Unforgettable by Meryl Sawyer Page B

and the beautiful brunette behind. She led Dodger into the lingerie department, confident that Greg would find her when he returned. She stopped between two racks of bras and matching panties.
    Dodger licked her hand, a quick flick of the tongue. She petted him the way Greg had that day when Dodger had found the vial, jostling his ears.
    “You’re good at what you do, Dodger. The best.” She kneeled beside him and gazed into his eyes. She couldn’t resist giving him a hug. The dog stiffened as her arms wrapped around him. Evidently, Greg didn’t hug him often. A few seconds passed as she murmured what a good dog he was, and Dodger’s taut body relaxed. He licked her cheek, just another quick swipe of his tongue, but it made her happy. She kept hugging him, wishing she had someone to hug her.
     
     
    G reg walked back into Kmart and didn’t see Lucky and Dodger. He told himself not to worry. Dodger was too well trained to go off with anyone. He stopped in his tracks and scanned the store. Nothing. No sign of a woman in a baseball cap with wild blonde hair streaming out the back. No dog in sight either.
    Well, hell, where would she go? His gut instinct said she hadn’t run out on him, but his brain said she might have. She was weird. Who knew what she might have done? He’d been so pissed at how Lucky was being treated that he’d ignored the inner voice warning him not to get involved with her.
    Suddenly, the image of Aunt Sis’s scowling face intruded. You’re too stubborn fer your own good, sonny. It’ll get you in a p a ck of trouble.
    As much as Greg hated to admit the old biddy could possibly have been right, he had to concede that she was. He always had been incurably stubborn. Now that character flaw could cost him his house. He should have left Lucky in jail; cleared out the gawkers, sure, but he should have known better than to risk everything he owned for her.
    He quickly walked into the women’s department. A few women were mauling the racks for bargains. No sign of Lucky or Dodger. He heard a soft voice and edged his way through an armada of racks laden with frilly lingerie. Jesus! Who bought this stuff? He peered over a rounder of bras and saw Lucky sitting on the floor, hugging Dodger. He almost heard his own sigh of relief.
    “You’re both good at what you do,” Lucky was saying to Dodger. “Really good. The way Greg handled that—that animal was marvelous.”
    He couldn’t help smiling. Capturing a mongoose could be tricky, but he’d done it in seconds—like a pro—then released , it.
    Lucky was fondling Dodger’s ears now. “I’m in good hands with you two. I know I am. I’m just a cause to Greg like a white rhino or a jaguar, but that’s okay. I don’t mind. At least Greg’s willing to help me. You see, he’s all I have.”
    All I have. The words echoed through his mind. What would it be like to be alone? To recognize no one except the stranger who’d rescued you? He couldn’t imagine it.
    Despite his suspicions—and he had them in spades—he felt a powerful bond with Lucky. That night in the tent, she had touched him, reaching a dark, unexplored part of his psyche.
    It was a feeling he’d shared once with his brother—years ago when their parents had been killed and they’d had no one but each other. Now Lucky had no one but him.
    “Greg’s wonderful, isn’t he?” Lucky asked Dodger.
    He couldn’t handle it, had never been able to accept praise. He’d only been doing his job. He turned to walk away, but her next words halted him.
    “ Why couldn’t I be a nuclear physicist or someone like that? Someone worth saving?”
    Her voice was low, her attention solely on the dog, yet without even looking at him, she triggered feelings he’d never realized he had. Aw, hell. Before he knew it, Greg was sitting beside her. “Lucky—”
    She turned away, focusing on Dodger, her face shadowed by the cap. “Greg, what kind of animal was that? A ferret? I can’t exactly