Paws Up for Love

by Stephanie Rowe

  "Thanks." She took the keys. "So, I guess, I'll see you at six-thirty, then." She grabbed a tattered woven backpack from the floor. "Have a good day."

  Her scent of roses hovered in the kitchen, her spoon sat on the table where she'd left it. It was as if she'd be back any second.

  And she would be back.

  Later.

  And damned if he didn't like that idea.

  This was no good.

  No good at all.

  He simply had to deal with the situation now before he did something he'd regret forever.

  He grabbed the phone and dialed his lawyer. "It's Evan."

  "Still at home at eight thirty in the morning? You sick or something?" Miles Stephens knew Evan's work schedule too well. And why shouldn't he? Evan's bills would probably put all Miles' kids through college.

  "The investigator at your firm. Is he any good?"

  "The best. Why?"

  Evan hesitated. He'd used an independent investigator to track Buddy in the past, not interested in sharing his personal life with his professional contacts. But if his investigator hadn't realized Buddy was in town, he obviously wasn't earning his dough. And he trusted Miles.

  "What do you need?" Miles asked.

  "I need him to find someone for me. And this has to stay quiet."

  "No problem." He heard Miles scrabbling in the background, no doubt for pen and paper. "Who do you want found?"

  "Buddy Dorsett."

  "No relation to you, I assume?"

  "My brother."

  His normally impervious lawyer made a strange noise. "I thought you didn't have any family."

  "His real name is Howard Dorsett. He was released from prison six years ago, and I haven't heard from him since, but he was dating a woman named Josie Harper in Brighton up until last week." He cleared his throat. "Supposedly he stole a fair bit of money from her, as well as some other items. I want to find him and straighten this out."

  He could hear Miles writing furiously. "And the woman?"

  "She's staying at my house. You can come by later and question her if you like." After the Harper family dinner.

  "I'm on Cape Cod for the week. Family holiday. I could come back up for a day if it was an emergency."

  Evan cursed. Miles knew he'd never tell him to put his work over family. "No, stay on the Cape."

  "I can give you the investigator's number and you can meet with him alone."

  "I'll wait until you get back." He trusted Miles, not some investigator he'd never met.

  "Next Monday, then? How about ten? In my office. I'll make sure the investigator is there as well."

  "Fine."

  "Hey, you want to come down and stay with us? Hang out at the beach? The kids would love to see you."

  "No, thanks." Two sets of emotions crashed in on him. The desire to go and be part of the family battling his need not to play a father figure to another child that he could fail. "I can't. I have Josie here."

  "Bring her along."

  "No."

  Miles was quiet for a sec. "What's up with you?"

  "Nothing."

  "Is it the girl?"

  "No."

  "I've never seen you moody before."

  "I'm not moody."

  "Crabby? Grouchy? Testy? Are those more accurate?"

  "I just want to get this thing with my brother settled."

  "And that's it?"

  "Yes. I don't want him to end up in prison again." Buddy's miserable life was his fault. He'd kicked him out that day, telling him he wouldn't support Buddy anymore until he got a job and shaped up. He'd thought he was doing the tough love thing. It had been the last time he'd seen his brother.

  Until his brother forgave him for turning his back on him, he'd never forgive himself. And maybe not even then, depending on how badly he'd ruined his brother's life. Which is why if he could give Buddy happiness through Josie, he had to do it.

  Josie would be good for Buddy. She'd be good for any man who had the good fortune to meet her.

  Except him. She was all bad news for him. "I gotta go. I'll see you Monday. Tell the family I say hello."

  "Will do. The invitation is open if you change your mind."

  He wouldn't.

  He was in way too bad of a mood.

  But that didn't mean he was moody or crabby or grouchy.

  He was preoccupied.

  Nothing that a two-hour run up a mountain wouldn't solve.

  Chapter 14

  Evan shifted on the doorstep of Josie's parents' house and wondered why in the world he'd been dumb enough to leave work early for this. Dinner with some family he didn't know? It was one thing to be at a black-tie cocktail party and engage in dignified conversation about the political situation in France, or even the weather. But invading some family dinner when he barely even knew the woman he was accompanying?

  Pure torture.

  He didn't recall ever doing the meet-the-parents dinner with any girlfriend, let alone some woman who he wasn't even sleeping with.

  Josie flashed him a grin. "You look pale. Are you afraid of my family?"

  "Don't be ridiculous." He had to remember, this was all about securing Dr. Black as a client. Help Josie, she'd help him. This was business. Nothing more.

  "Well, you should be afraid."

  Gee, thanks. I feel so much better now.

  "Let's think of an emergency signal you can give me if you get overwhelmed." She peered at him. "You could wrap your tie around your neck and pretend you had to hang yourself to escape."

  "Funny." He rather felt like doing that, actually.

  "Actually, that won't work. Your tie won't last long here."

  "What does that mean?" Would her brothers come at him with scissors and chop it off? What kind of society did she come from? It was a small house, with a yard that was pretty free of dandelions and was maybe a couple weeks overdue for a mowing. The bushes framing the front door looked like they'd never been trimmed. The house was a bright blue with emerald green shutters. It was the antithesis of what he'd been groomed to have since he'd entered the world of financial consultants, but it was so much more than what he'd had as a kid.

  "I should've warned you about your clothes."

  "What about them?" He looked down at his suit. Granted, it was the same shirt he'd worn to work, but it was still pressed. "Should I have dressed up more?" Damn. Insulting them already? He should have thought to put on a nicer suit for dinner. Had all Bertie's training gone right out of his brain now that he'd met Josie?

  "Oh, yes. You're way underdressed. I'm going to change into my evening gown as soon as I get inside." She flipped her hair at him, and he noted that she was wearing cut-off denim jeans, a hot pink tee shirt and sandals that showed off her sock tan from riding around everywhere on her bike.

  Probably something he should have noticed before reaching her parents' house.

  "You'll be fine. It will only take about an hour or so before everyone stops staring."

  He had just reached the decision to strangle her when she pushed open the front door and walked inside.

  Holy mother of pearl. It was a crazed mob. Kids everywhere. Screaming. Chasing each other with squirt guns. Three dogs were barking and bounding after the kids. One mother was shouting at them to get outside, and he could hear the Red Sox game blasting from another room. "I'll wait in the car."

  "Don't be ridiculous. Almost everyone has had their shots." Josie grabbed his hand and dragged him inside.

  He barely had time to register the sparks shooting up his arm from her touch when she let out a holler that made his hair curl. "Yo! Anyone home? I'm here!"

  Shouts emanated from the Red Sox room, but no one emerged.

  She grinned at Evan. "Watch this."

  He had a feeling he really didn't want to oblige.

  "I brought a man with me," she yelled. "I'm living with him."

  He'd barely uttered his epithet when the dams erupted. Six men bolted out of the Red Sox room, all of th
em carrying at least one beer. "Well, I'll be damned. She's not lying."

  "Nice suit, man." A man in his early twenties with red hair held out an unopened beer. "She put you up to that? You need a drink."

  Damn right he needed a drink. More like eight hundred and a shot to the head to knock him out for the next few hours. He'd just reached for the beer when a woman with streaks of gray in her hair pushed through the crowd of men even though she came up only to their elbows. "Out of my way!" She came to a stop in front of Evan. "You're here with my Josie?"

  He looked at the men, who quickly disappeared back into the Red Sox room. Abandoned so quickly by his own kind at the mere presence of a woman. Wusses. "Yes, Ma'am."

  The woman eyed Evan. "Well, I'm her mother. You'd best come with me then."

  He glanced at Josie, and she gave him the thumbs up sign. "Where's everyone else, Mom?"

  "Out back. Most of the kids are playing whiffle ball."

  Most of the kids? He'd seen at least five already. How many were there?

  "But a few of the boys had to come inside and watch the game. You know how it is."

  "Sure do." Josie grinned. "Be sure and let Evan come out to play before it gets dark."

  "I will." Josie's mom tucked her arm though Evan's. "You give me a few moments with him."

  Josie zipped through the door before he could grab her and wring her neck. "I think maybe I should check on Josie."

  "Actually, I need help shucking the corn. Everyone pitches in around here. You think I could feed this circus without any help? It's not like I have a kitchen staff."

  He felt like a heel now. "Of course not. I'm sorry, Ma'am. I'll help."

  Josie's mom leaned against him as they walked. "Ma'am is much too formal around here. Call me Flora."

  "Yes, Ma'am. I mean Flora."

  The kitchen was just down the hall, and it had an open view of the Red Sox room, where the men were cheering. When was the last time he'd hung out on a couch with a bunch of guys watching a Sox game? Years. "Who's pitching?"

  Someone shouted out a name he didn't recognize. Amazing. He was so out of touch with baseball that he didn't even recognize the name of a Red Sox pitcher? He'd grown up living for that game and all the players.

  "Sit." Flora sat him at the enormous kitchen table, a knotty pine that had the name Mark carved in the top of it, and more than a few chinks out of the wood. She handed him a box of at least thirty ears of corn, and a garbage bag. "Shuck away."

  Evan did as directed, making it through three ears before he realized Flora was leaning against the counter, watching him. Not speaking, not doing anything else, just watching him. He gave her an awkward smile.

  She tilted her head. "So, what's your name?"

  "Evan Dorsett." He pitied any man who Josie actually dated. This little woman was making him very uncomfortable.

  She lifted her eyebrows in a moment of shocked recognition. What had Josie said about him? "She's living with you?"

  "Well, she's living in my house."

  "Living with you."

  "Not exactly living with me..."

  "You live there?"

  "Of course.

  "She lives there?"

  "Well, yes."

  "Then she's living with you."

  Damn. He was beginning to see now why Josie had asked for help. "You know, she's going to make a great vet."

  "Humph. She won't be going to school now that your brother stole her tuition money."

  So she had been discussing him. It would certainly be nice if he could find out what else Flora knew so he didn't make a total fool out of himself. "I offered to pay her tuition."

  Flora blinked. "And she's letting you?"

  "Yes." No need to go into the details of the bet. "Having a career is very important to her."

  Flora snorted. "She put you up to this? To try to convince me to stop worrying about her?" She waggled her finger. "You just march back to her and tell her that I love her, and I won't stop worrying about her."

  Obviously, dealing with mothers wasn't his forte. "She didn't put me up to anything. She mentioned you're concerned about her, and I just wanted you not to worry."

  "Oh, really?"

  "Yes." He grabbed another ear of corn. "She's like me. I have a great career and it's very satisfying." He almost laughed as the words came out of his mouth. They didn't sound at all like him, talking about something being emotionally satisfying. "She doesn't need to get married you know."

  "Oh, really?"

  "Yes." He tossed a clean ear on the table and pulled another out of the box. "She's smart, vibrant, tough, and funny. No matter what she does, she'll survive, and she'll be grinning. Trust me, she'll wrap the world around her little finger and be just fine, no matter what she does." He smiled to himself. "And break a few hearts in the process, I'm sure. She thinks she doesn't want to get married, but she's much too passionate. But it'll happen when she's ready, you know? She still needs to heal and get some self-confidence. She was really knocked for a loop by her ex-husband, you know?"

  "I know."

  Something in Flora's tone made him look up. She was studying him with a very discernable gleam in her eye.

  "What's that look for?"

  "I had no idea you felt that way about my daughter."

  Coldness settled in his spine. "What way?"

  "You're going to marry her."

  Oh hell. This was not going well. "No, I'm not. I—"

  "That's why you don't want me to worry. Because you're going to take care of her." Her eyes were dancing, and she was grinning with delight. "When are you going to propose?"

  "Never!" A sweat broke out on his forehead. "I'm not going to marry her."

  Flora patted his shoulder. "Now, don't you worry, my boy. If you need a little time, that's fine. I can keep a secret."

  "No, really, Flora. I'm not going to marry her. I just wanted you to stop pressuring her about getting married." His hands slipped as he tried to pull the husk off the corn. Great. His hands were sweating too?

  "Will she keep working even after you get married? Or will you ask her to be a stay-at-home mom? Because I think that's what she should be, you know. This career thing is just a phase while she tries to rebuild her self-esteem."

  Evan set down the corn and faced Flora. "With all due respect, Flora, I have to disagree. Josie is very determined to forge her way on her own, and she'll do it whether she's married or not. A career will give her identity and independence."

  "Which she won't need once she's married."

  "Yes, she will." Josie had been right when she said her mom was a tough sell. "And she needs you to be proud of her."

  "Oh, I am proud of her. But I also think she needs to realize that it isn't in her genes to have a big fancy career." Flora waved her arm toward the Red Sox room and the backyard. "I have nine kids, Evan. They're all married with kids of their own, except for Josie. All the wives are stay-at-home moms, and they're so happy. We rotate watching the kids while they do the shopping or their volunteer thing. If Josie has a career, she'll be miserable."

  Evan put the corn down, flexing his fingers to try to restrain his temper. "Josie won't let herself be miserable. If having a career will make her happy, she'll do it. If it won't, she won't. If getting married is right for her, she'll do it. If she wants kids and a career and a family, she'll do it. But you need to respect her enough to understand that she'll make the right decision for her."

  Flora pulled her hand off his shoulder. "Is that your way of telling me you won't be able to support Josie when you marry her? That she'll have to work? Because I'll tell you right now that I can't support her marrying someone who will force her to go to work every day instead of taking care of your kids."

  That was it! Evan dropped the corn and stood up. "Trust me, I can afford for Josie to do anything she wants."

  "So, why are you going to force her to have a career?" Flora's eyes flashed with accusation, and Evan responded.

  "I'd never for
ce her to do anything. If she wants to stay home with our kids, that's awesome. If she wants a career, I'll adjust my schedule, so I work from home. Anything she wants, she can do." He stopped, daring Flora to make him sound like a bad husband now.

  "All right then." Flora turned away and opened the fridge. She put a platter of sliced watermelon on the table.

  Hah. She had nothing left to say. He was brilliant.

  Flora patted his cheek. "All I really wanted to know was whether you really planned to marry her, and you admitted it. And I can tell you love her and just want what's best. It'll work out. And I promise not to bug her about getting married anymore. Why do I need to? It'll happen soon enough."

  He felt his jaw drop. "I didn't mean..."

  "I know you didn't mean to say it, honey, but you did. The truth comes out under pressure." She patted his arm. "Don't feel bad. I've got twenty years on you. You had no chance." She thrust the platter of watermelon into his hands. "You go out and meet the family. Meet your family."

  "They're not my family."

  "Not yet, but soon enough. And don't worry. I won't breathe a word of it." She gave him a solid shove. "Go see your bride. She needs you."

  Yeah, Josie was the one he wanted to face right now. What was he supposed to say? "Don't worry, Josie, your mom won't be bugging you anymore because she's certain I'm going to marry you." That would go over so well.

  He off-loaded a few pieces of watermelon in the Red Sox room, but they kicked him outside, warning him about the wrath of Josie if she was ignored too long. Great. Everyone there thought they were an item.

  Not surprising, after she'd announced they were living together. Evan frowned as he pushed open the screen door. Had that been her plan? Take the heat off her by holding him out as a target? That seemed much too scheming for Josie.

  Whoa.

  He stopped on the top step, getting a solid thwack as the screen door hit him in the arse. He didn't think Josie was scheming enough to set him up as her significant other, yet he still accused her of lying about Buddy stealing from her? Those two things didn't exactly fit together.

  "Watermelon!" The howl jerked him out of his thoughts, and he braced himself as an army of kids swarmed him.