Listen to Your Heart - Fern Michaels [29]
Five minutes later, just as they all moved in sync to lift the box spring, Zip and Rosie hopped over the frame and raced for the hall and the stairs.
“Damn it, I have a plane to catch. Can they get out?”
“I don’t think so,” Josie said, straightening the box spring with Kitty’s help. They gave the mattress a shove. It landed squarely on top of the box spring. Both girls dusted their hands dramatically.
“This is just a wild thought, but five will get you ten you end up taking care of that dog,” Kitty said. “Sounds like a war going on down there. Maybe we should check it out.”
“Maybe we should,” Josie said, eyeing the wrinkled sheets that had come untucked. “I haven’t even had my coffee yet.”
“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?” Kitty said, taking her sister’s arm and pulling her around to face her. “It’s okay if you are, Josie. Remember how Mom set eyes on Dad and they were married three weeks later? It happens like that sometime. Roll with it.”
“I don’t know about the love part, but I do feel a very strong attraction to him. He’s so different from the men I’ve dated. He didn’t even kiss me last night. There’s something out of whack about him. One minute he’s up and the next he closes up. I’m starting to think maybe I said the wrong thing, gave off bad vibes. You know me.”
Kitty wrapped her arm around her sister’s shoulders. “What will be will be. Enjoy whatever it is you have right now. Open up, Josie.”
Josie nodded. “Let’s go downstairs and see if he’s made any progress.”
“You a bettin’ woman, Josie?”
“Nope. Hey, let’s slide down the banister.”
Kitty hiked up her long skirt and whooped her pleasure as she slid down the polished teak wood banister.
“Ninety miles an hour—isn’t that what Dad said? Wow, when was the last time we did that?”
“The day after . . . after the funeral. It was stupid then, and it’s stupid now. We thought it would make us feel better. It didn’t.”
“Oh. How could I have forgotten that?”
“The same way I did until this moment. You block it out.”
Josie walked into the sunny kitchen. Her gaze swept past Paul’s helpless expression to the snarling dogs under the table. It was a losing battle—one she wasn’t going to win either. She sighed. “It’s okay, Rosie. He can stay.”
The relief on Paul’s face brought a smile to Josie’s. A long time ago her mother had said there was nothing in the world she wouldn’t do to bring a smile to her father’s face. Maybe she was like her mother after all.
“If you leave now, he’ll know he’s staying. Tell him.”
Paul dropped to his haunches. “Okay, big guy, you can stay with Rosie. We’re going to talk about this when I get back.” Zip bellied out from under the table to lick his master’s face. Rosie did a wild dance around the kitchen before Josie opened the back door. Both dogs hit the open doorway at a dead run.
“I don’t know how to thank you, Josie. I’m sorry about last night. I had no idea Zip could get out. I’m going to do some hard thinking where he’s concerned. I’m sorry about breakfast, too. It was nice seeing you again, Kitty. When I get back I’d like to take you both to Brennan’s for breakfast. This is the key to my house in case you need to go there for any of Zip’s things. Here’s a number where you can reach me if you have to. I’ll call to check on him if that’s okay with you.”
“No problem,” Josie said coolly. “You don’t have to call. We’ll all be just fine. Your dog is having the time of his life,” she said, pointing to the backyard, where both dogs were running in circles. “You better hurry or you’ll miss your flight.” Her voice turned downright frosty.
“The bed . . .”
“We fixed it,” Kitty chirped. “Women can do anything men can do.”
Paul’s eyebrows shot upward. It looked like he was about to say something, but changed his mind.
“You don’t want to go there, Mr. Brouillette,” Josie said.
“Now you’re angry with me. You aren’t going to take it out on my dog, are you?”
Josie opened the door and motioned him to leave. “Your dog will be just fine.”
“That was kind of bitchy wasn’t it?” Kitty said quietly.