Read I Shall Not Want for Free Online

here.”
    “Heavens, no,” she said.
    “Yeah, same with the women.”
    “Are you putting any of them down?”
    “A couple,” he admitted, avoiding her eyes.
    She took a deep breath and began writing on her form. B and C both had earned at least a chance. D seemed nice. R, the computer programmer, was the one who seemed the most interesting of the group. She hesitated for a moment and then blushed as she put down T, folding it quickly so that Joseph couldn’t see that she’d put him down. After all, he was the nicest guy in the room, and Geanie’s admonition that she should go out with him came to mind. Wouldn’t it be freaky if the newspaper caption turned out to be prophetic?
    They made it outside, and Joseph turned to look at her. “You want to get some coffee or some food? I don’t really want to go home yet.”
    A wave of sympathy filled her. “I’ve been there. I would love to get something to eat. I was too nervous to eat earlier.”
    “Okay. Meet you at Outback Steakhouse?”
    “All right.”
    Fifteen minutes later they gave the waitress their order and then settled back and began to dissect the evening.
    “Did you see crying guy?” she asked.
    Joseph winced. “He was hard to miss. I sat one table over from him the entire night. He cried most of the time. It was distracting, to say the least.”
    “I can imagine. So how did you come up with Animals to the Rescue?”
    “Well, I’ve been a supporter of various charities around the country that have been taking dogs into hospitals, nursing homes, and retirement communities.”
    “I’ve heard of those,” she said.
    “They have had some phenomenal successes. One day last spring I was walking Clarice in the park, thinking about what else might be done with dogs in a therapeutic setting, when I saw this homeless man sitting on a bench. Some volunteers were giving out free sandwiches and passing out information about the homeless shelter. I watched this guy feed half his sandwich to the dog that was sitting with him. One bite for him, one bite for the dog. Well, I asked one of the volunteers about it, and she said that he had some severe mental problems and it used to be no one could get near him; he would just rant and scream and throw things. Then one day he showed up with the dog and asked for a sandwich. They said he’d been making marked improvement ever since.”
    “Amazing.”
    “That’s what I thought. I talked to a few people around the country, and they all said that when a homeless person started caring for a dog, he took better care of the dog than himself. I theorized that it might be a way to reach out and start bringing these people back into society. Taking responsibility for something other than themselves has got to be a big step.”
    “Wow. This program could do so much good.”
    “Or fail miserably. There’s obviously a lot of concern for the welfare of the animals and a lot of people who think I’m part of the problem instead of part of the solution.”
    “Yeah, but at least you’re trying to do something to help. I mean, really help. Oftentimes all people need to change their lives is a reason.”
    “Give a man a fish…” He shrugged his shoulders. “Sorry, that was a rather long answer. I hope I didn’t bore you.”
    “Not at all. I just kind of wish now that I had a dog.”
    “Feel the need to have a reason to change your life?” he asked with a sly smile.
    “Something like that,” she said with a laugh.
    “Well, if you decide to take the plunge, I know a lot of great dogs that need a good home.”
    “I’ll think about it.”
    Her phone rang, and she slid it out of her purse and looked at the caller ID. It was Mark. She frowned and flipped the phone open.
    “Detective?”
    “Listen, I need to know where your boyfriend is.”
    “Who are you talking about? I don’t have a boyfriend.”
    “Joseph.”
    “Oh, um, just a second,” she said, feeling herself flush. She held the phone out to Joseph. “For