Rescuing the Single Dad: PAWS for Romance, #1

By Kadee McDonald

Will Erin and Jason find their "forever homes" in each other's hearts?

 

As the director of PAWS, the "Pearson Animal Welfare Society," Erin Pearson stays busy helping stray and surrendered pets find the "forever homes" they deserve. The small-town animal shelter was the life's work of her beloved grandmother, but when a million-dollar donation to a new building project is embezzled, Erin fears the scandal will be the end of PAWS.

 

The drive up from San Antonio to the beautiful Texas Hill County to adopt a dog for his daughter is no more than an inconvenience for financial advisor and single dad, Jason Blaine. That is, until he meets the lovely director of PAWS. When Erin later asks for his help in tracking down the consultant who made off with the donation, Jason couldn't say no even if he wanted to. Erin is warm and approachable… everything his late wife Valerie wasn't. But Jason is sure that Valerie's wealthy parents won't hesitate to sue for custody of their granddaughter if he starts dating again and not devoting every spare minute to being a dad.

 

Will Erin and Jason track down the missing million in time to save PAWS and her family's good name? Caught between the fear of losing his little girl and the hope of a promising new romance, will Jason allow Erin to rescue him, too, even though he only has two legs instead of four?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kadee McDonald
• Release date: Aug 17, 2019
• ISBN: 9798223285014

Book preview

Chapter One

ERIN PEARSON BRUSHED a forelock of gray hair away from Grady’s dark, soulful eyes and leaned forward, capturing his undivided attention. Grady, old boy...I think you must be the most loyal and affectionate male in all of the Texas Hill Country.

Grady responded to Erin’s praise with a deep, grumbling growl, a nuzzle from his cold, wet nose, and an affectionate lick across her chin.

Oh, you agree, don’t you? She smiled as she scratched the English sheepdog’s ears, her fingers threading through his soft fur. Well, I guess it wouldn’t matter if I ran right into a single, two-legged male with your best qualities in the next five minutes, now would it? I don’t have time for such things.

Grady woofed and shook his head. He apparently agreed she was far too busy already to be bothered with something as unnecessary as a human boyfriend.

Excuse me...?

Surprised by the sound of a man’s puzzled voice, Erin straightened and turned around in the chair at the front desk of ‘PAWS,’ the Pearson Animal Welfare Society shelter. It had been a quiet Monday and the shelter would close in ten minutes. Except for the vet techs handling the end-of-day cleanup in the Snippity Do Dah Spay & Neuter Clinic at the back of the warehouse-style building, Erin had thought she was alone in the large facility. Her younger sister, Brianna, ‘Bree’ for short, handled the phones and front desk at PAWS, but she’d left early that day for a doctor’s appointment, so Erin was covering for her. The last of the daytime volunteers had come and gone earlier and none of the evening crew had arrived yet.

Oh, sorry. With a smile, she tugged down her sleeveless green-and-white-striped shirt, trying to look professional and more like the Director of the PAWS shelter again. Hi, I’m Erin. May I help you?

I hope so. I’m here to adopt a dog for my daughter. Her name is Madison.

He glanced over at Grady, who’d settled on the cool, clean vinyl floor next to Erin’s chair and spread himself out over at least ten square feet of space.

I’d like to find one that’s smaller, um, much smaller than yours, housebroken and great with kids. One that’s about, oh, yea big. He moved his hands up and apart, then sideways, measuring something just over a foot tall and about two feet long. And it would be good if it didn’t shed very much. Do you have one like that? If so, I’d like to pay the adoption fee and take it home with me tonight.

The handsome man was well dressed and looked to be in his early thirties. Erin studied him for a few seconds while deciding how to reply. He’d just described a pet he wanted to adopt as if he were ordering a cheeseburger and fries at a fast-food drive-thru.

Was he serious? His tailored navy-blue business suit, coordinated striped skinny tie, neatly trimmed brown hair, and unsmiling face made her believe he was.

We do have a number of small dogs who are hoping to find good ‘forever’ homes, Mr.—?

Blaine...Jason Blaine. He said it like Bond...James Bond. She pressed her lips together to keep from chuckling. Pompous much?

Instead, she stood and slid the So, You Want to Adopt a Dog packet across the front counter toward him. This contains our application, as well as information to help you decide if you’re ready to take on the responsibility of caring for and loving a dog. Our website has pictures and details of all the animals we’ve cleared for adoption and that are available right now. Whenever you’re ready, we’ll be glad to introduce you to any of our rescues who might be the right addition to your family.

He stared down at the folder for a second, then looked back up at her, one eyebrow raised. You’re kidding, right?

Kidding? No. Which part of the process isn’t clear?

"I guess that there’s a process at all. Like I said, I drove up here from San Antonio, expecting to pay your fee and take a dog home right away. Maddie’s been pestering me to get one ever since...well, for over two years now. She’s only six, and this should be a happy time for her, but... He paused and sighed. It just isn’t. I want to see her laugh again."

Of course you do. Erin’s heart softened and she smiled. Jason Blaine seemed very formal when he introduced himself, but she caught the wistfulness in his voice. May I ask why you haven’t gotten a dog for her before now?

Frankly, it’s a bribe. She didn’t adjust all that well to kindergarten last year and today she started first grade. I promised her that if she behaved herself and didn’t give her teacher any problems, then we’d definitely adopt a dog. She can be a bit headstrong at times, so I really didn’t think she’d manage it. But she surprised the heck out of me and apparently was a perfect angel all day.

I see. Erin didn’t try to hold back her grin any longer. He seemed like the kind of dad who was wrapped around his daughter’s little finger. Her own father, Mike Pearson, had always been pretty much the same way with Erin and her three sisters, trying to grant their every wish if he could.

Jason Blaine smiled back, his shoulders dropping as he visibly relaxed. So, that means we’re getting a dog, I guess. When I make a promise, I always do my best to keep it.

Good dads do that. But we’re a private rescue and adoption group, and we don’t think it’s very responsible to just hand you a dog and send you on your way. Your family and the animal have to be a good fit.

Of course. He drummed his manicured fingernails on the counter for a few seconds, then finally nodded and picked up the packet. Due diligence is always the best way to proceed. So I’ll take this home, read through everything, and we’ll check out your site. May we come back on Saturday?

Absolutely. We’re open for adoptions from nine to four every Saturday. We’d love to see you visit again, and please bring everyone with you who lives in your household and would help care for a new pet.

Thanks...Erin. He stepped toward the door, then paused. We do have a nanny, but she’s only there on weekdays while I’m at work. On the weekends, it’s just Madison and me.

Then we’ll look forward to seeing both of you on Saturday.

After he left, Erin, out of habit, reached down to stroke Grady’s head. Well, what did you think, boy? He seems like a pretty good dad, right? The sheepdog pushed up against her hand and she absentmindedly scratched his ears again, causing him to issue little harrumphs of contentment. And he certainly wasn’t bad looking, either, was he? I do like men with blue eyes.

She glanced out the front window. Jason Blaine removed his suit jacket, his only concession it seemed to the sometimes stifling heat and humidity of August in the Hill Country of central Texas. He dropped the adoption packet onto the front passenger seat of a black, four-door Porsche and got in behind the wheel.

The sports car gave Erin a pang of envy. Her own sensible compact SUV, a college graduation gift from her mom and dad, was sturdy and reliable, and she was grateful for it, but it was six years old now and probably felt like rolling along in a golf cart compared to that Porsche.

She retrieved the building keys from the desk drawer, locked the main door, flipped the OPEN sign to CLOSED, and headed back to her office.

Grady roused and shook himself, then meandered along behind her, only to settle once again on a large plaid dog bed in an out-of-the-way corner of the room. Now aged nine and weighing eighty pounds, he was a lovable older fellow, intelligent, sociable and devoted to Erin. He’d been only three years old when his previous owner passed away and he was brought into the shelter. One look into the sheepdog’s eyes and Erin couldn’t resist making him her own.

Her office was small, but neat. Records of all animals who’d been taken in, fostered, or adopted since Erin started working at PAWS right after college had been entered into the specialized software they now used, while four filing cabinets were packed with files from before that time.

Erin spent much of her day at her computer, ordering supplies, paying bills, and keeping up with acknowledging and allocating donations. She also updated the PAWS website with photos of the dozens of cats and small dogs in their care. As a ‘no-kill shelter,’ as long as animals arrived healthy or had treatable medical conditions, surrendered pets or rescued strays accepted at intake would stay with them until the right adoptive family could be found. If it walked, ran, hopped, or slithered and needed their help, PAWS would care for it.

In addition to handling the front desk and Saturday adoption days, Bree also coordinated the schedules and training of their many dedicated volunteers. Some of them also took animals home to foster, especially when younger kittens or puppies came in without their mom.

Judging by the thank-you notes and Christmas cards tacked to the bulletin board in the breakroom, and the occasional delivery of cupcakes or even lunch to the staff, all their hard work was appreciated. They’d help create hundreds of happy families.

Jason Blaine and his little girl seemed like a good prospect to adopt one of the PAWS pups in Erin and Bree’s charge. All in all, Erin decided, as she started sorting through a stack of snail mail, it had been a very good day.

This has been one heck of a bad day.

Not only had old man Lambert blasted Jason for leaving the office early, but the forty-five-minute drive north to the small town of Pearson and the PAWS shelter had pretty much been a wasted trip. The lovely receptionist with the long, wavy, dark-blond hair, green eyes, and welcoming smile had been pleasant to talk to, but he could have gotten the same information from a five-minute phone call without setting foot outside his large corner office overlooking downtown San Antonio.

Steering the Porsche south back toward the city, the A/C going full blast against the relentless Texas heat, he pictured Madison’s scowl when he came in without the dog he’d promised her. Their nanny, Mrs. Connor, had called him at four o’clock to say they were home with no report of any problems from the teacher, so he had to keep his word.

Jason loved his daughter more than life itself. The day she was born, he swore to himself he’d treasure her, always keep her safe, and never lie to her. He’d done his best to keep those vows. He’d just have to find a way to explain there was a process to adopting a dog and it would take longer than he thought it would. He hoped seeing the pictures of the available pets online would make her forget any disappointment.

He parked the Porsche in the garage next to Mrs. Connor’s practical little hatchback and headed inside. He was a pragmatic man and not someone who put off dealing with a situation, so he braced himself for whatever might come next.

Daddy!

A high-pitched squeal greeted him as soon as he stepped through the side door into the entryway and seconds later, a miniature angel ran down the stairs of their two-story home and launched herself into his arms.

Madison was tall for her age and slender, like her late mother, Valerie Lambert. She had Jason’s features and cobalt-blue eyes. Combined with the blond hair and fair skin she’d gotten from Valerie, Maddie was a beautiful child, beatific in looks, if not always in behavior.

Where’th the doggy, Daddy? She wriggled in his grasp, trying to peer over his shoulder at the still-open side door to the garage. She’d lost a front tooth a few weeks earlier and the permanent one wasn’t all the way in yet, causing words ending in ‘s’ to come out sounding like they ended in ‘th.’ Ith it a boy or a girl? You said you’d bring it home with you! Where ith it?

Maddie, honey, let’s talk about the new puppy.

He glanced through the archway to the living room, where Mrs. Connor sat on the sofa, folding laundry. She was a spry grandmother hired through an exclusive local agency, and the latest in a line of nannies he’d employed. Maddie had proved to be too much for the first few, but Mrs. Connor seemed to take the headstrong girl’s demands in stride.

I don’t want to talk about the puppy, Daddy. I want to see him...or her...now! She braced her small hands on his chest and pushed back, so that he had to set her on her feet in the entryway or risk dropping her.

She ran out into the garage, peered into the front and back windows of the Porsche, then turned back with an accusing glare.

You didn’t bring him. You promithed you would, but you didn’t. Tears pooled in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks as she stamped one pink sneaker-clad foot. You lied.

Her accusation stung, as her disappointments always did, reminding Jason once again that Maddie acted so much like a small version of her late mother, the beautiful and entitled socialite daughter of the head partner of the financial investment firm he still worked for.

No, Maddie, I didn’t lie. He sighed as she stalked back into the house, crossed her arms and stared up at him, her pretty face contorted in a pout. I promised to drive up to the PAWS shelter to see about adopting a puppy for us, and I did that. I talked to the nice receptionist there, and she gave me an application to fill out. They have a website, so we can go look at pictures of all the dogs they have. Then, on Saturday, we’ll drive up there again and see which one we want to adopt.

Maddie considered his explanation. We can’t go tomorrow?

No. You have school, and I have to be at work with your grandpa. But we’ll go on Saturday.

Okay. She nodded, her pout lessening to a frown. But we can see the pictures tonight, right?

Yes, of course. Delicious aromas drifting out to the entryway from the kitchen made Jason’s stomach growl in hunger. Mm, something smells really good.

It’s just a turkey meatloaf, with some veggies and mac and cheese, Mrs. Connor said. Jason didn’t expect her to do anything more than take good care of Maddie, but when she arrived six months ago, she’d insisted that meant keeping the house neat and making sure her young charge had a nutritious dinner. There’s also milk and a dish of fruit for the growing girl, and a green salad and iced tea for her daddy, who I’m sure worked hard all day before he made that long drive. And there’s a pan of brownies that should be just about ready to come out of the oven.

Brownieth? Cool! I’ll go wash my hands. Maddie turned and darted back upstairs.

You’ll have to eat your dinner first, Mrs. Connor called after her, picking up the laundry basket of Maddie’s clean and neatly folded clothes.

Thank you, Jason said as she passed him on her way to put them away in Maddie’s room. That could have become a difficult situation.

Mrs. Connor smiled and shook her head. Madison might be a little spoiled, Mr. Blaine, and pardon my saying so, but that’s the Lamberts’ doing. Still, I don’t think she would know how to create any sort of ‘situation’ that a capable man like you couldn’t handle.

Jason considered the nanny’s words as he went down the hall to the master bedroom on the first floor, closed the door, and changed from his suit into jeans and a T-shirt. If ‘creating a situation he couldn’t handle’ was a genetic trait, then he wasn’t so sure that Maddie hadn’t inherited a talent for it from Valerie.

Chapter Two

ERIN SORTED THROUGH the mail, dropping all the advertising into the recycle bin. She tucked the rest away in her large You Can’t Buy Love...But You Can Rescue It tote bag to take home and open after dinner.

Her gaze landed on the framed family picture on her desk. She kept it there to remind her why she worked as hard as she did to make sure PAWS ran smoothly. She smiled at the image of Grandma Margie, who sat in the middle of the group, posing on her seventieth birthday like a queen on her throne, with her son, daughter, daughter-in-law, and nine grandchildren standing all around her.

PAWS had been Margie’s passion, started before Erin and her six siblings were even born. The rescue and adoption group had always been fully supported by her loving family, who’d all contributed over the years in some way to keep it running smoothly.

A few months after that picture was taken, Margie announced she wanted to cut back on her hectic schedule. Bree was already working at the front desk of PAWS by then and Margie asked Erin to join them to computerize their record-keeping, as well as use her recent degree in visual arts and design to bring the shelter’s online presence up-to-date. Erin was happy to do it, not only because it would lighten Margie’s workload, but also as good experience for the freelance website and graphic design business she was starting.

Their youngest sister, Megan, then a freshman in college, planned to continue on to veterinary school. When she graduated, Margie would retire completely and hand the reins over to her youngest granddaughter as both director