first dibs on it.
It was a nice gesture. She should
have been overjoyed.
The house might still be hers, after
al , but something
about the thought of it fell flat
now. “Thanks, she said. “I
really appreciate that.
Ian took a sip of his iced tea.
“At one time, it was a
grand old place.
“It would be
again with the right person giving it what
it needs. Sometimes things just need
a little love and
attention.
“Yeah, I guess
they do. That's something I've realized
myself recently, Ian said.
She sensed the statement held more
meaning than
readily apparent. But Thomas brought
their veggie burgers
just then, and he didn't elaborate.
They ate in silence for the
first few bites while conversation
hummed around them.
She felt a few gazes on them and
knew the gossip would
start within the afternoon. No
sooner had the thought
crossed her mind than she caught a
glimpse of Louise
Mason and her twelve-year old
daughter waiting for a booth.
Louise spotted her and all but
sprinted over.
Colby managed a smile. “Hel
o, Louise. How are you?
“Oh, I'm fine,
she said, patting Colby's shoulder.
“Aren't you going
to introduce me to your friend?
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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
Grace won out over reluctance.
“Ian, this is Louise
Mason. She owns the hair salon in
town. Louise, Ian
McKinley. But I don't have to tel
you who he is.
Louise grasped Ian's hand in a
handshake that Colby
knew from personal experience
rivaled any sumo
wrestler's. “Wel
, I've just heard so much about you, Mr.
McKinley. And I'm so glad to see
you've managed to get
our Colby out and about. We'd just
about given up hope of
her finding a good guy.
“Nice to meet
you, Miss Mason, he said, looking more
than a little amused.
“Oh, it's Louise,
she said, al but preening. If the
woman hadn't had a wedding ring on
her finger, Colby
thought Louise would have knocked
her right off the stool
and bowled Ian over with her charm.
Colby said a prayer
of thanks when Louise's daughter cal
ed out to her from
their table. “I'd
better be getting back. You two enjoy your
lunch, she said, winking at Colby.
Colby lowered her forehead onto one
hand and stared
at the counter in mortification.
“I can't believe she said
that.
“She's harmless,
he said, chuckling. “There's no
reason to be embarrassed. Really.
“Easy for you to
say. The humor in the situation hit
her, and she smiled in spite of
herself. “I wonder what it
would be like to live in a place
where people actually have a
little privacy.
“Lonely,
sometimes.
151
INGLATH COOPER
“It might be
worth it once in a while, she said. “Being
the eligible carrot on the end of
the stick does get a little
old. Fortunately, the positives of
living in a place like this
outweigh the negatives. The people
who can't keep their
nose out of your business are the
same ones who would be
there for you in a flash if you ever
needed their help. Maybe
this wasn't a good idea, though.
There will be talk, you
know.
“About what?
“The two of us
having lunch together. Louise wil have
everybody in the Dippety-Do informed
within thirty seconds
of getting back to the shop.
Ian toyed with a French fry. “I've
never cared too much
about what other people think.
Colby tilted her head and said in a
low voice, “Since
you're engaged, I didn't think you'd
want anyone to get the
wrong impression.
He held her gaze for a moment too
long while
something inside her flared to life,
the feeling inappropriate,
she knew. Nonetheless, there.
“To be honest, I
could use a friend here, he said. “Does
my engagement have to stand in the
way of that?
His question brought with it a surge
of
disappointment. From an adult
standpoint, nothing wrong
with the two of them being friends.
They had two difficult
teenagers in common. She found him
easy to talk to, as,
apparently, he did her. Friends.
Nothing wrong with the
two of them being friends.
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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
“No, it doesn't.
She pushed her half-eaten sandwich
away. “As a
matter of fact, I'm going to a meeting on
Thursday night you might be
interested in attending. The
hospital hosts a lecture series each
month. This month's
topic is ‘Understanding
Your Teenager.' I thought I'd go just
to see if they can convince me there
is
any understanding
them. You're welcome to come if
you'd like.
“Fiction or
nonfiction? he asked with a half grin.
“Non, supposedly,
she said, smiling. “We'll see.
“Are you serious?
About my going?
“Sure, if you
think it might help things with Luke.
“It certainly
couldn't hurt.
She glanced at her watch, ignoring
the voice inside her
that questioned what she'd just
done. “I'd better be getting
back. I have a ful afternoon ahead.
Ian reached for the ticket. “Yeah,
I've got to go, too.
He looked up and caught her gaze.
The increasingly
familiar awareness resurfaced. She
resisted its pul .
But sitting beside him, staring into
those too blue, too
appealing eyes, she wondered if she
was kidding herself.
Friends? Friends.
Colby twisted her stool around and
slid to the floor.
“Thanks for the
lunch. The meeting is at the Kramer
building on Sycamore Street. Room
212. It starts at six.
“I'll be there,
he said, and her traitorous heart
fluttered in gladness.
153
25
aybe he wouldn't come.
M Colby arrived a few minutes early
for the lecture,
but at almost six o'clock, stil no
sign of Ian.
Maybe he'd changed his mind.
Maybe it would be for the best if he
had.
A hand touched her shoulder. She
looked up to find
the source of her thoughts looking
down at her with an
apologetic smile on his face.
“Sorry I'm late,
he said.
“They're just
getting ready to start. She turned to the
side so he could take the chair next
to hers. Before they had
time to say anything more, the
lecturer stepped to the
podium and tapped the microphone to
get the room's
attention. “Good
evening, everyone. Thank you so much for
coming. I'm Dr. Betsy Watson, and I
hope to say a few
things this evening that wil
convince you there is light at
the end of the tunnel for you and
your teenager.
Laughter rippled across the room,
indicating that
everyone knew what she was talking
about. For the next hour
154
GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
and a half, they listened while Dr.
Watson discussed some of
the ways in which they, as parents,
might make the teenage
years of their children's lives more
bearable for all
concerned. The most important thing,
she stressed at the
beginning of the talk, would be
keeping the lines of
communication open. Easier said than
done.
Colby made an attempt to listen
intently. As things
were with Lena, she needed every
morsel of intelligence she
could garner. But awareness of the
man seated beside her
eroded her concentration until she
barely heard the
speaker's words, too disturbed by
Ian and the knowledge
that a fraction of an inch lay
between them.
Minute details assaulted her senses.
The fresh, clean
smel of his cologne, the starched
crispness of his white shirt
and the contrast it made with the
sun-browned skin on his
well-shaped hands.
At one point, he dropped his program
and bent to pick it
up. His left shoulder brushed her
right thigh. Colby jumped.
Ian sat back up and whispered,
“Sorry.
She shook her head and waved his
apology away.
Feeling ridiculously self-conscious,
she forced her
attention back to the speaker. That
lasted for all of thirty
seconds, before her senses took over
again, and she felt
grateful when the meeting final y
drew to a close. For the
past hour and a half, she'd felt as
if she were on sensory
overload. Standing, she introduced
Ian to some of the
people she knew. After a few
minutes, they moved about the
room, separately, until a half hour
or so later, they both
ended up near the door.
155
INGLATH COOPER
“Ready to cal it
a night now that we've learned how to
deal with our kids? he asked.
“I'd stay until
morning if I thought I could go home
and make things like they were when
she was ten.
“If I got
anything out of what our speaker said, that's
so much wishful thinking.
“Unfortunately, I
think you're right, she said.
A few people cal ed out goodnight as
they left the room.
“Nice people, Ian
said in the hal way.
“Yes, they are.
They took the stairs to the first floor,
then hung back in the hal way.
“How about a cup
of coffee somewhere? he suggested.
A tempting invitation, but something
told her it would
be better to end the evening here.
He looked entirely too
good in a smart-looking jacket and
black wool pants, both of
which had Italy written all over
them. Definitely not the kind
of clothes that inspired women to
think about friendship.
She glanced at her watch. “It's
late. I should get home.
“Sure. I
understand.
But she didn't think he understood
at al . She didn't
know if she did herself.
Despite her declaration, they made
no move toward the
door.
He leaned up against a locker, his
arms folded across his
chest. “She was a
good speaker.
“Yes. I got the
feeling she'd definitely been through
it, Colby agreed, hoping he wouldn't
ask her opinion on
something that had been said when
she'd been paying more
attention to him than to the
lecturer.
156
GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
“I think that's
the only way anyone could understand it.
Firsthand experience.
“It's hard to
know what being a soldier is al about until
you've been on the battlefield.
“Some days I
definitely feel that way. His expression
grew solemn. “I
just wish I had the chance to go back and
do some things differently.
Regret threaded his voice, and she
knew there was more
to his situation than he'd let on.
Sensing that he wanted to
talk about it, she said, “Why
did you move here, Ian?
He looked down at the floor for a
long while, his hands
shoved deep in his pants pockets.
“Luke got arrested on a
drug charge, he final y said, his
voice low. “I wanted to get
him away from the city.
The revelation took her total y by
surprise. She'd never
imagined anything like that. She
thought of her own problems
with Lena and felt lucky. “Oh.
I'm sorry, Ian. It's not easy
being a parent these days.
“I wasn't doing a
very good job of it, I'm afraid. I
spent too much time working and not
enough time knowing
where my son was and what he was
doing.
“You can't blame
yourself for—
“Oh, but I do, he
interrupted firmly enough to indicate
that he'd spent a great deal of time
thinking about exactly
that. “I do.
Again, Colby felt fortunate not to
have had that kind of
trouble with Lena.
“Don't short
yourself, Ian. Putting your life on hold is
pretty generous, even for a parent.
157
INGLATH COOPER
“Thanks. I
appreciate that.
“Have things
improved since you've been here?
“Between the two
of us, no. He's going to school and
doing the things he's supposed to be
doing. He swore to me
that the drugs had never been a
problem and wouldn't be in
the future. I have to believe him.
She found him appealingly vulnerable
in this moment of
admission, knew it hadn't been an
easy thing for him to talk
about. “Well, as
for Luke getting used to being here, give
him time. He'l adjust. No sooner
were the words out than
she realized that she'd offered him
the same platitudes people
had been giving her about Lena for
the past two months.
“So, now that
I've pul ed all my skeletons out of the
closet, what's the problem between
you and Lena? he
asked, looking down at her.
“Hah. Now there's
a question. It seems like she just
woke up one day and decided she
didn't like me anymore.
I've reached the point where I don't
think I can do
anything more than take my own
cliché advice and wait for
things to change again.