She nodded her head and waited.
"You know Father always wanted us to follow in his footsteps? Well, the only way to keep the peace between him and Mother when I left was if I promised her I would come and work at home if I never made it playing football." He gave a bitter laugh and Rooney watched the dog nudge at his hand with her nose. "Looks like the old bastard will get his way sooner than I thought. After my gallant action the other day when I thought Kate was going to get stomped by that stupid colt, I seriously doubt I'll ever get on the field again."
"I'm sorry, Cade. I know how much your career means to you." Rooney made him a coffee and sat down beside him.
"Yeah well, that's how it goes sometimes. At least I have somewhere to live and a female that loves me." He smiled and stroked the dog’s head.
"And she's not the only one either." Rooney grinned and took a sip of her coffee.
"What are you talking about?" The puzzled look on his face made her smile.
"Haven't you noticed how beautiful Kate has turned out?"
"Yeah, fiery little thing too. She hates me. I can tell."
"Nah-ah. Not a chance brother. That girl has loved you since she was twelve years old. It's time you opened your eyes to a real woman and not those fancy floozies you hang around with."
Cade laughed and shook his head. "No, you have it wrong."
Rooney smiled to herself, watching her brother’s face as his mind worked. She could almost imagine what was running through his brain. Kate was a stunner and Cade would be stupid to ignore what was in front of his nose.
When Cade left, Rooney sat at the desk to watch the video Rhian had downloaded. It broke her heart to see what those poor dogs were going through. She made a phone call and spoke to the manager at the RSPCA. He requested a written statement and a copy of the video be forwarded to him so he could see for himself what conditions were like.
After filling in and emailing the forms to him, she sent Rhian home. It was four o'clock and she doubted they would get any other clients today. Rooney cleaned her treatment room and spent some time with the puppy. It was looking so much better today and she thought about taking it home for Tam tonight.
A car door slammed and she shut the cage door, ignoring the whine from the pup. Straightening up, Rooney walked out to the reception room in time to see Stevie walking in the door.
"Rooney."
"What are you doing here?" She tried to keep her voice even but struggled seeing him within arm's reach again. He still did something to her heart and now she knew he had taken a beating too, she was feeling a little bit kinder towards him. Maybe today would be a good time to talk to him about Tam before it got too hard.
"What are you doing messing with Stubbs?" His anger was palpable and she took a step backward, shocked by the verbal attack.
"What do you mean?"
"I've just had a call from Dean over at the RSPCA. He wants me to co-ordinate a raid on Stubbs' farm in a couple of days based on video evidence you supplied along with a formal complaint."
"Hell yes, I complained. The guy is an arse and deserves to be shot." She grabbed his arm and pulled him into the treatment room. "Look at that pup. He brought it in and when he found out it was going to cost him a good amount of money to fix, he wanted to take it home and shoot it." She looked up at him, pleading with every inch of her being for him to understand.
"Jesus, Rooney. You could get seriously hurt here. He has a reputation and I don't want you involved with him." Stevie grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes.
He looked at her with tender passion and a fierce possessiveness in his eyes that melted her heart. She’d been his whole world then and that was why Rooney had never understood the way he'd left her to take the blame for being caught in the barn. "I didn't take the video. Cade did, and he has a new dog to show for his soft side."
Stevie laughed. "Your brother doesn't have a soft side. Isn't it all about him and his career?"
"No, at least, not now. He’s the one who took the video after I told him about the pup and the other dogs at the farm."
"The other dogs? You've been there, haven't you?" He glared at her, his brown eyes dark and stormy.
Rooney swallowed. This was a side of him she hadn't seen, and it scared her. "Yes." Her voice came out in a small squeak and she spoke again, but stronger. "I called in on the way home to tell him what I found when I examined the pup. It gave me a chance to see for myself what his place was like. Cade took it from there."
"Did you not think it would have been a better idea to call me?" His face was so close to hers, she could smell the musky sweat breaking out on his skin as his anger with her mounted. She lifted her hand to push him away but he grabbed her wrist. Anger surfaced and she kicked him in the shins.
When her foot made contact with his leg, he cursed and his gaze darkened. "Be careful what you do here, Rooney. I'd hate to bring you in for assaulting a police officer."
The words didn't register with her brain. All she could think of was the times when they fought, which were plenty, and the only thing that stopped them was sex. The memories came flooding back and Rooney felt the heat pool in between her thighs. She noticed the moment he shared
