Can't Hardly Breathe (The Original Heartbreakers #4)

She herself had grown bolder, tougher—but definitely not wiser. She was allowing her love for Daniel to lead her around. She should be fighting tooth and nail to pluck him out of her heart.

Holly groaned. “You guys are gross. You should hit it and quit it like normal people. And you should really think about getting a cat instead of a dog. Cats are rude, temperamental, and spend their days plotting ways to murder their owners, but at least they aren’t clingy.”

“Nothing wrong with clingy.” Daniel opened the truck door and waved Dorothea inside. “Some women, and I’m not naming names, should give it a try.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Careful, Danny boy. We don’t want your secret getting out, now, do we?”

“What secret?” Holly demanded.

New Dorothea came out to play, saying, “He has a micropenis. And he’s impotent. And he has hemorrhoids.” She patted him on the shoulder. “Go ahead and let the world know. You’ll feel better.”

To her astonishment, he barked out a laugh. “You are diabolical, woman.”

She fluffed her hair. “And don’t you forget it.”





CHAPTER SIXTEEN

THE BEST-LAID PLANS...

Daniel entered the shelter thinking he would adopt a small dog, like Princess. A—a word denoting one, no more. And yet he left the shelter with two mammoth ninety-pound beasts. Adonis and Echo, brother-sister pit bull mixes. Apparently Adonis had been adopted out once before and Echo twice, and both had been returned within days of each other. They did not do well when separated.

An employee told Daniel that Adonis liked to look at himself in the mirror and bark, and Echo liked to mimic him. She also barked when anyone spoke. Or moved. Or breathed. The dogs enjoyed digging holes, escaping yards, and chasing birds and squirrels.

They’d been scheduled for euthanization later that day. In fact, they’d been on leashes, being led to their deaths, as he’d petted another dog.

Daniel had fallen in love with the pair on sight. Adonis was black with patches of white on his chin, chest and feet. Echo was white with speckles of black all over her body. In other words, dog freckles. Both were high energy and in desperate need of training, but he welcomed the challenge.

He’d enjoyed the way Thea’s face had softened when she’d interacted with the siblings. Not that her opinion mattered, of course. He was doing this for himself, his dad and his friends.

After he wrangled the dogs into the back of his truck with Holly, he remained outside, looking at Thea, and she looked at a wristwatch she wasn’t wearing.

“Well,” she said, “we should probably head back to town. I have things to do.”

Right. Like get ready for her date. The black hole in an otherwise stellar day.

Was she wearing yellow nail polish because of Hillcrest? At first he’d thought she’d worn it for Daniel. Because of their interaction last night...

“You know how I feel about you seeing the teacher,” he told her in a quiet voice.

“You know how I feel about being your dirty little secret,” she replied just as quietly.

“You aren’t—” He pressed his lips together. No use hashing out an already hashed-out issue. Especially with her little sister inches away.

He wasn’t going to change her mind, and she wasn’t going to convince him they would stay together forever and his dad would never be hurt.

She wanted promises, maybe marriage. A family? He couldn’t even sleep an entire night. Loud noises freaked him out. Just yesterday he’d liked the idea of committing cold-blooded murder. And if he fell for her and lost her? He’d become a shell of a man, like Jude.

With Thea, Daniel would never be able to relax his guard. Eventually their relationship would end. His parents had loved each other madly, but not even they had been able to defy death.

What kind of boyfriend would he be? How long before Thea tired of his antics?

But damn it. Something had to give, and soon. He couldn’t live like this, wanting her but unable to have her. Desperate to escape the prison of his own making, but with no key in sight.

He helped Thea into her seat before climbing behind the wheel and starting the engine. Soon they were zipping down the highway—gagging and fanning their faces.

“What is that hellacious smell?” Holly gasped out.

“I think the dogs are farting,” Thea said.

Daniel would bet this toxic gas was the main reason the dogs had been returned. The two were weapons of mass destruction! He rolled down the windows, allowing clean air to whip inside the cab. It didn’t help. His nose was permanently seared.

Back in Strawberry Valley, he dropped the girls off at the inn and got the dogs settled in at his dad’s place. He knew Virgil was playing checkers with Anthony, but where were Jude and Brock?

Until the dogs were potty trained, he decided to limit the areas they were allowed to investigate. The pair familiarized themselves with their new surroundings, sniffing everything repeatedly, including Daniel. When they were no longer leery of him, he ushered them into the backyard to play fetch. They played for hours, until the excitement wore them down. When they scratched at the back door, he let them inside and led them to his bedroom. They crawled under his bed and promptly fell asleep.

He wasn’t sure how the beasts had fit, but he didn’t try to coax them out. They must feel safe, maybe cocooned. One day, they would trust him enough to sleep out in the open.

What kind of lives had they led up to this point? Were they ever abused?

He rubbed the twinge in his chest. As quietly as possible, he shut the door, wrote a note for anyone who came home before he returned and made the two-and-a-half-mile trek to the cemetery where his mom was buried. Along the way, he received a text from Jessie Kay.

What’s this I hear about you & Dottie—oh, excuse me, Dorothea—spending the day in the city??? I’m your best friend. That comes with responsibilities—for you. TELL ME EVERYTHING! Are you two dating now? Huh huh? :) :)

Only a few seconds later, another text came in. WHY ARE YOU IGNORING ME?????? :)

He sent a picture of Rachel McAdams in Mean Girls, a movie she had forced him to watch, and typed back, WHY ARE YOU SO OBSSESSED WITH ME?? I’m helping her w/ the theme room, remember?

He sent her a third text. Going to the Scratching Post tonight w/ my boys. You’re invited, but you have to leave your wife at home. I mean it. He’ll make friends w/ Thea & torment me the way I torment him w/ you.

He made the decision then and there. With Dorothea out on her date, he would need a distraction. Jude would agree to go only to act as the designated driver. Or maybe to watch Ryanne...

Jessie Kay: Hahahahaha! I can’t wait to tell West what you said. PS if someone comes knocking on your door, don’t answer. I repeat, don’t answer. That’ll be West. With a crowbar. Oh! And I will be there tonight, with bells on—& probably little else. Because yes, I’ll be bringing West.

He snorted. Stop calling your husband by his last name. It’s weird.

Jessie Kay: I do what I want and he likes it!