Canine Cupid

By Alison Lohans

Kara’s vengeful con-man ex-husband has left her with a mountain of fraudulent debt – and now he’s begun stalking her, too! What is a hardworking elementary school teacher to do, simply to stay afloat, let alone trust someone new? Is Kara even safe?

Peter is still grieving the deaths of his beloved wife and daughter. Even so, his self-pitying widowed mother keeps escalating her unreasonable demands. Meanwhile, Peter’s stand partner in the symphony comes on to him, although he’s tried hard to make it clear that he’s not interested – in anyone.

When Kara slams on the brakes to avoid hitting a stray dog and Peter rear-ends her, an unexpected and unwelcome attraction begins to flare.

Editorial Reviews:
"This love story is beautiful. These two people are real. Past experiences have made them skittish. They are attracted to each other, but they are afraid of being hurt or of imposing their own burdens on each other. Yet they work through it all, gradually and realistically, separately, and--most important of all--as a couple. When they come together at the end, the reader can be pretty sure that they belong together and that they will stay together and be happy--they and their dogs!"
Mary Balogh, New York Times Bestselling author of Regency romances

"The skillfully drawn characters come to life in this well-written contemporary romance novel. Our hearts ache for them as they work through the psychological scars from the tragedies in each of their pasts and struggle to overcome the real obstacles to a fulfilling future together."
Sharie Argue, musician and educator

“I felt like I was immersed in the lives of two people I’ve actually met—people who juggle a relationship with the demands of their careers, the ghosts of past relationships ... and the pressures of ... caring for a parent. Canine Cupid is a delightful read for lovers of romance—and of course—dogs.
Maureen Ulrich, author of the Jessie Mac Hockey Series – Power Plays; Face Off, and more.

“Author Alison Lohans wasted no time getting into the plot of her novel, but I found I was swept away by the characters ... When you add this to a well-written plot that slips down as easily as lemonade on a hot summer afternoon, and – of course – two VICs (Very Important Canines), you have everything you need for a charming romantic read.”
Riana Everly, author of The Mystery of the Missing Heiress: A Pride and Prejudice Mystery; Through a Different Lens: A Pride and Prejudice Variation, and more; also a musician

• Language: English
• Publisher: BWL Publishing Inc.
• Release date: Jul 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9780228618461

Alison Lohans

Alison Lohans began making up stories when she was five, and knew at age nine that her calling was to be a writer. Born and raised in Reedley, California, she did her undergraduate work at Whittier College and California State University, Los Angeles. Soon afterwards, she immigrated to Canada in 1971 with her late husband. They spent five years in British Columbia (where her husband completed his Ph.D., and Alison earned her Postgraduate Diploma in Elementary Education while working as a pharmacy assistant). They then moved to Regina, Saskatchewan.Over the decades since Alison's first YA novel was published by Scholastic Canada in 1983, she has published 26 books for young people with Canadian and international presses. These books range from picture books, early chapter books, middle-grade novels, and on up to mature YA novels. Her YA novel This Land We Call Home (Pearson Education New Zealand, 2007) won the 2008 Saskatchewan Book Award for YA fiction, and many of her other books have been finalists for provincial, national, and international awards. Alison has done over a thousand readings of her works in schools and libraries across Canada, and still loves connecting with readers in this way.In addition to her books, Alison writes short fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. For decades she longed to write contemporary romance, and finally gathered up the courage to give it a try. She has taught writing and mentored other writers; she's taught instrumental music; completed her M.Ed. degree; done a bit of editing; and served as Writer-in-Residence at Regina Public Library in 2002-03. She has also served on countless boards of arts groups at local, provincial and national levels. Alison was awarded the 2012 Regina YWCA Woman of Distinction Award for her contributions to the arts.Alison treasures her connections with her writing groups: the Children's Writers' Round Robin; the Saskatchewan Romance Writers; the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild; CANSCAIP; and The Writers' Union of Canada.For fun, she plays cello, cornet and recorder in community groups, has resumed piano lessons after a decades-long hiatus, and occasionally sings in choirs. International travel is very high on the list of things Alison loves doing - and in some instances, books have been sparked by visits to new places.Regina has been home to Alison since 1976, where she lives with her dog Sebastian and two finches.

Book preview

Canine Cupid

By Alison Lohans

Digital ISBNs

EPUB 9780228618461

Kindle 9780228618478

PDF 9780228618485

Print ISBNs

BWL Print 9780228618492

LSI Print 9780228618508

Amazon Print 9780228618515

Copyright 2021 by Alison Lohans

Cover art by Michelle Lee

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book.

Dedication

To all my wonderful writing sisters in my writing groups:

the Saskatchewan Romance Writers

and

the Children’s Writers’ Round Robin.

Sincere thanks to Sharie Argue, Laurel Beyer, Maureen Ulrich, Riana Everly, Sharon Plumb Hamilton, Margot Johnson, Jean Hillabold, Lori Klopoushak Burton, Sandra Davis, and Kyla Graff for your reviews, and for proofreading!

Special thanks to Mary Balogh for this generous review.

"This love story is beautiful. These two people are real. Past experiences have made them skittish. They are attracted to each other, but they are afraid of being hurt or of imposing their own burdens on each other. Yet they work through it all, gradually and realistically, separately, and--most important of all--as a couple. When they come together at the end, the reader can be pretty sure that they belong together and that they will stay together and be happy--they and their dogs!"

Mary Balogh, New York Times Bestselling author of Regency romances

Chapter One

With a shriek, Kara Ames yanked the steering wheel and slammed on the brakes. Adrenaline sizzled through her. In the back seat, her Shih Tzu cross, Beckett, thudded onto the floor. Simultaneously, a tooth-jarring crash slewed her Honda Civic sideways. Now its front end leaned into the oncoming lane. No!

A black-and-white dog sat in the middle of it all, as if there were nothing unusual about the chaos of squealing brakes and vehicles of all sorts grinding to a halt.

Now what? Someone had hit her. Beckett was now back on the seat, barking furiously at the cause of the accident.

She guessed she ought to get out, talk to the driver of the other car. Were they all right? And whose fault was it? Hopefully nobody else would slam into her.

What about the dog? Crossing the street during rush hour could be lethal.

Putting her Honda in ‘Park’, Kara turned off the ignition and jammed the keys into her jeans pocket. Stay, Beckett! she ordered, shutting the door before her own dog could escape.

The cause of the excitement trotted over to her and thrust its head into her hands. The dog had no collar.

Is he yours? The terse male voice came from behind her, presumably the driver of the black Hyundai that now sported a buckled hood.

No! Defensively, she looked up from the dog and met a shocked grey-eyed stare with a glare of her own, despite wobbling knees and a heart that was pounding too fast. What was I supposed to do, hit him? And so you hit me… What shape was her car in? The bumper? The last thing she could afford right now was car repairs. Heat flared in her face, but she wasn’t about to back down. Not until the errant dog pulled away and planted his paws on her rear passenger door, to bark back at Beckett. The stray’s nails skittered against metal and the window glass as he lunged toward her dog. Nothing to worry about with the barrier between them. The side of her car already had scratches from a bad car wash.

Kara surveyed the damage to her vehicle, a new dent in the already-dented bumper. Clearly the Hyundai got the worst of the accident.

A few more people had emerged from their cars. Other traffic edged past.

The man sighed. Are you all right? Technically, it’s my fault. I’ll pay to have any damage to your car repaired. His voice, though not particularly deep, now had a resonant quality, unlike the abrasive tone he’d first used. Let’s take a look at this guy — no collar, I see… And he crouched down beside the stray.

Thanks. It was a relief to know she wouldn’t have to add a repair bill to her already mounting stack of bills. Not that there was much damage. She’d expected worse, given the force of the impact.

He had broad shoulders, and dark hair that tumbled across his forehead, with tinges of grey in the sideburns. A lean, angular face, above a pleasantly lean frame. No wedding ring…

Kara squeezed her eyes shut. Why was she noticing that? Two difficult years had passed since Ben walked out on her, and she definitely wasn’t ready for a repeat scenario.

When she opened her eyes again, he was watching her, but at the same time restraining the dog. Are you sure you’re all right?

I think so. Gingerly she stretched her neck. Just shaken up.

…damage? Now another stranger stood there, speculatively looking at both vehicles.

The dog had lost interest in Beckett, and once again padded toward the creeping flow of traffic. Almost reflexively, the man yanked his car door open and gave the stray a firm shove. Inside, you — you’ve caused enough trouble already.

Kara sagged back against her Honda as a second wave of shock hit. The sounds of vehicles all around, the intense smell of exhaust… Suddenly it was overwhelming.

You’re not all right. Warm hands grasped her bare arms. Look at me…what’s your name?

Kara, she supplied. The man’s grey gaze was intent on her. He was wearing a dark shirt, and the late afternoon sun slanted across his shoulder, directly into her face. Suddenly she felt incredibly vulnerable and alone. Her best friend Rachel had been away for two months, travelling around Europe with her sister. Her friend Lori, from school, no doubt was busy marking class assignments. Or maybe she was at the gym? Her other close friends were busy with their families: Steph, worried sick about her mentally ill teen-aged daughter; and Megan, frustrated with her intractable aging mother who’d begun showing signs of dementia. Her brother and parents were hundreds of miles away. And her house seemed perpetually empty, without children of her own. Ben always had reasons why it was too soon for a baby, and now her biological clock was ticking.

She was not doing the victim thing… Kara drew in a sharp breath as thoughts spun. She was a respected teacher who had a stack of fourth grade arithmetic assignments waiting for her at home, and Cole Taylor was clueless about subtracting fractions. She had to get home.

And a good-looking man with an obviously damaged car was still clasping her upper arms with apparent concern. No wedding ring…? She steeled herself in the way that always helped her put on the brakes any time she noticed a man looking at her in that way.

Kara drew in another breath. I guess we should swap insurance information. She looked at her bumper. Although there’s not much wrong with my car…

He removed his hands but didn’t look away. She felt a sudden sense of loss. What about whiplash? he asked.

Again, she stretched her neck. There was no pain. Behind them, somebody was honking in an irritated way. Another person had begun directing traffic around them. I’m okay…?

Peter, he supplied. In his car, the stray dog had begun barking, and Beckett was replying in his shriller voice. We’d better get out of the street, he said. He seemed rattled, more than a fender-bender warranted. There’s no point in holding everyone up.

Something in Kara reached out to him. His car was the one with the worst damage. He’d immediately claimed the blame for the collision and, on top of that, he’d put the stray in his car to protect it from further harm. He’d offered to pay for any repairs to her Honda. And he’d shown obvious concern for her.

Hey, she said, "are you all right?"

Peter shot her a rueful grin and rubbed the back of his neck. Yeah. He gestured toward a nearby lot where a few semi-trailers were parked. Meet you over there?

A bystander halted the oncoming traffic for them.

Slipping behind the wheel, Kara started her car. No, Beckett, she said as the dog thrust his nose into her face. Get back. She veered across the street and parked in the lot.

She clutched the wheel hard as sudden thoughts of Ben rocked her. Her ex never would’ve been as decent about the incident. Instead, he’d have sweet-talked his way out of it. Would he even stick around, as she was doing now? Her ex’s way was to exit asap, leaving the other guy to contend with everything. Just as he’d left her…with that mountain of debt she’d only been vaguely aware of. Kara squeezed her eyes shut. She’d been sucked right in. It had taken several years to get to know the real Ben Lambert, and then she’d felt obligated to honour her wedding vows.

She let out a forceful sigh.

The grinding of tires on pavement let her know that Peter — what was his last name? — had joined her. Looking up, she saw that not only had his hood buckled, but the air bags were deployed too. How was he going to drive like that? Steering could be awkward. And was that trail of liquid in the street from his car? Stay, Beckett, she said firmly, and got out.

* * *

Peter McMahon was suddenly shaking. Chills wracked him as he stared at the now-flaccid airbag that had shot out at him with staggering speed. Had his hands been this frigid when he’d spontaneously grasped that woman’s arms, desperately needing to know that she was all right? If they were — poor woman! Thank God, she was all right… He had to swipe a hand across his eyes as his heart went into its now-familiar overdrive. Emma! And Chloe, too! Both of them, and he wasn’t even home when it happened…

The darkness of the past heart-wrenching years sucked him in once again. It had been a while now, so he forced himself to breathe steadily. This car accident was laughably minor. There was no reason to go into full-scale emergency mode.

A cold, wet nose snuffled in his ear. Get back, you! Peter shoved the dog away, resenting the intrusion. But maybe it was a good thing. The past was…in the past. At the moment, someone else needed to be thought about, besides himself, and besides his emotionally needy, widowed mother who routinely called several times a day with her self-centred demands. Even if it was just a mongrel that caused what would likely be a few thousand dollars in repairs. After the insurance kicked in.

The woman, Kara, was standing there, waiting. Her comical light brown mutt had its paws braced against the back window, yapping again. And the woman… She was nothing like Emma, but there was something appealing about her. Through his shock, he registered dark hair in a casual cut, and a nice sweatshirt over jeans that weren’t the stay-at-home kind.

He opened the car door.

"Are you all right? she asked. And your car! What’s that?" She gestured toward a streak of wetness that led from the street directly to his Hyundai.

Peter’s breath whooshed out. Guess I’ll be calling a tow truck, he said grimly. How was he supposed to get to tonight’s rehearsal? A cab was the only option. He didn’t want to ask Tessa, his stand partner. Tessa would be glad to help, only too glad. Lately at symphony rehearsals, she’d begun looking at him in disturbing ways, even brushing against him when she leaned forward to turn pages or mark edits on the music. And that required quite a stretch because there needed to be enough room between them so their cello bows wouldn’t collide. His midsection clenched. Tessa was anything but subtle, and he wasn’t interested. He suspected she wanted a quick, easy liaison, the last thing he needed. That was, if he ever wanted to look again, after his soul-deep connection with Emma.

What about the dog? Kara’s anxious voice pulled him back. Her brown eyes were concerned, and her mutt’s stubby little nose protruded through the window gap. Call the tow truck, she said. Then we’ll get everyone in my car, and I’ll take you wherever.

Are you serious? he yelped. What if they have a fight in the back seat? And what would they do with the stray, anyhow? Take him to the Humane Society, where he’d be put down if nobody claimed him? They’d had a dog, he and Emma and Chloe. Misha was an elderly Australian blue heeler who ran out of dog-years a year after the fatal crash that kicked his whole life out of orbit.

He watched Kara bite her lip. A sprinkling of freckles scattered across her nose, which was refreshingly clear of makeup. Was she a decisive woman? It was hard to tell; in just this short time, he’d seen her waver between weakness and surprising strength.

But he wasn’t looking for a woman friend. His connection with Emma had a rare dimension that he doubted many couples shared. Now, his music should be enough, the deep, mystical strength of composers like Bach, and all the many great symphonic works he routinely performed with the Manitou Plains Symphony. There was his teaching, which he loved, and also the fun of bringing classical music to kids when his chamber group performed at schools.

What else can we do? Kara said.

You’ve got a point, Peter conceded. But first, the insurance… He dug in his pocket for his wallet. I’m sure you won’t be docked, because I was at fault. My insurance company should cover everything. His payments would be going up, no doubt about that. A bitter part of him felt mean and small, knowing that Emma’s life insurance payout meant this wouldn’t pose any financial hardship. What kind of husband was he, to think that way? But he wasn’t a husband. Not anymore. Curbing the upsetting doubts, he pulled his insurance card from his wallet. If you can take this down, he said, and my phone number…

Kara tapped at her phone, entering his information. And I’ll text you mine, just in case.

Peter looked sharply at her. Was she making a move, even a subconscious one? It was surprising how some women behaved upon learning he was a widower. But this Kara had no idea, he reminded himself. And her face was completely open.

Sorry, she said, sensing his unease. I’m just kind of in a hurry. I have a stack of fourth grade arithmetic assignments to mark, and texting would be fastest. And to be honest, I haven’t got a decent scrap of paper to write on.

To his complete surprise, Peter laughed. For all he knew, she had a husband waiting for her at home, and likely another car, too. A moment later, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Look, he said. Really, don’t even think about giving me a ride. It would never work with the two dogs. I’ll call a taxi.

Kara shot him an assessing look. And you think a cab driver would let that dog in? Without even a collar? What are you doing with him, anyhow?

Peter sighed, but not as heavily as he would’ve done earlier, he realized, pressing through traffic after an unsatisfactory meeting with the new owner of Habb’s Music. Not only had the woman cancelled all orders for the International editions of pieces he routinely taught his students; she also was starting a small music school and hiring advanced students to teach at low rates, thus undercutting everyone else in town. Meanwhile, his mother had called twice while he was driving, telling him to come over to dig weeds and trim the hedge…as if he didn’t already have enough on his plate! And as though she couldn’t do any of that herself.

Dogs, he reminded himself, looking back at Kara. We had an old Aussie, he said. He died a few years back— he swallowed hard, against the pain. I might just keep this guy if they can’t find his owner. I’ve kind of missed having a dog around.

Kara’s face relaxed into a smile. Most people wouldn’t do that, she said. She slid her phone back into her purse, then leaned against her Honda while he called Brady’s Towing. Should we wait for the truck? she asked when he’d finished.

No need, he said. "I’ve used