HOLD ME Countdown – When Katie Met Spot (excerpt)

 
 

8 Days to Release Day!

 

 

Holy cow, it’s only 8 days to release day and that means our countdown is moving into the last week. You may consider this the Hurricane Irene version of the countdown, as my power went out this afternoon and I’m posting this via dial-up. That means no cute pictures for you! LOL

On Thursday I posted a short story of how Luc, hero of HOLD ME, met Spot, canine companion. I thought I should balance the scales and post an excerpt that shows when Katie, the heroine, meets this important woman in Luc’s life.

Here you go!

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“What’s that?” To her complete disgust, Katie actually found herself moving closer to Luc for protection.

He gave her a cheeky grin. “That’s the dragon at the gate.” He managed to push her aside just as a he was assaulted by some kind of a huge animal. Katie backed up, watching the beast snuffle and slobber all over Luc with evident delight while he ruffled large ears and muttered affectionate nonsense. Finally the thing stilled, raised its head and sniffed the air. Katie took another step back. She wasn’t exactly scared, she was just…cautious.

“So…um…is that a…bear?” she asked.

Luc laughed. “No, a dog. A Newfoundland.”

“Ah. Uh, big.”

“Relax. Spot won’t hurt you.” Luc pulled the animal’s head up so he could give it a loud, smacking kiss between the ears. The gesture was surprisingly sweet.

Katie shook her own head. “Not that I don’t believe you, but this hasn’t exactly been my day,” she said.

“Trust me.”

“Yeah. Sure.” The monster seemed to be as big as a horse, but now that it had settled down a bit it looked like it could be friendly enough. Katie edged her way around Luc until she and the “dog” were staring at each other.

“Hello…boy?”

“Spot is a girl,” Luc corrected. “Lady Guinevere of the Round Table if you want to be formal, but Spot for short and no particularly good reason. Just don’t call her boy again, or she might get mad.”

“Oh, no. Spot mustn’t get mad,” Katie murmured.

Luc laughed.

Spot walked over to her, tail waving like a great flag, and Katie finally got up the nerve to hold a hand out to the very large, incredibly wet nose. She half expected to pull back a bloody stump for her trouble, but the dog merely sniffed her fingers and sat, tongue lolling as she panted.

“Good girl,” Luc said. Katie wasn’t sure which one of them he was talking to.

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Here’s hoping you all have a happy post-Irene day! 😀