Busting Loose Read Online Free Page B

sexy as sin package. But the thinking part realized immediately it’d been too effortless, too smooth. Like it was just another trick in her arsenal.
    Somehow, somewhere she’d gotten the idea she had no value other than her looks. Her acting likely hadn’t done anything to discourage the notion, but he had a feeling the roots ran deeper than that.
    He stood still, listened as Bea and that dog-baby she loved so intensely walked back through the doors to the clinic area and up to the reception desk. Likely she’d brought the dog because she hadn’t thought she’d be here long. He didn’t care if she brought him daily. He was well-behaved enough—and chill enough about other animals—to not be an issue. One of his techs often brought her own massive golden retriever, because he was too old to stay home alone now, and the sweet thing curled up on a bed in the back storage area most of the time.
    Part of him couldn’t help but wonder . . . had he hired her because he’d been struck dumb by her since the day she’d shown up at the M-Star? He could barely remember her as a child. She’d just been too far below him age-wise to make an impression. If Peyton had been Trace’s younger sister, Bea had just been “the baby” to his boyish train of thought. Hardly worth a second glance. But now . . . she was worth a lifetime of glances, as far as he was concerned.
    Maybe he wanted to see her succeed more than she did. Maybe the job would be a disaster. He immediately shook that thought off, as he heard Bea coo to Milton for performing some trick or another in the front lobby. She’d proven herself in those few moments the day before; at least she was more capable than he of handling the phone and customers. She could do this. He hadn’t imagined her skills.
    And if his mother was right, and it turned out to be a disaster, he’d figure out a way to fix it. Morgan was fairly certain he wasn’t so blind with lust that he would risk the reputation of his clinic or the shelter just to make a pretty woman happy.
    They’d see how it went. And he had a feeling, come hell or high water, Beatrice was going to prove herself a worthy partner. She was a Muldoon, after all. They never did say die.
    Â 
    How the hell did this stupid scheduling system work? Bea clicked around, opening the scheduling system several times on the ancient desktop, but each time the schedule showed no patients. She knew that wasn’t the case at all, since the backup handwritten schedule had markings all over it. Code, that is. The former receptionist must have had a system in place. She’d just have to check about that later, when Jaycee came in after classes. Maybe there was a different program she couldn’t find. She would ask Morgan, but he hadn’t come out of his office since they’d finished feeding the shelter dogs.
    The bell above the front door rang, and she gave one final click before sighing in exasperation and turning to greet her first customer.
    â€œHey there.” Bea smiled brightly at the sweetheart with a bright purple shirt and coordinating shorts standing in front of her desk. “And who might you be?”
    The little girl, maybe nine or ten years old, grinned, showing off a missing tooth, and whispered, “Alice Stevens.” The name came out as a lisp thanks to the missing front tooth.
    â€œHi, Alice. I’m Bea. It’s nice to meet you.” She held out a hand, which the girl shook quite seriously. “Who have you brought in for us today?”
    â€œSampson,” she lisped, still barely audible. Kid couldn’t catch a break with the S words today.
    â€œSampson, huh? Is he new?”
    Alice shook her head, the long tail of carrot-orange hair slinking to and fro.
    â€œDoes your mommy or daddy have Sampson in the car?”
    Alice nodded, grinning.
    â€œWell, bring the handsome man in. I’m new, so I’m playing