Page 98 of Wild Ride

Your honor, Dex O’Malley swaggered into my animal shelter, made friends with human and animals alike, charmed me and my daughter, then proceeded to seduce me in all the ways you can imagine (and ways you probably can’t). I’m a little bit in love with him, but I expect it’ll pass because that’s how the universe works.

So ridiculous! She needed to get over herself because that would be the quickest way to get over Dex O’Malley.

Work. That was what she’d do, starting with the pile of mail she needed to sort. Elbow-deep in it, she looked up when the door to the shelter opened. A woman stepped inside, eyes darting around tentatively before she took a step toward the counter. Dressed in a dark blue shirt and plain black pants, she looked like she was trying to make herself smaller.

Ashley smiled to put her at ease. “Hi, there.”

The woman swallowed. “I’ve come to ask about volunteering.”

“Well, you’re in the right place. Have you volunteered at an animal shelter before?”

The woman looked around again, over Ashley’s shoulder toward the door that led to the animal care area.

“Um, no. I used to have a dog a few years ago, but where I live now, they don’t allow them.”

“Yeah, that’s often the case.” And was often a reason why people asked to volunteer. Lately there had been another reason.

Dex O’Malley.

They’d had an uptick in applications, mostly from young, giggling women, who were quickly weeded out when they answered questions with vapid statements like “I love working with animals” and “I can come in any time the Rebels are in town,” with “any” underlined three times.

But this woman was older and appeared to have had a rough life. Her brow was lined, her cheeks spotted a rosacea red, her hair tied back in a tidy chignon. Attracting a superstar hockey player’s attention did not seem to be on her agenda.

“We have an application form you can complete. You can do it online or fill it out by hand.”

“By hand would be better. I don’t have a computer.”

“Of course.” Ashley handed her a clipboard with the form and a pen and led her to a seat in reception. “You can sit here while you fill it out.”

The woman nodded but hesitated. “I have a job in the mornings, so afternoons are better for me. Would that be okay?”

Concern threaded her voice. Ashley was used to entitled would-be volunteers who thought they were doing you a huge favor, but this lady didn’t give off that vibe.

“We’re looking for people to fill all time slots. If you can commit to a couple of shifts a week, we can usually work around your schedule.”

She bit her lip, still appearing undecided. On cue a howl emerged from somewhere close, just to remind everyone that animals were on the premises.

“It’s okay if you’ve changed your mind. Sometimes the reality of it hits you when you think you have it all worked out.”

“You’re telling me.” She looked up from beneath dark lashes. “Is there any paid work going?”

“Not right now, I’m afraid. We have quite a few volunteers so luckily we can save costs that way.”

“Oh, that’s okay. Just thought I’d ask.” More firm in purpose now, she took a seat and started reading the form on the clipboard.

“Are you a cat or a dog person?” Ashley called out, eager to know a little bit more about the sad-eyed woman.

“Oh, both. I’m hoping my landlord will let me get a cat, but for now this is my best option.” She smiled, and wow, it transformed her.

A couple of minutes later, Ashley emerged from the back with a furry friend. Cleo was one of a litter of kittens abandoned at their door a few days ago. She couldn’t have been more than a couple of weeks old, and one of her sisters had already died because of the cold. But Cleo was coming along by leaps and bounds.

“I thought maybe you’d like to meet one of our guests.”

The woman’s eyes lit up on spying Cleo, who made a lunge. Ashley restrained her until she could be sure the woman wanted to play.

“This is Cleo. Cleo, meet …”

“Ruby.” She spoke the name quietly, almost as if trying it on for size.

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