Wednesday afternoon and she's already late —
Here she comes! With food, just like yesterday. What's that I smell? Chicken? I love chicken. Hello, lady. Here I am again. Wag, wag. Remember me?
"Shoo. Go away, puppy." Judi Blake scooted around the black-and-red mongrel and laid the foil tray of Buffalo wings in the back of her Ford Expedition. Third tray down, one to go. Then off to the Bigelow family reunion. She glanced at her watch as she ran back to her multifunction catering kitchen/home sweet teensy home. Paying the mortgage on the building was all she could afford, so the corner in which she lived was a make-do. "Geez." Ten minutes late. Deb was going to kill her. Six weeks landing this job, and her best friend and business partner, Debra Hayes, had almost gone gray nailing the details. Wings, no make it calamari, no make it wings and calamari with some of those little pizza rolls. Right now those wings and calamari and pizza rolls were getting cold!
Hey, lady. I really do like chicken. Wag, wag, again.
"Shoo, puppy. Get away." Cute dog, but she didn't have time to mess with him today.
What? No chicken? Maybe if I just turn on the sad eyes.
All her wings safely in the Expedition, Judi shut the back door then tried shooing the puppy again. "Go away," she said, stamping her foot on the ground. "Scoot!"
Don't ya see the sad eyes, lady?
Hustling around to the driver's door, Judi opened it. "Shoo. Go home." Judi nudged him away from her truck and climbed inside.
Oh, no! Quick! Plan B! Gotta get it right… Just walk away so she thinks she's in the clear. Yep, she's checking to make sure I'm gone. Okay, now…charge! "Aieee…ooooh…aieee!"
"Oh, no!" Judi gasped, jamming on her brakes. Jumping out of the truck, she dropped to her hands and knees and there he was, under the vehicle, sprawled out and whimpering. She'd hit him, but he wasn't dead. "Come here, puppy," she said tentatively.
Sad eyes rolling up at her. Sad eyes for real this time.
"Here, puppy."
Puppy hurts. "Ooooh…"
His sad cries just about broke her heart as Judi pulled the puppy out from under the truck and took a quick look at him. Not bleeding, nothing obvious. She breathed a sigh of relief over that.
"It's okay, boy. I'm going to take you to the doctor right now, and he'll make you all better." Like the dog could understand. But the words sure made her feel better.
After wrapping the pup in an emergency spill towel she always carried in the back of her Expedition, Judi laid him in the front bucket seat next to hers and speed-dialed Deb.
"Quick! Who's your vet?"
"Mike Jericho. Why?"
"I hit a dog and I need to get him to a vet, and you've got to meet me there to get the Bigelow wings."
"He's over on State, right across from the restaurant supply. LuLu just loves him." LuLu was Deb's apricot poodle. "In case you're interested, he's single, gorgeous, and he makes the whole veterinarian experience worth the trip."
Judi grinned. "For you or for LuLu?" She reached over and scratched the puppy behind his ears. Not that she was interested but — "Is that 'single' as in confirmed bachelor, gay or just hasn't gotten around to it?" Didn't matter. With her new business just beginning to make it, everything else was on the back burner. Including her social life. Nada. Zip. Zilch. But it was still fun to pretend she had one. "See ya in ten," she said, clicking off.
As Judi pulled into the parking lot a few minutes later, Deb called back. "I phoned him to let him know you're on your way in with an emergency, and he's waiting. Oh, and he said to tell you he just hasn't gotten around to it yet."
"He hasn't gotten around to what?"
"Getting married. I asked him, since I knew you wouldn't."
"And I've gotta go face this man? How could you do that to me?" Her cheeks were already turning red. "I'll swear, Deb, if you weren't a partner, I'd fire…" Judi stopped and took a look at the man standing in the parking lot, waving at her. If that was Mike Jericho, now she understood why Deb hauled LuLu to the vet every other week.
"Well, dog. Looks good to me." And that had nothing to do with the puppy.
"He's a stray. I've seen him wandering around my place for a day or so." Judi paced back and forth in the tiny examining room while Mike Jericho ran his fingers over the little mutt. "I like dogs. I wouldn't hurt one intentionally. But I was in a hurry. Didn't see him."
"He may have some broken ribs, but with a little care he'll be as good as new in…" Mike's attention slipped momentarily from the pup to Judi.
Hey guys, look at me. I'm the one who's hurt here.
"Um, in a week or two," he continued, returning his focus to the dog.
"You're sure, Doctor?"
"Call me Mike. And yep, he'll be fine now that he has a home."
"A home…," Judi mumbled, giving Mike the once-over. Seriously cute. Just shy of six feet, sensational blond hair a little on the longish side, gorgeous baby blues, perfect pearly whites and a dangerous physique… Wow! "So, you'll send him to a shelter?"
"A shelter?"
Judi nodded. "Where they'll take good care of him until somebody adopts him."
"Look, Miss Blake… That is Miss, isn't it? Your friend, Deb, did say you're…"
"Not married," Judi jumped right in. For once, she was glad she wasn't. "Call me Judi.
Remember sad eyes, anyone?
"Judi, I need to get some x-rays. But if they confirm the broken ribs, no shelter's going to take him. Guess I assumed that since you brought him in you were going to keep him."
Of course she's going to keep me.
"I'll take care of his vet bills, but I can't keep him, Mike." Oh, great, he was scowling now. Was he getting ready to take back her use of his first name? "I'm not equipped to deal with…"
"Be right back," he said hastily, picking up the dog and exiting the room.
"Got the wings in my truck," Deb said, rushing into the exam room. "So I'm on my way to feed the Bigelows. And didn't I tell you? Isn't he the most magnificent thing you've ever seen in a white smock? Aren't you just dying to see what's underneath it?"
"Shh," Judi warned. "This is strictly professional." But Deb was right. She was dying to take a peek at his pecs. "And he's not happy that I'm not keeping the dog."
"So keep the dog. Makes it easier to get to the vet."
"Don't want a dog. Therefore, don't need a vet."
"Honey, you need a vet worse than both LuLu and that pup you ran over do."
"What I need is to get over to the Bigelows' to get their food service going."
"No need. I called Larenz. He's on his way."
"Larenz?"
"You know, Larenz DeFazio. We've used him as a server a couple of times.… I've used him a couple of times on my own." Deb giggled.
"But I thought you and the vet…"
"Hey, a girl can look, but when this girl touches it's short, dark and Larenz all the way. So help yourself to the vet. And don't worry about the Bigelows. They're in good hands. Hope you are, too, pretty soon."
Judi shook her head as Deb trotted out of the examining room. They were the same age, twenty-six. Apart from that, no other similarities. Deb was on the edge — short, bouncy, with dark brown eyes and spiked champagne hair. Great business partner, not great in the kitchen, excellent with the public contact. And apparently excellent with Larenz.
And Judi? She was not bouncy, for starters. Five-five, one-twenty, green eyes and long, copper-colored hair she couldn't control with a whip and kept tied back when she cooked or served. She was great in the kitchen and…and… Well, for a caterer, that was enough. Until she met Mike.
"A couple of broken ribs," Mike confirmed, stepping back into the exam room. "They're stable, but you'll have to keep him on bed rest for a few days. Give him plenty of water, some puppy food, and he'll be fine."
My very own bed, lady?
"But I thought you understood…"
"I understand you have a pup who needs some TLC for a while. Get him healed, then we'll talk about finding him a home. Okay?" He smiled the most beguiling smile she'd ever seen in her life. "But I'm warning you, I'll do whatever it takes to convince you to keep him." Then he winked and almost melted her into a puddle on the floor.
Can I sleep with you, lady? Please, please?
Sure, she liked dogs, little fluffy ones. Poodles like LuLu, or bichons. But this pup…
"I'm sorry, but I just can't do it." Judi glanced over at the little beast. Napping now, he was snuggled down into her towel, dreaming sweet puppy dreams. "He's awfully cute," she admitted. Big feet, the cutest eyes she'd ever seen, except, maybe, for Mike Jericho's. "But I'd be scared to death I might run over him again. I'm urban — he needs a yard."
"You didn't run over him the first time."
"Sure I did."
"I think the dog ran into you. Darted under your truck and bounced off a tire. Other way around he wouldn't have survived."
"You've got to be kidding. The dog hit me?"
"Hey, I've never tried that approach with a woman, but it if works…" He shrugged. "What can I say? It was love at first sight and he did what he had to do."
"Yeah. Just like you're doing what you have to do by trying to persuade me to keep him." She laughed. "Right?"
"If you're persuaded, then yes, I am. If not, give me time."
Wow, was she persuaded, and it sure had nothing to do with the dog! But it was something she simply didn't have time for. Still, that twinkle in those baby blues, and the crooked way he smiled… Geez…life would have been a whole lot simpler had Deb simply declared him hands off. All signals coming from Mike, though, were hands on. In a big way! Smiling, Judi glanced down at her hands. Real big way.
"In case this adds to the persuasion, I do make house calls."
Durn that crooked smile again. Okay, resolve, time to help me out here.
"After hours." Arched eyebrows, twinkling eyes.
Bye-bye, resolve.
"Anytime, Judi."
Mercy! The way her name rolled off his lips. "And you're sure it's only going to be a couple of weeks?" Plenty of time to get this whatever the heck it was out of her system. She hoped.
"If he heals well, could be sooner." Then he winked again. "But I wouldn't count on it."
Great. Like she really needed this complication — the vet and the dog. "So, if I keep him for a while, you'll be available to…" wine me, dine me, let me see you without the smock "…um, answer some questions, if I have them." Skip the if, more like when.
"Like I said, anytime."
Eyebrows arched sooo seductively again. Talk about a hint. This guy really meant it. Well, why not? A couple weeks of fun could be…fun. No strings. No promises. Might work, and heaven knew she hadn't had a diversion, male or otherwise, since the invention of the wheel. "And you don't think you'll…um…he'll be a big problem?" The vet being a problem was already a given.
"That dog? No way." He jotted something on a scrap of paper then pressed it into her palm. "I'm a man of my word. I'll have a permanent home for him within two weeks. Promise! In the meantime, that's my home and personal cell phone numbers. Call me."
And that call me didn't come with a dog attached to it.
Well, this just keeps getting better and better. "So that leaves me with a problem right now. I have a job to get to…can't take him home." A little hint-dropping time here. He was obviously a master of the not-so-subtle, so now it was her turn to step up to the plate and see what kind of ball she could hit. "And I don't have anybody else to look after him for the day." She glanced at her watch. It was eleven. The Bigelows were scheduled to belly up to the food no later than noon.
"So leave him here for the afternoon, then get him on your way home."
Well, that was sure easy. Now she'd get one more chance to see the good doctor today. And just when she thought it couldn't get any better.
"And Judi…a name?"
"Huh?"
"The dog. I need a name for the records."
"Doesn't matter. You name him."
Mike waited until Judi was gone before he scribbled a name on the dog's folder. "Lucky," he said, scratching Lucky behind the ears. "Seems like you already did get lucky, and let's hope that happens to me real soon, too."
"Don't blame you for throwing yourself at her truck, pal," Mike said, tucking Lucky in. "So I got you in her door, now do the same for me. Okay?"
Lucky rolled his eyes up at Mike, gave him a lazy wag, then went to sleep. Darn cute mutt, Mike thought. He was going to be a big, stout one — massive rottweiler contours with an all shar-pei face, he had lots of wrinkles, lots of lips and a spotted pink-and-black tongue. "So if you want to make this thing work, be on your good behavior. And don't blow it for me. If she ditches you, she won't need me." And he was already counting the ways he wanted to be needed by Judi Blake.
Certainly, his quick feelings for Judi were a shocker. At twenty-nine, he wasn't necessarily ready to settle down, but he wasn't necessarily not ready either. There was something nice about going home to a house full of critters — assorted dogs, cats and barnyard animals — all whose only demands were a little attention and food.
Not like his last girlfriend. She'd moved herself in while he wasn't looking, then man-oh-man, did the demands start rolling. "You work too much." She wanted him home more. "Do those people with animal problems have to keep calling all the time?" She wanted him to unplug the phone. "Do you really need a cow?" That's where he tossed her. Sure, in a good relationship some sacrifices were necessary. But asking a man to give up his cow? Way over the top.
Since then he'd devoted himself to growing the practice — skip the personal life. Of course, the cold nose in bed with him every night certainly wasn't a good substitute for a warm one.
For the first time since he couldn't remember when, though, Mike Jericho wanted a warm nose in his bed, and he knew which one.
"Yes, he's cute," Judi whispered to Deb as she dumped the next batch of wings into the serving dish. The Bigelows were plowing through the food as though they'd starved themselves for a week. And making a huge mess. Man! She wasn't sure she could get it all cleaned up by tomorrow, let alone in time to go get the dog. "And I was actually going to see him again this evening, but with all this mess…"
"Larenz and I can handle it," Deb interrupted.
They were hot for each other, Judi realized. It showed in the way they looked at each other, the affectionate little gestures, like a squeeze in passing or a wink. Good for Deb, figuring out how to balance her life so everything fit. That kind of balance wasn't on Judi's agenda until her business was much further along. "Nope, that's my job, and Mike will just have to keep the dog tonight."
"You call him Mike? So did you get him out of that smock already?"
Judi smiled. "Looks to me like you've got a little desmocking of your own going on."
"Ooo…is that evasion I hear? Does that mean the cook's finally got something on her platter that's outside the kitchen?"
"Maybe."
"Well, if the Bigelows weren't in a frenzy because the mac and cheese is getting low, I'd love to hear the juicy details, but I've got some serious carbs to serve up. So save it for me."
After Deb trotted off in search of more mac, Judi phoned Mike. "Look, I'm tied up at work. Won't get off in time to get the dog."
"Lucky."
Lucky? As in he was lucky because she wouldn't be stopping by? Her heart lurched a little. "I g-guess so," she stammered. Oh, well, it wasn't as if she really expected anything. But still… "I'll get him tomorrow." Then she clicked off, grabbed a bowl of gherkins and headed straight into the throng of Bigelows.
Within ten seconds her cell phone was ringing. Tempted to let it go to voice mail, she waited until mid-fourth ring, couldn't stand it anymore, and finally answered. "Look, Mike," she said instead of hello.
"I've got an emergency coming in," he interrupted, "so call me when you get off work, and I'll bring Lucky to you." Then he clicked off.
Well, she couldn't have planned it better herself, thank you, Bigelows! Dialing Mike's voice mail, she left a message. "Since you're coming over anyway, want some dinner?"
"He's feeling just fine." Mike settled the puppy into a brand-new dog bed he'd brought with him…along with some chew toys, a collar, a leash, a couple of dog bowls and some kind of a new-fangled pet massager. "Still sleepy, but I don't think he's in too much pain."
Judi took a look at all the puppy paraphernalia as she scooted around it to get to her stove. After fooling with wings and all the other Bigelow fare all day, dinner was going to be simple. Spaghetti and meatballs, salad, garlic bread. "He needs all this?" she asked, kicking a rubber ball out of the way.
"Just the basics."
"The massager's a basic?" A little of that on her tired, aching shoulders wouldn't be bad, especially if it came with the hand of a certain vet who looked better in jeans and a T-shirt than anything she'd seen in her kitchen in a while. Eat your heart out, Deb. What's under the smock is better than you could have ever dreamed. Nice muscles, nice tan, pretty much nice everything, although she hadn't been able to get an eyeful of everything from the back…yet.
"He's going to be sore for a few days. Just keep it off his rib area. Stick to the shoulders, back of the neck, and I guarantee he'll love it."
"I'll bet," she quipped, grabbing a big spoon to stir the sauce. Who wouldn't love it? "So tell me, Mike. Do all your patients get this kind of care?"
He grinned. "When it comes with a dinner invitation."
"And you get a lot of those?"
"A lot that I don't accept. This is the first one since…well, ever."
Ever? A sudden case of the jitters knocked the sauce spoon right out of Judi's hand and it landed on the floor. Toy alert! Lucky bolted right out of his doggy bed, in spite of his sore ribs, lunged across the floor, grabbed it and ran.
"I'll get it," Mike volunteered, charging after him.
Judi's tiny quarters were completely separate from her business — health laws — so Lucky was somewhat contained. "Are you sure he's really got some broken ribs?" she called, watching Lucky circle through the kitchen, slide into the wall, shake his head, then keep on going. She glanced out into her living room in time to see Lucky sail over her couch then dart behind her entertainment center with Mike on his tail.
"Dogs don't react to pain the same way we do," he said, lunging for the wooden spoon when Lucky decided a plush squeaky bone was better. "Well, it's a fatality, I'm sorry to say." He passed back the mangled remnants — half a handle attached to some tooth marks.
"How'd he do that so fast?" She glanced at Mike, down on all fours. Nice. She'd certainly be willing to sacrifice a spoon to Lucky any day just to get a look at Mike the way she was looking at him right now. As he pushed himself up from all fours to two, she got that full view of the backside, and had to bite her lower lip to keep from groaning in pure appreciative pleasure. Thank you, Lucky, for this one.
Wooden spoons were cheap; Judi made a mental note to add a few to her shopping list in case Mike came back.
"Don't know where he went," Mike said, brushing a dust bunny off the knee of his jeans.
"Bedroom, I think. Could you go get him?" Too obvious? Probably, but dinner was ready and all she really wanted out of the experience was a glimpse of Mike in the proximity of her bed. That would keep her fantasies going for a while. But durn that dog! Just as Mike got to the hall, six lousy feet from her bedroom door, Lucky flew back through the kitchen, and by the time they caught up with him, he was curled up in his bed, sound asleep. One bedroom fantasy gone to the dogs!
"Looks like that wore him out. Maybe he'll sleep all night for you now."
"Hope so." Not! Just before she sat down across the tiny kitchen table from Mike, Judi rummaged through her utensil drawer. No more wooden spoons, but that rubber spatula would do. One more utensil fatality ŕ la Lucky coming up right after dinner, she hoped. If at first you don't succeed…
"The least you could have done was help get him into the bedroom," Judi muttered, plopping down on her back step.
Dinner had been brief. About six bites in, they were interrupted by the imminent birth of a litter of ferrets. Not even enough time to drop the rubber spatula. And now Lucky was busy disassembling her postage stamp–sized yard twig by twig. "So we've got to come to some kind of an understanding. You get me the vet and I'll make sure you get a great home. One with a big yard you can chew up."
She slipped the pet massager out of her pocket — it was a little larger than her hand and shaped like a paw. Turning it on, she ran it over her neck. "Oh, gosh," she murmured. Pure heaven. Only thing better would have been Mike's fingers doing a little of that heaven-making on her neck instead of leaving it to the black rubber nubs.
Lucky came up to investigate. No way the dog was getting this.
Shutting her eyes, Judi imagined Mike kneading the vibrating paw over her neck. He was lifting her hair off her collar then sliding the massager over her shoulders…bare shoulders. Definitely had to be bare. The paw was moving in slow, methodical circles, pressing deep into her flesh. Then suddenly his lips…hard and demanding on hers, as he slid the massager between his chest and hers, rubbing it first over her right breast then her left. "Yes…," she moaned aloud. The paw was creeping downward, over her ribs, tickling her flesh, causing goose bumps to rise on her arms. "Oh, yes.…" Slower and slower, he explored her flat belly, her belly button, then reaching down to her… "No!" she gasped, her eyes popping open. Damn batteries died!
It took a few seconds for Judi to blink back the fleshly images of what Mike could have done with a vibrating paw and after that, for some strange reason, she wanted a cigarette. Even though she didn't smoke.
When Judi finally remembered she had a dog — oh, yeah, the dog — she glanced out into the yard just in time to see him stalking her tiny little petunia patch. Six plants, that's all. And he was going after them. "Don't you dare," she yelled, just as he ripped out the first one.
"Two weeks, Mike. How did you con me into it?" With his gorgeous eyes, that's how. He knew exactly what he was doing when he twinkled them at her. Now here she was, standing in as a surrogate mama for a petunia-plucking pup. "That's what a year without a date will do to you," she told Lucky, who was in the process of dropping the spoils of his second petunia conquest at her feet. "Make you fall all over the first good-looking veterinarian who comes along." Considering all her former falls, and there'd been a few minor ones, this one felt like a major. The only major. Not a good sign, especially since she was tingling even without the paw.
Talk about scared! This was so fast…too fast. Meaning most likely some big-time physical chemistry going on. Which scared her, too, because where there was one spark, there was bound to be another one. And one and one equaled…well, she wasn't going to do that math because it added up to complications she didn't need. Not with trying to make her business succeed.
Really bad timing. Another year or two down the road… Nope. Not going there. Didn't matter. Flying sparks right now certainly wouldn't keep for two years.
Lucky plopped down on the sidewalk next to Judi's feet, a petunia still dangling from his mouth, then rolled his sad eyes up at her. "You sure know how to work them to your advantage, don't you," she said. "Well, not on me. As soon as Mike says you're good to go, you're going." She scratched his ears, eliciting a sigh of pure doggy contentment from the pooch. "So, you know the plan, and I expect you to do a good job. Get him closer than six feet from the bedroom and you can chew up any darn thing you want to."
Really, lady? I can chew up anything? Lucky turned around, surveying his new chew domain for his next victim.
"Hello," Judi mumbled. Six a.m. Who the heck called anybody at six a.m.?
"So, how's he doing this morning?" Mike asked, his voice sounding all chipper and bright as if he were the grand champion morning person of the world. He was probably smiling, too. "Did Lucky have a good night?"
Lucky? He was asking about the dog? How about her? Good morning, Judi. How are you doing? Did you have a good night? Too bad he didn't ask, because the answer would be one great big unequivocal no! Judi wasn't having a good morning. Judi wasn't doing well. Judi didn't have a good night. Blame it on the dog.
"He cried for the first hour after I turned out the lights, then he whimpered for the next hour after that. So somewhere around midnight, after I'd checked on him a dozen times to make sure he wasn't hurting, I finally gave in to his demands…brought him into the bedroom…under duress, I might add. And guess what?"
"He quieted right down," Mike said, laughing.
"Not a peep." Turning over on her side, Judi reached over and patted Lucky on the head. No, sleeping with the mutt hadn't been her first choice, but it was the only thing that rocked him into puppy dreamland and allowed her a few hours of nod. "So the answer is, he's doing just fine, and he had a great night."
"Well, a lot of puppies cry the first night or two in a new home, but they stop once they get used to it."
"Cry isn't exactly the right word here, Mike. Pavarotti couldn't have outsung him in a battle of dueling tenors. That's how much he cried. Which is why I took him to bed with me — to shut him up. Lucky, not Pavarotti."
"In your bed? Lucky dog. Lucky, not Pavarotti. Of course, Pavarotti should have been so lucky."
Judi blinked her eyes. Had he really said that, or was she still sleeping? "But he may need to see you because he's breathing a little heavily this morning."
She glanced over at Lucky. Snuggled into her spare pillow, he was snoring like a dog who was used to sleeping there. So it was a little exaggeration. Big deal! Sometimes a girl just had to use whatever was handy, including her dog. "Think you should come over and check him out?" Well, not as subtle as she would have liked, but it was the best she could do since her feminine wiles didn't turn on until late afternoon or early evening.
"Think Lucky can wait until I'm off work tonight?"
Oh, he could. Judi snuggled into her own pillow and smiled. "Yep." But I don't know if I can.
Judi glanced over the food list, smiling. Big wedding plans, and she was sure hoping to get the job. Especially since it was the mayor's one-and-only daughter. Talk about prestige — this could be the one to really launch her business into the upper echelons of catering.
Today she was experimenting with Belgian chocolate-dipped mints while Deb scrambled around the kitchen trying to help but mostly getting in the way. "But he actually came over and had a meal with you," Deb said, cleaning up a big blob of chocolate Judi had spilled on the floor. "Even if he had to leave right away. So, did you…you know. Sneak in a little kiss before you lost him to the ferrets?"
Judi stared wistfully into the bowl of chocolate. "Not even close. But I'm seeing him again tonight, so who knows." Probably wishful thinking, but she couldn't get it out of her head. Thinking, hoping, wishing, dreaming…
"He's eating something," Deb yelled, breaking up Judi's little retreat into la-la.
"Huh?"
"Earth to Judi. Your dog… See what he's doing?" She pointed out the window to Lucky, who was darting across the yard with a juniper branch in his mouth. "Might be poison. Might require a trip to the vet." She jabbed Judi in the ribs with her elbow. "After you wash off all the chocolate. Although I can think of some mighty fun things to do dipped in chocolate. Actually I can think of some mighty fun things to dip in chocolate."
Judi smiled. So could she! Problem was, she didn't know if Mike was the dipping type, and they were never together long enough for her to find out.
"I know I should have called first," Judi gasped, rushing into Mike's office, "but this was an emergency."
Mike's receptionist, an efficient older man called Arthur, looked over the top of his glasses at Judi. "Same dog you brought in yesterday?" He said it as though he was a man used to having women bring in different emergency dogs every day. Of course, with Mike seeing each and every one of those dogs, that was sure a real possibility.
Judi nodded. "Yep. Yesterday it was broken ribs. Today he ate a juniper bush."
Arthur wrote juniper consumption on the chart as if that was an everyday occurrence. "Can Mike see me now…see my puppy?" Her puppy? Since when had Lucky become her puppy?
"Examining room four. I'll let the doctor know you're here."
Mike was there, grinning at her, when Judi wandered in. "You're so anxious to see me you couldn't wait until tonight?"
"He's that anxious to see you," she said, handing Lucky over to him. "That's why he ate a juniper."
"A whole juniper? Pretty impressive for a puppy."
"Not the green part."
"Then I guess he needs an x-ray." Mike disappeared with Lucky in tow, while Judi waited. Gone for only a few seconds, he returned, sans pup. "My technician's doing it, which gives us about three minutes to work out a few important details between us."
Important details? Sounded pretty promising to her.
"Since it's all happening pretty fast."
More and more promising. "It is fast, isn't it?" Yesterday, fast scared her. Today it intrigued her. In fact, in the course of twenty-four hours, she'd gone from apprehensive to actually looking forward to a little fast in her life. And it wasn't as if it was forever. Two weeks, then hit the brakes.
He smiled. "I kind of thought you were developing some feelings already. At least I'd hoped you were."
If he was nothing else, he was direct. Sure made her nervous but in a way, she liked that. "Maybe I am, a little, but I think it's too soon to tell anything for sure." Except that she was feeling a little flushed right now.
"Well, for me it's always love at first sight. I just seem to jump right in there and think about the details afterwards."
A little flushed? Make that a lot! "I g-guess that can happen," she stammered. "But I've always tried to be cautious."
"Very cautious, since this is your first time. Right? This is your first time, isn't it?"
First time? For what? Dating? Falling in love? For that? Did she look that pathetic and desperate to him? Sure, she didn't exactly have a great social life going right now. By choice! But calling her a first-timer, and at her age? Maybe that was his wishful thinking — some kind of strange babe-in-the-woods fantasy. "I've done this before," she said, making sure to sound good and defensive. "Just not lately."
Mike laughed. "Well, you could have fooled me. But actually I'm glad. I mean, I don't mind teaching you, but it's always easier on me if you've got some of the basics mastered."
"Teaching me?" she sputtered.
"Well, not teach so much as point you in the right direction. You've got good instincts. Reluctant, but good. Probably better than mine, actually, since I can't seem to restrain myself."
This sure wasn't what she expected from him. Being a little forward was okay, but the guy was way over the top. "What do you mean you can't restrain yourself?" she asked, backing her way over to the door.
He smiled. "Lack of restraint, as in there always seems to be room for one more."
Now it was getting bizarre. Did he expect her to just fall in line with the others? "Define one more." Reaching behind her, Judi grabbed hold of the door knob.
"Well, one more usually, except right now I'm at capacity. Eight, give or take. Almost more than I can handle."
Judi sure wasn't flushed anymore. More like panicked, dizzy, brain waves going flat. Eight women? No wonder Arthur was skeptical. He probably didn't have room to pencil in another one on Mike's schedule.
Dear lord, what kind of man was she falling for?
"Eight?" Judi grabbed a flea-and-tick brochure off Mike's veterinary cabinet to fan herself.
"Well, nine, but the cow doesn't count since, technically, she's livestock."
This was about animals, not him and her, not dating, sex and the proclivities of his perverse love life. Geez, had she been wandering around the wrong bark park with that one. Thank heavens. Take a deep breath, Judi. Breathe, regroup, pick up the beat.
"So what's it like owning a cow?" Brilliant recovery. No way he'd ever suspect she'd been on the verge of calling him a pervert.
"You thought I was talking about having eight women, didn't you?" He chuckled.
Apparently not so brilliant. "Did not." Not so brilliant again.
He leaned down and brushed Judi's cheek with a circumspect kiss. "Believe me, I'm not even sure I can manage one, so you don't have to worry about the competition. Look, I've got to go see a cat about a hairball right now, so we'll talk about the details of good puppy care later. I'll have someone bring Lucky back once we get the x-ray looked at. How's his breathing, by the way? I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary."
"His breathing?" She was still feeling too silly to recoup with any kind of grace and aplomb.
"This morning you said he was breathing hard. I was going to stop by later to check him. Remember?"
Yeah, now she remembered. And she'd blown it. Durn that dog anyway. One munched-down juniper and her evening was shot. "I think he was just snoring," she admitted. Might as well fess up, since he wasn't coming over no way, no how, now.
"Snoring," he repeated on his way out the door.
A minute later, Arthur brought Lucky back and handed him to Judi. "He's fine, and the doctor said he'll see you tonight. Would that be another dog with an emergency, or another emergency with this one?"
"Haven't decided yet," she said brightly.
Outside in the parking lot, before she climbed into her Expedition, Judi gave Lucky a kiss on the top of his wrinkly head. "Good boy. Next time you get the two of us together, though, let's make it something where we don't have to involve Arthur. Okay?"
Next time, lady? I really get a next time?
Judi was testing a pâté recipe when Mike showed up. This was the third pâté she'd gone through since this afternoon. First two were flops, but Lucky gobbled them right up. And no, a built-in flop disposer wasn't a good enough reason to keep him.
"I'm hoping to cater the mayor's daughter's wedding," Judi told Mike as she pulled the keeper batch of pâté out of the refrigerator. She scooped a spoonful onto a cracker and handed it to him.
"Goose liver?" Mike asked, turning up his nose. "Sorry, but I don't eat anything I keep as a pet."
"And you have a goose?"
"Several geese, on a pond."
And he had a cow. No wonder he'd picked around the meatballs in her spaghetti sauce. And tonight… "Do you like grilled cheese?"
"Love grilled cheese. So, tell me what you love."
"Meaning food?"
"Meaning anything…everything. I don't know anything about you…yet. And I want to know everything." He picked up a chocolate mint from a tray of them sitting on her counter, then brushed it across her lips. "Do you like chocolate?"
Judi shut her eyes, savoring the slight tingling. "I love chocolate," she purred.
"And I'd love you in chocolate."
Moving a step closer to him, Judi opened her lips to the chocolate, eating only half of it. Then she took it from his fingers and raised it to his lips. "And I'd love you in chocolate, too. Milk chocolate."
"Dark chocolate."
Their first argument. She couldn't wait until the making-up part. "Milk, it's sweeter."
"Dark, it's…sinful."
Taking another chocolate, Judi slipped it between Mike's lips, then raised her lips to his. Lip to lip, one chocolate between them. The possibilities were both sweet and sinful. She was like another Judi, the one she'd always wanted to be but was afraid to let loose. With Mike she wanted to let so many things loose.
In response, Mike crushed Judi to his body, where she could feel his instant hard need. Sinful was, indeed, the better chocolate and she was looking forward to finding out just how much.
"Aieeee! Aieeee! Aieeee!"
"Lucky!" they cried in unison.
"Is he okay?" Judi asked breathlessly. Lucky was in her bed, between her pillows, on his back, eyes shut.
"Probably dreaming." Mike gave Lucky a fast once-over. "Looks fine to me."
"You're kidding, right? We didn't get to…you know, because he was dreaming?" Dreaming and wrecking her whole evening!
Mike stepped out into the hall and followed Judi into her kitchen. "So you're getting used to sleeping with him? Because he sure looks mighty cozy in your bed."
"Bed doesn't mean he's staying, so don't go getting that look of triumph on your face, because you've still got to hold up your end of the deal and find him a home."
"Good home," Mike interjected. "That was part of the deal."
"Okay, good home. And he might as well sleep with me until then since nobody else does," she said, so disappointed she wanted to cry. "Look, I've got lots of leftover samples, if you'd like to stay and share them with me. Or I can make grilled cheese." Didn't matter since the chocolate moment was sure over.
Judi stuck her head into the fridge, looking for anything edible. That's right, drown your frustration in food, Judi. Forget the romance. Go for the ravioli. And at the rate she was being frustrated lately, that would equate to approximately one dress size per week, and not in a good direction.
"I was enjoying the chocolate," he said. "Wouldn't mind a little more of that, if you've got any left."
Oh, did she have more chocolate! "Want to try something dark this time?" she asked, backing out of the fridge. So maybe the evening would work out after all.
Nice, he thought, watching her rummage through the fridge. And he was feeling the potent reaction to it in places he really didn't want to feel it right now, considering how they'd only just met. But damn that butt was beautiful. And damn it even more that he really liked her. Not that he didn't want to, because he did. But add a little dark chocolate to the mix and it was going to turn into something a whole lot more than simply admiring her backside and merely liking her. "I'd love something dark," he said, stepping back as she emerged from the fridge holding a bowl of chocolate mousse. Good grief, the things that were coming to mind!
"It's good with plain wafer cookies," she said.
Maybe yes, maybe no, but he could think of other ways it would be good, and they had nothing to do with wafer cookies. "Um…sure. Fine." Brilliant conversationalist that he was, he sure wasn't holding up his end of it right now, not while she was swirling her finger in the mousse and… Oh, no! She was licking her finger now. And he was seriously aroused.
"It's good," she pronounced, smiling. "So, how much do you want?"
"All of it," he murmured. Taking the bowl from her, Mike dipped his finger into the mousse then ran it lightly over her lips. Bending to her, he traced the chocolate line with his tongue, starting with her lower lip then moving to her upper. "You taste mighty good in chocolate," he whispered, his voice hoarse.
In response, Judi reached up, coiled her arms around his neck and pulled his face to hers. "If you think I taste good in chocolate, just wait until you taste me in strawberry."
"Strawberry's my favorite." Their first kiss was gentle, tentative. A prelude with so much promise. But as he pressed his mouth to hers to claim that promise, he felt the buzz of his cell phone in his pocket. She felt it, too, because when she looked up at him, her eyes were full of the knowledge of what came next. Disappointment? Resignation?
Sighing, Mike let the cell phone buzz. What was one more minute anyway? Other than the kiss he wanted more than anything. "I'm sorry I have to do it this way, but…" Their second kiss came hard, full of need, and fast. It started, then it was over. "I'm sorry," he repeated, grabbing his phone. "You have no idea…"
Judi smiled as she reached up and brushed her fingers across her swollen, red lips. "Believe me, you have absolutely nothing to be sorry about."
He eyed the bowl of mousse sitting on the table as he hit the call-back number. "Oh, I think I do."
"You mean he just up and left after that?" Deb exclaimed. "And you had chocolate mousse left? Geez. Larenz and I were in the mood for some mousse last night." She grinned, wrinkling her nose playfully. "We needed something to go with the whipped cream."
"It was another emergency call, and unless you're talking about dessert after dinner, spare me the details. Okay?"
"Sounds like you two are working up to some details of your own."
Judi shook her head. "Details? I got beat out by a potbellied pig with a stomachache. I mean, the guy's dedicated to his work, and I admire that — I mean, I'm like that, too. His work is already getting in the way, though, and we haven't even gotten to a level where it should matter. But it does. Then there's the dog to consider." She glanced down at Lucky, who was chewing up the morning paper. "Half of me thinks this could be just a pseudo-seduction meant to get me to keep him…the dog, not Mike."
"And suppose it's a real seduction meant to get you to keep Mike?" Deb sat LuLu down on the floor, and immediately the little fluff-ball went right up to Lucky and tried to take the sports section away from him. Lucky, six months old, according to Mike, already weighed thirty pounds and was twice LuLu's size, but the poodle clearly went for the big guys. When she discovered the sports page wasn't much fun, she sidled right up to Lucky and plopped down on the floor next to him, nuzzling into his chest.
"See that? It's so easy for them," Judi said. "LuLu likes Lucky, and that's all there is to it. Judi likes Mike but if Judi acted that way…" She shrugged.
"If Judi acted the way LuLu does, Mike might do that." Deb pointed to Lucky, who was licking LuLu's face.
"Or he might go outside and chew down another one of my shrubs. I mean, except for the fact that I'm attracted to Mike in a big way, what else is there?"
"Well, happily-ever-after, for starters. Someone in your bed at night, and not even in the sexual way. Someone across the kitchen table from you in the morning. A hand to hold when you're forty and sixty and eighty. A shoulder to cry on. Someone to laugh with, dream with, plan with. On rainy Sundays, someone to snuggle in with and read the paper." Deb sighed wistfully. "The list goes on forever, if you want it to."
"But my list may stop as soon as I get rid of the dog. Mike could see that as some kind of major character flaw in me, not wanting a pet."
Get rid of me? Please, lady, Lucky wants to live here. Lucky flopped over on the floor and laid his head on Judi's foot. Please keep me, lady.
"Are you sure you really want to get rid of the dog, Judi? He's just the cutest thing. And as long as you have Lucky, that'll give you an excuse to keep calling Mike."
She's right, lady. Listen to her.
"Like I haven't thought of that?" Actually, she liked the little dog. But this just wasn't a good place for him.
Sad eyes, lady. Sad eyes because Lucky doesn't want to go away.
"Look, I told Mike I'd keep him until he's feeling better, and I will. But after that the dog has got to go." Judi dumped the bowl of chocolate mousse into the sink, then rinsed it down the drain. Could have been so much fun. "He has a cow."
"Huh?"
"A cow. Mike has a cow."
"And?"
"And nothing, except I can't even handle a puppy and the man owns his own petting zoo. Suppose something did happen between us? Something other than the physical thing that would happen if his patients would leave him alone for a night. Then what? We hit it off, maybe even fall in love. Then either the cow comes to Judi or Judi goes to the cow. Either way, how's that going to work?"
"Do you think maybe that's a question you should be asking him instead of me? And do you think you could make me a batch of mousse? Larenz is coming over tonight and I've got a little of the whipped cream left."
Mousse again. Judi smiled. Maybe next time's the charm. "How's strawberry?"
"Judi, was that hole in the wall always there, because I sure don't remember seeing it before?" Deb asked, pointing to the corner of the wall between Judi's kitchen and dining room. Or more accurately, what used to be a corner. In place of a nice, sharp-edged square corner, she found a chewed-out area where the exposed white of the Sheetrock stuck out, with teeth marks all around the ragged edges.
"I can't believe this," Judi exclaimed. "I've given that dog a half-dozen rubber toys then he goes and chews a hole in my wall."
But lady, you said if I got him into your bedroom I could chew up anything I wanted. And I got him there, so I did.
Deb laughed. "Lucky's a puppy, for heaven's sake. Puppies chew things. And it's not so bad. LuLu's done a whole lot worse than that. Remember my previous boyfriend Carmichael? Once, LuLu chewed up Carmichael's shoe, and it was still on his foot. Of course, that pretty well ended things between Carmichael and me, but he was getting boring in bed, and outside of bed he was a total zero, so I always considered what LuLu did a favor. I'll bet this has an upside, too."
"Like calling Mike to see if the drywall dust is dangerous."
"Sounds like an upside to me," Deb quipped, heading out the door on her way to a meeting with the bride-to-be and her mayor mom. "Tell him I said hello, that I'll stop by next week so he can take a look at LuLu's coat. It seems a little dull lately."
Judi laughed. "Isn't Larenz enough for you?"
"Larenz is more than enough. But a girl can still look, can't she? Unless the girl's partner doesn't like that?"
"Look all you want. Three emergencies in three days and he's going to think I'm either the most irresponsible person on the face of the earth or I'm trying to kill the dog. Somehow I don't see the puppy doctor getting together with either of those scenarios. Then there's Arthur. No way he's letting me in the door again." She looked at the hole in her wall, sighed wistfully, then picked up the phone.
"May I speak to him, Arthur?"
"What a surprise," Arthur replied, his tone flat. "Another emergency."
"He thinks I'm doing this on purpose," Judi complained when Mike came on. "To get to you."
"Should I be flattered?"
"Do you think that's what I'm doing?"
"Hey, I've met the mutt. Remember? I saw the remains of that juniper bush. So what remains am I going to see when I come over for dinner tonight?"
Judi drew in a quick breath. He wants to come to dinner. Thank you, thank you! "My, um, kitchen wall. He chewed a hole in it."
"Plaster won't hurt him. Unless there's asbestos in it. But your building's too new to have asbestos, so he'll be fine."
"Strawberry mousse?" she asked, her mind already jumping way ahead. "Because I think you'll look wonderful in strawberry."
"If that's intended to seduce the vet, it's working."
"With whipped cream?" She couldn't help herself. Almost-phone sex was kind of fun.
"Can or tub?" he asked, his voice sounding a little more gruff than norm.
"Oh, can…all the way. So many more things you can do with a can than a tub. Maybe two cans, if you really like whipped cream. Do you think we'll need two cans, Mike?" Two cans and a block of ice, she was getting so hot.
Judi didn't hear a real answer from Mike. Instead, she heard a breathy moan. Apparently he needed a block of ice, too. "Any impending ferret births tonight?" she asked. "Or potbellied belly-achin' pigs?"
"No, ma'am. Doctor Jericho is completely free tonight," Arthur cut in, his tone flat as usual. "Someone else will be taking his calls while he's indulging in your…mousse."
Judi heard Arthur click off, then Mike click off…hopefully to go fire Arthur…and she was left with a dead phone line and the burning need for another emergency house call from the vet. In lieu of that, a nice, cold shower. Whoever said men were the only ones?
So the order for her day…cool down those hormone-raging, veterinarian-hankerings first, make the best darn strawberry mousse that's ever been slathered, spooned or otherwise served, then stock up on whipped cream…in the can. Take that, Arthur!
"Judi's really nice," Mike explained. "And I think it could turn into something more. Believe me, I'd like it to, but we've got a huge, fundamental difference. It's the animal thing. Plus she's city all the way. I'm not. And if I go much further with this we're both going to get hurt. Because between you and me, and keep this to yourself, I think it's gonna get pretty hot. Sure, it was only one kiss for starters. But man, oh man, what she packed in that one kiss…"
Mike shut his eyes and rubbed his forehead, remembering every vivid detail. "I gotta tell you, if I hadn't been called away…" He shook his head. "So, you've been around the block a couple times, Gertie. Got any advice for me, 'cause I sure could use it."
Gertie blinked her big brown eyes at Mike and swished a few flies off her back with her tail. She'd been with Mike three years now. Just wandered in as a calf one night, and stayed. For a cow, she was a pretty good pet, one who certainly wouldn't fit in that mini yard behind Judi's warehouse. If things did work out between them, Mike had a hunch Judi wouldn't be moving to the country to live with him. He glanced at Gertie, whose big beautiful browns were drifting shut. For sure he and Gertie and the rest of the crew wouldn't be heading to the city.
"So what's the point?" he asked, heading out of the barn to his truck.
"The point is you won't know if you don't try," Arthur said. He was sitting on the porch, sipping tea. Feet propped up on a stool, he waved a foil packet at Mike. "And if you don't try, you'll be kicking yourself."
"Look, Dad. It's not that simple."
"Sure it is. You're just making it complicated on purpose. You like her, she likes you, you put your heads together — before you put your other stuff together — and figure out where it's going. You both might be surprised what a little talking before the mousse might turn up."
"You shouldn't have been listening."
"Good thing I didn't have it on speakerphone."
"You believe in love at first sight, Dad?"
"It's not about what I believe, son. But it sure seems like you do."
"Yeah, well, two different worlds, and I don't know how you overcome that."
"Your mom and I did."
"You and mom? You're both veterinarians, for heaven's sake. So where do you get two different worlds out of that?"
"She had a small-animal practice, I had big animals. That's a huge difference." He waved the condom again. "Better safe…"
"Go home, Dad. Tell Mom I said to lock you up."
Halfway to Judi's, Mike dialed his referral service and let them know he was off for the evening, that his parents, retired though they were, would take call. Then he crossed his fingers. Conversation before mousse. Maybe his dad was right.
"You look amazing," Judi said, stepping back as he walked through her front door. Looked great in his khakis and green knit shirt, smelled great in something other than his normal veterinary disinfectant.
"I'd say the same about you but amazing doesn't even come close to describing it."
Judi smiled. It had taken her an hour to achieve the look — the basic black dress, tight, short, low neck with just enough cleavage exposed to catch the male eye but not so low it didn't leave a little something to the male imagination. Deb's dress, of course. Judi didn't own anything sexy or seductive or meet-me-in-the-boudoir. But Deb did, a whole closetful, and she'd hemmed this little number so it hit Judi's midthigh. "Give him some leg, girlfriend." Leg and stilettos. And, boy, did Judi feel silly wearing five-inch spikes in her own living room. She was the basic barefooter.
Of course, that feeling went away the instant Mike took a good hard look at her — a slow, deliberate journey from head to toe, lingering awhile on the whole leg area — thank you, Deb! Under his very conspicuous carnal scrutiny, Judi felt herself go warm…no, make that downright hot…in ways way beyond reading the mercury.
"So, Mike," she said, "how would you like your sex — er, salad?"
His eyes lit up. "No dressing sounds good."
"Almost done," Mike said, slopping gooey mud on the hole in her wall.
"Me, too," Judi grumbled, looking into the half-empty bowl of mousse. So many expectations when he'd stepped through the door, but he'd brought joint compound with him, and now, for the past hour, he'd been on his hands and knees squishing it into the hole.
Mike put down the Spackle and turned around to face her. "I'm sensing you're not happy about my fixing this?"
"We've had three dates…actually, I wouldn't even call them dates. More like datus interruptus. They were brief exchanges broken up by ferrets, potbellied pigs and dogs. I totally understand the animals, and I don't have a problem with that. But frankly, it's not fun being passed over for a lousy hole."
He stood, frowning. "It's hard to leave the career behind. That's part of who I am — not very many degrees of separation between me and it. I made you keep the dog; he did this; I felt responsible for getting it fixed."
Lucky rolled his eyes up at Judi, then twisted to get a look at Mike. So many sad eyes all over the place. Oh, no!
"Look, Judi. I'm really sorry. It's not easy getting a business going. Takes a lot of hours, doesn't give you any time for the personal things." He chuckled. "But you already know that, don't you? Anyway, last time I tried getting involved with somebody it was pure hell. I didn't have time, she didn't have patience. After that I promised myself that everything but my practice was on hold. Until I met you." He gave her a sheepish grin. "Guess I'm really showing you how bad I am with people, huh?" Understatement, big time.
"So I'm not your first?" she asked, arching her eyebrows in mock skepticism.
"I think maybe you are."
Judi's heart skipped a beat. That wasn't what she'd expected from him, and she didn't know what to do with it. Ignore it and it will go away? Sure didn't work with the dog. Truthfully, she didn't want it working with him. Problem was, she didn't know what she did want working with him.
"Which means I'll need a whole lot of teaching. So do you want to teach me, Judi?"
"Well, not teach so much as point you in the right direction. You've got good instincts, Doctor. Reluctant, but good. Probably better than mine, since I can't seem to restrain myself."
Sitting down next to Judi, Mike picked up the bowl of mousse. "Please, don't restrain yourself."
"Whoa! This is the place where you start getting nervous and head to the door."
"If I want to leave, which I don't. Unless you want me to."
Smiling, Judi scooted over closer to him then held up a spare spoon. She wasn't kidding herself. This would never work, not in the forever sense. But she did like being with him so much. Loved being with him. "Okay, maybe you don't have to head to the door."
"I'll accept that."
"We'll talk for now, go casual, get to know each other before we…well, you know."
"I'll accept that."
"Moment to moment, and the mousse is strictly for eating."
"I'll accept that."
"For heaven's sake! Is there anything you won't accept, Mike?"
"When it comes from you, no."
He was so close right now it was dangerous to her brand-new resolve. But nothing in her wanted to move away, nothing could. This was the man she was falling in love with. Three days and here she was, heart on her sleeve, head in the clouds, feelings in a whirlwind. And all over a man who didn't, couldn't, wouldn't live a life like hers.
The solution? Like she'd just said, moment to moment without the mousse. That's all they could have. "So why'd you become a vet?" she asked, going for casual.
"Other than animals, I think the outfit. The smock." He arched his eyebrows innocently, then took a bite of mousse.
"You overheard that?" She actually blushed.
He nodded, going for another bite. This time the arch of his eyebrows was anything but innocent.
"Geez. Do you and Arthur ever do anything besides eavesdrop?"
Nuzzled between Judi's feet and Mike's, Lucky gave his tail a lazy wag. See, lady. He's a real nice man. Will you keep both of us?
"Look, I'm really sorry about this, but it's an emergency." Like she hadn't heard that before. "But I wouldn't be leaving except my mom's taking call and she does only small animals, and she can't find my dad, who does large animals. So I've got to go."
And that made sense? Apparently it did to Mike, because he was on his way to the door…again. "I understand," Judi said, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice. Back to square one. This thing just wasn't going to work out.
"Look, we'll talk about this tomorrow, okay? I've got a sick horse, one of the police patrol horses…."
Horse? She loved horses. Always wanted one, which, of course, never happened, city girl that she was. "Bad?"
He nodded. "Colic. Won't know how bad 'til I get there."
"Need some help?" Where did that come from? She didn't know, and it surprised her almost as much as it surprised him, judging by the look on his face.
"If you can get into some old clothes in two minutes."
Two minutes later, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, she was running to the door with an old pair of Nikes tied together and slung over her shoulder, and Lucky bundled in a blanket in her arms. Not the evening she'd planned, but at least it wasn't over yet.
He still wasn't sure why he'd agreed to this, to taking her along. Colic wasn't easy, and he didn't need somebody getting in the way. But he'd agreed before he even realized what she was offering. In a way, though, he was pleased she'd offered. "You're bringing Lucky?"
"Couldn't leave him alone."
"This could take hours."
"Not a problem. I've got hours."
"Might not turn out the way you'd like. Most colic's treatable, but sometimes…"
Twisting to settle Lucky into the space behind the seat, she said, "I can help. I know in some cases you've got to walk a horse with colic, and I can do that. If it's just gas colic or some kind of an obstruction."
"How'd you know that?"
"Once, a long time ago, when I was ten, I wanted a horse. But I was a condo kid in a condo with a strict no-pets-with-four-legs policy. I studied up on horses anyway, went to the condo board, tried convincing them of all the reasons horses should be allowed."
"Such as?"
"Pulling out stuck cars in the winter was at the top of my list."
He chuckled. "Well, at least it was original."
"Yeah. They applauded my efforts and defeated my proposal. So I know a little, just not in an up close and personal sense."
She was sure full of surprises. And cute — he could almost see that ten-year-old girl standing up to the condo board. Suddenly, a long, difficult ordeal didn't look so bad to him. "Okay, I need the symptoms. You'll be talking to the stable manager, Ike Petrie." He speed-dialed a number, and when Ike answered, Mike said, "I'm going to put you on with Judi. She's my assistant tonight." And somebody I'm falling in love with.
He handed Judi the phone. "So what's your horse's name, Ike?" she asked.
Mike smiled. This was good. She was good. "I'm going to tell you some symptoms, you find out from Ike if…"
"Bo," she supplied.
"…if Bo has them." He took in a deep breath. Most colic wasn't serious. It was a horse thing, something most of them came down with at some point in their life. But it always made him nervous because it could be serious, even fatal. "Okay, any pawing?"
"Pawing?" Judi asked Ike. "Yes," she told Mike.
"Kicking or biting at his abdomen?"
"Yes."
"Poor appetite?"
"Hasn't eaten since yesterday."
"Sweating?"
"Some."
He reached over and squeezed Judi's hand. "Good job. I'm glad you came with me." And he meant that.
"Me, too. And Ike said to tell you Bo's nostrils are flaring."
So was Mike's heart. He didn't know how it was going to work, but more than anything he'd ever known in his life, he knew he wanted much, much more than moment-to-moment with Judi. What he didn't know was how to get it.
"Pulse rate's up, Doc. So is his temperature," Ike Petrie said even before Mike and Judi were inside the stable. "Breathing's a little difficult, too."
"I need a look inside his mouth." Mike pulled a flashlight out of his medical kit. "Judi, you stand on one side of his head and try to gentle him. Ike, you do the same on the other. And be careful. He might kick or fight."
"He's a sweet one, Doc," Ike said.
"And a sick one. So you never know what's going to happen to his temperament."
Judi moved to Bo's left side, a ways back from his head, and leaned into his neck, almost in a nuzzle. "You're such a beautiful boy," she said to the chestnut horse. "Mike's a good doctor and you'll be feeling better in no time."
Mike listened to the dulcet tones Judi had for Bo, amazed by how they calmed the horse. Normally, he might have given the horse a slight sedative, but Judi seemed to be all the sedative Bo needed. The horse was falling in love with her! The horse, the dog…him.
"You have quite a knack," he said, assessing Bo's mucous membrane. No discoloration, no drying. Then he checked the capillary refill time by pressing on Bo's gums and counting the seconds for normal color to return. "Good," he said to himself.
"I used to practice on my stuffed pony, the one my parents bought me in lieu of the real thing."
"Well, I hope you practiced good, because I've got to listen to his digestive noises next, meaning I've got to get to his belly…and worse."
"That's okay because Bo and I are doing just fine, aren't we, boy?" She patted the horse's neck, then laid her head against it. "Just fine."
Upper digestive noises weren't absent. Good sign. "Just keep your boyfriend occupied while I duck underneath him and take a look." Mike poked around on Bo's belly for a minute, crawled a little farther down, prodded and listened, then finally crawled out and stood up. "I think we've got a plugged-up horse. A little laxative, a little walking…"
That diagnosis was as much a relief to him as it would be to Bo, and apparently Judi, judging from the smile brushing her lips.
"I'll do the walking," she volunteered. She nudged Lucky, who was sprawled in the straw. "Me and him."
Mike laughed. "Somehow I thought that's the job you'd take. But if you'd like to switch with me."
"The laxative? Hun-uh, Jericho. Not a chance."
It took a while before Judi finally got to lead Bo out to the corral, then woman, dog and horse simply circled, around and around. Amazing, Mike thought, watching her. She was chatting with them. Talking about what, he didn't know, because he couldn't hear, but Lucky was responding with a wag and Bo was stepping much livelier than he should have, considering his ordeal.
"She's sure got a way with them," Ike Petrie commented. "Like my mama. One kiss and she made it all better. Give me a call if you ever decide to let her go. I've got a job right here for her."
"Believe me Ike, I'm trying to figure out how to keep her."
The night ended at sunup, as Mike watched Judi say goodbye to Bo. More and more he liked — make that loved — the way she shined. It was so natural, and she tried so hard not to show it. But Ike was right. One kiss and Judi made everything better.
"Hey, Ike, keep him off patrol for the next couple of days and I'll check back tomorrow afternoon to see how he's doing. I think we may have a feeding issue here."
Mike glanced out at the corral, where Judi was hugging the horse one last time. "Wonder how she'd feel about hugging a cow." Or me.
Crab cakes and salads and cakes, oh my! Judi stepped back to admire her sample table. She'd never been to a wedding with so much food, but then, she'd never been to a social event of the year like this was going to be. Not even as a caterer. And she was sure keeping her fingers crossed she'd be there, as caterer. "This could be it, Deb."
"We deserve it, girlfriend. So why don't you go let them in while I run over to your apartment and get the contract."
Let them in. Thinking the words gave her butterflies. After hours of prep and hundreds of dollars all on speculation, this was a big gamble. But to get ahead, that's what it took.
Judi greeted Mayor Georgia Johnston, and her daughter, Amber, in the office, and explained the procedure — pretty much eat and evaluate. Then she escorted them to the sampling room, with Deb bringing up the rear, clutching the contract. Big moment, and Judi was shaking as she laid her hand on the doorknob. This was her make-or-break moment. "Please go in and make yourselves comfortable." She opened the door, closed her eyes, held her breath.
"Oh, no!" Amber choked.
"Oh, no!" Deb echoed. "I left the apartment door open!"
From there it registered in slow-mo. Judi turned, saw the food table…saw Lucky standing in the middle of the food table straddling three of the five kinds of cake, his tail sending petit fours flying everywhere. He looked up at Judi, a huge chunk of crab cake dangling from his lips, then went for the pâté. What he wasn't eating, he was wearing. What he wasn't wearing he'd played in. Judi's beautiful sampling room looked like the bad end of a B movie food fight. The only thing missing was a pie in somebody's face. Hers!
Lucky glanced over at the crowd again, and if a dog with droopy lips could grin, that's exactly what he was doing. Lucky loves you so much, Mama!
"Lucky!" Judi screamed, lunging for the beast. He was slippery, covered in spinach dip and cheese fondue. But she managed to latch onto him and wrestle him into the backyard before Georgia Johnston marched her daughter out of the room. "I'm so sorry," Judi cried, scrambling right back to the sampling room.
"They're gone." Deb was standing in a pile of arugula and endive, her hands full of sculpted radishes. "And I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to…"
"Not your fault, Deb. I should never have had a dog here. I knew that, but I got sidetracked by something that shouldn't be sidetracking me." Judi stepped over a heap of Waldorf salad, kicked aside a sun-dried tomato flat bread, then plunked down in the seat where the mayor should have been sitting at that very moment. "I don't suppose there's any way to get them back?"
"I did explain the situation with Lucky, that you're looking for a home. And Amber expressed some interest in him. That's something, I guess."
"Interest — in killing him? Or adopting him?"
"The second doesn't necessarily preclude the first, does it?" Deb popped a radish into her mouth and slid through the chicken teriyaki sauce to get to the punch bowl. "Want a drink?"
"Put something in it."
"I think Lucky already did," she said, pulling out a soggy cocktail wiener. Deb tossed it aside and ladled out a couple cups of fruit punch anyway.
"I can't believe it," Judi said, looking over the whole buffet battlefield. "I've been getting ready for days and it takes him two minutes to ruin it all. And it's not just the time…or the money. I really wanted the job, wanted it worse than any job we've ever had." She wanted to cry, wanted to just lie down in the middle of the mess and wallow in some pity. But instead she drank the punch then slumped down and closed her eyes. "You don't suppose begging on our hands and knees would work?"
"What I think is…"
"Something's wrong with your dog!" Amber yelled, running back into the sampling room. "My mom and I went around back to see him since I thought I might adopt him and…I think you'd better come take a look."
When Judi got to the yard, the mayor was sitting in the grass holding a very limp puppy. "I don't think he's going to make it," she said.
"I don't know what he ate," Judi cried as Mike inserted a breathing tube. "I mean, he ate everything." She reached over to pat Lucky, expecting his tail to wag as it always did. But it didn't, and he didn't even roll his eyes up to look at her. They were open, but fixed in a dead stare straight ahead. "Come on, Lucky. Don't die on me. Please, don't die on me."
"Anaphylaxis," Mike said. "Allergic reaction. Look, I think you should go to the waiting room for a while. Would you send my dad in on your way out?"
"Your dad?"
"Arthur?"
Judi nodded numbly. "Half an hour ago it was all good," she said, dropping down onto the bench next to Deb. "Big job in the works, with the prospect for more to come. And now…"
"Well, if it's of any consolation, Amber's still interested in taking Lucky if he gets better."
"Great." Judi didn't utter that in an excited sense because right now her feelings were on the fence. She liked Lucky, liked having him around. Liked using him as an excuse to see Mike. Except that excuse had worn too thin. Four emergencies in four days… Arthur — Mike's dad — was certainly distrustful of her. Like father, like son? Judi shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "I don't know what to do, Deb. He doesn't want me in there, and I'm not sure he even wants me in his life. Maybe it really has been about the dog, and I've been really dumb."
"It's not about the dog, trust me. It's about you. And I should know. I've been hanging around him for a year, using my precious LuLu to get him to notice me…not so much as a blink in my direction. He looks at you like Larenz looks at me, and that's sure not about a dog."
"But I can't be sure."
"Then ask him. Be blunt. Hey, Mike, who are you happier to see — me or my mutt?"
"And what if he says mutt?"
"What if he says you?"
Before Judi could respond, Mike came out to the waiting room. "He's not…" she gasped.
"No. We've got a breathing tube in him, plus an IV. We're going to run a blood panel to figure out what he's allergic to since the list you gave Dad is pretty long. And I'm not even sure if a veterinary allergen panel covers artichokes and marinated asparagus."
"Can I see him?"
"Not tonight. He's just going to sleep all night, so why don't you go home and get some rest. Stop by in the morning."
He was dismissing her. Maybe that was the answer she'd been afraid to hear. "Sure, in the morning." Judy was afraid to look at Mike, afraid of what she would see on his face. "I'm so sorry…." She bit her bottom lip to keep herself from crying.
"It was your wedding sampling, wasn't it? The one with the mayor."
She nodded. "He got in…." She finally looked up, saw the sympathy written all over his face. Genuine sympathy, and her heart turned over. She was in love with this guy, heart and soul. No matter what the problems — careers, logistics, animals — she loved him. Everything else could be worked out…if they got that chance.
Mike pulled Judi into his arms and stroked her hair. "Maybe they'll give you another chance."
"I may give them the dog, Mike. They want him, and it's just not working out for me, having a dog there. He needs a real yard, someone who can take care of him. Which, apparently, I can't."
The moment of truth. She looked up at him, but she could no longer read his expression. Anger? Disappointment? Meaning she was right. It had always been about the dog. So better to accept it now, and move on. Clean sweep. No dog, no Mike. All work. That was always the plan anyway.
"Tomorrow," she said heading to the door. Time to go home. Time to move on. Good decision for everyone, including Lucky, but oh, how her heart ached.
"Judi, what are you doing back here?" Almost midnight now, Mike had been sitting with Lucky for hours. Lonely, wishing for Judi, understanding why she wasn't here. His emotions were in the same uproar.
"Couldn't sleep. So I decided to come and wait with you. If that's okay?"
"I removed the breathing tube and IV a couple of hours ago, and he seems to be holding his own. Go ahead. Open the cage, reach in and pet him."
Unlatching the door, Judi stuck her hand into the cage, and the instant she patted Lucky on the rump, his little tail started wagging. Lucky was finally coming around. Now he wondered if Judi would. "You'll have to let his new owner know I've started the allergen panel."
"He ruined an account I may never get a shot at again," Judi said.
"So you're getting rid of him."
"I never intended on keeping him, Mike. You knew that. And you were supposed to be looking for a good home."
"You are a good home, Judi."
"But if I'm not that good home for him, Mike, what does that mean to us? You and me? All night I've been thinking that the only reason we keep getting together is because you're trying to get me to keep the dog. Not because you want to be with me, but because you want me to be with the dog."
"Sure, I'll admit it. I wanted you to keep the dog…for his sake. But also because I wanted a reason to see you. Then when you told me you'd found him a home, it was like everything that was trying to start between us suddenly stopped. Since my life is so hectic, I wasn't sure you'd keep trying."
Judi flew into Mike's arms. "I want to do more than keep trying. I want to stay with you tonight." She wanted to stay with Lucky, but more than that, she wanted to stay with Mike while he stayed with Lucky — to get used to the life he loved, the life she hoped they would share.
"I have a cot here. But it's only for one."
Lucky pressed his nose to his cage. Then why don't you both take the cot so I can get some sleep?
"Will it hold two if they snuggle up real close?" Judi asked.
Well, duh, you two. Disinterested now, Lucky turned back over and shut his eyes.
"I'm too busy to manage a relationship," Judi said, slipping into Mike's arms on the cot. "With any luck I'll be working seven days a week real soon, maybe eighteen hours a day when my business takes off. And that's what I want to do, Mike. You've got to know that. It's what I have to do…what I love."
"And I want that for you, Judi. Believe me, it's not a problem. I'm not the kind of man who needs his little woman at home, greeting me at the door with pipe, slippers and the evening paper. I want the woman I love to be fulfilled in her life, doing whatever makes her happy. Because whatever makes her happy makes me happy."
"Oh, Mike…I'd convinced myself it just couldn't work between us. Your job, my job. Our lives are so different. Lots of hours, lots of time apart. But those details don't matter. I know that now. The only thing that matters is us. The rest will be whatever we want it to be, and God willing, we'll have a long time to figure that out." It felt so good being there. A perfect fit, a place she never wanted to leave. "But let me warn you, I don't have time to date…."
He kissed her on the back of the neck. "Neither do I."
"Or cook other than professionally… Or do laundry… And I'm broke."
"Ditto." Then he moved around to the side of her neck.
"And I…"
"What?" he whispered.
"I love you and I'm tired of talking." Judi rolled over into his arms. Raising up, she pulled off her T-shirt and tossed it onto the floor. "I gave your vet tech the rest of the night off, by the way."
"I love you, too. And I already did that when I saw you on your way in."
"So you had expectations?"
He pulled her down to him. "Since the first time I saw you."
On the other side of the kennel, Lucky poked his head under the dog blanket. Pu-leeze, not in front of the puppy.
Three glorious weeks later…
"I thought you'd like to see Lucky. He's loving it here."
Judi stepped out of Mike's truck and right into his arms. Her favorite place in the world to be now. Even better than her kitchen. No, their schedules hadn't suddenly opened up and given them oodles of time together, time to fall in love the way most people did it. Mostly it happened on the fly, when he was on his way to an animal emergency and she was going with him, or when she was busy trying a new vegetarian recipe and he was standing in as the guinea pig.
Not exactly a traditional lifestyle, but with a little help from his parents stepping into Mike's practice to pinch-hit for him from time to time, and Larenz — who'd just popped the question to Deb — with his newly-discovered culinary prowess stepping into her kitchen to pinch-hit for her from time to time, it was working out. It was their life, such as it was. And it was all she'd ever wanted, even if she hadn't known that until she'd met Mike.
"So when are you moving in?" he asked.
"Moving in? We haven't even talked about that yet," Judi said, stepping around the pygmy goat wandering down Mike's driveway. It was a typical farmhouse, two stories, barn out back. Nice. Cozy. With an abundance of animals everywhere. And she fit there. More than that, she was happy there.
"Well, the way I see it, you've been busy night and day getting the mayor's daughter's wedding in order." Yep, she'd won the contract after all. "And I've been busy night and day with my practice. So if we ever expect to find time for that real first date, or anything else, you're going to have to move in with me. You know, the whole theory behind catch as catch can. And I definitely want to do some catching pretty soon. So, I think the practical thing to do would be to have you move in, and just for good measure I'm throwing a marriage proposal into the offer. Marry me, Judi, and all this will be yours."
He swept his arms open, gesturing to his farm. "This way, you get to expand your business into the whole building since I'm betting that after the wedding you're going to start seeing a lot more business. Meaning, if nothing else, it's a practical business decision."
"You're trying way too hard, Jericho." Judi glanced at the cow wandering in their direction. "So by everything, do you mean the cow, too?"
"Especially the cow."
"And if I say yes?"
"For starters, you'd make me the happiest man in the world." Grabbing Judi by the hand, he pulled her around to the side of the house, to a small barnyard. "And he'd be pretty happy, too."
"Bo," Judi gasped, tears springing to her eyes. "He's yours?"
"No, he's yours."
"But how?" she asked, sniffling.
"Eating disorder. We couldn't maintain it in the police stable with the other horses, so they let me buy him. And just so you'll know, it was either him or an engagement ring."
"An engagement horse? Oh, Mike. I always wanted…"
"I know you did, sweetheart."
"Not him, silly. You. From the first time I saw you. I mean, it's probably dumb, but I've sort of thought Lucky might have been Fate messing around with me. With us. You know, his showing up at my place like he did, from out of nowhere. Then throwing himself at my tire, then me having to bring him to you… It was almost like he planned the whole thing."
They both glanced over at Lucky, who was busy chewing down one of Mike's pussy willow bushes. According to the allergy tests, better that than crab cakes.
"Nah," Judi said, falling into Mike's arms. "Couldn't happen."
As they sealed their engagement with a kiss, Lucky glanced over at Bo, and shook his head skeptically. Boy, they sure have a lot to learn.
Bo nodded his agreement, then Lucky went back to the stick.
"I love you, Mike," Judi whispered.
"And I love you," he returned.
Lucky glanced over at them. You guys didn't stand a chance! Wag, wag.
The End