Kat Madigan

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Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kat-Madigan/180515728628232

Year of the Dog book cover

cover art by: Jinger Heaston

Sara's an animal lover with slightly nutty friends and a houseful of rescued pets. Todd's a pet-less, conservative attorney. When an endearing and unmanageable dog brings them together, a mutual attraction surprises them both. Are their differences too great to overcome, or are they what make them perfect for each other?

Available for purchase from Amazon in trade paperback and Kindle format.

Also available in PDF, HTML, Microsoft Reader, and MobiPocket Reader formats, as well as trade paperback directly from the publisher at

http://www.wings-press.com/

Excerpt:

When Todd stepped out of his door that morning, he was anticipating the same view as always, one that included large stately trees and unique houses separated by spacious, well kept yards. What he saw instead was a woman's rear end protruding from underneath his SUV. Although he appreciated the change of scenery, a nice well-developed rear, his first concern was for his car. Admiration aside - what the hell was she doing?

He could hear her alternately coaxing and demanding that someone come out. Trying to get a better look, he drew near and carefully bent over her shoulder. "Can I help you?" Unfortunately for Todd, his approach had gone unheard, so instead of appreciating his gallant offer of assistance, the woman jerked back from the car in surprise, the back of her head making explosive contact with his chin in the process.

Todd reared up, barely restraining himself from cursing. He blinked, assessing the pain, and grasped his jaw, moving it experimentally to verify it was still attached. The woman didn't seem to care about his injury at all. She yelped, muttered what could have been an apology, and crouched under his car again, this time angling her rear away from him. Did she just ignore him? Excuse me? "What are you doing with my car?" he demanded abruptly, irritation interfering with his previous attraction.

She replied without turning around, her voice breathless as she strained toward something underneath, "I'm not doing anything with your car. I'm trying to get my dog!" She then addressed the animal apparently located underneath his vehicle. Ah, he thought as realization dawned, she's the dog lady from across the street. He had never had the opportunity to appreciate her from this angle, not that he had ever really wanted to. She was cute, but too damn harried and he rarely saw her without a dog in tow. It figured she would be searching for one now.

He leaned over her shoulder again, this time taking care to stay out of the reach of her head, which evidently didn't pain her at all. He felt like he'd be eating Jell-O for the rest of the week and she wasn't even wincing! He still couldn't see anything besides the pavement and his spotless grill, so he got down onto one knee and bent over even farther. There, right under the middle of his car, was the strangest dog he had ever seen, if it was indeed a canine. It was a small black creature, with light patches here and there that changed along with the shadows. It looked like it had hair sticking out in all directions, but in the murk underneath the vehicle the only part that he could really distinguish was a set of very white teeth that were bared in silent warning. "That's a dog?" The teeth flashed at him again. "Uh, why are all its hackles up?"

~ * ~

Later, Sara would be thankful that her concern for Zilla had considerably dampened her mortification. Could there be a more humiliating position to be caught in, particularly by a sexy neighbor one had never spoken to? At that moment, however, instead of worrying about her image, what she needed to do was get the dog before he darted into traffic and got hit by a car. It didn't matter that the traffic on their street was minimal; it only took one car to kill a dog, particularly a dog who blended into the shadows as well as the little terrier-mix did.

"Zilla, come," she repeated sternly, to which Zilla responded with what appeared to be an ingratiating smile. With his black lips peeled back, his white, untarnished teeth would be quite impressive to a stranger, but Sara wasn't in the mood. "Zilla, come here now," she tried again. Zilla only pressed his belly closer to the pavement and wiggled his body submissively, clearly reluctant to emerge and face his punishment.

Sara spoke again in her neighbor's direction without attempting to make eye contact. "His hackles are not raised. His hair grows that way, since he is a wire-haired terrier mix!" she emphasized Zilla's gender each time. "And it would be helpful if you stepped back. You're making him nervous." Sara made a belated attempt to sound polite, not that she really expected him to help. He might be sexy, but she knew he had no pets, which was almost a crime in her book, and he hollered at any animals who so much as walked into his yard. If Sara were to make a list of characteristics to avoid in a man, those two would have been at the top. Besides which, anyone with the pricey belongings he had moved into his house would probably become faint at the thought of getting dog hair on his new leather sofa!

"Do you want me to try to scare him out?"Todd asked, trying to be helpful as the ache in his jaw diminished.

"No!" Sara exclaimed hurriedly before he followed through with his suggestion. "He might run into the street!" She took a moment to turn her head and meet his gaze as he crouched next to her. "Look, I'll have him out in a minute. We won't hurt anything, okay?" Todd was adorable this close up. She sternly reminded herself why she had never bothered to approach him before and added, "I'll make sure he stays off your lawn."

Todd drew back at her tone. Was he imagining it or had he detected a hint of hostility in her voice? Perhaps she was just worried about the dog. Well, he could help with that! He had never had a pet, despite his frequent pre-adolescent pestering of his parents to get one, but the animals he had encountered had all liked him.

He appraised the situation; there was no way she was going to reach the dog, since every time she got closer it inched the other way. Todd began to stretch his long arm underneath the car, but paid close attention to the dog as he did so. The teeth quickly reappeared. "Does it, uh, I mean does he bite?" he asked, hurriedly withdrawing his hand. "Why does he keep snarling at me?"

"He isn't snarling. He's smiling! You're making him nervous," Sara repeated, concealing her surprise at his offer of assistance.

Smiling? Todd pondered. He had never met a dog who smiled, but since he wasn't growling, Todd was willing to give the woman the benefit of the doubt. Todd circled around to the opposite side of the car and got down on his knees, grimacing at the prospect of dirtying his pants. The dog swung his head back and forth, obviously not sure who he should be more concerned about. Then Todd reached out and touched him, causing the dog to recoil into Sara's grasping hands. The dog's nails scraped along the pavement as she pulled him out from under the car, but once she held him in her arms he was all smiles. See me? He seemed to say. See how relieved I am that you have me? I missed you! Yeah, right.

"Zilla, you should be ashamed!" Todd's neighbor admonished the dog with little apparent heat.

"Zilla? You named a male dog Zilla?" Now that the dog was in the light, its features could be seen, but still not described, at least not by Todd. Its coat was an indiscriminate mixture of black and shades of grey, a portrait of perpetual shadows. In addition, from the top of his head to the base of his tail, the hair grew in a pattern distinctly like a single hackle. Add to that, the teeth that were still appearing and disappearing at a rapid rate, and he was indeed a ferocious looking dog, if a person overlooked that he couldn't possibly weigh even twenty-five pounds soaking wet.

"What do you want me to call him? God?" Sara asked. Todd contemplated that rather cryptic remark for a moment before realization dawned.

"Oh. Godzilla! He's a little small for that name, isn't he?"

"Well, thank you for your help, but if you are done criticizing my dog, I need to get him back home," she stated, suppressing a spurt of disappointment at his response.

"You don't have to run off. I was only teasing." Todd attempted to backpedal. Maybe he should take a break from humor. "He's a cute dog, really," he commented with fake sincerity. She looked skeptical. Was she this touchy with everyone? "Look, my name's Todd. And you are?"

"Sara. I live across the street," she informed him, clearly not expecting him to be able to place her. "Thank you for your help," she hesitated for a second and when she could think of nothing better to say she added, "I know you don't particularly like animals. We won't bother you anymore. Enjoy your weekend." With that she turned and walked away, effectively putting an end to their conversation before it had even begun.

Where did she get off saying he didn't like animals? He liked animals! Hadn't he helped her catch the dog? He could have just gotten in his car and driven away!

Despite the fact that he was already late for his date, Todd watched her cross the street for a moment before he brushed off his knees, noting with relief that he had avoided dirtying his jeans. He climbed into his car and glanced at the clock, which showed 10:45am. He didn't have much time to get to Sam's and still make it to the movie in time. Fortunately, he habitually arrived early to his engagements, which was something he was certain his waspish neighbor rarely did. More than once, he had witnessed her racing out of the house to throw her belongings in the back seat and jump into her beat-up Blazer like there was a gunman on her tail. Either she was frequently late, or she was very high strung. This did, however, explain why he hadn't recognized her rear, since the opportunity to watch her leisurely walk anywhere had yet to present itself. He could have taken the time to admire her when she jogged with the dogs, he supposed, except that on those occasions she always wore unattractive sweat pants that bagged and billowed and completely obscured her shape.

Today, though, she had been wearing a very nice pair of jeans that flattered her curvy figure. And the moss green T-shirt hadn't hurt either. It hugged her full breasts and tapering waist quite nicely. And when he had leaned over her to see under the car - well, he could say that the back of her head interrupted a very nice moment for him. The swell of her breasts where the shirt gaped open was quite enticing. She definitely had a nice shape, and her face wasn't too bad, either. Wide green eyes fringed by dark lashes were complimented nicely by an olive complexion and rich brown hair. Physically at least, she was a very appealing woman. It was too bad that everything else about her was totally wrong for him!