Love Gone to the Dogs (10 page)

Leah ran her hand through her hair. "I don't know."

"We could be adults about it and give in to our lust." The very thought made his body tighten.

"Or, we could date first and get to know each other better."

"No strings attached?"

"Of course."

He could feel the beginnings of a frown and forced himself to grin halfheartedly. At least she didn't know that he was bothered by her reply. "Well, then, why don't we have dinner this weekend? We never did get around to it a few weeks ago at my mother's."

"That's a great idea. Gramps will be thrilled."

"He will?" Both eyebrows rose.

"I think he has a crush on your mother. He didn't complain once when he had to go back to see her at the clinic. That's something that has never happened. You should hear him when I have to take him to the doctor."

"What does your grandfather have to do with our dinner?" Shane asked, aware Leah was nervous, twisting her hands together until her knuckles were white.

"I thought we could eat at my house and invite your mother, too."

"I know I've lost touch with the dating scene, but I'm sure that taking your mother on a date isn't a happening thing."

"Oh, you meant going to a restaurant."

"People have been known to do that."

She stared down at her hands clasped in her lap. "Well, yes, but—"

"But then, I've never been famous for keeping up with the trends," he said hastily. "Now, what can I bring besides my mother?" He couldn't believe he had just asked that question. What sane man would have said that to a beautiful woman? But then, he had known deep down that with Leah the situation wouldn't be conventional.

"Nothing."

"Saturday night?"

"At seven."

"I feel as if I should do something. I'm the one who asked you out, and you'll be doing all the work." He made the mistake of leaning toward her and heard the warning growl almost instantly. He braved the thought of being chewed by Arnold and took Leah's hand in his. "Let me at least bring the wine."

"Fine. We'll be having steaks," she said over the protest of Arnold, who had now advanced to barking.

"Grilled?"

"That's the only way to have them."

"A woman after my own heart," he replied before he really thought about what he was saying. Her face clouded, as if that was the last thing she would ever want from him. It reminded him they were dating with no strings attached because they both wanted it that way, he as much as she.

He almost released her hand but couldn't quite relinquish his hold on her. He liked the feel of his skin next to hers and realized he had been too long without a woman. If holding Leah's hand was turning him on so much, he didn't even want to think about kissing her again. She wasn't ready to go beyond a kiss, and he knew if he took her into his arms as his body was screaming for him to do, he would be hard pressed to stop short of one, simple kiss.

As his mind tried to tamp down his amorous fantasies, she eased her hand from his grasp and rose. "I do need to go. Gramps will wonder where I disappeared to."

"He probably only needs to consult with Ned to find out."

"True, but I don't think Gramps and Ned could speak two civil words to each other. After Gramps heard about the petition, he wasn't too subtle when he discussed it with Ned. There was a moment there that I thought the police would have to be dragged into the middle of their discussion."

Shane stood, only a foot separating them. "It won't be the first time that's happened to Ned," he said, contemplating how to kiss her without being attacked by her beagle. He just couldn't rid his mind of the idea, even though his better judgment told him not to.

"Nor Gramps. He's rather volatile when he feels someone is being unfair."

She lifted Arnold into her arms and ended any chance of him kissing her without being eaten alive. And he knew she knew what he had been thinking about doing. The walls around her emotions were even higher than his. She probably had taught her dog to attack when a man came too close, he thought as he showed her and Arnold to the door. Well, if he wanted to kiss her—scratch that, when he wanted to kiss her—he would just have to outsmart that hound, and he intended to do that Saturday night.

At the door Leah turned, with Arnold between them. "Why don't you let Princess spend the day with us tomorrow, since you'll be at work?"

Shane's attention was riveted to the movement of her mouth as she spoke, and it took him a few seconds to realize she had asked him a question. He mentally shook his head and said, "Fine," realizing he wasn't sure what he had agreed to.

"Good. You can bring her over any time after seven."

"Who?"

"Princess."

"She's coming to the dinner party Saturday night, too?"

"No. I'm talking about tomorrow morning," Leah replied, a frown furrowing her brow.

"Oh, yeah, right. I'll bring her over when I go to work."

Her smile chased away her frown, and the whole room lit. "Good. I'm so glad we could reach an agreement concerning our dogs."

He shrugged. "You can't fight Mother Nature."

"Nor Arnold, when he sets his mind to something."

He would just see about that, Shane thought as he opened the front door, sure that the dog in question had a look of pure triumph on his face. Arnold was sure he had won this round, and he had, but the war wasn't over yet, by any means. As Shane waved goodbye to the pair, he was thinking of ways to make sure the hound was nowhere near him Saturday night. As an idea began to form in his mind, his own triumphant smile slid across his features.

Chapter Six

For the tenth time Leah looked at herself in the mirror before mentally shrugging and deciding this last outfit was it, whether she wanted it to be or not Shane and his mother were due to arrive in a few minutes, and she couldn't greet them half dressed. But still—

She heard the doorbell and frowned. He would arrive early when she needed every second to prepare herself. Hurrying from her bedroom, she almost collided with her grandfather, who was straightening his only tie as he headed for the front door, too.

"How do I look?" they asked each other at the same time.

Leah laughed, amazed he had dressed up when it was almost ninety degrees outside. He hated anything that constricted him, especially a tie. He must really have it bad. "Great. I've always said you look good in a suit. I'm glad it still fits."

"Girl, I haven't gained a pound in the past ten years." Her grandfather puffed out his chest, his stance tall and proud as he eyed her. "You don't look half bad, yourself."

"Thanks," Leah murmured while the doorbell rang again. After spending an hour deciding what to wear, half bad wasn't what she had wanted to hear. She had finally compromised between elegant and casual by wearing white sandals and a simple blue sundress with a skirt that fell to her knees in a soft flow. But suddenly she felt half naked, as the thin spaghetti straps exposed more of her shoulders than she cared to display.

"Ready. It's show time," her grandfather announced as he swung the door wide.

The lesson she learned in that moment was to always check before opening the door even when expecting guests. Ned Shiplock stood on the porch with a thunderous expression on his face, wearing the usual stained T-shirt that barely covered his beer belly, his hairy, not too attractive legs revealed by the shorts he had on. It was more than Leah ever wanted to see of her neighbor.

"What are you doing here?" Gramps all but shouted at the man.

Ned brought a plastic bag from around behind his back and shoved it at her grandfather, who stepped back. "This belongs to you."

Leah stared at the contents of the bag and could have sworn it contained something she could fertilize her garden with. It certainly wasn't a belated welcome-to-the-neighborhood gift. The look on her grandfather's face forced her to cover her mouth so he wouldn't see her smile. The expletives that blasted from the old man, however, propelled her forward, wiping what grin she had from her face while she put herself between her grandfather and Ned.

"We appreciate the gift, but we just can't accept it," she said while maintaining a somber expression meant to calm two raging bulls about to go at it.

Ned released the plastic bag, which landed with a plop at Leah's feet. "It isn't a gift. I'm returning what's yours."

Her mouth fell open at the man's words. Ned Shiplock was definitely crazy. She picked up the bag and tossed it on the table by the door, to dispose of later.

"Your dog left his calling card in my yard. Make sure he doesn't ever do that again, or else," Ned said, then pivoted to stomp down her steps.

"Let me at the slob." Her grandfather charged forward, and Leah had to grab him from behind before he made the situation any worse. "I'll make him eat the sniff."

She hung onto Gramps, who dragged her across the porch until he slowed to a stop at the top of the steps. His hands were clenched at his sides, his eyes like poison darts that followed Ned all the way home. She didn't dare let go—no telling what catastrophe would happen. After the firemen the other day, she couldn't afford anything else to go wrong.

"Let me go, girl. He needs a lesson in manners."

"You don't have time. Our guests will arrive any second. What would Margaret say if she found you all beat up?"

"She wouldn't. The only thing Shiplock does for exercise is switch TV channels. That old blowhard couldn't get a lick in if his life depended on it, which it might."

"Gramps! Please don't talk like that. I would like to stay in this town for more than a few months."

His body relaxed its rigid stance. "Yeah, I've seen how you've looked at the good doctor."

"He's just a neighbor."

He glanced over his shoulder at her, one of his eyebrows quirked. "Like Shiplock?"

"Good heavens, no."

"I didn't think so. It's good to see you join the human race again, Leah."

"I never left it."

Her grandfather had started to say something when Margaret pulled up in the driveway and climbed from her car. As the woman approached the house he whispered, "We'll talk about it later."

Not if she could avoid it, Leah thought as she greeted Margaret with a smile that was too bright So far the evening wasn't turning out the way she had planned it.

Leah had started to follow the pair into the house when she spied Shane leaving his place and walking across the street with Princess and a bottle of wine cradled against him. She waited for him, anticipation humming through her veins at the picture of a man very physically fit and very masculine, even when he carried a beribboned dog more suited for a woman.

"I thought Princess should have a treat tonight, too," Shane said as he passed her to enter her house.

"What has Arnold done to deserve this kindness?" Leah grabbed the plastic bag and threw it away in the kitchen.

Shane ignored her sarcastic question and proceeded to the backyard to release Princess, who promptly pranced toward the beagle. "This ought to keep him occupied."

"I didn't realize you were so concerned about Arnold." Leah watched as her pet lying on his back, rolled his head to follow Princess's approach. He allowed her to sniff him before he rolled his head back and continued his nap. Princess lay down next to him. Another male taking a female for granted.

"As you well know, this is for me. I don't relish spending the whole evening fending off the likes of that hound or listening to his growling."

"And what do you have in mind?"

Shane turned toward Leah and backed her into the kitchen, slamming the door with his foot. After depositing the bottle of red wine on the counter, he took her hands in his and stared into her eyes with a heart-melting look. "Some of this. Some of that."

She glanced down at their clasped hands. "I know what this is, but what is that?"

"Stick around and you'll find out," he said with a grin and a wink, then sauntered toward the living room.

Leah released a deep breath, then another. Whoa. Her anticipation continued to mount with thoughts of what "that" was. No strings attached. Nothing beyond the moment, she told herself as she gathered her fragile poise and headed for the living room.

Leah paused in the entrance just behind Shane. Her grandfather and Margaret were sitting on the couch, not an inch between them. They were talking in lowered tones, so it was hard to hear what they were saying.

Shane speared her with a look. "I definitely think four's a crowd. Let's go back in the kitchen. I'll help you with dinner."

"Dinner is almost done. All that is needed is for the steaks to be grilled. I have the fire started."

Leah sent one last glance at the pair on the couch. They didn't even know she and Shane were in the same room. There went her chaperones for the evening. They probably wouldn't surface to acknowledge the presence of other people, let alone protect her from her own feelings. Leah smiled, though, at the thought of her grandfather having found someone after all these years. She was happy for him, even if it meant she had to entertain Shane O'Grady the whole evening by herself.