Storm Warrior (The Grim Series) by Dani Harper

in a long day—and here we are taking up your time.”
    She smiled at him. “I don’t get many visitors, so it’s a treat. And all my days are long, it seems. I’ve got Jay and Grady hunting for another vet for the clinic.”
    “Now that’s smart thinking,” nodded Leo. “You’ve got a lot of regular customers now. Why, the last time I brought Spike in, there wasn’t a single chair left in the waiting room. That receptionist of yours, Anne-Marie, she brought one in straightaway though. Kindhearted girl, that one.”
    “Like Morgan.” Rhys smiled.
    As her hormones swooned yet again, Morgan focused her eyes firmly on her drink.
There’s no such thing as a coincidence this big.
That a good-looking Welshman would appear in her life right now was about as plausible as the moon being made of cheese. And what about the similarity between his name and that of her missing dog?
Jay would have a field day with this, I just know it.
“So has Leo’s dog bitten you yet?”
    “Ah, Spike. We get along well.”
    Leo simply nodded in agreement—although Morgan could swear he was trying not to laugh. She leaned toward Rhys. “Are you kidding me?” she said in a stage whisper. “Grady had to have stitches in his thumb the last time Spike came in.”
    The old man burst out laughing, and Rhys chuckled too. “The dog is formidable for his small size, but most of it comesfrom fear. Now that he cannot hear or see, he is easily frightened and feels he must attack first in order to be safe.”
    “That makes a lot of sense,” she admitted. Did Rhys really understand animals, or was he just repeating what Leo had told him? Come to think of it, Morgan wasn’t sure that even Leo understood Spike quite that well.
    “So, Rhys, you must have a job?” It was out of her mouth before she could stop it. So much for being subtle, but she was keen to hear his answer.
    “I’ve found much to turn a hand to, thanks to my friend here.”
    “Rhys has been boarding with me, Doc,” said Leo. “He’s already made over my entire yard—and you oughta see my garden now. It’s never looked so good. Rhys caught me up on a lot of chores around the house too. Split a whole season’s worth of kindling for my stove, so I can look forward to a smaller fuel bill this winter. ’Course now all my neighbors are competing for his time, and they’re able to offer a wage. He’s a man in demand.”
    A man in demand…I’ll bet he is.
Morgan shook her head to rid it of the sudden enticing image of a shirtless Rhys swinging an ax as his bared muscles gleamed with sweat. For a moment, she considered swallowing the ice cubes in her drink. Whole. Anything to cool herself down.
    Rhys chose that moment to place his hand over hers, and every nerve in her body seemed to jolt with sudden electricity. “I have yet to apologize for the last time we met,” he said. “You showed a great deal of courage when you found me, though you must have felt fear.”
    “I’m not admitting to it,” she said, sliding her hand out from under his and putting it in her lap out of reach. She held his gaze boldly despite the fact that her insides were fluttering. “But Nainie used to say that without fear, there could be no brave deeds.”
    “Your grandmother was very wise.”
    “Yes, she was.” She had to admit, it was refreshing to find someone so easy with Welsh terms. Most people thought
nainie
was some sort of childish endearment. But then, this man also knew about the Tylwyth Teg. His accent, his name…He was either a superb actor or the genuine article. Maybe with Leo present, she’d finally get some answers. “So, Rhys, tell me about—”
    She jumped as her pager went off. Pressing the noisy device on her belt into silence, she flipped open her cell phone and speed-dialed the clinic dispatcher all in one smooth, practiced movement. A horse had gotten itself tangled in a wire fence at the Kendrick farm, and the hysterical owner couldn’t free the animal. The