“Dr. Marsdon, you are a devil,” Mabel said, grinning.
Sarah lifted her eyebrows. “I was hoping to keep that a secret for a couple of days.” She glanced around the now empty waiting room. “Here are my car keys,” Sarah said, and tossed them to Mabel. “Stick that stuff on the back seat of my truck, if you don’t mind, while I brief Eleanor on what’s going on in ICU. You have my new cell phone number if you need me, don’t you?”
“Sure, but Dr. Eleanor’s able to handle most things— she’s as good with the large animals as she is with the small.”
Sarah glanced up at Mabel. “Why is she only working part-time? Seems as if she’d be a partner in her own clinic by this time.”
Mabel sighed. “Long story. Lost her husband, lost her confidence, I think. She’s finally coming out of her funk, though.”
“She doesn’t seem to lack confidence now. I watched her work with Dr. Thorn. At any rate, I need to brief her on what’s happening with the animals. Then I’ll pick up our new dog owner and his pup. And off we go to her new life.” Sarah laughed. “And his.”
THE RAIN HAD STOPPED and a watery new moon hung high, barely bright enough to reflect in the pools that rimmed the parking lot at the clinic. Mark felt the little dog quiver in his arms when he tried to put her down on the asphalt.
“She’s afraid you’re going to throw her away,” Sarah said.
“I ought to. Little scrap of ratty fur like this,” he said, but the softness in his voice belied his words.
“I don’t know where you live, so I’ll follow you again,” Sarah said. “I’ve got your stuff in my truck.”
Before he could shift his car out of park, the little dog had scooted across the seat so that her read rested on his knee. “You’re going to have to learn to ride in one of those carrier things,” he said as he caressed her head. “But not tonight. How the hell did I get conned into this?” He glanced in his rearview mirror at the headlights of Sarah’s truck. He knew damn well. He’d been suckered by a better con artist that he’d met in some time. Considerably better than some of the manipulative subcontractors he dealt with.
He hated to admit it, but it was those darn blue eyes of hers. And those darn black eyes of the pup in his lap. An unbeatable combination.
Well, he’d keep the pup tonight, and tomorrow the clinic could start searching for a permanent home for her. He obviously couldn’t spend the time with her that would be necessary to get her over her fear. She needed someone who could be with her all the time, give her a fenced yard to play in. Maybe a couple of kids to play fetch with.
He realized he was driving one-handed while he scratched the pup’s ears with his other hand. Okay, so he did have a fenced yard, small though it was. But no kids, no time, no experience, and absolutely no desire to take this creature into his life.
He poked the remote garage door opener, waited while the door swung silently up, and then pulled into his two-car garage. Sarah’s truck pulled into the empty space beside him. He shut the garage and opened his car door.
“I should have known you’d be one of those people who never stores stuff in their garages,” Sarah said as she climbed out of her truck. “Neat freaks always give me the willies.”
“Not a neat freak. I don’t have stuff,” Mark said. The pup began exploring the corners of the garage.
“I think she needs to go out,” Sarah said.
Mark opened the side door that led to the yard, and a motion sensor light came on. As he walked out, a stream of water from the gutters ran down his neck. He jumped and cursed. Instantly the little dog dropped and flattened herself against the paving stones.
“Hey, you scared her—don’t do that,” Sarah admonished.
He picked up the dog gently and took her to the backyard, where he let her off her leash and watched her investigate the interesting smells until she finally did her business. It was like having a baby, except that the pup could walk on its own and didn’t use diapers. He definitely was not used to scooping poop, and he doubted the expensive yard crew that did his gardening would appreciate stepping in it. He wondered whether he could pay them extra for the service.
“Come on, sweetie,” Sarah said, dropping to her haunches and clapping softly. “Let’s go see your new home.”
Twenty minutes later Sarah knelt on the quarry tiles of Mark’s largely unused gourmet kitchen and watched the pup nibble at her dry dog food. The lights overhead reflected on Sarah’s still-damp hair and turned it to antique gold. Mark longed to reach down and touch it, to see if it felt as silky as it looked.
“What’s her name?” Sarah asked.
He drew back his hand without touching her. “How should I know?”
“She’s your dog.”
“She is not.”
“Sure, she is. What are you going to call her? Dow Jones?”
“How about Merrill Lynch?”
“Yukk.”
“Ameritrade? Paine Webber?”
“None of the above. She’s not a stock certificate.”
“How about Phoenix? She’s definitely been reincarnated.”
Sarah sat back on her heels. “Better, but I always see the Phoenix as this huge, ugly bird with a really loud voice and big claws.” She touched the pup, who moved over to lean against her knee.
“The way she slides along the ground, I ought to call her Lava.”
This time Sarah laughed. “Not Lava. How about Pudding?”
Mark hunkered down beside her. “Here in the south, that would be Puddin.”
“Oh, brother. I can hear it now. ‘Isn’t ’um the sweetest ole puddin?”’
“I refuse to have a dog called Pudding. How about Nasdaq?”
“You’re kidding, right?”
Suddenly the little dog shook the entire length of her body in sheer delight and let out the faintest hint of a bark.
This time both Sarah and Mark laughed out loud. Mark stood and reached a hand down to Sarah. “Nasdaq it is.”
She took his hand and came to her feet close to his chest. They grinned foolishly at one another for a moment. Slowly, the smiles subsided. Their eyes locked.
Mark could feel his heartbeat against his chest and see the answering pulse in Sarah’s slender throat. He felt as though he’d suddenly been struck dumb. Dumb and breathless. Sarah’s blue eyes were deep enough to drown in, and that’s what he longed to do.
He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her to him, bent his face to hers, felt the touch of her lips like flaming velvet against his mouth. She felt good in his arms—not soft and boneless but lean and supple. A woman who would bend to him only if she chose. Suddenly, fiercely, he wanted her to choose. He wanted her body beneath him, wanted to ignite the passion he sensed beneath that cool exterior. Wanted—
The doorbell buzzed—an ugly brap sound that went on until he couldn’t ignore it.
Neither could Nasdaq. She cowered between their feet, her body flattened against the tiles, her eyes staring up imploringly.
“Damn!” He released Sarah. “Must be the pizza.”
The instant he released her, Sarah sank to the floor again and gathered Nasdaq’s shivering body into her arms. “It’s all right, baby,” she crooned, knowing that it had very nearly not been all right. “Now, you listen to me, dog,” she continued, “I am starting a new life. I have sworn off males. I have just dumped one man who tried to run my life. I am not about