Free The Three-Week Arrangement (Chase Brothers) by Sarah Ballance Page B

shots. “This is amazing. Look at this one.” As she spoke she walked over to Ethan, who had easily captured the cat, then held out the camera for his assessment.
    “Wow.”
    One little word, and it burrowed through to the heart of her. Well, that little word and the precious, precocious glare of her feline subject.“Is she not adorable?”
    “I have to admit, this is an amazing thing you’re doing. I’m not surprised they’re all adopted after you take their pictures.” He looked down at the cat, who scowled petulantly back. A telltale purr suggested she wasn’t as mad about the situation as she let on, and Rue and Ethan shared a grin. “More people should do this.”
    “I’m glad you agreed to tag along,”she said.
    “I almost didn’t.”
    “Why not?” She asked the question in the haze of easy companionship they had going on, completely forgetting his earlier expression over the topic of animal rescue. Great .
    But his gaze was steady, at least enough so that she didn’t immediately feel like an ass. However, relief came too soon.
    “Because of my wife.”

Chapter Six
    Rue’s face fell, and Ethan immediately felt like a jerk. “It’s okay,” he said. “I mean, I wasn’t sure at first, but it’s okay. Doing something that meant something to her is…good.”
    “I swear I had no idea,” she said. Was she actually rattled? He had begun to think the woman was impervious to, well, anything, but the emotion in her eyes suggested otherwise.
    And damned if he didn’t hate it.
    “I know,” he said softly. “You couldn’t have. She had a thing for animals. When we were in high school, she’s the one who got us all involved with the Von Adler Rainforest Initiative. Or she got my mom involved, rather, and it trickled down to the rest of us.”
    “Trickled with the force of a sledgehammer,” Rue said with a small smile.
    He laughed.“You figured that out about my mom, did you? She does everything full force. I don’t know where she finds the energy.”
    “After raising you and your brothers, she’s got to be bulletproof.”
    A twinge reminded him that wasn’t entirely true. “Almost,” he said. “I think I broke her heart. I think I’ve been breaking it every day for years. But maybe not now. Maybe it’s a little better forher now because of you.”
    In the silence that followed, she swallowed. Hard. “And here I just thought we were rescuing you.”
    “We are.” And somehow that lump landed in his throat. He forced a smile. “But we’re down to less than three weeks now.”
    For some reason, he wasn’t as grateful for that today.
    “About Amy. I wouldn’t have gotten you involved in this. You have no ideahow sorry—”
    “Nope.” He cut her off with a mock stern-face and softened it with a grin. “I’m glad. I wouldn’t have missed seeing you this way for anything. I feel like a better man for knowing you, and for having a very small part in this big thing you do.”
    Rue’s blue gaze widened, then fell to somewhere in the vicinity of his chest, where his heart skipped and hummed for no reasonat all.
    “Hey, you two. I have a literal basket full of puppies. Want to give me a hand here?” Kate’s voice cut through the thick silence, and only then did Ethan realize the actual riot of noise happening around them.
    He turned away from Rue to the sound of dogs barking from another room. Kate stood not far from them with five squirmy golden puppies rolling around in a basket, andhe heard Rue’s breath catch as she reached for the most intrepid of the group, who had his paws on the edge and his nose poked over the side. She scooped up the dog then looked at Ethan. “It’s a good thing I’m leaving because I’d probably adopt them all. I’d put this place out of business all on my own.”
    He ignored the funny feeling in his chest and took the basket from Kate, who wishedthem “the best of luck” before retreating.
    “Where should I put them?”
    Rue stepped ahead of