Deb Kastner - Her Valentine Sheriff

Cupid To The Rescue

Rugged and tough deputy sheriff Eli Bishop isn’t scared of anything. Except dogs. When he’s assigned a K-9 partner, he thinks things can’t get any worse. Then he learns who’ll be training him. Local vet Mary Travis is sweet as sugar…but she’s also Eli’s ex-fiancée’s sister. Revealing his humiliating phobia to her is not an option. Neither is developing feelings for Mary—who’s built her career around the dogs Eli fears. When a terrible storm hits their town, Mary and Eli must find the courage to work together and save lives—and fall in love.

Serendipity Sweethearts: Three small-town matchmakers finding Texas-size love

Eli swallowed hard as Mary called for the K-9 to come forward.

“Bullet, volg.”

Bullet obeyed, coming to heel next to Mary’s left side. She scratched him under the chin. “Who’s my good boy?”

That was apparently code for at ease, for the dog bounded forward, barking playfully. After a moment, he approached Eli. Eli stood perfectly still, waiting for the dog to—

What? Chomp his leg off? Go for his throat? He had to get over his nerves.

Like yesterday.

“Can I touch him?” Eli asked tentatively.

“Absolutely. He’s yours, you know.”

Eli reached forward, then paused. “Wait. What do you mean, he’s mine?” Mental alarms pealed in his ears. “He belongs to the police department, right?”

“The department paid for him, yes.”

“Good, then.” For a moment he’d had the unnerving picture of having to take the dog home with him. “So now what?”

“Now we train.”

“Train? I thought the dog already was trained.”

“Oh, Bullet’s trained,” Mary replied, her chuckle softened by the kindness in her gaze. “I was talking about you.”

DEB KASTNER

lives and writes in colorful Colorado with the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains for inspiration. She loves writing for Love Inspired Books, where she can write about her two favorite things—faith and love. Her characters range from upbeat and humorous to (her favorite) dark and broody heroes. Her plots fall anywhere in between, from a playful romp to the deeply emotional. Deb’s books have been twice nominated for the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award for Best Book of the Year for Love Inspired. Deb and her husband share their home with their two youngest daughters. Deb is thrilled about the newest member of the family—her first granddaughter, Isabella. What fun to be a granny! Deb loves to hear from her readers. You can contact her by email at debwrtr@aol.com, or on her MySpace or Facebook pages.

Her Valentine Sheriff

Deb Kastner

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil,

to give you a future and a hope.

—Jeremiah 29:11

To those who are lost, that God may find you, and that you may find Him. And to those whose path

is shadowed, that He might give you light.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Questions for Discussion

Excerpt

Chapter One

Serendipity, Texas, had gone to the dogs.

Literally.

Eli Bishop couldn’t help but find some dark twist of humor in that irony—for him, anyway.

Despite the uneasiness skittering up his spine, he stood ramrod-straight with his shoulders set and his chin up, the last man of five comprising the straight line of the small-town police force. Anxiety clouded his chest as Captain Ian James elaborated on his new plan for a Serendipity police dog.

“Due to the recent influx of over-the-border drug trafficking, we’ve decided to incorporate a K-9 unit into the Serendipity Police Department,” the captain announced, his hands clasped behind him and a stern set to his dark blond brow. He paced back and forth in front of the small squad of cops assembled before him, making eye contact with each one down the line.

“It is imperative that we stop these crimes before they become a threat to the peace and security of our town, and the best way to do that is to acquire a fully trained K-9 unit. I’m pleased to announce that, as of January 1, we’ve been funded for one of our own. We’ll be using it both in police work and, as the need arises, in search and rescue to deal with increasing difficulties in weather situations through our county. I have been working in tandem with a national agency to select the best possible candidate among our officers to work with the K-9 in this program.”

The hair on the back of Eli’s neck stood at full alert as the captain stopped before him. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

This was irrational.

Unreasonable.

He was making a big deal out of nothing. He was stronger than the fear of dogs he’d carried with him since childhood. He was. But that didn’t stop his shoulders from rippling with tension as he pulled in a long, calming breath through his nostrils and fisted his clammy palms tightly against his sides.

He couldn’t let a stupid phobia wreck an opportunity for promotion. He had always been competitive and ambitious, whether it was playing football in high school or being first in his class at the police academy. With his personal life recently taking a serious nosedive, he was at the point where there was nothing he wanted quite so much as the opportunity to prove his mettle to the department. His career was all he had left, and he was game for almost anything, except—

Please, Lord. Not this.

Eli forced himself to remain motionless, his gaze steady but empty. Over the years he’d perfected the art of not showing what he was thinking. It had held him in good stead, until now. He wasn’t sure he could mask these emotions.

“Bishop, you’ll be pleased to hear that the honor is yours.”

Eli tried to steady his breathing, but his throat closed around the air.

Pleased? This wasn’t an honor. It was a horror. His own personal nightmare. He clenched his jaw in a vain attempt to control the tremor that ran through him.

He could handle bad guys. Knives. Guns. Whatever else was thrown at him, no matter how frightening. Even a broken engagement, as awful as that had been.

But dogs? That was another thing entirely.

Eli cleared his throat. “Sir, may I respectfully suggest—”

Captain James abruptly sliced the air with a clipped movement of his hand and shut Eli down midsentence.

“Perhaps I haven’t made myself clear.”

The captain’s voice was in command mode, and Eli knew he’d already lost the battle. Probably even the war.

“This is a direct order. I have taken the liberty of vetting you for this training through the national organization I mentioned. Everything has been approved and arranged. Mary Travis is expecting you at her house at promptly fourteen hundred hours today to start working with your new partner. She’s training the K-9 herself, and she’s graciously agreed to help you adjust to your new role as handler.”

Eli stifled a groan as the bad news kept piling on. He knew it would take more than a little adjusting for him to be able to work with a dog, especially an aggressive one. A K-9 would no doubt fall into that category. He definitely needed to bring his A game, if he wasn’t going to come out looking like an idiot.