Identity

by Nat Burns

  “It’s so nice,” commented Shay as she looked around. “I especially like the way it’s laid out so you can see the kennels as you drive up.”

  “It’s a cool design. Al Jonas, over at the sawmill, got his sons together and they did it all in their spare time. He said he wanted people to see the animals right away…so they’d adopt them.”

  “That makes sense. Has it been working?”

  Liza shrugged. “We seem to do okay. More get taken home than put down. Always a good thing.”

  Shay twisted her hands together nervously. “So, how can I help? You said something about walking dogs?”

  “Yep, but it’s mostly just companionship. You pet them and give them atta girls and atta boys when they fetch and carry. Stuff like that.”

  “Hmm, my favorite activities,” Shay replied.

  “Well, Chris and Carol are already running the dogs while they clean so we have cat duty first. That way the dogs’ll be calmer when we get to them. You like cats, right?”

  “Absolutely. We always had them when I was growing up.”

  Liza tilted her head and smiled at Shay. “Good. Come with me.”

  Shay followed Liza into the cat area and immediately began cooing to the responsive cats. Even the pain-wracked Himalayan almost warmed to the redhead.

  “I’m working on Caspurr’s kennel over here. There’s only one more. Can you do the kittens on the end there?”

  “Sure. I just love the little guys,” Shay replied, her voice eager. “What do you want me to do exactly?”

  “Just feed and water and replace the litter. You can use this cleaner on the litter pan. Then you kind of look the cats over and make sure they have clean bottoms and eyes.”

  Liza tucked the lovable Caspurr into her left elbow and used the other hand to scoop fresh food into the cat’s dish.

  A small series of pained exclamations startled her, and she whirled to see that one of the kittens had decided to practice mountain climbing on Shay’s shoulder and scalp.

  “Ow! That hurts, you little monster.” Shay struggled to remove the mountain climber while simultaneously closing the cage so his three kitty siblings wouldn’t escape. The red tabby settled on Shay’s head like a Sunday-go-to-meeting hat, his brown and yellow striped tail dangling between Shay’s eyes. The kitten’s back legs scrambled for purchase on either side of Shay’s head, disarranging her long hair and shoving it into her face. Shay’s hand stayed its upward ascent, and she stood still as if disbelieving her predicament.

  Liza’s laugh bubbled up from deep within and although she fought to squelch it, it escaped nevertheless.

  Shay turned her cat-adorned head and looked at Liza, eliciting further laughter. Her face morphed back and forth between anger, embarrassment and laughter. Luckily, laughter won out this time, and she reached up to carefully remove the kitten and place him back into the cage.

  “I’m gonna call you Brown Sugar,” she crooned to the cat. “Cause you’re just so sweet.” Her voice dripped sarcastic saccharine. She pushed the disheveled hair back behind her ears and dabbed her fingers at her head searching for blood.

  “The Claw is more like it,” Liza offered, returning Caspurr to her freshened kennel and hurrying to help Shay handle the fast-moving bundles of fur.

  “So,” Liza sighed, watching Shay as they washed their hands later at the utility sink. “Are you ready for the dogs?”

  “Bring them on,” Shay said, laughing. “Let’s hope they don’t have spiny little needle claws.” She squeezed the soap and it slipped from her hands and flew high. Liza leaned and caught it before it hit the floor.

  Liza grinned as Shay blushed. She would never forget the sight of Shay wearing the kitten hat. “As accident prone as you seem to be, you should be glad we’re not working with any that bite.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  By the time the two made their way outside with the dogs, the sun had mercifully moved lower in the sky. A cool breeze had found its way into the Gulf as well and had come inland. It teased at the sweat on Liza’s brow, and she pulled at the front of her T-shirt, tenting it as if to invite the wind inside.

  “It sure is a beautiful day,” Shay commented as they entered the fenced-in dog paddock.

  Liza breathed deeply, “It is that.”

  Although the two dozen or so dogs had been clustered around Carol at the far end, they quickly abandoned her and bounded over to Liza and Shay as soon as the gate slapped shut.

  Shay, the smaller of the two, almost lost her footing in the ensuing melee, but Liza steadied her as she reprimanded the animals. Shay took the onslaught in stride, however, and was soon on her knees with an arm slung around two of the dogs while others licked every inch of her face.

  “Well, it’s a cinch she likes dogs,” Carol commented as she approached.

  Hearing her, Shay stood and extended her hand even as the wagging tails of her new friends pummeled her sideways.

  “Hi, I’m Shay Raynor,” she said introducing herself to Carol before Liza had a chance.

  “Carol. It’s nice to meet you, Shay. Thank you for coming out to help with the dogs.”

  “I’ve always loved dogs. My mom handled Corgis so I never needed an alarm clock when I was growing up. I usually had a dog licking me awake.”

  Carol laughed as she fondled an Irish setter’s ears. “Story of my life. We always have a houseful. How many do you have now?”

  Liza, her senses strangely attuned to Shay, picked up the subtle pause before answered. “None. Too much moving around, I guess.”

  “Well, when you get settled, we have lots to choose from, as you can see.”

  Shay laughed and knelt to hug a retriever mix they called Bundy. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “Look at you!” Carol cried explosively. Shay and Liza looked up in surprise, soon realizing Carol was talking to one of the dogs. “You’ve rubbed a bare spot on your ear.” She was chiding a young Jack Russell terrier. “Now we’ve got to go treat it.”

  She scooped the dog into her arms and hurried away. “I’ll see you ladies later. Let me know if you need anything!”

  “Whirlwind,” Shay commented dryly.

  “Yes,” Liza agreed with a sigh.

  Shay cooed to her circle of dogs, scratching behind every ear presented while Liza led a second gang a short distance away for a game of fetch. Hours passed as the two worked the dogs. Eventually the entire group reclined on the grassy expanse, sweating and panting, pleasantly exhausted.

  “Well, that was fun,” Shay said, holding her heavy hair off her neck. “It sure gets hot here in crazy Alabama.”

  Liza smiled, surprised that Shay recalled their conversation at Dooley’s.

  “Yep. I like the heat, though. There’s something so much more alive here than in colder places.”

  Shay leaned back and rested her weight on bent elbows. “How do you mean?”

  “Things don’t die out. Bugs, plants. You know. I like that. Plants grow all year in the South.”

  Shay swatted at a fly and laughed. “Yeah, and we mustn’t forget the bugs.”

  Liza joined in the merriment. The sound caused one of the dogs to rise and meander over to lick at Liza’s nose.

  “C’mon, Scarlet. It’s too hot to be carryin’ on that way.” Liza nevertheless scratched the dog between the ears. Scarlet closed her eyes and leaned into Liza’s hand. “I think border collies are some of the friendliest dogs, don’t you?”

  Shay squinted at Liza. “Yeah, I do. But you know she’s an Aussie cattle dog, right?”

  “No way,” Liza replied immediately. “She’s a border mix.”

  Shay sat up and scrubbed dried grass off her arms. “No, seriously Liza, I know. She’s a cattle girl.”

  “I disagree. Look at the markings. If she were a cattle dog, she’d have less of a blaze, not the linear markings like Scarlet has. They’re border collie markings. I know the size is the same and they’re close, but I really think this is border.”

 
Shay eyed Liza evenly. “How familiar are you with Australian cattle dogs? I know an awful lot about them. Have you even looked at her muzzle, her ears? This is definitely a cattle dog mix.”

  Liza studied Scarlet and then shook her head, eyes closed. “You’re wrong. What would a cattle dog be doing in southern Alabama anyway?”

  Shay bristled and clamped her small teeth together as if to help forestall losing her temper. “Liza, this is not a border collie, and I’d really appreciate it if you’d let it go. I know what I’m talking about.”

  “Shay, I’m not doubting your knowledge. I just know you’re dead wrong on this one.” Liza was trying to be reasonable. She remembered keenly Shay’s Irish temper.

  Shay was getting angrier by the minute and her voice had risen. “How do you know? Who told you? I should say, what idiot told you this was a border collie?”

  Scarlet, not understanding the altercation, stared from woman to woman, moving back in alarm as Liza leapt to her feet, followed quickly by Shay.

  “What do you mean, idiot? I checked this dog in myself. I’ve been doing it for years and was taught to identify the dogs by Paul, Carol’s husband. He runs the shelter and knows more about dogs than the two of us put together.”

  Shay had crossed her arms across her chest and was watching Liza with a challenging stare. “Oh, really. So maybe Paul’s the one I need to talk to, not his apprentice dog whisperer.”

  There was a definite sneer in her voice, and Liza’s eyes widened in indignation. “What the hell do you mean by that?!”

  “Just what I said.” Shay lowered her arms, her hands balled into fists at her sides. She appeared ready for anything Liza might say to her.

  “Ladies? Is there a problem?” Carol had approached the paddock as the two women argued. She studied their angry faces. “I don’t think you’re setting a very good example for the dogs, do you?”

  Liza couldn’t help smiling as she backed down. “No, we’re not.”

  Shay’s cheeks were pink from a day of sun and her waning anger. Liza thought she looked adorable.

  “What do you think, Carol? Is Scarlet a border collie?” Liza pulled her eyes from Shay.

  Carol studied Scarlet, who was trying to engage Maizie in some leaping dog play. “No, I think she’s a cattle dog. One of the Australian ones. They come from dingos, you know…” Carol broke off as Shay let loose a yelp of victory.

  “I told you. I told you she was!” Shay punched her fist into the sky and whirled about in a dance of triumph.

  Liza’s mouth fell open and a deep flush moved from her neck along her cheekbones. She closed her mouth abruptly and cleared her throat, determined to learn from the embarrassment. She ignored Shay and turned to Carol. “How can you tell for sure?”

  Carol, eyebrows lifted in surprise, pulled her gaze from Shay and motioned for Scarlet to come to them. “Touch her back.”

  Liza leaned and pressed both palms along the dog’s broad back. “So?”

  “Dig your fingers into the fur? There. Feel that undercoat…it’s kind of oily? Borders have much finer fur. There’s longer fur on a border but it’s finer in texture. That’s really the only way to tell, especially when there’s Border somewhere back in the line.”

  Liza glanced sideways at Shay, who had quieted and was now listening to the other two. “So, there is border in there? Why are you saying she’s more ACD than border?”

  Carol’s hand lay along Scarlet’s back in an absent-minded caress. “A lot of the cattle dogs have border in them now. As a match, it’s a good one.”

  “Look at the markings,” Liza interrupted. “They look more like…”

  “Look at the hindquarters though,” Carol said insistently. “See the brindling? That’s a cattle dog trait. As are the brown eyebrows. Borders just have the mask.”

  As if understanding Carol, Scarlet turned her cute face toward Liza, showing off the deep tan of her eyebrows. Her tongue lolled from her mouth. It looked as though she were grinning at Liza.

  “Don’t feel bad, Liza,” Shay added. “It’s an honest mistake. Scarlet does have an exceptionally dark mask and other markings. I wouldn’t have known if not for her rough coat and the brindling.”

  Liza appreciated Shay’s attempt to make her feel better, but the embarrassment lingered. “Ah well, it’s good to learn something new every day.”

  Carol smiled. “True. Hey, have either of you seen Chris? I wanted her to help round up the dogs, but she’s wandered off.”

  Liza’s eyes roamed the shelter grounds. “I don’t see her. We’ll help you, though. Have you got the leads?”

  “I’ll get them. You two start getting the littler ones together and we’ll take them first.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  “This isn’t your car,” Liza said accusingly. “Is it? This wasn’t the one you had last night.”

  Shay laughed. “I didn’t think you’d notice. That one was a loaner,” she explained. “This relic was in being babied and soothed into another ten thousand miles.”

  She patted the hood of the classic ’77 Beetle. It was vintage but painted a bright lemon yellow.

  Liza looked at Shay as if she’d grown a pair of wings. “I would have remembered this car.”

  Shay smiled proudly.

  Liza smoothed her hand across the baby-bottom decklid. “Wait a minute. I don’t know much about cars, really, but I know you can’t find these parts anymore. This looks like it must have when coming off the showroom floor.”

  She peered inside. “Even the vinyl bucket seats! And the original over-sized steering wheel.”

  She straightened her back and squinted at Shay. “Okay, now I know. You’re rich, right? How much work have you had done to this?” She turned away but whirled to face Shay again. “No, don’t tell me. It looks new. Is it the original air-cooled engine?”

  Shay had endeavored to speak several times, each time cut off when Liza blasted her with a new question. Finally she spoke, her voice calm and slow in an effort to counteract Liza’s excitement. “I have a collector friend. He’s helped me get parts. I actually bought it from him after he’d done most of the work. I had a hard time getting him to part with it.”

  “I bet it cost you a mint,” Liza said. She rested her head and right arm on the hood while her left hand caressed the nose.

  Shay shrugged. “I had a good job at the time. It’s paid for so all I have is the upkeep. And my friend Thomas, who lives in South Carolina now, said that if I didn’t keep it in top condition, he’d come find me and take it back home with him. Which, I know, he still believes is where it belongs.”

  “I hear they’re hard to maintain?”

  Shay laughed. “Well, you should have seen the mechanic’s face when I drove in.”

  “Where did you take it?”

  “I had to go into Mobile. It’s the only VW dealership around.” She paused and tilted her head to one side. “He actually reacted kind of like you just reacted. That and very, very happy.”

  “Why?” Liza pressed the nose handle, amazed that the release button still worked.

  “Maintenance, I guess. He knows how often I’ll be in for oil changes and valve adjustments. He even drove it back from Mobile this morning, just so he could have a road trip in it.”

  Liza realized suddenly that Shay had a cute little dimple in her left cheek. It wasn’t deep or even that noticeable. Just, there was a certain way she smiled and it would appear. Held spellbound by this realization, Liza stood her ground as Shay approached the nose.

  “I hope you don’t mind, but I packed a lunch for us. I hope things are still cool. It’s gotten late.” Shay’s hands gently brushed Liza’s aside as she released the hood and lifted out a large wicker basket.

  Brought back to her senses by the mention of food, Liza was thrilled and her face mirrored that joy. “Mind? Not hardly. I’m starving. Whatcha got in there?” She eyed the basket, and her sturdy, square hands fluttered toward it in anticipation.

  Shay wat
ched Liza, her gaze dancing merrily. “It’s easy to see the way to your heart…food!”

  Embarrassed anew, Liza looked away. “I do like to eat,” she admitted. “But it’s not the only way to my heart.” She turned back, fixing Shay in a smoldering gaze.

  Shay, as she had the night before, stood transfixed by the power of Liza’s raw sensual energy. Liza’s eyes were so warm and inviting that, when stoked with passionate feeling, they were downright mesmerizing.

  Tearing her gaze away, Shay coughed nervously. “Well, where shall we eat?”

  “Lemme see,” Liza continued, reaching toward the basket.

  “My, you’re persistent.” She opened the lid and peered inside. “Let’s see…there’s wine, a Riesling, my personal favorite. I hope you like it. Also sandwiches. You didn’t seem overly enamored with the chicken wings last night, so I went with a nice Gouda and some tomatoes, sweet onions and lettuce. Hope you like mustard. Then there’s fruit for dessert, grapes and some local citrus.”

  Shay looked up and was taken aback by the tender look on Liza’s face. Before she knew what was happening, Liza had enveloped her in a warm, close hug. The subtle waft of Liza’s sandalwood scent made Shay’s knees weaken.

  “Where have you been all my life?” Liza whispered close to her ear. The sound of Liza’s whisper and the sensation of Liza’s warm breath on her neck made Shay’s knees give way completely, and she collapsed into Liza’s arms.

  “Whoa now,” Liza said gently, holding Shay closer. “Are you okay?”

  Crimson from head to toe, Shay pulled away and studied Liza as if the other woman had threatened her life. Shay knew she should run as far and as fast as possible. She knew this but…she so very wanted to stay. Even though Liza’s closeness made her feel as though her whole world was spinning, there was still this element of safety with her. Shay felt protected, more so than ever before, especially since Pepper had entered her life. Her decision was made in a split second. She couldn’t run forever. She turned away and pulled a small round tablecloth from the nose.