Quest for Love: Los Angeles Armstrongs 1 (The Armstrongs Book 7) (4 page)

Chuck and Linda entered the building and moments later a very attractive man in his late twenties greeted them.  “Hey, Linda, I was starting to wonder about you. Everything okay at home?”

Linda looked puzzled for a moment. “I texted you…and then Mother interrupted me before I hit send. Sorry.”

Chuck watched as a knowing look entered the man’s eyes. “You should move out.”

He and Linda were standing much too close for Chuck’s liking as they had this conversation, and he felt a sting of jealousy at how intimate the pair seemed. He eyed the handsome stranger, trying to figure out who he was and if their relationship went beyond friendship. Were they lovers, or had they been at some time in the past? It was difficult to say.

Linda turned toward him, motioning him forward “Nate, this is Chuck Armstrong.” So he was her dog-training partner.

Nate shook hands with him, and Chuck relaxed bit by bit when the man didn’t exhibit any signs of jealousy that she’d brought another man to work with her.

“This place is amazing,” Chuck stated, walking over to look out one of the large windows at the grass and flowers beyond. “How many doctors work out of his building?”

Linda joined him and her unique smell made it difficult to concentrate. “There are four doctors, mostly psychologists, and including Nate and me seven therapists with different specializations. And a bunch of therapy dogs.”

“Impressive.” He glanced around the foyer, noticing at least a dozen persons in the waiting room, several kids among them.

Linda noticed where his gaze had gone and offered, “We work with quite a few PTSD patients, and the remainder of the client base is unfortunately children.”

“You said that earlier. Why is it unfortunate to work with kids?” he inquired.

“We work with troubled individuals. Most of these kids have been traumatized in one way or another. Physical, emotional, or mental. Very few of them were born with the problems that bring them to our door.”

Chuck had a clear idea what that meant. In his line of work, he’d come across more than enough cases of child abuse. It still caused him physical pain and the urgent need to beat the crap out of the responsible adult.

“Nate and I work primarily with the main child psychologist, using animal-assisted therapy to help the kids feel safe and comfortable talking about their traumas. Until they tell someone what happened, it’s hard to help them overcome their problems...” Her voice trailed off and the expression in her eyes changed from proud of her work to unbelievably sad and horrified about the cases she was obviously remembering.

Chuck touched her arm to bring her back to the present and she jerked, but didn’t remove his hand. That was promising.

“You’d be amazed how the kids open up, even if they initially only tell the animals what happened to them. Sometimes, the dogs simply provide a topic of conversation to get a therapy session moving forward. But more often they provide affection and a sensory outlet to help with anxiety and pain.”

When Nate cleared his throat and pointed to his watch, she immediately adopted a professional demeanor. “I’m sorry, but I have a therapy session in a few minutes. You’re not allowed in the doctor’s office, but you’re welcome to come with us to fetch Courage.”

Chuck wrestled with himself for a few moments, but the urge to see Linda at work was greater than his fear of dogs. “Sure. Lead the way.”

She led him to the waiting room where she called out to a boy around the age of ten. “Luke, it’s time to fetch Courage.”

The boy looked at her with a blank expression and got up, his posture indicating he wanted to be anywhere but at the doctor’s office right now. Luke countered Linda’s efforts to start a conversation with monosyllabic murmurs. But the moment he spotted the dog in his kennel, the boy’s face lit up in delight. He kneeled besides the Golden Retriever and hugged him, accepting the doggie kisses with small giggles of delight. Chuck wanted to leap forward, because he was afraid the dog might hurt the kid, but Linda stopped him by putting her hand on his arm. Again.

Chuck’s brain was about to explode. On the one hand, he admired the remarkable change in the kid from desolate to happiest boy in the world and on the other hand Linda’s touch did outrageous things to his body and mind.

While they watched the kid cuddling with the dog, Linda whispered to Chuck, “You may have read about Luke in the newspaper. He was abused, first by his biological parents, and then again by his foster parents. He’s very slow in trusting people, but with Courage in the room, it’s a totally different story.”

“Does the dog stay with him the entire session?”

“Most of the time. It’s not unusual for kids to end up crying during their therapy, and the dogs just sit with them, licking their hand, and making sure our little patients know they have a true friend.”

Chuck remotely remembered having read about Luke’s case in the newspapers about a year ago and even now rage entered his body, making his carotid artery throb. “I hope his abusers rot in jail and receive some of their own medicine while incarcerated.”

Linda nodded and waited a few more minutes before she addressed the kid with a soft voice, “Luke, I think it’s time to take Courage to the doctor’s office. Don’t you think so?”

The young boy stood, not letting go of the dog for one moment, and then he accompanied Linda to the doctor’s office. Chuck took the hint and prepared to leave. How much he wanted to kiss her right now!

“I’ll get out of your hair, Linda. What you’re doing here is special. See you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” she questioned. “Oh, that’s right. I’ll see you tomorrow at the mansion.”

Driving away from the clinic, Chuck recited a multitude of reasons why falling in love with Linda Ross was a bad idea.
Her mother is my client. It never pays to mix business and pleasure. Besides, Nate is probably her boyfriend. Which is a good thing, because I don’t need the hassle right now. Yeah, falling in love with Linda Ross is definitely not a good idea.

As soon as her session was finished, Linda went outside to the run-out for the therapy dogs to clear her head. In session she should have been focused on the little boy who so desperately needed help, but instead, her thoughts had revolved around Chuck.

Dreaming of a romantic relationship made no sense. There was no way he’d want her. A clumsy and insecure girl who still lived with her mother. Linda was absolutely useless, while he was in control of his life and sure of everything he did.

Not to forget, he was downright gorgeous. She closed her eyes and inhaled dreamily, a smile spreading over her lips at the memory of his chiseled hard chest, and those eyes. But her eyes fluttered open when the hard truth hit her. An attractive guy like him would never want to be with a fat girl like her. Not only was she unattractive, but also a blimp.

A small voice in her head tried to make itself heard.
You’re relapsing into bad habits.
But she brushed the voice away. Hadn’t her mother and her teachers drilled into her that she was inadequate? That she’d never be a lady? Each vacation at home, she’d prayed her mother would find something good in Linda and not send her back to the dreaded boarding school. It had never happened.

No, she didn’t need a man in her life right now. Least of all Chuck Armstrong – the PI her mother had contracted to find the stolen Oscars. Getting involved with him was a catastrophe waiting to happen.

She needed to get a grip on her life. Like right now, before she fell back into the dark hole of the self-damaging behavior she’d barely escaped from.

When Linda had discovered her love of dogs and had taken the animal-assisted therapy classes, her whole life had turned around. She’d bought her Golden Retriever as a puppy even before she started the classes and had named him Courage. The dog had soon become a lifeline for her, and she’d been his first patient. Still was.

As if he’d sensed her thinking about him, her dog came running, fawning. She smiled at him. “Here you are, Courage. How did you know I needed you?”

The dog just cocked his head and waited until she petted him. He’d lived with her at the Ross mansion for a few weeks as a puppy but after he’d peed in the hallway, her mother had decreed
the beast
was not welcome at their home.

A few minutes later, Nate arrived. “Here you are, girlfriend. Congratulations.”

Linda eyed him curiously. “On what?”

“On landing a hottie like Chuck. If you ever find out he’s into men, you be sure and send him my way.”

She chuckled. “Don’t get your hopes too high. I’m pretty sure he bats for the other team.”

Nate came up next to her and leaned his butt against the fence, making a very sad and dramatic face. “Not only does that boy bat for the other team, but he only has eyes for you.”

“What?” she asked. “You must be wrong.”

He shook his head. “No way. I’m an expert at reading men, and that one is a goner for you.”

She vehemently shook her head. “No way. Why would he want to be with me? I’m not even beautiful, and I’m sure Chuck has never dated someone who wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous.”

Nate looked at her with sad eyes. “Sweetie, that’s your entire problem. When are you going to start believing me when I tell you how gorgeous you are?”

“Thanks, Nate, for being nice, but that’s not true. I have eyes, you know. I look in the mirror at least twice a day. Chuck isn’t the type of man to even take a second glance at me.”

“You are dead wrong there. That man was practically drooling over you, and if a man ever looked at me that way, I’d snatch him up so fast, he wouldn’t know what hit him. Tell me you’re not the tiniest bit interested in that hunk of maleness.”

“I’m not…”

“Bullshit! You are lying through your teeth, trying to convince yourself that’s true.” He glanced down at where both Courage and Picasso were sitting, waiting for their masters to finish their conversation. “What do you think boys? Is Linda full of it?”

She glanced down, and both dogs appeared to nod their heads in agreement with Nate. She glared at the dogs, even more so when Courage sidled up to Nate to have his ears scratched, rather than approaching her.

“Traitor. You’re supposed to be on my side.”

“There is no side here, Linda.” Nate said and turned to go inside for the next session. “Hey, sweetie, wanna go for drinks later this week?”

“Drinks? Sure. I could need some distraction,” Linda said.

“Okay, I’m busy Thursday, but how about Friday...” Nate cursed and shook his head, “Forget that, I’ll be gone all weekend.”

“Hot date?” Linda inquired, only slightly jealous. Nate had parents who loved him, a social life, and hot dates en masse.

Nate waggled his brows and licked his lips dramatically. “Don’t you know it. We’re going away for the weekend.  How about we postpone the drinks to next week?”

Linda smiled. “Sure. I have an open calendar at the moment.”
Like I ever had a full calendar.

Across town, Chuck was sitting on the back deck of his house, watching the waves roll in and thinking about Linda. He lived in a  modest bungalow on the beach, and although it was small, it fit him perfectly.

He heard the sound of his phone and pondered whether to get up to answer it or… The ringing stopped and a moment later, his cell rang with the distinctive family tone. Okay, so much for an undisturbed evening.

“Hey, Drake. How’s things?” Drake was his second oldest brother and a geologist who specialized in volcanoes. His work took him to the hot zones all over the world, and sometimes Chuck didn’t hear from him in weeks.

“Great. Are you coming to our parents’ house this weekend for my farewell party?”

“You know about that?” Chuck asked with a laugh. “Let me guess, Tyler told you.”

“Who else than our firefighting brother? That boy could never keep a secret.”

Chuck had grabbed his cell from the coffee table and wandered outside again. “Now that the cat’s out of the bag… Yeah, I’ll be there. Where are you headed this time?”

“Ecuador. I’m going to try and finalize the volcano research I started five years back and couldn’t finish, because the Pichincha broke out.”

“Sounds interesting,” Chuck said, his tone indicating he thought it anything but.

“Tyler told me Preston is going to fly in and – hold tight – he’s bringing his girlfriend along.”

“In Ecuador?” Chuck asked, his mind only partially on the conversation up till this point.

“No, at the parents’. Why would Preston be in Ecuador?”

“Sorry, man. I was distracted…” …
by thinking about Linda
. “It’s great to see Preston, but I could do without Sandrine. How’s his newest project in Sandy Beach?” Preston was the oldest Armstrong sibling and owned several vacation resorts, the latest one being built in Sandy Beach just outside Chicago.

Drake chuckled into the phone. “I guess it must be going well, but I still don’t know anyone who would willingly spend their vacation up there in the cold Chicago area. L.A. is so much nicer.”

“And warmer,” Chuck added. “Sure he’s bringing her?”

“Unfortunately yes. I have no idea how in the world he ended up with that horrible girlfriend.”

“She’s a gold digger and Preston is too enamored to see it.” Chuck sat on the back deck and looked out at the ocean.

“I happen to agree, but you’d better keep your mouth shut this weekend. Preston doesn’t want to hear any reasonable arguments or thoughts where she’s concerned. It would be better for everyone involved not to start a fight with him. Especially after all the work Mom went to to put my
surprise party
together. I don’t want to see her upset.”

“Yeah, got it.” Shaking his head, he asked, “Have you heard about Vivian’s plan to do interviews with veterans?” Their baby sister Vivian was a court reporter, but her real passion lay in becoming an investigative journalist.

“Just talked to her this week. She wants to interview wounded or amputee veterans and compile their stories to write a report about their struggles and their triumphs.”
Linda works with veterans as well.
She would like Vivian, and the two might possibly work together
.

Going down that road was pointless, and he made a concerted effort to change the topic of conversation. “River coming?” Chuck asked, inquiring about their youngest brother.

“No. He’s somewhere in the Caribbean, taking yet another group of highly paying customers on his luxury scuba diving excursions.” Drake answered. River was a free spirit and couldn’t stay in one place for long. At twenty-four he already owned a scuba diving school and tour company, and as part of his job, he worked a large part of each year in the warm, clear waters of the ocean.

“I still say he has the best job of all of us,” Drake commented. It had been a standing joke between the siblings that River’s job was to always be on vacation in some exotic place.

“That’s for sure.”

“I need to get going, but I’ll see you this weekend.”

“See ya.” Chuck hung up the phone and grabbed a cold beer from the fridge. He drank it on the deck and as the sun began to set, he decided to go for a run along the shoreline. The beach was his place to relax, and being able to run at the water’s edge anytime he wanted was one of the best perks he could think of. That very thing was one of the reasons he’d jumped at the chance to own this particular property.

Chuck changed into running gear and set off. As he jogged, his imagination kicked in and he could see Linda and her dog playing on the beach or running alongside of him.
I must be going crazy, I don’t even like dogs. And yet, here I am envisioning a dog running alongside me
.

Sure, Courage seemed like a nice dog, but that didn’t mean he liked him or wanted to run along the beach with him.

But for Linda…he might make an exception.