Page 21 of Bad Girls Don't Marry Marines (Rock Canyon, Idaho 3)

“Can I help you?”

The kid was obviously irritated, but Justin was more amused than anything else. He remembered being eighteen with a giant chip on his shoulder, but that had been before his drill sergeant had put him through the ringer. There was something to be said for learning a little respect.

“Yeah. I’m Justin Silverton. I won a couple of concert tickets.”

The kid reached across the desk, grabbed a large envelope, and handed it to him. “Here.”

“Thanks, man.” Justin opened it, a little surprised it was so thick for just two tickets. He frowned as he pulled out a packet and read the front page: Welcome to True Love, where your perfect match is waiting for you!

“Uh, you gave me the wrong package, bud,” Justin said as he slipped the papers back inside and tried to hand it back to Mr. Attitude.

“That’s the only thing here, bud.” Even the kid’s lip piercing seemed to sneer at him.

Justin tried to keep his cool but was close to exploding. “Let me talk to your manager.”

“Whatever.” The kid got up and walked out of the room muttering, “Fucking hick.”

Justin’s goodwill vanished. The little shit deserved to have his ass kicked.

A moment later, Callie Jacobsen walked through the door, her huge Anatolian shepherd beside her. Some of the farmers in the area had large dogs guarding their flock, but Callie’s dog, Killer, wasn’t guarding sheep; he guarded Callie. She took the big son of a bitch everywhere, and most people gave her a wide berth because of it.

“Hey, Justin. Liam says you have a problem with your prize?”

Liam. Figures he’d have a candy-ass name.

“The only issue I have is that it’s the wrong one. I won the Brad Paisley tickets.”

“Oh no!” Callie looked horrified before whirling on Liam. “Liam, you’re supposed to double-check the prizewinner’s name and driver’s license before you hand over the goods.” Justin was surprised by the volume of her voice. Aside from when she was on air, Callie was usually quiet as a mouse.

Liam the Sullen pushed up his black Buddy Holly glasses and snapped, “I guess I forgot.”

Justin saw Callie stiffen at his flippancy. “Get out. I’ll let your professor know this isn’t a good fit for you and he’ll find you another internship,” Callie said, pointing toward the door.

Liam’s pasty face turned maroon. “You can’t do that! The semester’s been in session for a month. If you drop me now, they won’t have another internship in my field.”

“That’s your fault, not mine. Since you got here, you’ve been rude and deliberately unpleasant, making it known to everyone that you despise country music and ever

yone who listens to it. As long as you did your job, I could ignore it, but you screwed up. Maybe next time you get an opportunity to learn something about your field, you’ll appreciate it more.”

Justin wanted to cheer her on, but the minute Liam’s stocky frame turned menacing, he tensed.

“You bitch, you can’t—”

Justin froze—along with Liam—as a deep, guttural warning emanated from Killer, the hackles of blond fur rising along his shoulders and back. The black lips of his muzzle pulled back, exposing inch-long white fangs that could easily rip someone’s throat out with little effort.

Liam backed up with a scowl until he was on the other side of the desk.

Callie reached down and touched the dog’s massive head, murmuring, “It’s okay.”

Killer stopped growling and sat. When Liam opened his mouth to say something else, Justin stepped in. “Get the hell out of here, kid, before you have more than the dog to worry about.”

As Liam hitched up his pants, grabbed his jacket, and ran out of the door, Justin turned to Callie, chuckling. “I can’t believe he lasted a month here.”

“Me neither.” Callie lost her smile as she held onto the envelope. “I am so sorry, Justin. I’ll try to call the other winner and let them know about the mistake, but I’m not sure how much luck I’ll have.”

“I don’t suppose you have any extra tickets floating around?” Justin knew the answer by the grim set of her mouth. “Yeah, didn’t think so.”

“Hold on while I try to call, okay?”

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