Good Guys Love Dogs (11 page)

Colby hung up, glad to be spared
Phoebe's inquisition.

Throughout the church service that
morning, her thoughts

kept returning to Friday night.
Despite stil being miffed by

Phoebe's meddling, she had to admit
the night had been

ful of surprises. Ian had certainly
been more than gracious

about the whole thing, considering
that he'd been set up and

al but forced into driving her out
to Pasley's when her truck

broke down. On top of that, he'd
ended up ruining what

must been some very expensive
clothes. She could bake him

a pie as a thank-you. She enjoyed
baking when she had the

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INGLATH COOPER

time, derived a certain pleasure in
creating something from

scratch. Over the years, she'd
gotten pretty good at it.

Imagining the gleeful look on
Phoebe's face if she

found out, she almost nixed the
idea. But deciding she

would go crazy without occupying her
mind and hands with

something, she went to the pantry
and began pul ing flour and

sugar from the shelves. From the
back porch, she retrieved

some of the Red Delicious apples
she'd bought yesterday

afternoon, and for the next hour,
she got busy putting

together two homemade pies. While
they baked, she sat at the

table and leafed through the
newspaper, asking herself what

was wrong with doing a little
something for someone who'd

done her a favor. Didn't good
neighbors do that?

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15

olby took the left-hand turnoff onto
the road

C that led to Oak Hil. The driveway
stretched

ahead for a mile or more, lined with
enormous oak

trees, most of which were nearly a
hundred years old.

Oak Hil had always been one of her
favorite

places. Once one of Virginia's most
prosperous

farms—tobacco and
wheat its mainstays—it became a

wel -known horse farm in the
mid-1950s. In the past

twenty years, the place went downhil
, since the house

sat empty for so long. She could
hardly resent Ian for

beating her to it, but nevertheless,
she wished he

hadn't.

She stopped in the circular driveway
behind a car

with New York license plates. He had
company.

Maybe she should forget delivering
the pie. She didn't

want to interrupt. But it would be
sil y not to leave it

now that she was already here. She
and Lena wouldn't

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be able to eat two pies, even if
they were Lena's

favorite.

She knocked, then stepped back,
holding the dish

in front of her.

The large oak door opened, and a tal
, very

beautiful woman stood in the
entryway. Dressed in

navy pants and a white silk blouse
that somehow

managed to look elegant and casual
al at the same

time, she smiled, her expression
expectant. “May I help

you with something?

Colby glanced down at the pie,
suddenly too

conscious of her own khakis and UVA
sweatshirt “I

just wanted to leave this for the
McKinleys.

The woman stared at her for a
moment, before

smiling again and extending her
right hand. “How nice.

I'm Rachel Montgomery. Ian's
fiancée.

“Oh! Colby
shifted the pie to her left hand,

returning the woman's firm
handshake, noticing that

the proffered hand felt smooth and
manicured against

her own work-roughened skin and
short, unpolished

nails. She took another step back.
“I'm Colby

Williams.

“Ian says the
people here are very nice. It seems

he was right.

“My truck broke
down the other night, and he helped

me out. This is just a little
thank-you. I hope you all enjoy

it.

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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS

“Would you like
to speak to Ian? Rachel asked. “He's

in the shower, but he should be out
anytime.

Colby backed down the steps, raising
a hand and

wishing she could grab the darn pie
and run without Ian ever

knowing she'd been here. “No.
Real y. That's al right. Nice

to meet you, Miss Montgomery.

A mile or so down the road, Colby
pulled over and

glanced in the rearview mirror, her
face flushed and hot with

embarrassment.
Way to go,
Williams
. Why had she ever given

in to the impulse to do such a
stupid thing?

She sat back in the seat, feeling
more than a little

foolish. It wasn't at all like her
to have gone to Ian's home.

She, the same woman who told Phoebe
she wouldn't do

the song and dance that came with
the dating scene.

And yet, she'd baked the man a pie.

A pie, of al things! A pie she had
ended up presenting

to the man's fiancée.

Anger with Ian edged its way past
her own

embarrassment. He'd sat through
dinner at Phoebe's and

never bothered to say he was
engaged. And what about the

rest of the evening? He'd had more
than ample opportunity

to do so. But he hadn't.

And Phoebe. Her own best friend, who
supposedly

had her best interests at heart.
Phoebe, who neglected to

mention that one small but critical
detail about Ian

McKinley.

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didn't know. I swear.

I“How could you
not have known? Colby asked in

disbelief.

“Mabel never
mentioned it when I cal ed her to ask if

she thought he would like to come to
dinner. I even told

her that you would be there and that
I wanted to introduce

you two.

“Don't tell me
she's in on this, too!

“She said she'd
been hoping you two would get a

chance to meet. How could I know he
was engaged?

Phoebe wailed. “What
was I supposed to do? Ask for a ful

personal history before inviting him
to dinner?

“Yes.

“Next time, I wil
.

“There won't be a
next time.

They were sitting in the wooden
swing attached to two

old maples in Phoebe's backyard, the
day Indian-summer

warm. The shade surrounding them did
little to cool the

heat in Colby's cheeks.

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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS

“I can't believe
he's engaged, Phoebe said, still

looking shell-shocked.

“Believe it. I
met her. What more proof do you want?

“Wel , he never
said anything about—

“No, he didn't.
He probably thought it was some grand

joke. And no doubt stil laughing
about it.

“Oh, Colby, I
don't think so. He seems like a nice

guy—

“Then how do you
explain his not bothering to mention

having a fiancée?

“I don't know.

Colby dropped her head back against
the swing and

stared up at the cloudless sky. “I
can't believe I actually

made him a pie. What is it about
attractive men that turns

normal y intel igent women into
noodle brains?

“Now, Colby, that
was a perfectly nice gesture. If I'd

thought of it, I would have
suggested it myself.

Colby sent Phoebe a look out of the
corner of her eye.

“And that's
supposed to make it intel igent?

“Legitimate. It
makes it legitimate.

“Right. I'm
giving you fair warning, Phoebs. No more

setups. That's the last one. My life
is complicated enough

now.

Phoebe let out a long-suffering sigh
and gave the swing

a push. They swung in silence for a
few minutes before she

said, “Everybody
has complications, Colby. Including me. I

think Frank's having a midlife
crisis.

Colby looked up, surprised. “He's
not old enough to

have a midlife crisis.

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“How old do you
have to be? I've known the man since

I was fifteen. He's never had an
ounce of interest in clothes,

and all of a sudden, he goes out and
buys two new suits.

Armani
suits. Do you know how
many mortgage payments

you can make on two
Armani
suits?

Colby had to admit it didn't sound
like Frank. She'd

known him almost as long as Phoebe,
and he'd never shown

a penchant for high fashion.
“Maybe he's trying to impress

you.

“Impress me? He
came downstairs wearing one of the

darn things Friday morning and was
almost. . .I don't know,

embarrassed, when I questioned him
about it.

“I wouldn't make
too much of it, Phoebe. It's probably

just a phase.

Phoebe chewed her lower lip. “A
phase is what

teenagers go through. Adult men
don't have phases.

“Says who?

“Dr. Green. That
lady psychologist who's on the radio

every morning.

“You called her?
Colby asked, staring at her friend in

disbelief.

“After Frank left
Friday. I cal her a lot, she said a little

defensively. “She's
very smart. She said there's always a

reason for the things people do. A
change in behavior means

something is different.

“Oh, Phoebe, for
heaven's sake. The man bought a

couple of new suits. You'l let this
woman convince you

he's having an affair. Frank, of al
people.

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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS

“Why not Frank of
al people? Phoebe asked,

sounding offended.

“Because you've
been together since Adam and Eve.

And besides that, he's nuts about
you.

Phoebe slumped back in the swing.
“Used
to be nuts

about me. He's been so distracted
lately, we've done

nothing but sleep in the same bed.

Getting the point, Colby said,
“The two of you need to

talk.

“I've tried. He
thinks I'm being silly.

Colby didn't know what to say. For
as long as she could

remember, Phoebe had been the one
with the rock-solid

relationship. The thought that it
might not be as stable as

she'd assumed was unthinkable. But
then, maybe lasting

relationships real y weren't
possible for people of her

generation.

Colby stopped the swing with her
foot and got up,

shoving her hands into her jeans
pockets. “I'm going home,

Phoebs. Go inside and seduce your
husband. You probably

just need some time alone together.
Since the kids are at your

mom's house, you have the perfect
opportunity. She headed

across the yard, waving over her
shoulder.

“Hey, Colby.

She turned around just short of the
truck. “Yeah?

“He'l come along.

“Who?

“The good guy
you've been waiting for.

Colby rol ed her eyes. “I'm
not waiting for anyone.

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INGLATH COOPER

“I'm stil not
convinced it isn't Ian McKinley, Phoebe

said, ignoring her. “Engaged
isn't married, after al .

Deceit was deceit, though, Colby
told herself as she

drove away.

It was real y none of her business
whether he was

engaged or not. So why did she feel
angry with him for not

mentioning it? And why, beneath the
anger, did she feel this

ridiculous sense of hurt?

Maybe because she actual y let her
guard down for a

little while Friday night. Something
she didn't do very often.

Back on the main road, she told
herself to forget about

it. She certainly had better things
to do with her time than

stew over an unavailable guy who had
trouble with the truth.

Colby's father dropped Lena off just
before six that

night. Colby met them outside. Lena
gave her grandfather

a hug and then went inside the house
without so much as a

hello. Trying to keep the hurt from
her expression, Colby

said, “How about
some dinner, Dad?

“I should get
home. His gaze followed Lena and then

rested on Colby, his dismay evident.
“Emma'll have dinner

ready. Don't want to make her wait.

“She's a better
cook, anyway.

Samuel put his arm around her
shoulders, then pul ed

her close. “Don't
be too hard on yourself over this thing

with Lena.

An unexpected surge of emotion swel
ed in Colby's

chest. “Oh, Dad,
I wish I could just wave a magic wand

and make everything like it used to
be.

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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS

“That's both the
beauty and the sorrow of life, honey.

Nothing ever stays the same. But
she'll come around with

whatever's bothering her soon
enough. Take my word for

it.

Colby hugged her father, grateful
for his steady

reassurance. She wanted to believe
him. More than

anything, she wanted to believe him.

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17

pstairs, Lena turned on her stereo,
putting on the

Uheavy metal group she knew her
mother liked

least. She cranked the volume and
flopped down on the

bed, telling herself that she
did
like it. Staring up at the

ceiling, she forced herself not to
think about the hurt look

on her mother's face when she'd
ignored her. She didn't

want to be so mean to her, but she
just couldn't help it. It