Quest for Love: Los Angeles Armstrongs 1 (The Armstrongs Book 7) by Jessica Gray Page B

closet and pull out her suitcases. Item after item landed inside, until all three suitcases were full. She wouldn’t come back here. Ever.
    When she’d dragged the last suitcase into the back of her SUV, the anger had only accumulated and she needed an outlet. She grabbed her cell phone and dialed Chuck’s number.
    “Linda?”
    “How could you do that to me?” she screamed into the phone.
    “I’m sorry you’re upset…”
    “Oh, I’m way beyond upset.” Her rage made her shout out the words. “I’m done with you.” She disconnected the call and slammed her cell onto the passenger seat. Then she drove back to the doctor’s office. But the dog training had to wait. She wasn’t in a state of mind where she could do that. Training dogs needed calm and patience.
    Instead she retrieved Courage, taking a moment to hug him close to her, needing the comfort of his unconditional love. She loaded him into her vehicle and then leaned her forehead on the steering wheel, her hand moving mindlessly through his fur.
    When she felt she was capable of driving again, she headed out to the cliff that overlooked the beach. It was one of her favorite places, where she always seemed to end up when she was upset.
    Courage jumped out of the vehicle and sniffed around, doing his business, while she walked to the edge of the cliff, sitting down in the grasses and staring morosely out at the ocean.
    As always her dog sensed her mood and rather than running about, investigating all of the smells, he sat down next to her and leaned against her side. She wrapped an arm around him and then laid her head on his, tears pooling in her eyes. “You’re the only one who truly loves me in this entire world, did you know that?”
    He wagged his tail.
    “My life is such a clusterfuck. Sure, I have plenty of money, and because of Mommy Dearest I’m even a bit famous, but what has that ever gotten me? Nothing.”
    Courage prodded her with his nose, and she looked into his large brown eyes full of compassion for his master.
    She hugged him close. “I love you, Courage. You’re the only one I’ve ever loved that loved me back. Does true love even exist among people? I know others say it does, but I’ve sure never experienced it.”
    The rolling waves on the ocean down the cliff caught her attention. Maybe I should just end it all now. Nobody would shed a tear. Everything would be so much better.
    Courage chose that moment to bump her shoulder with his wet nose and she turned sad eyes on him. “But that wouldn’t be fair to you.” She scratched his head, discarding all thoughts of ending her life by jumping. It had been a stupid idea to begin with.
    Linda sat there for a long time, whispering her thoughts to the dog, and letting her emotions pour out of her. She told the Golden Retriever about Chuck and the wonderful feelings he’d created in her, but also how angry and hurt she was that he’d thrown her under the bus. Linda cried, cursed, fretted, and when all of those emotions were spent, she felt better at last.
    “You know, Courage, Chuck’s the only person who has ever liked me the way I am. He didn’t want to change how I dressed, or what I did for a career. He didn’t even want to get to my mother through me. And he sure didn’t want my money.” She sniffed. “But I drove him away. All because of my stupid mother. She ruins everything.”
    Darkness fell. She had to find a place to stay. But where? Nate would let her crash at his place, but he was out of town. She sighed; there was no way she would go back to her mother’s place. Over my dead body. It was time to take hold of her life and to break the chains of oppression. To become the person she wanted to be, and not try to please someone else.
    With no other friends to count on, she decided to sleep at the office tonight. Courage lived there, and she could use a couch in one of the therapy rooms. Right now, her head hurt and she was so tired, she just wanted to lie down and