Entangled (Free Indeed Book 1) (6 page)

A
s the days passed
, Allie was settling into her new job very comfortably, and she loved every minute she got to spend with the animals. The more she got to know them, the more special they became to her, and Allie found herself looking forward to going into work to spend time with them.

Each day she made a point to spend one on one time with Reavers. Even if it was something as simple as sitting next to his crate on her lunch break and talking to him. The dog still growled and snapped at her, but it was considerably less than the first time she had met him. So it was a definite improvement. Allie decided to make it her personal goal to help Reavers get used to human interaction. Maybe someday he’d be ready to join a family of his own. All she had to do was get him over the urge to bite them first.

She was also becoming closer every day to her two new friends Dory and Rayne. It was nice to have women who she was free to talk with about anything and everything, and not to have to worry about being judged or ratted out to her father.

A couple of days into her new job, she noticed Rayne reading a book on one of her breaks. She could make out the scandalous cover from across the room, and it piqued her interest. It reminded her of the romance novels she used to sneak late at night in her room and read after everyone else had fallen asleep. She had loved those books. The sexy, confident heroines and the alpha, bad-boy, swoon-worthy heroes.

“What are you reading?” Allie asked while passing by.

“Oh, this book is one of my favorites,” Rayne smiled back at her. “I’ve probably read it a dozen times, but it’s still just as good. Have you read it?” She closed the book and handed it over so Allie could take a closer look.

“No, I haven’t. It’s been awhile since I’ve read a romance novel. I used to have to sneak them in because my father didn’t approve.” Allie explained.

“Take it. You can borrow it and bring it back when you’re done.” Rayne stated matter of factly. “And then I can lend you the rest of the books in the series.”

“I’d love that! Thank you so much! I’d forgotten how much I liked to read just for pleasure until I saw you reading it now.” Allie thought back to all the times her father wouldn’t let her up from her chair until she finished reading between two to three chapters from the Bible. It had turned her off to reading until she had been grocery shopping one day and walked past a display with a book that practically screamed at her to buy it. From that point on, she had been hooked on romance novels. She wasn’t able to purchase a bunch of them because her father would have noticed the missing money, but when she was able to sneak one that was on sale into her cart, she would read it over and over again until the pages were wearing thin.

She had hoped to one day find a man as wonderful as those she read about in her books. A tall, dark, and handsome man who would swoop in and rescue her from the bondage of her lifestyle. Instead, she got Paul. The Uber-Douche. The really awesome part about it all though, was that in the end she didn’t even need a man to save her, she had saved herself and had gotten out of there. Feminism at its finest.
Take that father
, she thought, knowing he would hate the woman she was becoming now.

Allie placed the borrowed book in her purse and then went back to work at the front counter. Today she was organizing receipts and entering the expenses and donations into the spreadsheet for the month. Rayne had walked her through how it was done and sat with her until she was confident that Allie knew what she was doing. It definitely wasn’t hard work, it just took some getting used to. Especially using the computer. At Free Indeed, computers were so rarely used because of all the
evil
that was out there, so most of their data and finances was all done on paper. This was so much easier.

Allie heard the front door chime, indicating someone had just walked in, and looked up with a smile on her face ready to greet their visitor. And her smile froze. Not
him
again. It was Jason, her knight in plaid fabric walking towards her with...a tiny bundle of fur in his arms.

“Well hi there.” Jason’s eyes lit up as he realized it was Allie sitting at the desk in front of him. A smile quickly spread across his face, emphasizing the twin dimples, one in each cheek. Actually, they were really cute dimples now that she noticed them.

Wait, what was she doing? Bad Allie.

Instead of getting suckered in by his twinkling eyes and downright sexy grin, she sighed, “Hello again. How can I help you today?”

“Well, for starters, how about telling me your name, Little Bit?” He leaned slightly over the counter while clutching what looked like a little puppy, no more than a foot long, close to his chest.

Deliberately ignoring him, she focused instead on the filthy puppy in front of her that was snuggling up into the red, flannel shirt that he was wearing, “Oh, you poor thing!” Allie reached out to pet the tiny, little head covered in mud.

The puppy was very young. She couldn’t have been more than eight weeks old. Only barely the size of a football, she cuddled right into Jason’s arms as she nuzzled her head into his chest. For the most part, yellow short haired fur covered her body, but there were some white spots on her mouth, neck, and belly. And it was all complete with a black tipped tail, just the very end. The little puppy turned her head to look over at Allie as she gave her head a scratch. She was so adorable, even in her filthy mud-covered state. Oh well, hands could be washed, but that little thing needed some lovin’. “Is she yours? Or did you find her somewhere?” Allie finally looked up and made eye contact with the gorgeous eyes that she was trying so hard not to look at. Only to find Jason’s deep, blue eyes were still staring at her very inquisitively.

“I found her limping down the interstate. Looks like one of her paws may be sprained, at least I’m hoping it’s just a sprain and not broken.”

“What, do you just troll along the interstate, looking for damsels in distress to save?” Allie couldn’t help the snarky response from coming out of her lips.

“What can I say,” he shrugged with a mischievous glint in his eye, “I guess I’m a sucker for a stranded little lady with blonde hair and beautiful eyes.”

Allie looked into two gazes giving her the puppy dog eyes...one brown eyed with a floppy tongue hanging out, and the other the most beautiful oceanic blue that she could just gaze into forever. Shaking her head, she broke his hypnotic gaze and muttered, “Um, I’ll go get Dory. Be right back.” And then she fled to the back area before she did something stupid like jump in his sexy arms.

* * *

H
is little bit
flew out of there faster than Deputy Dumbass, who only got the job because he was the mayor’s son, handing out speeding tickets at the overpass. Jason hadn’t expected to see her at the shelter of all places, but he had to admit, now he was happier than ever that he found the little pup limping down the road. If it meant seeing her again and forcing her to have to talk to him, then he was all for it.

After a minute or so, Allie came back out to the front with Dory in tow. The older woman instantly took charge and gingerly lifted the little bugger from his arms. Being careful not to jostle the injured leg, she cradled the furball and then looked back over at him, “Just a drop off today? Or do you want to come back while I check the little lady out?”

“I’d like to come back and make sure she’s ok, if that’s all right?” Heck yes, he'd like to stay. Dory nodded and then turned to head back into one of the examination rooms with Jason and Allie following behind. Making sure the pup was ok, was all well and good. But getting even a few extra minutes with his little, disgruntled hitchhiker was a bonus he couldn’t refuse.

He stood to the side to let Little Bit walk through the doorway first. He definitely didn’t mind her going first. Actually, he enjoyed getting the chance to check her out while she was in front of him. She had such a natural grace and elegance about her, even in the way she moved. It just exuded a sense of classiness. And not in a snotty better-than-you type way either, it was just a subtleness that seemed to fit her. Now that she was out of those absolutely hideous clothes she had been wearing and in a pair of jeans, he found he didn’t want to take his eyes off of her or her perfectly curved backside.

Dory turned to his hitchhiker and stated, “Allie, would you hold her head still so she doesn’t move while I examine her?”

“Of course,” she replied as she got into position next to the dog’s head. Huh, so his little bit’s name was Allie. One of the great mysteries of the universe, finally answered. It was about time he finally found out. Jason watched her as she got close to the puppy’s face and made silly faces at it, all the while talking in soothing, calm tones. The name fit her. Pretty, sweet, and simple.

The puppy responded to Allie’s comfort by giving her a lick across the nose, and he watched as Allie laughed out loud. He couldn’t help but smile. Something about this woman’s happiness was just infectious. The dog licked her again on the mouth this time, and Allie giggled, “Well aren’t you just a friendly pup.” She reached over to scratch behind the puppy’s ears, which the pup didn’t seem to like nearly as much as kisses because she just turned her little head to Allie’s hand and started licking it from wrist to fingertip. “Aww, she’s such a little sweetie!” Allie exclaimed.

“Yeah, she sure is,” Jason agreed, “she just cuddled in my lap the whole drive over here. It’s a shame she was just abandoned out there. She’s definitely people friendly. I didn’t think she’d have too much trouble finding a good home.”

A quick look passed across Allie’s face so fast he almost missed it, it seemed like a cross between sadness with maybe just a little bit of hope. She turned her attention back to the little puppy and her seemingly never ending supply of kisses. Jason watched her interact with the dog for a moment, before he finally put his finger on what that look meant. “Why don’t you take her?”

Allie’s head jerked up to look at him with wide eyes, “Oh no, I couldn’t!”

“Why not?” he inquired, “You have an apartment, a job, and you obviously are attached to her...everyone should have a dog.” Jason summarized very simply. He watched as a little sparkle of hope started to glimmer in her eyes, and he smiled.

Allie’s gaze darted between him and Dory who just smiled back at her. “But, I don’t even know if I’m allowed to have pets at the apartment. I wouldn’t want to make any trouble just moving in and all.”

“Do you want the puppy, Allie?” Jason narrowed down the question.

Allie looked down at the adorable, little face in front of her and the dog’s tiny wisp of a tail slowly started to thump against the table beneath it. A smile slowly spread across her face, and she whispered so softly he almost couldn’t hear her, “Oh yes.”

That was all he needed to hear. If his little bit wanted the bundle of cuteness in front of her, well she was darn well going to get it. If for no other reason than to just keep that smile on her face. Jason slid his cell phone out of his pocket and flicked through his contacts until he found the one he wanted. After initiating the call, he held it up to his ear. Allie turned a questioning look in his direction, but he just winked.

“Hi Annie,” he greeted when the phone connected, “I found a poor, helpless, starving, abandoned, little puppy out on the interstate and brought him by the shelter to be checked out. Allie took one look and fell in love with the helpless thing on the spot. Are you ok if she keeps her?” Allie’s eyes widened, and her jaw dropped open.

“Of course, darlin’!” Annie’s instant response came through the phone loud enough that even Allie could hear it, “If she wants a puppy, you tell her that she is more than welcome to have one.”

“Thanks Annie, you’re the best.” Jason hung up the phone and returned it to his pocket. “There.” he turned his full attention back to Allie, “That’s taken care of, so it just comes down to
do you want her
.”

Then two things happened. First, her beautiful smile got even bigger and even more beautiful so much so it seemed like a burst of sunshine filled the room. And second, she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a big hug as she cried, “Thank you!”

He was so surprised that all he could do for a moment was hug her back. His arms threaded their way around her waist and held her tight to his chest. It slowly dawned on him that his little bit was full of curves and softness in all of the right places, which caused him to hug her even tighter trying to prolong it as long as possible.

Allie finally pulled away, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment. Go figure, she even looked cute when she blushed. She dropped her hands to her sides and turned back to face Dory, “Um, if that’s ok with you, Dory?”

Dory just laughed as she nodded her consent, “Of course it is. I’ve seen how you are with the animals around here, and I know you’ll give this little girl a good home.”

Allie beamed. She was so happy, and it seemed to light up the entire room. “What are you going to call her?” Jason asked.