LITMIR.BIZ

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desire for a little sister. They’d even gotten the gender right.

      Sam renewed his determination: With or without God’s help, he was going to find this for himself and Mindy. He didn’t need the Lord to solve his problems for him. He could do it on his own.

      “Where’s Xavier, Uncle Troy?”

      Troy chuckled. “It’s Kennel Kids day. Where do you think?”

      For the first time, Sam noticed the cluster of boys on the far edge of the fenced area. It was the ragtag group of potential hoodlums that Troy mentored through giving them responsibilities at the kennel. Amazing that his brother, busy as he was, had time to work with kids in need. Or made time, truth be known, and Sam’s conscience smote him. He ought to give more back to the community, but he felt as if he was barely holding his own life together these days. “Who’s monitoring the boys? Is that Daisy?”

      “Can I go play, Daddy?” Mindy begged.

      “No.”

      “Why not?”

      “It’s not safe, honey.”

      “But Xavier’s over there.”

      “Xavier’s a boy, honey. And...” He broke off, seeing the knowing glance Troy and Angelica exchanged. Okay, so he was overprotective, but those boys were playing rough and Mindy, with her missing hand, had one less means of defense.

      And one more reason to get teased, in the sometimes-cruel world of school-aged kids.

      Mindy’s face reddened and she drew in a breath, obviously about to have a major meltdown.

      Sam squatted down beside her, touching her shoulder, willing her to stay calm. He was so tired after another late night working, and he wasn’t that great about dealing with Mindy’s frequent storms. Didn’t know if there even was a good way to deal with them.

      “Hey!” Angelica got a little bit in Mindy’s face, startling her out of her intended shriek. “I know! Why don’t you and your daddy go ask Xavier to take you down to the barn? He can show you the newest puppies. You can stay outside the fence,” she added, rolling her eyes a little at Sam.

      “Okay! C’mon, Daddy!”

      Thank you, he mouthed to Angelica, bemused by the way a little girl’s mood could change in a second.

      “Not sure if you’ll be thanking me in a minute,” she said with a chuckle.

      She must mean his ongoing battle with Mindy, the one where Angelica and Troy were staunchly on Mindy’s side. “We’re not getting a puppy!” he mouthed over his shoulder to Angelica, keeping his voice low so he wouldn’t reawaken Mindy’s interest in the issue.

      But as he and Mindy approached the group at the other end of the fenced enclosure, Sam wondered if Angelica might have been talking with Daisy...and if her joke about him not thanking her might have meant something entirely different.

      Because she was there.

      Susan, the firebrand waitress and job candidate he hadn’t been able to get out of his mind for the past four days.

      Who was she to tell him he wasn’t raising his daughter right?

      And what on earth was she doing here?

      The answer, apparently, was that she was working with the kids, because she was squatting down beside one of the smaller boys, probably seven or eight years old. From the boy’s awkward movements, Troy guessed he had some kind of muscular disorder.

      And Susan was helping him to pet a pit bull’s face.

      Sam shook his head. Of course she was. The woman obviously had no common sense, no safety consciousness, no awareness of what was age-appropriate. If that kid’s parents could see what she was doing...of course, given the nature of Kennel Kids, the boy might not have involved parents. Still, Troy or Angelica ought to rein Susan in.

      At that moment, she lifted her head and saw him. Her mouth dropped open, and then her eyes narrowed as if she was reading his mind.

      “Xavier!” Mindy’s joyous shout was a welcome distraction. “C’mere! C’mere!”

      Susan called out to Daisy, who was, he now realized, standing guard over the overall group. Daisy came and knelt beside the boy Susan had been helping, and Susan exchanged a few heated words with her, then rose effortlessly to her feet. She followed Xavier, who was running toward the fence to see Mindy.

      A knee-high black-and-white puppy bounded over on enormous, clumsy feet, barking. The kids immediately started playing with it, Mindy poking her fingers through the fence to touch its nose and Xavier jumping and rolling with the puppy on the inside of the enclosure. Which left Sam to watch Susan’s approach. She wore cutoff shorts and a red shirt, hair up in a long ponytail. She looked young and innocent, especially since she’d removed her multiple earrings. “Didn’t expect to see you here,” he said, hoping his voice didn’t betray his strange agitation.

      “The feeling’s mutual, and when I get the chance, I’m going to strangle your sister.” She knelt down, and Xavier, along with the black-and-white dog, fell into her lap, pushing her backward.

      Daisy. Oh. Susan’s being here was Daisy’s doing. “I never could control that girl. She always does exactly what she wants.”

      She flashed a smile. “And she always means well.”

      He watched Susan struggle out from under the dog, laughing when it licked her face. Then she handed Xavier a ball from her shorts pocket and he threw it for the dog to fetch.

      “What’s Daisy doing?” Sam asked. “Is she pushing us together on purpose?” If his sister was playing matchmaker, she was doing a poor job of it. She had to know Susan wasn’t his type, even though the thought of going out with Susan sounded the tiniest bit appealing, probably just for the chance to argue with her.

      “She wants you to give me your nanny job, which you and I both know is ridiculous.”

      Oh, the job. Heat rose to the back of Sam’s neck as he realized he’d misinterpreted his sister’s actions as dating-type matchmaking. And, yes, it was ridiculous from his own point of view to hire someone as mouthy and inappropriate as Susan, but why did she find the idea ridiculous?

      “Hi, Miss Hayashi,” Mindy said, looking up at Susan with a shy smile.

      “Hi, Mindy.” Susan’s voice went rich and warm as honey when she looked down at his daughter. “Want to come in and play with the dogs?”

      “No, she can’t come in!” The words practically exploded out of Sam’s mouth.

      “Oh.” Susan looked surprised, and Mindy opened her mouth to object.

      “She can’t...” He nodded down at her. “It’s not safe.”

      Xavier provided an unexpected escape route. “You’re too little to come in here,” he explained. “But I can take you to the barn and show you our new tiny puppies. There’s eight of them, and they’re all gray ’cept for one spotted one, and their eyes are shut like this!” He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, them immediately opened them, grinning.

      “I want to see them!” Mindy jumped to her feet, hugged Sam’s leg and gazed up at him. “Please, Daddy?”

      Love for his daughter overwhelmed him. “Okay, if you have an adult with you.”

      Xavier ran a few yards down to the gate, and with an assist from Susan, got it open. “Come on, Dad will help us,” he said, and the two children rushed off toward the barn.

      Leaving Sam and Susan standing with a fence between them. “You shouldn’t have invited Mindy to come in without my permission,” he informed her.

      “Right. You’re right. I just...who knew you were that overprotective? She’s not made of glass, but you’re going to have her thinking she is.”

      “I

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