Saving the Hounds

By Angela S. Stone

Amy and Pepper, her basset hound, are inseparable. Ever since Amy left her abusive boyfriend, and moved to Ottawa, she’s had two constants in her life, Pepper and her protective older brother, Rylie.

Jasper is a man with a dangerous and dark past. His basset hound, Mr. Wrinkles, has seen him through some of his worst moments and helped him find a bright future as the quarterback to the local professional football team.

Their attraction to each other is instant magic, even if their night isn’t. They each rescued a basset hound in their time of need, and now one of their hounds might save them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Decadent Publishing
• Release date: Sep 27, 2019
• ISBN: 9781683613558

Book preview

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Saving the Date

Copyright © 2019 by Angela S. Stone

ISBN: 1-68361-355-8 Saving the Hounds

Cover Art by Fantasia Frog Designs

Smashwords Edition

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Published by Decadent Publishing Company, LLC

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Amy and Pepper, her basset hound, are inseparable. Ever since Amy left her abusive boyfriend, and moved to Ottawa, she’s had two constants in her life, Pepper and her protective older brother, Rylie. 

Jasper is a man with a dangerous and dark past. His basset hound, Mr. Wrinkles, has seen him through some of his worst moments and helped him find a bright future as the quarterback to the local professional football team.

Their attraction to each other is instant magic, even if their night isn’t. They each rescued a basset hound in their time of need, and now one of their hounds might save them.

Also by Angela S. Stone

Duty, Honor, Sacrifice

Duty, Honor, Love

Goalie Interference

Unsportsmanlike Conduct

Saving the Date (with Nathan ’Burgoine)

Dedication

For all survivors of domestic violence, and for all the women who are trying to find the strength to leave, you are beautiful, you are strong, and you will have an amazing happy ending.

Saving the Hounds

By

Angela S. Stone

Chapter One

Amy

Amy shuffled from left to right, standing on her tippy-toes to see around the crowd at the cash register and outside where her basset hound, Pepper, sat tied up to the bike rack, waiting for her. A mom and her school-aged girl had stopped to pet Pepper, her tongue hanging out as she happily drooled on her sign reading, You may pet me while I wait for my human.

The liquor store lines were unexpectedly busy for a Tuesday in the middle of the summer with no holidays or long weekends for another three weeks. She bounced back and forth on her heels, not happy with leaving her dog outside in the heat for so long. She thankfully had had the foresight to bring Pepper’s collapsible dish and water bottle.

Finally making it to the front, she set down the two bottles of her favorite wine, a bubbly Moscato that cost $9.95 each, just about all she could afford on her summer budget, thanks to school being out and her being unemployed.

Do you have ID? the cashier asked, and she fished it out of her wallet and handed it to him. He squinted at the photo for far too long considering she’d been legal to buy for the last dozen years or so.

The cashier rang her through, and she tried not to balk when she found out they’d raised the price of her wine by a whole five cents. Refusing a paper bag, she popped the bottles into her backpack and headed outside, slipping her sunglasses on as she went.

Pepper spotted her, pulled away from the really cute guy who had stopped to pet her, and howled at Amy. Shush, she told her dog, walking over to her. Sorry, she apologized to the guy.

It’s okay. He gave Pepper one last pat on the head, and she caught a flash of gold on his left ring finger. Married, dammit. He wandered into the liquor store, and she leaned down, dumped the last of the water from the dish onto the sidewalk and wiped it out before putting it and her pet me sign in her bag. After she untied Pepper, they started the typically fifteen-minute walk back to her apartment. Only, once they got over the Bank Street Bridge, Pepper plunked herself down on the sidewalk and whimpered.

Come on, girl, she said giving her leash and harness a good tug. Pepper lay on the sidewalk grumbling at her. Pepper. She tugged again. Stupid hound, she muttered. Am I going to have to carry you?

Pepper answered with another grumble. Sighing, Amy reached down and picked up the fifty-pound dog. Pepper rested her paws on Amy’s shoulders as she held her butt at hip height then shifted the dog’s weight with a grunt and trekked home.

As they turned the corner to their street, Pepper started to whine and fuss, so Amy all but dropped her onto her neighbor’s grass. She gave the harness a tug, but Pepper dug her heels in, and she half dragged the stubborn dog the rest of the way home, arriving over thirty minutes after she left the liquor store, drenched in sweat and smelling like hound dog.

Pepper happily went to her water dish and had a drink before climbing onto her favorite chair and falling asleep, emitting occasional soft snores.

Amy put one bottle of wine in the fridge and the other in the freezer before grabbing a shower. Tying her hair up high, she got dressed in yoga pants and a giant oversized T-shirt featuring a rhino with a rainbow and the words Real Unicorns Have Curves, a gift from her older brother.

Speaking of older brother, she glanced at the clock on her microwave. He was late. Typical for him, but still, the one day he knew she needed him to be here.

Double-checking her cell phone, she found no messages either from Rylie or her victim advocate who promised to call her once her ex actually left the prison. She poured herself a generous glass of wine and went outside to sit on the back patio. There wasn’t anything spectacular about the view, just fence and the backs of other hundred-year-old houses in the heart of the historic Glebe district but she had a tiny yard, big enough for Pepper, and her two upstairs neighbors never bothered her out here so all she could ask for. Her dog barked at the back door, and she opened it, letting her out to sniff around the yard.

Two glasses of wine and an hour later, Rylie walked into her backyard. He carried a big bag from her favorite restaurant and wore a sheepish look on his face. One