Good Guys Love Dogs (8 page)

with a chagrined smile.

“I'm not that
fast, Ian said modestly. “But I enjoy it. I

started running as a stress reliever
during the day. It was a

good way to clear my head.

“What kind of
work do you do? Colby asked.

“I'm a
stockbroker for a company called CCI in

Manhattan.

Phoebe looked impressed. “From
Wall Street to

Keeling Creek. That's quite a leap.
So how did you end

up—

Colby's beeper went off,
interrupting Phoebe's

question.

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INGLATH COOPER

“Oops. Sorry
about that. I'd better cal and see what's

up. Colby stood up. Ian stood, too.
She headed for the

kitchen phone, telling herself that
just because a man had

the good manners to stand when a
woman left the room in

an age when most men had forgotten
how didn't mean he

was without character flaws.

She cal ed her answering service,
then came back into the

dining room and said, “There's
a problem with one of the

cows at Pasley's Dairy. I have to
go.

“What! Phoebe
looked positively stricken by the

assertion.

“I'm sorry to
leave so early, Colby said. “It was nice

to see you again, Ian. Say hello to
Smidge and Mabel for

me.

“I'll do that, he
said. “If you don't mind, I'll change

clothes in the bath off your garage,
Phoebe.

“Sure, Phoebe
said, clearly miffed.

“Thanks for the
dinner. Colby let herself out the

front door, feeling strangely
regretful that she had to go.

72

11

he horrible noise coming from the
driveway told Ian

Tthat as glad as she must have been
to leave, Dr.

Colby Williams wasn't going anywhere
anytime soon.

They'd heard her engine grind for
the third time when he

stood up from the table and said,
“I'l go see if I can give

her a hand.

Frank started to get up as wel .
“I'l go with—

“That's al right,
Frank, Phoebe said. “Ian probably

knows al about cars. You can help me
with the dishes.

Frank sat down, while Ian tried to
appear oblivious to

Phoebe's not-so-subtle matchmaking
tactics.

It had been apparent to him from the
moment he arrived

tonight what was going on. When the
Walkers cal ed a few

days ago and invited him for dinner,
he'd accepted, thinking

he should make an effort to get to
know his neighbors. If

he'd known what they had in mind,
he'd have saved both

Dr. Wil iams and himself the
discomfort of the attempted fix-

up. Once he'd arrived, he hadn't
wanted to embarrass them

or their friend by tel ing them that
he was engaged. He knew

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INGLATH COOPER

Phoebe talked to Mabel earlier in
the week about inviting

him to dinner, and he had a feeling
his not-so-innocent

housekeeper conveniently neglected
to mention that he had a

fiancée.

He stepped out into the Indian
summer night, the air

warm and fresh smel ing. He stil
hadn't tired of the simple

pleasure to be found in breathing it
in.

From the driveway came the sound of
the engine

grinding again. He crossed the
driveway, and at the truck

door, bent down and tapped on the
window.

Colby's head shot up, sheer
frustration etched on her

face.

The window lowered with a slight
squeak. “I know that

was awkward, but was I that bad? he
said.

She sat back in her seat, failing in
her attempt to look

surprised by the question. “No.
I just— she began, then

stopped, looking chagrined.

“Their intentions
were good. They obviously think the

world of you.

She shook her head. “What's
that old saying? ‘With

friends like that, who needs
enemies?

He laughed then. She did, too, and
he found he liked

the sound of it. The awkwardness
hanging between them

eased, and he realized how good
laughter felt. He didn't

laugh that often. “If
you'll pop the hood, I'll take a look. I

don't know much about engines, but
it sounds like your

starter's bad. Got a flashlight?

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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS

She rummaged through the glove
compartment, then

handed him the light. She popped the
latch, and he said,

“Give it another
try.

She did, and he spotted the problem.
“Yeah, that's it.

You're going to need a new one, he
called out.

“Great, he heard
her say. She got out of the truck and

came around to the front.

He straightened and lowered the
hood, pressing it

closed. He noticed then that a pair
of blue coveral s had

replaced her dress. “I'll
be glad to give you a ride.

“I can't ask that
of you, she said, not quite meeting his

eyes.

“I don't mind.
Let me just go thank the Walkers. Be

right back.

Ian went inside and explained what
happened to

Phoebe and Frank. Phoebe was
anything but disappointed

by his departure. She looked so
happy that he wondered if

she'd ruined the starter herself. He
said goodnight and

headed back outside, where the other
victim of Phoebe's

matchmaking stood unloading some
things from her truck.

“Would you like
to put that stuff in the trunk?

“Yes, please. He
stuck the key in the lock and opened

it. She dropped her bag inside. He
started to close it just as

she reached in again. He grabbed her
arm and jerked it back,

barely in time to prevent the lid
from slamming on it.

They both stood in shock for a
second or two while

his hand stil gripped her arm. She
took a hasty step

backwards. “Thanks.
I forgot to put my keys in the bag.

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INGLATH COOPER

“No problem. But
I'd hate to be the person responsible

for putting the town's only vet out
of commission.

She smiled, rubbing her skin where
his fingers had just

been.

He opened her door, and she slid
inside the car. To his

surprise, he found himself noticing
that she had a very nice

shape beneath the faded coveral s.
Wondering if it had been

a mistake to offer his taxi
services, he went around and got

in on his side. “You'll
have to tell me where to go.

“Take a right out
of the driveway. It's about ten miles

from here.

Ian backed up and headed away from
the house. They'd

just reached the main road when she
said, “I'm really sorry

for Phoebe's lack of tact.

“It's all right.
From the sound of it, Phoebe Walker

was in a lot of trouble with her
friend. Strangely enough,

he hadn't minded the evening, setup
or not. The Walkers

were nice people. “If
it makes you feel any better, I won't be

pestering you. I knew as soon as I
saw your face tonight

that you had nothing to do with it.

“I didn't mean to
be rude, she said quickly. “Now

I'm embarrassed.

“There's no
reason to be, he said, glancing at her with

another unexpected jolt of
appreciation. She was undeniably

pretty. He started to tel her about
his engagement. The

moment felt right, but the words
somehow wouldn't

come, and he couldn't say why.
Except that he didn't

remember ever meeting a woman quite
like Colby Williams.

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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS

And he was intrigued. “It
was a nice dinner. And I'm glad

to have the chance to get to know my
neighbors better.

Silence lingered between them for a
few moments, and

then she said, “What
made you move here from New

York?

“My son needed a
change of pace. We'll just be here

for his senior year, he said, not
wanting to elaborate

further. The last thing he wanted to
do was put a black

mark on the boy in the eyes of the
community before he'd

had a chance to prove himself.

“Oh, she said.
“My daughter mentioned him. He's

made quite an impression on the
girls at Jefferson High.

Glad to hear that maybe things
weren't as awful as

Luke wanted him to believe, Ian
said, “How old is your

daughter?

“Fifteen going on
thirty.

Ian smiled.

“She's a
sophomore, but young for her class. It seems

like yesterday that she just learned
how to walk and—

She stopped, her expression
troubled.

Wondering if her relationship with
her daughter might

have problems of its own, he said,
“It's a tough age. They

grow up before we know it.

“Yes, they do,
she said, sounding resigned. “I'm just

not ready to admit it.

He drove for a few minutes, then
flipped on his signal

light when she directed him to take
the next left-hand

turnoff. “Go on
down to the barn. The lights should be

on.

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INGLATH COOPER

He stopped just outside the open
door. A man in overalls

and a red-checkered flannel shirt
trotted out to greet them.

“Hurry, Doc.
She's having a lot of trouble.

Colby got out of the car, grabbed
her bag and ran after

the man who had disappeared inside
the barn. Ian sat there

for a minute, thinking about her. He
found her easy to talk

to, intelligent. And apparently able
to handle with grace and

good humor what turned out to be an
uncomfortable

situation for both of them.

He'd nearly slammed her arm in the
trunk. That would

have topped the evening off nicely.
He thought about those

few moments when his fingers
encircled her wrist. The

contact shocked him every bit as
much as it apparently had

her. He recalled now that she had
very smal wrists and

hands. She was petite, probably not
more than five-three.

But somehow he hadn't noticed it
initial y. Something about

her exuded strength and
self-sufficiency.

He got out of the Mercedes and made
his way toward

the barn. A single light hung above
the door, making it hard

to see where he stepped. Farm smel s
permeated the air, a

combination of hay and manure and a
fresh country

breeze. Cows mooed in the fields. A
stretch of mud lay

between the gravel-covered driveway
and the entrance to

the barn. With no way to go around
it, he waded through,

his leather shoes squishing in the
mire. He knew then how

the city mouse must have felt
visiting the country mouse.

Inside, he stopped outside the stal
. A black-and-white

cow lay stretched out on the
straw-covered floor, straining

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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS

heavily. Her eyes looked wild and
pained. Sympathy for her

plight stabbed through him.

Colby looked up at him, pul ing
supplies from her bag.

“Ian, this is
Harry Pasley. Harry, Ian McKinley. He's new in

town. My truck broke down, so he
gave me a ride out

here.

“Nice to meet
you, Harry said, his hands tucked

inside bib overal s, his weathered
face concerned.

“It's nice to
meet you, too, Ian said.

“Would you like a
pair of coveral s to put on over those

clothes?

Ian looked down at his pants, the
bottoms of which were

now rimmed in mud. “Oh,
no, that's al right. It'l come out

in the wash.

Ian watched while Colby pul ed on
two plastic gloves

that reached al the way to her
shoulder.

The cow's straining ceased, and she
lay stil . “Is she

okay? he asked.

“She's taking a
breather. Let's see what we have here,

she said, reaching her right arm
inside the cow. A few

seconds passed before she said,
“There's the tail.

Definitely a breech, Harry.

Ian watched as a frown crossed her
face. “Uh-oh.

There's a nose, she said. “We've
got a second one on

board.

Just then, the cow began straining
again. Colby went

still. She looked up at him and
said, “When she's working,

I rest. When I'm working, she rests.

“Oh. I see.

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INGLATH COOPER

“Have you ever
seen a delivery? she asked.

He'd never even been around a cow,
and certainly not

one in this condition. The closest
he'd gotten was a city

petting zoo, and that had been years
ago, when Luke was five

or six. “Ah, no,
I haven't. Is there something I can do?

“If she tries to
get up, Harry said, “I might need your

help getting her back down.

“Sure, Ian said,
tempted to ask how they could possibly

get what looked like an
eight-hundred-pound cow to lie

down if she decided to get up. But
he didn't, not wanting to

sound like any more of a greenhorn
than he felt.

When the cow stopped straining
again, Colby said,

“Okay, my turn.

She wedged her left hand inside the
cow and began to

push forward. Without looking up,
she said, “What I'll try

to do is push this little guy up
enough that I can straighten