the
secret about her parentage she didn’t want anyone to know and nothing bad had
happened.  Xander hadn’t judged her, hadn’t held her family relations against
her.  Granted, she hadn’t told him her father had been a big time thief who’d
died in prison, but she sensed that wouldn’t change his feelings about her,
either.

That whole saying about one door opening when
another door shut must be true.  Life had certainly slammed the door in her
face when she’d been accused of stealing millions, but the fates had sent her
someone to fortify her and keep her from failing in the face of despair while
she battled to clear her name.

As they entered the area where the adoptable dogs
were held, Nicole’s gaze immediately went to the cute Border Collie sitting at
the feet of a dark-haired male employee while he talked to an older lady with
short gray hair.  The dog looked as though someone had taken a paintbrush and
had swiped black and a beautiful golden brown color over the white canvas of
its fur. 

Nicole squeezed Xander’s hand.  “There he is,” she
whispered.  As they approached, the dog jumped to his feet and began wagging
his tail.  It was as though he knew they’d come for him.  Xander released her
hand and walked forward, crouching in front of the excited pup.  The dog didn’t
bother with sniffing Xander and licked his face instead.

“So sorry,” the employee said when he realized
what had happened.  “Technically, he’s still a puppy and gets easily excited
when he likes someone.”

“I can see that,” Xander said with a laugh as he
lifted the dog’s chin, looking him in the face.  “Hello, Apollo.”

The dog’s tail thumped harder.

“You’re the people from Portland?”

“Yep.”  Xander stood and addressed the man.  “I’ve
come for my dog.”

Definitely a man who’s used to getting what he
wants, Nicole thought as she watched Xander interact with Apollo and the
employee.  She liked that about him.

The employee laughed.  “Love at first sight?”

Xander looked over his shoulder at Nicole.  “It
happens.”

She gave him an amused smile, pretending she hadn’t
wondered his true intent when he’d said that directly to her.  “They don’t call
it puppy love for nothing.”

He stared at her for an unsettling moment and then
grinned.  “How much?” he asked the employee.

The man took that moment to make his sales pitch. 
“A hundred and fifty.  That includes the cost of neutering him and his current
shots.  We send him home with the collar he’s wearing, but he’ll also need dog
food and a leash if you don’t already have them.”

Xander cocked a brow at her, and she stepped forward. 
“I told you.”  She turned to the employee.  “Do you happen to know what kind of
dog food he was eating at the shelter?  We don’t want to upset his tummy with
new food.”

“I do, actually.  We supply the shelter with food
at cost.  If you want to follow me, I can help you get everything you need.” 
He handed Apollo’s temporary leash to Xander, officially transferring
ownership.

“I’m sure you can,” Xander mumbled under his
breath, but Nicole could tell he was genuinely happy with his new dog.  Apollo
was equally excited with his new owner.

The happy mood quickly turned frantic once they
reached the car.  Xander opened Nicole’s door, and Apollo leapt in.

Xander glanced to Nicole.  “I should have thought
about how we’d get him home.”

“It’s all right.”  She grinned.  “I’m fine if he
wants to ride on my lap.  It’s not like Stormy hasn’t done the same.”