Three of the dogs scampered away from the table to mill around Jenna’s ankles. The dogs loved her treats so much they must be able to scent them through the cellophane. Jenna nudged them aside with her foot.
“Thank God Mack isn’t here,” she said to Serena. “He would have bowled me over to get at this.” Jenna was always nervous of the enormous animal who, with his unerring instinct for treats, could sniff her sample goodies out from wherever she hid them. He was particularly partial to the carob-frosted doughnuts.
She put the basket of dog goodies on top of the table. “Happy birthday, Brutus,” she said, with a wave to Maddy and her family.
“Thanks so much, Jenna,” said Serena. “You’re just in time to sing ‘Happy Birthday.’” She indicated the large, chocolate-frosted cake Maddy had placed on the high table. A six-inch-high red candle in the shape of a bone sat in the middle. Nick would be pleased to note that this cake was for human consumption.
Maddy lit the candle. She paused for a moment and Serena knew she was remembering Walter Stoddard, her eighty-two-year-old landlord and friend, who had left a will appointing Maddy guardian of both Brutus and his millions. She started to sing.
Jenna raised her eyebrows at Tony, a gesture that Serena didn’t miss. Jenna was a dog lover who made an income selling organic dog treats. But if Tony thought singing “Happy Birthday” to Brutus was uncool, then Jenna would agree. This please-her-man-at-any-cost thing was something that bugged Serena about her friend.
Still, Serena noticed that Jenna mouthed the words as everyone sang. Nick joined in, too, in a deep pitch-perfect baritone voice that sent shivers racing along her spine.
“Happy birthday, dear Brutus, happy birthday to you . . .”
As the birthday song trailed to an end, Serena moved closer to Jenna. She lowered her voice. “I’m having some cash-flow problems and am a bit late paying your invoice. But I’ll get it to you as soon as I can.”
“No problem, hon. Whenever,” Jenna said, also in a discreetly quiet voice.
Serena put her hand on her friend’s arm. “Thanks,” she whispered. She might not have a vast number of friends, but she felt truly blessed with the ones she had.
Jenna spoke at normal volume. “Tony has a new job so we’re flush at the moment.”
“Congratulations,” said Serena to Tony, trying to summon up a sincere smile for Jenna’s sake. She wasn’t too sure of what Tony actually did for a job, sales of some kind she thought.
He nodded his acknowledgment of her congratulations. “It’s all good.”
In new chinos and jacket that looked more Gucci than Gap, he certainly appeared more prosperous than she’d seen him. To Jenna, Tony was the handsomest thing on earth, as she had repeatedly told Serena. Serena conceded the guy was good-looking; he worked out and kept fit. But she just didn’t like him, for no other reason than instinct. Oh, and the fact he didn’t like dogs. He made no bones about that.
“Nick, let me introduce you to Jenna and Tony,” she said.
“We met on Monday,” said Jenna. “But I didn’t know you worked here now, Nick. I thought you were a client.”
“Circumstances change,” said Serena.
“I only started today,” he said. “So far so good.”
Jenna grinned. “Serena is a tough taskmistress. I hope she’s treating you well.”
“I jump to her every command,” Nick said in that sexy, sexy voice, his eyes focused on her.
If that was the case, Serena could think of a few commands she’d like to give him. But not at Paws-A-While. She’d need to be alone with him. Alone and in total privacy.
“I’m keeping him in line,” she said with mock severity. Serena noticed that Jenna, too, was wearing new clothes. Her attitude toward Tony softened a little. At least he was sharing his good fortune with Jenna, unlike his predecessors, who’d done nothing but sponge off of her.
But she wished Jenna had asked her to go shopping with her to choose clothes that better suited her looks. Serena, with all her model expertise, itched to give her academic friend a makeover, but Jenna had always resisted.
“People can like me for the way I am or not at all,” she would say. Usually with a barbed comment about the efforts Serena made to keep herself in shape.
Of course she was right. Serena had gotten way too hung up on her looks when she’d been modeling. Especially her weight. It was ironic really, how with all that emphasis on appearance, she’d ended up here in a dowdy uniform and Birkenstocks and happier than she’d ever been.
That was, until the phone call from the bank.
After the birthday cake for humans had been sampled, Maddy came up to say good-bye. She gave Serena a big hug. “Everything will be okay,” she said. “I promise.”
“Oh. Is there a problem?” asked Jenna.
“Of course not,” said Maddy. “But Mack’s gone in for his operation today.”
“That’s right,” said Jenna. “I forgot. Fingers crossed he’ll be okay.”
“The vet hospital phoned not long ago,” said Serena. “Apparently all went well. Mack is now sleeping off the effects of the anesthetic.”
Nick moved closer again. “When can we pick him up?”
“Around three,” she said. “After the vet gives him another once-over.”
“I want to take him home to my house in Sausalito. That’s home for him now.”
Serena was taken aback. Somehow she’d thought she might ask Nick to help her upstairs with Mack and she’d look after him. She was a trained vet technician after all. But Mack was Nick’s dog now. “Okay.”
“I want you to come with me.”
“To your house?”
“Yes. You can help me with Mack and we can talk.”
“Talk . . . talk about his rehab program,” she said for the benefit of anyone overhearing. She still didn’t want her staff thinking there was anything personal between her and Nick except when it came to dealing with Mack. “Good idea. Can I bring Snowball?”
“Sure.”
She lowered her voice again. “Tony. I don’t know why I didn’t think of him. He could be the one. Jenna is in and out of here all the time. He sometimes comes, too. I don’t know why because all he does is sneer at our setup.”
“Just because he’s a creep doesn’t make him a criminal,” said Nick. “But you give me his details and we’ll check him out.”
Serena turned away. “Right, everyone, cleanup time. The dogs need attention, too. They’ve all eaten so will need to go out back.” She turned to Nick and made a very stern, manager-type face. “That means you, newbie.”
She laughed at the expression on his face.
She was looking forward to seeing Mack. She’d saved him a nice liver brownie and put it in the fridge for when he was able to eat. But she wasn’t so sure if what she was about to do was the right thing—being alone with Nick at his house with only the dogs to chaperone them.
Fifteen
Nick spent the entire drive home from Paws-A-While to his home in Sausalito wishing he was Mack. Not that he was an oversized, dopey black dog with an injured knee all stitched up and encased in a purple cast. No. He wished he was sitting in the back of his truck with his head cradled on Serena’s lap, her long, elegant fingers stroking his head, scratching behind his ears, and caressing his body. All to the sound of her voice crooning sweet words about what a big, beautiful boy he was.
His plan to get her alone with him had backfired badly. Now he had to share her with Snowball, Bessie, and that convalescing center of attention, Mack. Instead of Serena sitting in front next to him, her lovely long legs right where he could see them—touch them even—he had Bessie. Serena sat in back with Snowball and a semicomatose Mack.
It was all a guy could do not to get jealous of his own dog.
“He’s belted in, but I want to hold him to keep him secure,” she’d explained when he’d protested her choice of seat. “We can’t risk his leg being jarred or knocked. You heard what the vet said.�
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“I heard,” he said.
He cared about Mack. Of course he did. He could hardly wait until his dog’s injury was healed and he could run with him and play Frisbee with him and do all those guy-and-his-dog kinds of things he’d missed out on for years.
But he could hardly wait to be with Serena, too. And do all those guy-and-his-gal kinds of things this special woman inspired. He wanted her sitting up front with him. Why in hell would she rather be in back with his dog?
Just ask her on a date, Kylie had urged. Well, yeah, easier said than done. That might have worked if they’d met under more normal circumstances. They’d gone past that now. In her book, he’d gotten off on the wrong foot with her by investigating her as a prime suspect in a criminal fraud. That was way past asking-her-out-to-dinner-and-a-movie type protocol. He knew he had some catching up to do in the trust department.
Dogs were undisputedly the best way to get Serena on his side. Corralling her into helping him with Mack tonight was a nobrainer way to ensure he had time alone with her. Time to win her over to the idea of having him in her life on a more ongoing basis.
By the time they were heading over the Golden Gate Bridge, the three dogs were all settled and snoozing. Mack was zonked from the aftereffects of the anesthetic, painkillers, and anti-inflammatory medication. Snowball and Bessie were just plain pooped from running around at Brutus’s birthday party.
When Nick had the chance to turn around, he saw that even though Mack was asleep Serena still kept her hand anchored to the big dog, her fingers curled into his fur. It was to secure him but also, Nick thought, to let Mack know he was with people who cared about him now.
Not for the first time, Nick wondered about what kind of person Eric Kessler could be to abandon such a nice dog. It certainly seemed to demonstrate the callousness needed to defraud and steal from innocent people. Kessler could be their guy.
“You are such a good boy,” crooned Serena from the backseat.
“Well, it’s nice of you to say so,” said Nick, “but I think you’ve thanked me enough for looking after Mack.”
“Oh, but I . . . I wasn’t . . . I mean . . .”
Nick grinned. He didn’t need to turn around to guess her flush of confusion. “Sweet,” Adam called her. His friend was right. For all her gorgeous looks and semi-celebrity status, she really was sweet. But the sweet was seasoned with sass and he liked that.
“You mean you’re calling Mack a good boy and not me?” he said with mock affront.
There was silence from the backseat for about a second. “I think you’re a very good boy . . . uh . . . I mean man . . . uh . . . person. Heck. You know what I mean.” He could hear the smile in her voice.
“Yeah, I guess I do,” he said, letting her off the hook.
“I feel guilty about leaving early from Paws-A-While,” she said, after a moment.
“Don’t be. Kylie was glad to lock up for you and earn some overtime.”
“That was lucky, because I really did want to come with you.”
He gripped tighter on the steering wheel. “Good,” he said. He was falling for this woman—but so far she’d given little indication of what she felt about him. This was an excellent sign.
“Yes,” she said. “With everything else that’s happened, we haven’t had a real chance to talk about—”
Us, to talk about us, Nick thought.
“Mack,” she said.
Nick was tempted to bang his head against the steering wheel. Not a good idea when he was negotiating the turn off 101.
“You mean his rehab? Physical therapy? That kind of stuff. I’m prepared to do whatever the vet prescribes. At my cost. He’s my dog now and I’m responsible for him.”
“That’s exactly what I meant. You see, I . . . I got kind of a shock when you told me you were taking him home so soon. I’ve gotten used to having him with me. I . . . I’ll miss him.”
This was better. His strategy was working out just how he’d planned.
“You can visit Mack anytime,” he said.
“I can? At your house?”
“Sure. He’ll be with you at day care, too, remember. At least while the investigation is under way.”
“About that. Mack’s day care, I mean. I want it understood he stays at Paws-A-While for free.”
He shook his head. “No way. I’ll pay for him the same as I pay for Bessie.”
“Please, Nick. Let me do this for you. It’s only fair after all you’re doing for Mack.”
He would find a way to ensure she wouldn’t be out of pocket. She was generous to a fault. Mack was his responsibility now and he took that seriously. In the meantime he didn’t want to argue. “You can take his fees out of my wages.”
She paused half a beat. “As I’ve got you working for free, that works out just how I want it.” She laughed, but the laugh then turned into an anguished sound that tore at his heart. “Why am I so blithely talking about whether you pay a fee or not when Paws-A-While might not exist for much longer?”
The anguish in her voice made him want to pull the car over and take her in his arms to comfort her. But, dammit, he couldn’t, not on this stretch of road.
“Serena, I promise you, with me and Adam on the case, we will find who has done this. Adam is tracking down the status of both your stalker and Eric Kessler to find out what Kessler knows about that collar. As you know, your friend Tom O’Brien is looking into the legal implications.”
“Yes.” Nick got the impression she was swallowing a sob. “Tom said he’ll do everything he can to make sure the banks and credit companies don’t drag their heels when it comes to claiming fraud insurance.”
“Good. He’s a nice guy, Tom. Maddy’s cool, too. I liked the mom, Helen, as well.” That was no lie. He had enjoyed their company. He didn’t know many people in San Francisco and looked forward to seeing the O’Briens again. Tom and he had talked about going horseback riding one weekend. Did Serena ride? He realized there were so many things he wanted to know about her. This afternoon was a good place to start.
Serena sniffed. “I’ve got good friends. I’m lucky.”
He cleared his throat. “You can count on me as a friend. You know that.” He wanted to be way more than friends, but friend was a start.
She hesitated, making it clear he still had some way to go to win her trust.
“Yes. Thank you,” she said.
The change in engine noise as Nick drew up outside the drive-way to Aunt Alice’s house in the Sausalito hills caused Mack to stir. He gave a little whimper deep in his doggy throat. Nick winced in sympathy. He knew full well what it felt like to have this knee repair done. Still, the vet had said the ligament was only partially torn, which would make healing quicker and the resulting repair stronger.
He intended to carry Mack in by himself, but Serena would not hear of it.
“Let me help,” she said.
“He’s a deadweight—too heavy for you.”
“I’m very strong.”
It would be easy for him to simply carry Mack over his shoulders in a fireman’s lift. However, if Serena insisted on helping him and that involved brushing shoulders and getting close, who was he to refuse her offer? He liked the idea of working with her, period.
Still, he was surprised how much strength there was in Serena’s slender frame as she helped him slide Mack out of the truck. The big dog was awake but too out of it to fuss or struggle. With him holding Mack’s shoulders and Serena holding the dog’s hips and injured leg, it was a cinch to slide him out of the truck. Snowball scarcely stirred, just opened one round dark eye from under his fluffy white bangs and went back to sleep.
“Where to?” said Serena when they’d carried the big dog through the front door. She was flushed with exertion and breathing just a little quicker than usual, the rise and fall of her breasts emphasized by the snug tank top she wore under the open shirt.
“Everything is ready for him,” he said, indicating the outsized new dog bed he’d
bought and set up in front of the fireplace. As per the vet’s instructions, he’d lined the bed with plastic sheeting and newspaper in case of accidents.
“Hey, you got Mack the same bed I have for him,” she said, sounding pleased.
“I learn from the best,” he said. She didn’t need to know how carefully he’d scrutinized the fittings of her apartment the day he’d visited for lunch.
Together they lowered Mack into the bed. The outsized dog settled as best he could, while favoring his back right leg with the purple cast. With a heavy sigh, he settled his head on his front paws and looked up at them with his big, expressive eyes and sad frown. The one-ear-up-and-one-ear-flopped thing just added to the poignancy of it.
“He must be wondering what the hell happened,” said Nick.
Serena crooned and stroked Mack around his head. “Poor baby,” she said. “It feels bad now, but it will be worth it when you can run around with the other dogs.”
Even doped up and drowsy, Mack attempted to wag his tail at the tone of her voice, but it was a feeble effort. “You’ve got a beautiful new home and a great new dad—”
“Stop there,” said Nick and put his hand up in a halt sign. “Serena, let’s get this straight. I will not be this dog’s daddy. I’d prefer master or owner but I’ll go with guardian to please you.”
“To please me?” Her eyes widened.
He could deny it. He could say it was to please Mack. But why lie? There’d been enough lies.
“Yes, to please you. Frankly I don’t think the dog gives a damn what I’m called so long as I feed him and care for him. But it seems to be important to you.”
“Oh,” she said. Confusion and pleasure warred on her face but a half smile won out. Mack stirred and she lifted his hindquarters to make him more comfortable. Her shirtsleeves were rolled up and Nick noticed how toned and strong her arms were.
Serena would be a great help on a farm.
Home Is Where the Bark Is Page 20