Love Inspired March 2015 - Box Set 1 of 2: A Wife for Jacob\The Forest Ranger's Rescue\Alaskan Homecoming (55 page)

They hurried ahead, leaving Troy to hop along on his crutches, matching Angelica's grandfather's slower pace.

“Guess you hired her,” the old man said.

“I did.”

“Now you listen here.” Camden stopped walking, narrowed his eyes, and pointed a finger at Troy. “If you do anything to hurt that girl, you'll have me to contend with.”

Troy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He was doing this family a favor, but he couldn't expect gratitude, not with the history that stood between them. “I have no plans to hurt her. Hoping she'll be a help to me until I'm back on my feet.” He glanced down. “Foot.”

“Humph.” Camden turned and started making his way toward the barn again. “Heard you fell off a roof. Fool thing to do.”

Troy gritted his teeth and swung into step beside Camden. “According to my brother and dad, you've done a few fool things in your day.” This was a man who'd repeatedly refused a massive financial package that would have turned his family's lives around, all in favor of keeping his single-acre farm that stood in the middle of the Hinton holdings.

Not that Troy blamed the old man, particularly. Troy's father was an arrogant, unstable man with plenty of enemies. Including Troy himself, most of the time.

Even after Homer Camden's health had declined, forcing him to move into the Senior Towers, he clung stubbornly to the land. Rumor had it that his house had fallen into disrepair and the surrounding fields were nothing but weeds.

Not wanting to say something he'd regret, Troy motored ahead on his crutches until he reached Xavier and Angelica, who'd stopped at the gate.

“If you wait there,” he said to them, “I'll let the dogs out into the runs.” The breeze kicked up just as he passed Angelica, and the strawberry scent of her hair took him back seven years, to a time when that smell and her gentle, affectionate kisses had made him light-headed on a regular basis.

“Wait. Mr. Hinton.” Xavier was breathing hard. “Thank you...for giving Mama...the job.” He smiled up at Troy.

Troy's throat constricted. “Thank you for talking her into doing it,” he managed to say, and then swung toward the barn.

He was going to do everything in his power to make that boy well.

Inside, joyful barks and slobbery kisses grounded him. His dogs ranged in age and size but tended toward the large, dark-coated bully breeds. The dogs no one else wanted to take a risk with: pit bulls, aggressive Dobermans and Rotties, large mutts. They were mixed in with older, sicker dogs whose owners couldn't or wouldn't pay the vet bills to treat them.

He moved among them, grateful that he'd found his calling in life.

Yes, he was lonely. Yes, he regretted not having a family around him, people to love. But he had his work, and it would always be there. Unlike people, dogs were loyal and trustworthy. They wouldn't let you down.

He opened the kennel doors to let them run free.

When he got back outside, he heard the end of Homer Camden's speech. “There's a job might open up at the café,” he was saying, “And Jeannette Haroldson needs a caregiver.”

For some reason that went beyond his own need for a temporary assistant, Troy didn't want the old man to talk her out of working for him. “Look, I know you've got a beef with the Hintons. But it's my dad and my brother who manage the land holdings. My sister's not involved, and I just run my rescue.”

“That's as may be, but blood runs true. Angie's got other choices, and I don't see why—”

“That's why, Grandpa.” Angelica pointed to Xavier. He'd knelt down beside the fence, letting the dogs lick him through it. On his face was an expression of the purest ecstasy Troy had ever seen.

All three adults looked at each other. They were three people at odds. But in that moment, in complete silence, a pact arose between them: whatever it takes, we'll put this child first and help him be happy.

Copyright © 2015 by Lee Tobin McClain

ISBN-13: 9781460378861

Alaskan Homecoming

Copyright © 2015 by Teri Wilson

All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical,
now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.

www.Harlequin.com