Not Just The Girl Next Door. Stacy Connelly

sniffs, happy to have some new playmates. She definitely didn’t have to worry about the two girls...

      Almost as if reading her mind, Zeke asked, “And Chief?”

      “He’s...coming along.” In the few days since bringing Chief home from the shelter, Mollie had witnessed how truly traumatized the poor dog was. The large backyard both Charlie and Arti loved was too big and intimidating for the frightened shepherd. “It’s going to take time, but I feel like I had a breakthrough yesterday using a tethering technique with Charlie.”

      “Tethering?”

      Nodding, Mollie explained how she’d used a carabiner to hook the end of Charlie’s leash to Chief’s collar, connecting the two dogs. “Charlie isn’t afraid of anything, and it doesn’t take much to get her to run around the yard.” With a soft laugh, she added, “Poor Chief didn’t have any choice but to follow.”

      The objects that were too scary for the shepherd to face on his own had been so much easier to handle with Charlie leading the way. Mollie had watched in satisfaction as the Lab wandered off with Chief happily trailing behind.

      “That’s great, Mollie.” Pride filled Zeke’s expression as he smiled down at her, and it was easy to forget how frustrating he could be sometimes. “Sounds like you’re making real progress.”

      “Yeah.” With Chief. Too bad she couldn’t say the same for herself. Standing so close to Zeke, basking in his praise, it was easy to forget the realization she’d had working with the dogs.

      On a professional level, Mollie appreciated the tethering technique. But on a far more personal level, as she’d watched the two dogs together, she couldn’t avoid the obvious comparison.

      As the kid sister, she’d always been the one tagging along, following her beloved big brother and his best friend. But Patrick was no longer there for her to follow, and Zeke—

      Zeke would never see her for the woman she was as long as she was still walking in the same steps as the girl she’d always been.

      “I’m meeting some colleagues for lunch,” he was saying. After glancing at his watch, he offered, “You want to come?”

       Tagging along...

      Mollie shook her head. “I still have my shopping to do.”

      “Ah, yes. Your chew toy. For the dogs.” His lips lifted in a teasing smile, one Mollie was suddenly determined to wipe from his gorgeous face.

      She needed to prove she was woman enough to choose her own path. And if he didn’t see that—if he couldn’t see that—well, then, maybe it was time for Mollie to turn her attention to a man who did.

      “That’s right, and something for me.”

      Spinning around, she stepped toward the lingerie store. In the split second before the automatic doors to the vanilla-and-spice-scented shop opened, she caught a satisfying glimpse of Zeke’s stunned expression in the reflective glass.

       Chapter Four

      “Hey, sorry I’m late.”

      Zeke looked up from his coffee as his friend Matt Fielding claimed the seat across from him. “No worries.” He lifted his cup in greeting. “I just ordered.”

      The two men typically met at Whole Bean Coffee Saturday mornings before heading over to the local gym to shoot hoops. Matt was still working his way back from injuries sustained while he was in the army but insisted the games of b-ball were far less stressful on his leg than the rigors of physical therapy.

      “How’s everything going?” he asked over the din of caffeine-laced conversation going on all around them.

      As usual, the coffee shop was crowded. He’d spotted Mollie’s friend Amanda and the new shelter director, Rebekah Taylor, earlier, but Mollie wasn’t with them. Not that Zeke expected her to be. Her weekends were usually booked solid with the group classes she offered. Most evenings she gave private lessons to dogs and owners who either preferred one-on-one meetings or needed more individual help.

      Add in the two new foster dogs and the additional work she’d taken on since the tornado had hit the shelter, and she certainly had her hands full.

      No doubt that was the reason she hadn’t returned his calls or texts for the past few days.

      “And then Ellie and Sparkle decided to run off and join the circus.”

      “That’s great, Matt, and—wait, what did you say?”

      “Does it matter?” his friend asked wryly. “Since you haven’t been listening since I sat down.”

      “Sorry, I was thinking about Mollie.”

      Matt’s eyebrows rose. “Really?”

      “Yeah.” Zeke sighed. “I’m worried about her. Seems like all she does is work with her dogs.”

      “Some people could say the same about you and your patients, not to mention all the time you spend at the veteran support group.”

      For Zeke, volunteering was the least he could do to try to repay the soldiers who had sacrificed so much. Soldiers like Patrick... In the months after his friend’s death, Zeke had reached out to the local VA and organized a therapy group for former soldiers to come and share their experiences. But no matter how many hours he spent helping the wounded warriors who had returned home, the time had yet to ease his own feelings of loss.

      Of guilt.

      “I’ve been home for months, and you haven’t mentioned seeing anyone special.”

      Giving his head a quick shake, Zeke reached for his coffee and took a large swallow of the strong brew. “Maybe it has been a while,” he told his friend. Zeke realized he couldn’t remember the last woman he’d gone out with. Not that Matt would have known about his dates either way.

      Ever since his broken engagement, Zeke had kept his dating life separate from his friends and family. Oh, sure, someday if he met a woman and things got serious, he’d have to cross that line, but he didn’t see that happening. Not for a long, long time.

      Not after Lilah...

      Lilah had moved to town right before his senior year, and the elder Fairchilds and Harpers became quick friends. Much to his teenaged mortification, his parents asked him to show Lilah, the new girl, around. They hadn’t understood how ridiculous the request was. In a small town like Spring Forest, the blonde, beautiful newcomer was instantly the most popular girl in school.

      All the boys, including Zeke, were smitten. But even as a geeky teen, he’d known he didn’t stand a chance. Lilah had a type, and he didn’t fit the star quarterback, homecoming king, cool kid mold. She and Patrick had even briefly dated the summer before his friend went off to boot camp.

      She’d left after graduation, but a few years ago she’d stunned the town by moving back home. At the time, Zeke hadn’t given it much thought. He’d grown up. He’d moved on. Lilah—and his ridiculous crush—were part of his past. Or so he thought, until he’d gone out with his coworkers and spotted her at the hottest new nightclub in Raleigh. In all the years they’d known each other, she’d never given him a second look. But that night, he’d felt the full-on impact across the crowded bar as she’d checked him out head to toe...

      And with one look, he’d been hooked.

      Their parents had been thrilled when he and Lilah started dating and absolutely ecstatic when they got engaged. Friends for over a decade, they’d celebrated the idea of becoming family... But when the engagement ended, so too did that friendship.

      “I offered to fix Mollie up,” he told Matt.

      “You?” Choking on a sip of coffee, Matt set his mug aside. “Sorry if I don’t see you in the role of