Single Kid Seeks Dad

Nick gulped as he entered the shelter. For a brief moment, he wondered if he should have found another way to accomplish his goal. It had seemed so easy when he’d mapped it out to the judge.

“Kristi, this is Nick Donner. We’ve got him for the next six months,” Gwen announced.

Nick stared at the young woman dressed in a midriff-baring black tank top and camouflage pants tucked into Doc Martens. Light danced off the tiny gold ring hooked to one nostril and another bisecting an eyebrow, while a red stone sparkled from her navel. A barbed-wire tattoo circled one slender upper arm. Her short spiky hair was as black as her top. Dark-brown eyes surveyed him with clinical interest.

“You don’t look like the typical juvie Judge Kincaid sends here,” she drawled. “What’d you do?”

“I hacked into my school’s computer system and gave them a whole new set of records.”

She looked impressed. She gestured for him to follow her to the back of the large building. “Cool. Okay, here’s how it goes. You do the dirty work. I supervise. Gwen or the doc handles any medications that need to be administered. Jeremy or I handle the records. That means you keep your paws out of the medication cabinet in case it’s unlocked, which is pretty much never. What you’ll be doing is hosing down and cleaning the kennels. You’ll also exercise the bigger dogs, which means you take them out to the fenced-in dog park the doc set up out back. They can run free out there, but you still have to stay in there with them. Most of them enjoy chasing a ball or chasing you. You have a dog, right?”

“No, we have a cat. Luther.” He eyed one rambunctious German shepherd with a trace of unease. “He’s real old and cranky.”

She shrugged. “You’re a kid. You can handle a dog.”

“Nick Donner?”

Nick turned around to see a tall man with dark blond hair coming toward him. Sunglasses hung from his T-shirt neckline.

“Logan Kincaid.” He held out his hand. “You’re Lou Walker’s grandson, right?”

“I guess you’d call me more a nephew or something by marriage. My uncle is married to Lou’s daughter,” Nick explained, taking his hand.

“And you reworked the school’s computer records which now has you slaving away here.” He shook his head. “You’re going to regret it real fast. Work around here is pretty dirty.”

“Don’t scare him off,” Kristi warned her boss.

“I don’t have to. That’s your job.” Logan looked her over. “New tattoo?”

She glanced down at her arm. “It was time. You can’t see my other one unless I’m wearing a bikini.” She turned to Nick. “Don’t even try to imagine where it is,” she warned him.

“I know it’s hard to believe, but Kristi’s bark is worse than her bite,” Logan told Nick.

“Yeah. Uh, yes, sir.”

“Just call me Logan. We’re pretty informal around here. Do you understand what we do here?”

“You’re a veterinary clinic. You treat sick dogs and cats.”

“That along with treating pretty much any other critter that shows up. We’re also an animal shelter. The county shelter is usually overloaded. This area was growing enough that we needed a more local place for dogs and cats dumped on the back roads or given up by owners. We have a successful adoption program.”

Nick must have looked uneasy, because the doctor gave him an assessing look and said, “Look, if you have a problem with this, I’ll talk to the judge about putting you somewhere else. Just because you’re ordered here doesn’t mean it’s written in stone, no matter what he says.”

“That’s not it. I’m not used to being around dogs except at the Walkers’s and Jasmine’s real low key.” He mentioned Cathy and Lou’s German shepherd. “We only have a cat.”

“Then I suggest you make friends with the dogs first. Don’t worry about them. They’re all friendly and love the attention. Just make sure to read the tag on each door and always greet them by name. Also, if the tag has a warning about biting, don’t do anything with them. Let Kristi or Jeremy handle those animals.”

“Uh, boss.” Kristi held up a broom. “The kid’s got work to do.”

Logan laughed. “Okay, he’s all yours, Kris.” He walked to the front of the clinic.

“Come on, it’s time to earn your keep.” Kristi chuckled. “So to speak.”

She showed Nick how to clean out the first dog run then handed the cleaning tools over to him.

In record time Nick was wielding the hose, a heavy bristled broom and a bucket.

Kristi stood back and observed him at work.

Nick figured he was doing all right since she hadn’t offered any criticism.

“Once the kennels are clean, take the dogs outside to the fenced area. They all play together pretty well, but we only take two or three out at a time. It’s easier to keep them under control that way. We try to give them at least a half hour out there. When they’re all exercised, clean up the area. Right now, we don’t have any puppies and only a few cats. The cats are in what we call the cat palace. You’ll find two litter boxes in there that have to be cleaned.”

Nick nodded. “Okay. I’ll get it all done.”

Kristi studied him. “What are you? Thirteen, fourteen?”

“Thirteen and a half,” he replied. “Have you been working here long?”

“About three years. Old Judge Hard Ass gave me the choice of working here or going to a youth facility. Trust me, juvie would have been easier.” She started measuring dog kibble into metal bowls. “Logan worked my butt off.”

“So you’re under a court order, too?” Nick asked. He hated to think what she had done if she was still working here.

“Nah, I finished up a couple years ago. Logan gave me a real job here. It helps pay my college expenses.”

“Gwen said someone else works here, too,” Nick said.

“That’s Jeremy. We work a rotating schedule. You’ll meet him tomorrow.”

Nick stared warily at a black-and-tan rottweiler sitting docilely by the gate. “Is he friendly?”

“That’s Ginger and she’s a sweetheart, aren’t you, baby?” Kristi cooed to the dog as she opened the run. The dog stood up and greeted her with a slobbering kiss.

LOGAN REMAINED out of sight for a few minutes to see how the two got along. He’d had problems in the past when either Kristi didn’t like her new helper or the helper wasn’t too sure he or she could get along with a young woman who looked as if she just stepped out of a Goth club. Despite her tough exterior, Logan knew that Kristi had a true heart of gold.

He heard Nick speaking to the dogs in a low voice that didn’t show any of the trepidation he’d first shown. He gave the kid credit for not flinching at the prospect of dirty work. He knew Kristi would find a way to make the tasks dirtier than usual. She claimed they might as well find out right off the bat that it wasn’t easy. Seeing that the two were getting along fine, Logan went up front and stopped by the desk.

“Brenda, do me a favor. Would you let me know when Nick’s mother shows up?”

The receptionist nodded.

Logan might not feel he needed another helper, but he might as well take advantage of the situation to see Lucy again.

LUCY PULLED INTO the clinic parking lot promptly at six. She noted a large sage-green SUV parked along the side of the building with a small compact car and a motorcycle parked next to it. When she stepped inside the building, the receptionist was on the phone. She waved her in.

“Go on back,” she mouthed.

Lucy hesitated.