Home Is Where the Bark Is (24 page)

“Our priorities at Paws-A-While are to care for every dog here as if it were our own.” There was a note of reprimand to Kylie’s voice that he didn’t miss.

“I get that,” he said.

“Well, I don’t get why you’re here. What’s your game, Nick?” asked Kylie, with a noticeable lack of dimples.

“I told you. The company I worked for downsized. As I was last in, I was first to go. Serena offered me this role and I grabbed it.”

“Yeah. Right. As if a big, strong guy like you couldn’t have got work somewhere other than a doggy day-care center.” She narrowed her eyes. “You don’t fool me for a minute. I know why you’re really here.”

Inwardly, Nick cursed. Had Adam said something to her in the time he’d spent alone with Kylie? Had Serena accidentally alerted her to his undercover investigator status? Or was his game slipping?

“You do?” he said, forcing his voice into neutral.

“Yeah. I know you’ve got the hots for Serena. Wouldn’t it be easier to just ask her out? Who do you think you’re fooling with this charade of yours?”

He couldn’t let his relief let him miss a beat. “Obviously not you.”

“I know you’ve only taken this job to get close to her.”

“A man wouldn’t be human if he didn’t admire Serena. But . . . I don’t think dating in the workplace is a great idea. Especially when I have a dog as a guest here.”

“Huh! You should be so lucky! I haven’t seen Serena date any guys since I’ve been on staff and I’ve been here since day one.”

“Is that so?” he said, studiously neutral, in spite of his very real interest.

“Yeah. She had a boyfriend in the navy who turned out to be a real jerk.”

He’d got Dave’s details from Serena and checked on him. He might be a jerk, but he had an exemplary record with the navy. “Maybe she might be ready for someone who’s not such a jerk.”

“Meaning you?”

He shrugged.

“Don’t play that game with me,” she said, sitting back on her haunches. “I know what guys like you are like. First you take the backseat and you’re ‘yes, ma’am, no, ma’am, what can I do to help, ma’am.’ Then when you start boinking the boss suddenly you’re throwing your weight around and lording it over people like me.”

Nick forgave her the crudity because of the flash of fear he saw in her eyes. “I’m not after your job, Kylie,” he said.

“Then what are you after? Serena?”

There was no use denying his attraction to Serena. Kylie seemed to pick up the signals of man-woman chemistry with radar-like precision. “I like her.Yeah. I’d like to get to know her better.”

“Well, do something about it—like ask her on a date. Leave the jobs here to professional dog people.”

He didn’t want Kylie to feel her job was under threat. Unless, of course, she turned out to be a fraudster.

“Look, Kylie, Serena told me you needed some muscle around the place. Said she’d been thinking of putting on a guy to help with the heavy work, walk the bigger, more boisterous dogs. I’m your guy. Use me. I won’t be here forever and Serena knows that. Obviously this isn’t a career move for me.”

“Hmph,” said Kylie, but she did appear placated. “It didn’t start that way for me, either. I used to work at a bank before I got into dog care. When I started here I thought it would be something temporary. But the job grew on me. Now I love it and I intend to stay for as long as Serena needs me.”

“I get that, too.”

Kylie had worked at a bank? That had not showed up on the job application he’d glimpsed on Serena’s computer last week.

Kylie paused, a bunch of cheerful streamers in her hand. “You know the newbie always gets put on potty cleanup?”

Nick blanched. “But that fancy latrine outside flushes. Serena showed me.”

Kylie laughed. “Yeah, when the dogs make it to the outside. With this many of ’em there are sometimes accidents. When the call goes out for mop and bucket you’ll be the one answering it.”

“Right,” he said.

“Still keen to work here?” Now Kylie was enjoying herself. There were worse undercover assignments. He was just having trouble thinking what they were right now. “Absolutely,” he replied.

He got up from the floor as Kylie gave the table setting a final once-over. In the end it looked as good as it would for a table load of toddlers. His sister back home would kill for a table setting as cute as this for his nephew’s birthdays.

Kylie stood up and stretched out her back. “Talking of muscles, how’s that friend of yours, Adam?”

“Adam’s good.”

“He’s a nice guy,” said Kylie.

Nick had to suppress a grin. “He asked after you, too.”

That was no lie. With Nick full time now at Paws-A-While, Adam had taken over the background checking of the Paws-A-While staff—starting with Kylie. He’d thrown himself into the assignment rather more enthusiastically than the job called for, Nick thought. But then, the entire staff of Paws-A-While was young and female.

“Did he, now?” said Kylie, dimpling. “Well, the next time he asks after me, you just remind him he’s got my number.”

“He does?” Nick couldn’t keep the surprise from his voice. Adam was taking his information-pumping activities with Kylie very seriously.

“And I just might be free on Friday night when Finn has a sleepover at his buddy’s house,” she said.

“I’ll be sure to tell him.”

What the hell was going on here? Nick felt a twinge of unease. Serena had told him Kylie was an inveterate matchmaker and loved fixing people up. But she didn’t date much herself as her priority was her son. For all her smart mouth she was vulnerable. Nick knew misrepresenting oneself was part of this job. But he would warn Adam to take it easy with Kylie.

Kylie stretched her back out again. “We’re running on time; the other guests should arrive soon.”

“Other guests?”

“Apparently Brutus’s mom, Maddy, is remodeling her Pacific Heights mansion, so they can’t have a party at home. They had a picnic last weekend for his doggy family. This is his celebration with the pals in his day-care pack. Tinkerbelle, his daughter, is already here, as you know. His son Tyson is coming to join the party, too. Coco will be thrilled to have another of her babies here.”

“You think Coco recognizes the puppies as her babies?” Nick tried to keep the skepticism from his voice. He knew what happened with farm animals; their offspring became just another animal no different to any other of their species.

Kylie shrugged. “Coco licks them and grooms them as if they’re her puppies. She doesn’t do that to any of the other dogs. That says mommy to me.”

“And Brutus? Wouldn’t Tyson be a rival?”

“Maybe. They get on. As Serena says, the dogs soon find their place in their pack. Besides they’ve all been fixed, so that solves a few problems with male aggression.”

“Who are the other guests? The, uh, humans, I mean?”

“Maddy and Tom, of course, Brutus’s parents.”

“Of course,” Nick echoed. He had to force himself from cringing every time Kylie used the term “parent” to refer to dog owners.

“Maddy and Tom are good friends of Serena’s. Tom’s mom is coming, too; she’s a nice lady. Tyson is her dog.”

All this fuss for a dog. “How old is Brutus?”

“No one knows. He came from a shelter. But his first guardian—the old man who died and left him all the money—celebrated on the anniversary of the day he was adopted. He always had a party for him. Maddy told me she continues the celebration in the old man’s honor.”

“So that’s it for visitors?” His initial research had virtually ruled out Maddy Cartwright and Tom O’Brien as suspects. But Tom’s mom was an unknown quantity.

“Oh and Jenna, too. You know, Serena’s other good friend.”

“Organic-dog-treats Jenna?”

Kylie nodded. “That’s right. She’s made organic dog biscuits in the shape of a B for Brutus for party favors. Every dog at Paws-A-While will get one to take home.”

“But they’re not all invited to the party?”

“Ohmigod, no! Can you imagine the logistics of it? All the dogs here get a special treat on their birthdays. If their parents want to host a special party, that’s up to them. Brutus is our top VIP client; not all the parties are as lavish as this.”

“Right,” said Nick.

Jenna was on the list of regular suppliers Serena had given him. Initial checks found Jenna to be everything Serena had told him. Grew up in the Bay Area and stayed there. Now doing her postgraduate degree at Berkeley. One clever lady by the looks of it. And with not so much as a parking ticket on record.

The woman who supplied the organic dog shampoos and conditioners had also checked clear. There were a surprising number of suppliers still to go. He found it amazing how many people supplied products of one kind or another to a doggy day-care center.

He had already determined that Mack’s collar was the only one with a hidden camera. Now Adam’s priority was the hunt for Eric Kessler, while also checking out Kylie and the other girls who worked at Paws-A-While. The clients who weren’t victims of the fraud were also under investigation. But Nick could continue that in the time Serena had allocated for him to work “helping” her with her bookwork on the computer.

That was, when he was done with setting up for the pooch party.

As he set up a table out of reach of noses and paws, he sensed Serena come through the door from the reception. Even over the sounds and smells of the playroom he recognized her footfall and her warm, vanilla scent. He turned and there she was, carrying a big tray held out in front of her. He strode over to open the gate before she could even attempt to do it for herself.

That was an impossible task. Man, she was beautiful.

She looked different today—he’d noticed that first thing this morning when he’d reported for duty. Her shapeless Paws-A-While shirt was unbuttoned. Underneath she wore a tank top that made no secret of her curves. And her jeans fit like a glove on her long, slender legs. He liked the difference and he didn’t mask the admiration in his eyes.

But she was obviously determined not to respond. To treat him as just one of the staff.

“That looks great, guys; you’ve done a wonderful job,” she said, smiling. He’d hardly seen her since Monday. She’d spent that evening with Maddy and Tom, the next with her parents. He was impatient to get her alone.

“Mr. Muscles here has been a great help,” said Kylie.

“Thanks, Kylie, I appreciate you showing Nick the ropes,” said Serena.

The tray was laden with some of the best-looking cakes Nick had ever seen. Frosted cupcakes topped with fans of fresh strawberries. Chocolate brownies. Crisp pastries with creamy fillings.

Within seconds Serena was immediately surrounded by dogs. And Nick.

His mouth watered. He’d gotten up at the crack of dawn to get through his usual grueling workout before he started on the early shift at Paws-A-While.

“Food for the human party animals, and it looks good,” he said. “Did you make these?”

She shook her head. “Maddy did.”

“Can I taste?” he asked.Without waiting for permission he reached out his hand to sample a particularly toothsome-looking brownie.

“Paws off,” said Serena. “They’re for the dogs.”

Reluctantly, he withdrew his hand. But Nick had a highly developed sense of right and wrong—that was what had led him to working in law enforcement. It wasn’t right for canines to be fed cake when hardworking humans were denied.

“It’s obscene to give stuff like that to dogs. First Mack and the junk food. Now cakes and pastries? Sugar, fat, and heaven knows what else. Surely they shouldn’t be eating those?”

“And you should?” she asked with a teasing challenge in those gorgeous eyes. This was one difficult assignment. How could he work for Serena, act like her subservient staff, when it was all he could do to stop himself from pulling her into his arms and kissing her senseless?

“I’ve been working all morning, not like those pampered pooches,” he said.

She smiled a sexy little smile. “Of course you have,” she said. “Which cake do you like the look of best?”

His hand hovered above the tray. They all looked wonderful. “The brownie I think.” He picked up the biggest slice of the chocolate treat.

“Good choice,” said Serena. “It’s made with ground liver and carob.”

Nick snatched his hand back. “You’re kidding me.” Nausea rose in his throat at the thought of how close he’d come to chowing down on a liver brownie.

“You’re sure, now?” she teased. “It’s very good for your fur and immune system.”

Nick knew he’d gag if he tried to answer her. He glared at Kylie, who was nearly bent over in a paroxysm of giggles.

“I told you they were for the dogs,” said Serena, her eyes dancing.

“These are dog cakes?” His words were underscored with disbelief.

“Every one. They’re Maddy’s specialty. She and Tom are bringing more in now. There’s one for every dog at Paws-A-While.”

Nick was not often lost for words. Now he was, to use an expression he had picked up in Australia, gobsmacked, so astounded he could only stare at the platter of cakes in Serena’s hand.

“You’re not the first one to be fooled,” Serena said with her delightful laugh.

“They look like they’re from a fancy cake shop.”

“But they taste very different, I can assure you.”

She came very close and handed the tray to him. This close he detected a distinct dog food smell that made him suddenly lose his appetite.

“Could you please take these over to the party area and put them on the high table out of reach of the dogs,” she said in a very officious voice. Then in a husky whisper, “I can’t be seen to treat you differently to any of the other staff.”

“You can crack the whip on me anytime,” he whispered back. She flushed, looked as though she wanted to say something in response, then glanced at Kylie.