“First of all-” Hank leaned past Ally “-it’s a she. And according to the rhinestone-studded collar she was wearing-” he lifted said collar out of the cleansing bubbles in the sink “-her name is Duchess.”
Ally leaned closer and inspected the fancy collar without touching it. Then once again her gaze met Hank’s. “Who does she belong to?”
“I don’t know yet.” Ignoring the quickening of his pulse, he knelt and fastened the pink leather strap around Duchess’s throat. This was no time to want to bed a woman.
Especially when she was his landlord. “It had no ring for metal identification tags.” And hence was strictly decorative. But that confirmed Hank’s guess that Duchess was a beloved house pet, not your run-of-the-mill stray.
He gave her fur one last rub, then dropped the towel and stood, motioning for the dog to do the same.
Abruptly fearful once again, Ally moved back into the hall. “So what are you going to do next?” she demanded.
“Feed her. Get her a bowl of water.” Come back and clean up this mess. And most of all, stop feeling attracted to you. Hank moved through the door, and Duchess trotted by his side.
“And then?” Ally pressed.
He paused in his bedroom to remove his damp shirt and pull a dry, long-sleeved henley over his head. He grabbed a pair of jeans and slipped into the bathroom to change. “I already put in a call to my cousin Kurt.”
When he emerged, still zipping up his pants, Ally was staring at him as if she’d never seen a man disrobe. Her mouth agape, she watched him fish a pair of wool socks from a dresser drawer.
Hank sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled on the socks. Conversationally, he continued. “Kurt is a veterinarian here now.”
Scowling, Ally shook her head as if to clear it. “I know that,” she stated irritably.
“Anyway-” ignoring Ally’s sudden pique, Hank headed down the stairs, Duchess by his side “-Kurt can’t recall a golden retriever named Duchess, but he’s having his staff go through the clinic’s records to make sure she isn’t a patient of one of the other veterinarians in the practice.”