Safe in His Heart

She rescues stray dogs, but can she find a forever home for herself?

Robin Cooper’s favorite people are dogs. She’s learned the hard way that people can’t be trusted, and bullying has left its mark on her: her planned career is down the tubes and she’d much rather rescue strays and daydream happy endings than rely on people…until an unexpected encounter with a ranch hand makes her re-think her sheltered safety.

Cliff Jackson’s world fell apart when his father died and the ranch went to auction. He’s trying to get his head straight while working as a hand on his uncle’s ranch near McCormick’s Creek, Oregon. Then Robin Cooper enters his life with her smile, her compassion, and her magic around dogs. Could there be room for her alongside his grief and uncertain future?

Robin gathers her courage to start a local animal shelter. She’ll need funding, council approval and, most of all, Cliff’s support. But when the ranch has problems, Cliff is torn between helping his uncle and keeping his promises to Robin.

Will Robin retreat to her four-legged friends or choose love with all its risks?

"Jen Peters writes sweet and satisfying romances with a dose of persevering through troubles and just the right chemistry between characters."

Robin tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, keeping time with her favorite Lady Antebellum song and wondering where in the world she was going to put another dog. Augie already had the run of the house and the spot on her bed. The four others spent the days in the backyard and the nights in the family room. Her mother would croak if she brought another one home before she found families for at least one of them.

She drove out of McCormick’s Creek, and as the hills opened up into the small Hawthorne Valley, she wondered again why she didn’t come out here more often. It wasn’t far, and it was beautiful—Mr. Jackson’s Double J Ranch filling the right side of the valley, a few houses close in on the left, and a lady’s horse ranch behind them. Lots of acres of pasture and alfalfa, dotted with livestock.

She pulled down the Double J’s long driveway and up to an old-fashioned red barn. There were other outbuildings, pole barns with metal siding, but this was the one Mrs. J’s grandfather had built. A round pen for training horses and a complex of cattle chutes stood to the side of the horse barn, with a two-story house across a wide, open space.

She didn’t see Mr. Jackson around the buildings, but there was a guy she didn’t know loading alfalfa bales from a flatbed onto a long hay elevator, and she figured Jory, Mr. J’s ranch hand, was the one hauling bales off at the other end and stacking them in the hay barn.

She watched the new guy load bales, whacking the hay hooks into each end and tossing them easily and accurately. He was lean, with a t-shirt sticking to him that showed off well-defined shoulder and back muscles. He definitely wasn’t new to this kind of work. She grinned as she watched him—she was in no hurry, as long as he didn’t turn around and see her. He tossed his dusty blond hair out of his eyes once in a while, showing enough of his face to make her smile some more.

Then he looked up.

A flash of green eyes caught hers. He set his hay hooks into a bale, pulled off his gloves and wiped an arm across his face, then hopped off the flatbed and approached.

Oh my. Robin took a step back.

“Can I help you?” he asked.

“I was looking for Mr. Jackson,” she said, stammering slightly. Maybe he wouldn’t notice. “He called and said he has a dog for me.”

He grinned suddenly, his blank face coming to life. “You’re the dog lady! I’m Cliff Jackson. Phil’s my uncle.”

She could only nod. He wasn’t model-pretty, at least not his face—his nose looked like it had been broken, and he had a slightly chipped front tooth. Hay dust coated his skin and gave him an overall gritty look. But there was a lot of life in his smile and oh, those eyes!

“So you’re going to take the stray?”

She swallowed. “Yup,” she finally croaked. “I’ve got a kennel I can put him in if he doesn’t get along with the others.”

Cliff looked at her. “Last we saw, he was over by the heifers,” he finally said. “This way.”

Robin followed him around the red barn and across a pasture to where a small herd of cattle milled around. She didn’t know an awful lot about cows, but she knew these were black Angus.

She looked where Cliff pointed and finally made out a grayish dog with a long snout and a bushy tail. “He’s a dog, not a coyote?” she asked.

“Yup,” came Mr. Jackson’s rough voice. “Glad you could make it so quickly. And he’s definitely dog. Has some herding instincts, too, and he won’t quit bothering them.”

She watched the dog for a few moments. He, or she, nipped at a heifer’s heels and agilely dodged her kick. “Got any ideas?” she asked.

“We tried bribing him with meat,” Cliff said. “Some old beef pieces that were too tough to cook easy. We figured he’d come to those, but he’s too wily.”

“Do you mind if I try?”

Cliff lifted one shoulder and let it drop. “Sure, anything to get him out of here.”

He trotted off toward the house, and Robin forced herself to look at Mr. Jackson. “How’ve you been, Mr. J?”

“Oh, can’t complain. Well, I could, but it wouldn’t change anything,” he chuckled.

“So Cliff—is he out for the summer?”

Mr. Jackson’s smile sank into a frown. “No, his dad—my brother—passed away this spring. They had to sell the ranch, but his mom couldn’t convince him to go to college. Doesn’t want to do anything but ranching. So he’s out here until he figures out just what he wants.”

“How awful. About his dad, I mean, not that he’s out here. But…his mom? Doesn’t she need him?”

Cliff came jogging up right then, holding a bowl with meat scraps in the bottom. “Good luck.”

Robin kept her face blank. He was all about the dog right now. Like she should be.

Mr. Jackson handed her an old rope, and she followed Cliff out to the heifers. They were nervous with the strange dog, milling about and bumping into each other. Cliff talked softly to them as they approached. She liked that—he obviously knew his way around animals.

As they worked their way to the side, a heifer lashed out with her hind foot, and the dog didn’t move fast enough. He yelped and leapt backward, then hobbled away on three legs.

“Oh no,” Robin cried. She took the bowl of scraps and hurried toward the dog. She slowed as she approached him, hunkered down low and called softly to him. “Here boy, I’m not going to hurt you.”

She held her hand out slowly, palm up, but he just looked at her with wary eyes. His ears flicked back and forth, and his muscles bunched to move.

She reached for a piece of meat and held it out, dripping juices. “Here, look what I’ve got,” she crooned. “You’re hungry, aren’t you? What a handsome boy you are, don’t you want some of this?”

She kept murmuring, focused on the dog and not knowing where Cliff was, only that she didn’t hear or feel him moving behind her. The dog had laser eyes for the meat. His nose twitched and he limped forward a few inches.

Robin mimicked him, and they closed the distance, alternating a few inches at a time. Finally, the dog snatched the piece of meat from her hand. He swallowed it in one gulp and backed off a few feet, his left hind leg hovering off the ground. She held another piece out, and he didn’t take as long to creep forward again. On the third time, she set the bowl on the ground and he let her slip the rope around his neck while he gobbled up the rest.

She knelt and crooned to him. The dog licked his mouth and over his nose, looked to her for more, then came forward to sniff her hands. He quivered as she petted him. She drew the rope snug, murmured some more, and stood slowly.

When she turned, Cliff was standing twenty feet back and grinning widely. “We couldn’t even get close before,” he said. “You really are the dog lady, aren’t you?”

Robin just shook her head and focused on the dog, but she couldn’t keep a smile off her face. “Dr. Jan can fix up his leg. Do you think you can carry him to my car?”

Cliff was gentle as he felt the dog’s leg, but it yelped anyway. “Might be broken,” he said. “We need—oh, thanks, Uncle Phil. Perfect.” He took an old saddle pad from Mr. Jackson and carefully eased the dog onto it. “What do you say, boy? Would you like to go get fixed up?” They headed back, and he turned to Robin. “I can go with you. You’ll need someone to hold him in the car.”

“Sure, that would be a big help.” She forced herself to keep this smile on the inside. Cliff might be cute, but guys like him were never interested in her.

It was a short fifteen minutes to Dr. Jan’s, but it seemed the longest drive Robin had ever made. The dog whimpered in Cliff’s lap, and just having Cliff so near made time slow. If she were honest, she’d have to admit that it made her nervous. She was hyperaware of him, his small movements, his breathing, his very presence. She wasn’t sure how to react or what to say, so she didn’t say anything.

Cliff glanced at her once in a while, and she pulled up to the vet’s office with relief. “I can take it from here,” she said.

Cliff lifted his eyebrows and grinned, a dimple making its appearance. “You’re my ride home, so I’m in it for the long haul.” He carried the dog in like a crown on a pillow.

They skipped the line and were sent back to the first exam room. Cliff set the dog on the exam table, keeping a hand on him while Robin huddled over him, whispering sweet nothings. Dr. Jan came in shortly.

“Hey, Cliff. Don’t usually see you off your uncle’s ranch. And who do you have for me today, Robin?”

She shook her head. “Mr. Jackson called me—the dog was bothering the cattle. And the cattle got payback before we could catch him.”

“Uh huh.” Dr. Jan listened to the dog’s heart and checked his eyes, then gently felt his leg. “We’ll get an x-ray, but I’m pretty sure it’s broken. Hang tight for a few minutes.” An assistant came in, and together they put him on a cart and wheeled him out.

Robin and Cliff sat in silence for a moment. “So who pays for all this?” Cliff finally asked.

“Dr. Jan is one of the best people around. She only charges me for medicines and any lab work that has to get sent out.”

“That’s it?” Cliff let out a low whistle.

“Yeah, well, meds can get expensive. Which might explain why I still have a rattletrap of a car, no matter how hard I work.”

“What do you do?”

She wished she could say she was doing something fancy, something with her degree, but she wouldn’t lie. “I’m a waitress at Nora’s Place. Nora’s my mom.”

“I’ve eaten at her place—it’s pretty good. And yeah, a new car would be hard when you’re paying vet bills too.”

She smiled. “Thanks. We think so, anyway. It would be nice if every night were busy, but the town’s been in a rough patch for a while now.”

They sat wrapped in their own thoughts, but Robin’s musings about the town kept getting overlaid by the awareness of Cliff’s nearness. They sat on adjacent chairs—no other choice in the small exam room—and she could feel the heat from his body. His hand brushed hers once, and she could swear a tingle went from her fingers up her arm, across her torso, and down the other side.

“Are you—”

“What do you—”

They smiled at each other awkwardly, then tried again.

“You first.”

“You first.”

Then, “Jinx!” they shouted together.

Cliff chuckled. “You played that as a kid, too?”

“My brother Justin used to set me up just to jinx me and keep me from talking for an hour.” Robin rolled her eyes. “One time it took all day for someone to say my name.”

“He’s older than you?”

“Three years. He’s turned into a great big brother, but boy could he tease me when I was little.” Robin glanced at the door the vet had taken the dog through. Still nothing. “So, do you have brothers or sisters?”

“Nope, just me. I don’t think they planned me as an only child, but Mom had lots of miscarriages.”

Robin wasn’t sure what to say, but was saved by the door opening.

Dr. Jan gave them a smile. “It was a clean break, but he’ll need a week or two of quiet, and the cast will be on six or eight weeks. Do you have a pen to keep him confined?”

Robin nodded. “I’m not sure if he’ll settle for that though—I don’t know him at all.”

“I know you, Robin Cooper,” Dr. Jan said. “You’ll find a way. He’s pretty doped up right now, but you can take him any time. Suzie will bring him in as soon as the cast is set. I’ve got some pain meds for him at the front desk.”

Robin left Cliff to wait for the vet tech while she paid for the medication. She smiled when they brought the dog out. Both he and the saddle pad were still grimy, but his slender cast was a brilliant pink.

They didn’t talk much on the way back to the ranch—Cliff’s attention seemed to be concentrated on keeping the dog still. When she pulled up to the ranch house, he looked at the dog and then her. “What now?”

“Well, if you could set the saddle pad down where your feet are, hopefully he’ll stay there while I drive home.

Cliff looked doubtful but wriggled out of the car with the dog still in his arms, then set him on the floor. The sleepy dog stayed put.

“Okay, then,” Robin said. “Um, I’m really glad you could help.”

“No problem.” Cliff looked over at the barn, then back at her. “So, what will you do with him now?”

The scruffy stray looked up and Robin met his eyes. “We have a play yard, sort of kid-sized panels that hook together and make a small pen. I’ll probably keep him inside in that.”

Cliff pulled the door a little closer but didn’t shut it. “Uh, will you name him?”

“Of course, when the right name comes to me,” she replied. He was sure stringing out the conversation, but she needed to get the dog well settled before she went to work. Besides, gorgeous guys like him were never really interested in her. She moved the gearshift into Drive. “I really ought to get him home.”

“Sure,” Cliff said, finally stepping back. “See you around.”

“Thanks again.” She lifted a hand in farewell as he shut the door, then turned in his driveway and headed out. He was walking toward the barn when she looked back in the mirror.

All the energy inside her vanished as she thought back through the afternoon. Cliff was…well, he was awesome, if she wanted to admit that much. Good looking, kind, helpful. He didn’t have to go to the vet with her, and he didn’t have to try for an extended goodbye. Maybe he was just being friendly, but maybe he could be interested in her, although she was mousy and nothing to look at.

But even if he was, she’d been burned before. She had trusted boyfriends and regular friends both, only to have things go sour when she least expected it. She was done with that. Cliff was a hottie, sure, but she’d crush on him from a distance where it was safe.

“Let’s go home, dog.”