Free The Night Belongs to Fireman by Jennifer Bernard Page B

place for them. We don’t turn any animal away. We only have a small staff, about six people, plus security, but we manage to do a lot.”
    â€œI’ve got this bruised nose,” Fred mused, running his hand across it. “Is there a space for me?”
    Again, she laughed. Fred had a way of drawing the laughter from her. “I hope the other guy looks worse.”
    â€œNope. The other guy looks pretty good.” He cast her a sidelong glance that made her face heat.
    â€œWell,” she said tartly. “If it’s any comfort, no one watching me walk home that night thought I looked good. I had blood speckles everywhere. People probably thought I had chicken pox.”
    He stopped, turning her to face him. “Yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask how you got home. I was worried but didn’t know how to find you.”
    â€œI was fine.” She waved a hand dismissively. “Honestly, after being penned up in that limo, it felt good to walk for a while. I went home and then to the hospital.”
    â€œYou know, I’ve been at a lot of accident scenes, and I’ve seen some strange things.”
    Rachel dreaded what was coming next. People often thought she was odd. It came from spending too much time with animals and a taciturn security guard. “Let me guess. I take the cake?”
    â€œWell, it’s true that I’ve never been punched in the nose during a rescue before. But that’s not what I was going to say. I was going to say you’re one of the toughest accident survivors I’ve ever seen.”
    â€œOh.” The way he was looking at her, so closely, his dark eyes taking in everything about her, made her feel very exposed. “Really?”
    â€œIt made me curious. I was hoping I’d run into you again. And then you sent that note.”
    Shivers were traveling down her arms. This whole conversation felt unexpectedly intimate. “I felt bad. You didn’t deserve the way I acted.”
    â€œI didn’t take it personally. But”—he gave her a sidelong look—“there might be a way to make it up to me.”
    â€œI can’t go on a date with you,” she said quickly.
    â€œGo on a date?” An expression she couldn’t interpret crossed his face—maybe shock? “Not like that. That’s not what I mean.”
    â€œWhat do you mean, then?”
    For a moment he simply stood, hands in his pockets, as if utterly perplexed. “I’m trained in urban search and rescue,” he finally said. “I volunteered in Japan after their last big earthquake.”
    That certainly came out of the blue. “Okay.”
    â€œI’ve worked with both rescue and salvage dogs. I know someone who trains them. I could . . . help you train your dog.”
    She had the feeling he was making it up as he went. But why? If he wanted to see her again, why didn’t he just ask her? He was really confusing her. “You’re offering to train Greta?”
    â€œYes.”
    Adding rescue dog training to the Refuge’s repertoire would be wonderful. Starting with Greta made sense, and it was something she’d been thinking about for a while. His offer was tempting, if only there were a place she wouldn’t worry about news cameras. Her apartment was safe, but she never invited anyone there other than Cindy, Liza, and Feather, who already knew her story. Then the perfect solution came to her.
    â€œFine, I’ll bring Greta to your house. Friday at eight.” She grinned at his obvious surprise. “I’ll bring the ice cream.”

Chapter 6
    W hat the hell was he thinking? He shouldn’t be offering to train another girl’s dog. If Courtney caught wind of this, she’d be furious, no matter how broken up they were. Once again, he’d feel like the bad guy. He should take back his offer, right now. He couldn’t have Rachel coming over, even if it was just a friendly