Wild Forces: A Friends to Lovers Romance (O-Town Book 2) by Karen Renee (summer reads .TXT) 📕

my favorite days of the week. Not only did I have a lighter course load on those days, but they were also the days when I volunteered at Whiskers and Wags. It wasn’t always playing and cuddling with the dogs and cats, but it was fulfilling no matter what they had me do.

Today, I was helping Nona at the front desk with the bookkeeping. I pulled a report from QuickBooks and my brows furrowed.

“Nona, is the shelter really paying this much for food? I thought people donated food.”

“They do,” she drawled before she sighed. “But it ain’t always enough if we get someone who drops off a cat with a litter of kittens. You get me?”

I nodded. “I do, unfortunately.”

The chime on the door tinkled, and Nona turned away from me to greet whoever came in.

I focused on the accounting program and tried to think of other ways the shelter could cover their biggest expenses.

“Miss Cassandra,” Nona called, and a strange feeling went up my spine.

“Yes, Nona?”

“You got someone here for you.”

When I looked past her, Gabe stood on the other side of the desk smiling at me. Perhaps I should have tried dodging him a long time ago. Now that I wanted to see less of him, he was turning up everywhere.

“What are you doing here, Sullivan?”

He shrugged a shoulder. “Could ask you the same thing, Daughtry. I help out Dr. Z on the twentieth of every month.”

I squinted. “That sounds like a crock if ever I’ve heard one, Gabe.”

Nona shook her head. “You’re right, Cassie. Gabe’s pulling your leg. He volunteers, but on the twentieth of each month he’s signed up for a Day with a Dog.”

Before I could ask Gabe about it, Dr. Z opened the door to the exam rooms. “Gabe! I thought I heard your voice. You’re just in time, because I have just the dog for you.”

He smiled at Dr. Z. “Good to hear. Hey, you think Miss Daughtry over there can join me?”

I stood and leaned forward so Dr. Zaloudek could see me. “That’s okay, Dr. Z. I’m not wearing clothes for playing with a dog, today.”

“You got any extra scrubs, Doc?” Gabe asked.

Dr. Zaloudek nodded.

I continued. “That’s nice, but Nona and I—”

“We’re done, honey. You’re free to go with Gabe. You’ll love it,” Nona piped up.

Dr. Zaloudek said, “I think you’re right, Gabe. Cassandra would definitely benefit from some time with Zeke.”

ALMOST FOUR HOURS LATER, I didn’t know if I wanted to kiss Gabe or kick him. I stood in a pair of scrubs watching him guide Zeke, a hundred-and-thirty-pound English Mastiff, into the largest pen in the shelter.

Whenever I had time to be with the animals, I forced myself to stick with the cats and kittens. It wasn’t that I didn’t like dogs. If I spent time with the dogs, I would desperately want to adopt them all. And I did mean all of them. I felt that way about the kitties, too, but for whatever reason I was better able to keep it in check where the felines were concerned.

All afternoon, Gabe and I had entertained the English Mastiff, which Dr. Z. insisted was a runt for its size. If I thought Gabe growing a beard made him sexier, I was not the least bit prepared for watching him play with a cute, humongous dog. Worse than that, I could guard my heart against Gabe’s physical appearance, but watching him shine his playful personality on a dog who desperately craved attention flooded my heart with warmth.

The click of the cage locking interrupted my thoughts.

“You ready, Daughtry?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Ready for what?”

“To go?”

I shrugged a shoulder. “After I change, sure. We drove here separately, so it’s not like it matters.”

He chuckled. “Nope. Brock dropped me off. My truck wouldn’t start, which is why I couldn’t spend a full day with Zeke. So, you’re my ride back.”

My eyes widened. “Did you know I’d be here? How were you planning to get back otherwise?”

“Uber, probably. And I didn’t know you’d be here for sure, but since you were, it all works out, right?” he asked with a charming smile.

Reluctantly, I grinned. “Hard to argue with that. Let me change, and we’ll go.”

“Meet you at your Camry, Cass.”

I bleeped the locks to the car, but as I approached, Gabe moved to the driver’s side.

“Can I drive, Cass?”

My brows furrowed and I shook my head. “We’re headed to the apartment complex. What’s the big deal, Gabe? I’ve driven you places before.”

He shrugged a shoulder. “Yeah, but something tells me I should drive.”

My lips pursed for a moment before I spoke. “That sounds like bullshit, Sullivan.”

He leaned toward me. “Let me drive, Cass. I should consider new wheels; this’ll give me an idea if I want to waste time test driving Toyotas.”

The bell still rang on my bull-shit-o-meter, but something in his eyes made me relent. “Fine. But no funny business.”

He chuckled as I handed him my keys and got in on the passenger side.

When he closed his door, he turned to me. “No funny business, eh? Anybody ever tell you, you’ve got an old soul?”

I sighed. “Yeah. Can we go home now?”

“Absolutely.”

Except, we didn’t go home. He drove us straight to a Sonic and parked in a bay so he could order.

He turned to me. “Tots, am I right?”

I wanted to declare myself a french fry girl out of spite, but that lie went a shade too far. “You are right, but seriously, Gabe. Did you demand to drive my car just so you could get your Sonic fix?”

His grin turned sheepish. “Might have.”

I shook my head. “You’re a nut.”

“No, Daughtry. I’m hungry. Now, figure out what you’re havin’ so I can order.”

Doing my best to keep my face straight, I said, “The SuperSonic Breakfast Burrito and a Diet Coke.”

He looked at me from the corner of his eye. “You’re shittin’ me, right? Take your ass to Waffle House for breakfast, but you order a damned chicken sandwich, which made