Taking Heart Read Free Page A

had strangers living with us all our lives.”
    She hoped he’d let this drop, but as he ran after her, he pressed on. “There is no way you’re staying here alone. Not after what happened with Evan.”
    She stopped and froze midstep, not bothering to turn to face him. “Don’t ever mention him again, Justin. Ever.”
    â€œJulia—”
    â€œIf you mention it again, I swear, I will find another vet for my dogs.”
    â€œYou can’t just keep pretending he doesn’t exist.” He reached for his sister’s shoulders and turned her to face him. “Now that he’s out of jail, do you really think a restraining order is going to do you any good?”
    â€œI’m being careful, Justin, but I can’t put my life and career on hold for one creepy guy. He’s gone. I’m not taking unnecessary risks, and I’m watching my back. So are the dogs. In the meantime, I still have a life to live and people who need my help.”
    Justin pulled her into a protective hug. She understood that he felt responsible to watch out for her and Jessie since their parents’ car accident nearly a year ago, but Jessie had already asked him to stop trying to parent them. It was annoying enough when he tried to be a protective big brother.
    â€œI want to be here when they arrive today.”
    She shoved him away and threw her hands in the air. He just wasn’t going to give up. “Oh my goodness, are you even listening to yourself? I don’t need your protection. Stop!”
    â€œLittle sis, you’re not big enough to stop me.” He gave her a lopsided grin and headed for his truck, leaving her to shake her head as she walked the rest of the way to the kennels.
    Julia knew Justin wasn’t wrong. He sported nearly two hundred and fifty pounds of solid muscle on his six-foot-plus frame, so she was no match for him physically. Few people were, but she had spent most of her life outwitting him, and her stubborn streak knew no boundaries. Julia went into the kennel’s small kitchen area and prepared breakfast for the various dogs, mentally running through the characteristics of each of the animals.
    It took a special dog to be a PTSD therapy animal. From what Gage said on the phone, Dylan was a man who liked to be active and would need a dog that could keep up with him. A smaller dog would never do for him, but luckily most of her dogs were large animals. She had a few extra-large dogs, like Tango, but she was leaning toward a shepherd mix named Cruise. He was smart, sensitive, and intuitive to moods. Plus, he’d already shown a good aptitude for picking up training quickly. It was one of the trickier sides of PTSD. The dogs had to adapt quickly and learn commands based on the needs of each individual, usually while they were both at the facility.
    Julia set the food in front of the dogs and went into her office at the back of the kennel, staring at the picture collage on her wall of animals she’d trained and placed in homes over the years. Her gaze was immediately drawn to the beautiful black Lab in the right corner, and her eyes misted. Misty had been a shelter rescue who had performed amazingly well, better than most of the dogs she worked with in her ten years of training. When Evan had called her looking for a dog that could help with his diabetes, alerting him to low blood sugar episodes that had become worrisome, Misty had been a perfect choice. If only she had listened to her instincts, or Misty’s.
    Julia turned away from the board, not wanting to think about the mistake that had been paid for with Misty’s life. Misty was the reason she’d started scent training each of her dogs since. She’d learned a lesson from Evan that she’d never forget—people lie.
    Her phone vibrated on her desk, alerting her of a message. Grateful for the interruption, she opened the screen to see a message from Gage that their plane was