Where the Heart Leads Read Online Free Page A

the kitchen counter and gave the dog a once-over. Cripes , he was big—and drooling out of both sides of his mouth. “Is he a mastiff?”
    Astrid’s ponytail brushed the floor as she bent down to throw her arms around the dog’s neck. He washed her cheek with a swipe of his long pink tongue.
    “Yes, and he’s just a puppy—I’m guessing about a year old.”
    Moira sat down on one of the dining chairs and stared at her sister’s darling. “Where’d he come from?”
    “Ivanhoe’s an orphan of the storm.” The dog whimpered in ecstasy as Astrid’s hand moved down his back to massage his flank. “I went out into the garage to get some bath towels, and he rose up out of the shadows like the Phantom of the Opera.” She stroked the dog’s head and scratched him behind the ears. “He hid under that workshop table thing when I screamed. It took half a box of your Shredded Wheat to lure him inside the house. Mrs. Fuller, that nice lady next door who met us in the yard when we drove in yesterday, lent me the collar and leash, and I used our breakfast bowls for his food and water.” She glanced toward the delicate rice bowls set out on a towel in the kitchen. “By the way, Ivanhoe really likes Shredded Wheat. We’ll have to restock.”
    “Maybe he belongs to someone in the neighborhood.”
    Astrid gave the dog a final pat on the rump and stood up. “Mrs. Fuller said he got pushed out of a Volkswagen a couple of days ago and has been hanging around here ever since. People do that, you know, dump dogs when they don’t want them anymore.”
    “Yeah, I know, but I don’t see how we can afford him.”
    Ivanhoe walked over to Moira and grinned at her.
    Damn. She had to avoid looking into those dark, soulful eyes and be logical. “He looks like a growing boy, and we have to watch our budget. Remember, part of my pay goes back to Pasadena to pay our brother’s tuition. I don’t want Arne to have to change schools again.”
    “I’m out of high school now. I could get a job.”
    “Transportation, Astrid. We only have one car, and Bosque Bend’s too small for bus service.”
    Astrid gestured at the sparsely furnished room. “But I can’t just sit around the house all day! We don’t even have a television, and it doesn’t take that long to do my nails.” She spread her fingers to display the smiling suns on their tips. “By the way, do you like them?”
    “Very nice.”
    Astrid didn’t seem to care what she wore, but she was totally hung up on nail art. When Moira had left this morning, those same fingernails had been sky blue accentuated with white polka dots.
    “Maybe I could turn the extra bedroom into a nail salon,” Astrid continued, glancing down the hall.
    Moira shook her head. “I don’t think that would work out. This is a residential neighborhood. And I bet you’d have to get some sort of state certification.”
    But what could Astrid do? This was a nice house, much nicer than she’d expected, but Astrid couldn’t stay here all day twiddling her thumbs—or collecting more stray dogs. A job did seem to be the logical solution, and it would be nice if Astrid could add to the family coffers.
    “Maybe…maybe I could work out something for you with the theater people. Painting sets or something, but let’s worry about that later. Right now we’ve got to unload the garage. Just give me a minute to change into jeans.”
    Astrid sprang up. “Awesome. And I’ll introduce sweetie dog to the backyard.” She led Ivanhoe toward the sliding glass door, then turned back. “Let’s bring my futon in first thing,” she called out. “I don’t want us to sleep in the same bed like we did last night. Do you have nightmares like that very often?”
    Moira gave her a bright smile and tried to sound offhand. “I think that was because I was anxious about meeting the board today.”
    But more likely it was because she went to sleep without finding the night light that had been her constant companion