Fuzzy Logic (21 page)

Jan reached over and took Michael’s hand. “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

“I hope you’re right. It’s probably not very macho to say, but I love this dog. It will kill me if something happens to her.”

“I understand,” Jan said squeezing his hand. “I feel the same way about Rosa. She was my mom’s dog originally, but now she’s my best little buddy. Every time I think about the fact that dogs only live 15 years or so, I want to cry.”

Michael shook his head, “Yeah, let’s not go there. I can’t handle the idea of Swoosie getting old. Of course, at this rate, she may not
get
old. We’ve spent a lot of time here at the vet. This dog is her own worst enemy.”

A tall thin man with wavy blonde hair opened a door and motioned for them to come into the exam room. He was wearing a long light blue lab coat and the name embroidered on the front said John Jefferies, DVM. “Michael. Good to see you again. How is Swoosie today?”

Michael shook the veterinarian’s hand. “I’m not sure. She’s making an odd noise. At first, I thought she ate something that got stuck in her mouth, but I can’t find anything. Then I thought she might be having an allergic reaction.”

The vet put Swoosie up on the exam table and looked at her eyes and felt her body. “Did you see her eat anything?”

“No, I was in another room.”

“Could you hold her?” Dr. Jefferies asked and then opened Swoosie’s mouth. “So what is going on here, you little fluffy thing?”

Michael held Swoosie around her torso to keep her still as the vet ran his fingers throughout the dog’s mouth. Swoosie started and pulled away and Michael grabbed her more firmly to keep her from launching off the exam table.

“What’s this here?” the vet asked as he held up a black elastic hair tie. “This was hidden in her back teeth under her tongue.” Swoosie looked disappointed that her prize had been discovered and moved her head to snatch it back from his grasp. The vet lifted the elastic away from her mouth, “Sorry, little dog. I’m not giving it back.”

An embarrassed heat flushed Jan’s cheeks. “I think that’s mine.” She took the elastic from the veterinarian’s hand. “Thank you.” She jammed the elastic into her pocket.

Michael relaxed his hold on Swoosie. “So she’s fine, right?”

Dr. Jeffries smiled. “Yes, although in the future you may want to try and keep your hair accessories away from the dog.”

After paying the bill and loading Swoosie back into the car, Jan drove back to Michael’s place. The silence was uncomfortable. Obviously lost in thought, Michael stared out the window, the grim expression on his face subduing his normally animated features. She should say something to him. But what? Maybe he was regretting what they did earlier. She thought it was amazing, but who knows what
he
thought. Heaven knows he had a lot more experience, given how women had a habit of throwing themselves at him.

At last, right before she pulled in front of Michael’s house, Jan blurted out, “I’m so sorry about what happened with Swoosie. I must have dropped my hair tie on the floor in the kitchen. I didn’t think about it. I feel terrible.”

Michael smiled slightly, but it didn’t offset the sadness in his dark eyes. “I don’t think either of us were thinking much. It’s not your fault. Swoosie eats everything. I’ve got the vet bills to prove it.”

“I know you have to work tomorrow and then I’ve got to go home. This isn’t the way I thought we’d end the evening.” She thought they’d be entwined in each others arms. Which they were. Until they weren’t.

“Me neither. Most of Swoosie’s vet trips are unexpected, though. I should start expecting the unexpected.”

“Oscar Wilde said ‘To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect.’”

Michael gazed out the window again. “At least I can be modern.”

Jan slowed the car to a stop and turned off the ignition. The change in Michael’s mood was so unsettling, she wasn’t sure what to do. After an awkward pause, finally, she said, “I had a wonderful time. Well, except for this last part, which again, I’m sorry about. But all the places we went, and um, everything we did, it’s all been great.”

Michael looked toward the house then back at her. “I should go. I have to get up early for work. But I’ll give you a call from there tomorrow to see how everything is going. You’ll still be at your mom’s place, right?”

Jan nodded. “Yes.”

Michael leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. “I’ll talk to you then.”

Jan sat and watched as he gathered Swoosie out of the back seat and walked up the sidewalk to the house. What were the odds that he would actually call?

Chapter 8

K
at sat on the sofa with Rosa on one side of her and Lori on the other. Joel walked in, stopped, and pointed at Rosa. “Isn’t that dog supposed to be out in the kennel?”

Kat looked up from her novel. “Yes. But she has been a good girl all week and she’s going home tomorrow, so I wanted to give her a little special time. She looked so sad and she likes being a house dog here with everyone else. I hate to leave her outside in the Tessa Hut. See how she’s being so sweet, just sitting here quietly next to me? Rosa is like Linus—she follows me around like a shadow. She’s certainly not going anywhere.”

Joel crouched down to pet Rosa and looked up at Kat. “You are such a softie. Special-dog time could get more complicated if you board more dogs. The house isn’t that big. Speaking of which, I don’t suppose that’s a business book you’re reading, is it? How’s the business plan going?”

Kat covered the title of her novel with her hands. Joel didn’t need to know how trashy it was. “No. It’s not a business book. And I’m still working on the plan. You do realize you’re being a nag, right?”

Joel grinned and stood up again. “I prefer to think of it as motivational support.”

“By the way, Maria is coming up tonight.”

“Again?”

“Yes. She’s having issues with her apartment complex. The guy next door, Tony, is quite the, um, ladies man, I guess you’d say. The walls aren’t very thick and there’s a lot of noise from his apartment on the weekends.” When she’d talked to Kat, Maria’s description had been significantly more colorful and expletive-laced.

Joel put his hands in his pockets. “Really?”

“Yes. Maria said there was a big fight in her parking lot the other night. It was bad enough that someone even called the police. Tony has taken in some friend who was thrown out of his place by his pregnant girlfriend. The house guest’s ex-wife is in town and she wasn’t too excited about the girlfriend. Oh, and the house guest might have cancer, too. Anyway, Mr. House Guest drank a whole lot and then started a fight with another neighbor. It sounds like he was seriously unhinged and caused a big incident. Maria refers to it as living in Melrose Place.”

“Wow. That’s quite a soap opera. Things are pretty tame by comparison here in little ole Alpine Grove. No wonder she wants to come here. At least it’s quiet. Has she considered finding a new place to live?”

“She’s working on it. I think the whole thing with the police increased her incentive to move. Maria talks a good game, but I know she’s not fond of feeling unsafe in her own home.”

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

Kat got up off the couch and wrapped her arms around Joel’s waist. He enveloped her in a hug and kissed the top of her head. She tilted her head back to look up into his face. “Thanks for being cool about letting her stay.”

“Well, she stays in your office, so you’re the one who won’t get any work done.”

Kat put her head back on his chest, enjoying the sound of his heartbeat. “It’s the weekend. Days of rest. All the business books say you’re supposed to take a break from work because when you work from home it’s too easy to end up working all the time. I don’t want to turn into a workaholic. Stress is bad for you.”

Joel released her from the embrace and looked down into her eyes. He pushed a stray tendril of dark hair behind her ear. “You were looking pretty relaxed just now. And it’s Friday. I don’t think you have much to worry about.”

“I’m multi-tasking. See how I am tending to the needs of my boarding dog while reading a junk novel at the same time? I’m working and relaxing simultaneously, thus enhancing my work-life balance.”

Joel laughed. “That’s some impressive rationalization.”

“It’s a gift.”

The sound of a car rumbling down the driveway caused all of the dogs to leap up and head for the door, barking furiously.

Kat waved toward the door. “According to our brave canine defenders, Maria has arrived.”

Joel took Kat’s hand and they walked outside to the landing outside the front door. The dogs thundered down the steps and greeted Maria, who was standing next to her little red Miata.

“Listen here, you big, hairy thing,” Maria said, pushing Linus’s nose away from her skirt and shaking her index finger at him. “You should know my rules of personal space by now. No poking me
there
. That’s considered rude.”

As Kat and Joel walked down the front steps, Maria looked up from her lecture and waved at them. “Hey there, lovebirds! Did you miss me? I see the full-figured dog is back here again, too. How come she is running free? Did she escape again?”

Kat shook her head. “No. Rosa has been really good, except for a little bath-time trauma. But after that it’s been fine. I think we bonded. Now she won’t leave my side. Well, except to say hi to you, I guess.”

Joel took Maria’s suitcase out of the car and started dragging it toward the house.

Maria hugged Kat. “So how are you doing, girlfriend? How’s life with the sexy engineer?”

“No complaints. I’m doing better than you are, I think. How’s the apartment hunt going?”

“Not so good. I wish you’d bought your apartment when it went condo. Then you could rent it to me. That was a nice complex.”

“Sorry. At the time, buying wasn’t much of an option. As you may recall, I was destitute. You had to sell all my furniture for me.”

Maria flipped her hair back with her hand. “That’s true. And that money went to a good cause: shoes for me. But now that you’re an heiress, you’ve got the cash-o-la.”

“Sorry, but that train has left the station. The condo purchase option was a one-time offer. And the building manager was not my biggest fan after she found out I had a cat, so it’s not like they’d give me a special deal.”

Maria sighed. “I gotta get outta Melrose. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I like a fine soap opera. I’ve been watching
Days of Our Lives
for years. The sands in the hourglass just keep going for me. But I can’t handle living with a bunch of losers fighting in my parking lot. If I want to see that level of male stupidity, I can see it at work. I don’t need it at home, too.”

“Yeah, you look kind of tired. We’ll have a good weekend and maybe you can get some rest.”

Maria put her hand on her hip. “Are you implying that I am not looking my best?”

“I may not be Miss Cover Girl, but I do know heavy-duty concealer when I see it. I’m guessing under all that makeup, you have dark circles under your eyes.”

“That does it,” Maria said. “I need a plan of action. I don’t feel good, and now I don’t look good. That’s totally unacceptable! My job and my home life are both in the crapper and I haven’t wanted to deal with it. But now I’m pissed.”

Kat put her arm around her friend’s shoulder. “Maybe tomorrow another Wine and Whine is in order. We’ll figure out a plan. But first, maybe you should just get some sleep tonight.”

Maria sighed and leaned her head against Kat’s. “Yeah. I guess it’s pretty obvious that I need to get some beauty rest. I am really tired. Thanks, girlfriend.”

After a frustrating day of dealing with her mother’s endless dawdling about packing to move in with Bruce and her all-too-frequent questions about what she had been up to with Michael, Jan was relieved to get on the plane and return to the quiet of Alpine Grove.

Her mother had assured her that she was finally getting the last of her stuff moved and would be spending the night at Bruce’s house. Whether or not that would really happen was anyone’s guess. The day had been so frustrating that it was only that morning that Jan realized Michael had not called her from work.