Quest for Love: Los Angeles Armstrongs 1 (The Armstrongs Book 7) (3 page)

Chuck had no choice but to follow Linda into the gardens. And if he were honest with himself, he’d have to admit that he
liked
being around her. A lot.

The way she swayed her hips with anger made her even more attractive. Beneath her apparent lack of self-confident lay a strong woman.

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience,” he said. Linda looked at him, surprised.

He held her gaze until she finally took a breath and her face softened a bit. “Do you have any questions about the gardens?”

Chuck smiled and glanced around. “There is a full-time gardener?”

“Yes. He lives on-site.”

“And these sculpted gardens are the extent …”

Linda shook her head, “No, that would not be enough for my mother.” She blushed furiously and turned around, walking him through the rest of the gardens: flowerbeds, sculpted hedges, and a mini-orchard.

He took notes, asked questions, and longed for an excuse to spend the rest of the day with her. This woman was a miracle. Usually he was very good at reading people, but Linda gave mixed signals. Or maybe it was just his growing attraction that confused him?

Her light and flowery perfume made him want to smell more of her. To taste her. To feel her. At the same time he feared she might break if he grabbed her too hard. When she’d stumbled into his arms, he’d felt nothing but skin and bones.

Then there was the pain hidden inside her… He had the urge to get to know her better. To know her story. Expertly he turned the conversation from the property and its inhabitants to Linda herself.

“What kind of work involves playing with a smelly pack of dogs?” he asked, imitating Evangelina’s voice.

Linda’s eyes widened. Then she laughed. “Animal-assisted therapy.”

“What is that?”

“You’ve never heard about it?” she asked.

“I’ve heard the term, but that’s it.”

“You really want to know?” When he nodded, Linda’s face brightened as if someone had switched on a chandelier and she explained, “Some people have severe problems with trusting other humans. This is usually based on some kind of trauma. PTSD. Abuse. Whatever. But animals and especially dogs can reach those persons. Dogs have a good intuition and they’re non-threatening.”

“Dogs?” he asked unbelievingly, trying to hide the fear that wanted to creep into his voice.

He evidently didn’t do such a good job, because she gave him a look that said she knew. Since he’d been bitten by a Doberman so many years ago, he avoided dogs. No need to relive those memories.

“Yes, dogs. Well-trained therapy dogs have an innate ability to offer comfort. They are patient and non-judgmental. Our dogs are really special and they’ve helped lots of patients.”

“You like your job.” It was a statement, not a question.

She beamed at him. “Yes. I love it.”

She continued to talk about the different aspects of her job, and he loved her enthusiasm. Linda was different from so many other famous kids he’d met. Despite being the daughter of a famous actress, she wasn’t a spoiled Hollywood brat. No, she was serious about her career and doing something useful with her life. He didn’t like that it involved dogs, though.

With every step they took, he nervously scanned the property for dogs rushing towards them ready to tear him apart. None. He exhaled deeply. No signs any dogs lived on the property.

Linda must have interpreted his nervous glances and smiled. “Don’t worry. There aren’t any dogs around here. My mother hates them.”

“Good to know.” He wanted to say something uplifting, or funny, but as a man of few words he couldn’t think of anything, except
I want you
. But that would surely scare her away. “Have you always wanted to work with dogs?”

Linda shook her head, swinging her beautiful blond hair. “No. Not with my mother’s hatred for dogs. Well, she didn’t like my other choice of profession either.” She paused, and Chuck longed to ease the pained expression off her face. “I started out as an occupational therapist, but it was dull. I soon found out my true love was dogs. But I didn’t want to work exclusively with dogs, though, because…” She shyly looked away, and he couldn’t resist the urge to touch her chin with his finger to turn her face to him.

As far as he was concerned, he’d grab her and kiss her senseless. But he didn’t. “Why?”

Linda shrugged, “It might seem ridiculous to you, with my mother’s money and all, but I wanted to be able to pay my own way.”

“Not ridiculous at all,” Chuck said.

“See, most positions in dog training are on a volunteer basis, so when a friend mentioned animal-assisted therapy, I jumped at it. With my training as an occupational therapist I had to take only a few extra classes. And then I found Nate. I started working with him, and it’s the best decision I ever made.”

“You two share a practice?” he asked, curious as to how she handled clients, being so shy and self-conscious.

“No,” she said with a quick laugh. “We’re part of a large practice with psychologists and other therapists. We mostly treat children. Part of their therapy is working with our dogs.”

“Interesting.” What was even more interesting in his opinion was the way she’d changed from awkward girl to radiant woman while talking about her work.

“One day I’d like to branch out into training dogs to become personal companions to people who need them.”

“Who need them?”

“Yes. You probably know about seeing-eye dogs.”

He nodded.

“But there are so many possibilities. Dogs have been used effectively with veterans returning from war suffering from physical disabilities or mental and emotional problems like PTSD. And one of my dreams is to train therapy dogs that will ultimately be handed over to live with a person who needs them.”

“Linda. You are admirable.” And he meant it. This woman had conquered his heart within a few moments of talking to her.  She blushed at his praise and turned back toward the house. They walked in silence for a few steps, but the nearer they got to the house, the more her steps dragged, and then she stopped. Evangelina stood on the porch, observing them.

“You two don’t get along well.” It wasn’t a question. His stomach cringed as he remembered the earlier scenes of Ev belittling and scolding her daughter. No wonder Linda acted shy and awkward.

Linda made a face at him. “My mother doesn’t approve of me. And especially not my work.”

Chuck stopped walking and turned to face her. He reached for her hand and squeezed it. “You are doing a worthy job.” Her happy smile at his praise sent heat searing through his body. That woman wasn’t good for his peace of mind. He liked his bachelor ways, but with Linda he wanted more. A lot more. 

He wanted to protect her, nurture her, and make the pain in her eyes go away. He wanted to make her feel cherished. 

Getting involved with her was bound to bring trouble to his doorstep. It was better to stay away.

“Do you want to come with me to work and meet Nate and the dogs?” Linda asked, slapping a hand over her mouth as the words spewed forth. Before Chuck could answer, she spoke again, “I’m sorry. That’s not your job – of course you don’t want to come to work with me.”

Chuck gave her a scrutinizing look and then said, “Actually, I’d love to.”

“Really?” she asked with her mouth hanging open.

“Really,” he assured her.

They returned to the house, where Ev was waiting for them. “I hope you got a good look at my property?”

“Yes. Thanks to Linda. I think someone from the inside stole your Oscars. I need a list of potential suspects–”

“Tomorrow.” Ev cut him short. “Right now I have a meeting with Steven Spielberg. If you return tomorrow at ten, I’ll have everything arranged for you to interview my staff.”

“Of course,” Chuck agreed.

“Wonderful, Chuck.” Ev gave him one of those smiles reserved for male prey and sent her daughter a smoldering look.

Linda held her breath, hoping Chuck wouldn’t say anything about her offer to show him her workplace. When he kept silent, she relaxed a slight bit.

“I’ll see myself out,” Chuck murmured, moving past them on the porch.

“Nonsense. Linda, don’t be so rude. See him to his car.”

Linda wanted nothing more than turn around and run away from her mother’s hateful words, but she couldn’t. Chuck had stopped and was waiting for her, so she joined him and walked with him through the house and outside to his vehicle.

The minute she was out of reach of her mother, the comfortable feeling of being at Chuck’s side returned, along with the immense attraction that had been building since his arrival. Her pulse ratcheted up, and as they reached the bottom step, she stumbled.
Stupid, clumsy me!

Chuck grabbed hold of her arm, steadying her until she found her footing once again. He was close enough she could feel the heat radiating off his chest and smell his aftershave. She looked up at him and wished he would enfold her in his arms – wished she had the courage to stand on her tiptoes and kiss him.

But she didn’t have that kind of courage. Besides, it would be totally inappropriate. Her mother had hired Chuck to find out who stole her precious Oscars, and she needed to stay away from him. He had a job to do, and nothing good would come from her allowing anything between them to develop.

“I’m sorry you and your mother don’t get along,” he commented as they reached his SUV.

Linda nodded, swallowing back tears at the note of compassion she heard in his voice. “Not getting along must be the understatement of the year. She hates me. I’m not good enough for her world, never have been.”

“Do you hate her too?” His blue eyes had darkened, and she shuddered under his scrutiny.

Do I hate my mother?
The question took her by surprise and she paused a moment to answer it.
Yes. I hate her.

But she couldn’t say that out loud. Instead, she answered, “I need to get to work or I’ll be late.”

“I’ll follow you,” he offered with a pensive look.

Linda got into her small SUV parked beside his and a few minutes later, she was headed down the main street with Chuck right behind her.

Fifteen minutes later they arrived at her place of work, a posh private clinic with extensive gardens. As soon as she got out of the car, two dogs greeted her with wagging tails and slobbery kisses. Not that she minded.

As she turned to introduce them to Chuck, he was hanging back, eyeing the dogs carefully. She held out a hand. “Come meet Courage and Picasso. Courage is my dog, and Picasso is Nate’s.”

“Do they live here, at the clinic?”

“Well, Courage does. My mother refuses to allow him in the house because she says he stinks.” The private clinic had elaborate kennels and huge gardens on-site, and her dog didn’t seem to mind having to stay there at night with the other dogs in training. But Linda minded.

She turned to the dog, giving him the hand signal to sit and wait. “Chuck, say hello to Courage. He won’t bite you.”

Chuck took a hesitant step forward and she chuckled at how tense he was. He was trying to hide his fear, but the dogs were getting antsy, picking up on his fear. She gave both dogs the signal to disappear and then turned to look at him, the relief evident in his eyes.

“Why are you so afraid?” She heard herself asking the question, wondering where the bravery to ask had come from.

He winced. “Was it that obvious?”

“That the dogs scared you?” When he nodded, she smiled. “Yes, it was that obvious. So, what happened?”

His face closed down and Linda feared she’d overstepped. It was none of her business, and now he probably thought she was the nosiest person on the planet.

But instead of telling her to mind her own business, he swallowed and lifted pain-filled eyes to hers. “I was bitten by a Doberman when I was a child.”

“Ouch! How did that happen?”

“I don’t remember exactly, but I still get tense when I see a dog.”

Linda couldn’t help but laugh. This big strong man was scared of dogs.

“Are you laughing at me?” he asked in surprise, a hint of anger entering his voice.

She shook her head and instantly sobered. “No.” Her insecurities came rushing back and she agonized over the fact that she’d insulted him.
Now he’ll scold you and leave.
She didn’t dare to look at him. “I’m not laughing at you.”

“Good. My male ego can only take so much abuse, and believe me, I provide enough on my own.” The humor in his voice animated her to look at him, and what she saw overwhelmed her. Instead of being angry his eyes pierced her with unconcealed desire.
Oh my god!

“Lots of people are afraid of dogs,” she offered by way of distraction. For him as much as for her.

“That’s true. So, feel like showing me around? I promise not to hide behind your skirts if I see the dogs again.”

Linda chuckled and nodded toward the doorway. “Good thing I’m not wearing a skirt. Just remember, Courage and Picasso won’t hurt you. They are gentle as lambs.”