Good Guys Love Dogs (12 page)

felt like some ugly person had
gotten inside her, and she no

longer had any control over herself.

Flipping over on her side, she
reached in her nightstand

drawer and lifted out the wrinkled
envelope she'd found in

the top of her mom's old closet at
Grandma's house. The

letter had been written on notebook
paper, the kind with blue

lines and read so many times that it
had gone thin and

lifeless.

Lena unfolded it and let her eyes
scan the page, even

though she'd long since memorized
the words.

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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS

Dear Colby,

I wish I didn't have to say this,
but things aren't working out.

There are too many dif erences
between us for it ever to last. As for the

baby, the decision was yours. I
can't be a part of it.

Doug

Unwanted tears stung Lena's eyes.
She refolded the

letter and careful y tucked it back
inside the envelope. Al

these years, she'd believed her
mother when she said her

father died. She remembered asking
her mom why they had

the same last name as Grandma and
Grandpa Wil iams. Her

mom explained that she'd just
decided to keep her own when

she and Lena's father married. And
after he had “gone

away, as she always put it, she'd
wanted them both to have

the same surname. At the time, she'd
been too young to

question the story. Looking back on
it, she remembered the

guilty look on her mom's face and
knew now that the lie

had been behind it.

Lena's father never married her
mother. Lena had

been born out of wedlock. Given her
mother's maiden

name.

A knock sounded at the door, fol
owed by her mom's

voice. Lena shoved the envelope back
in her nightstand

drawer and sat up on the bed,
clutching a pillow to her

chest. “Yeah?

The door opened. “I've
got dinner ready, her mother

said, sticking her head around the
corner. “Why don't you

come on down?

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INGLATH COOPER

“I'm not hungry.
Lena studied the bedspread, hearing

the sul en note in her own voice.
“I have homework to do.

“I made your
favorite. Macaroni and cheese.

The desire to hurt as she hurt felt
too strong to resist.

She glanced up at her and said,
“No, thanks.

“You're sure?

Ignoring the look of surprise in her
mother's eyes, Lena

reached for the book on the
nightstand and turned to the

marked page. “Yeah,
I'm sure.

After a second or two, her mother
stepped out and

closed the door behind her. Lena
almost called her back but

squashed the desire before the words
were out.

She lay there for a few moments,
regretting her actions,

but then pushed away her remorse and
let her thoughts

wander to Luke McKinley, instead.

She thought about him al the time
now. The problem?

He didn't know she existed.

She'd been trying to find a way to
introduce herself to

him since the first day of school.
But what did a girl say to

a guy like that? He was gorgeous.
No, more than gorgeous.

He had coal black hair and moody
blue eyes that looked as

if he'd seen things most of the kids
here hadn't even thought

of yet.

She'd had her chance one afternoon
after school when

she and Mil ie went to the Dairy
Queen. Lena had just

placed her order at the register
when she turned around to

find him standing behind her in
line. At first, she completely

blanked, but realizing this might be
her only chance, she

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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS

smiled and said, “Hi.
I'm Lena Wil iams. You're new here,

aren't you?

“Yeah, he said,
looking surprised. “I'm Luke

McKinley.

“I know. I mean,
someone mentioned your name.

He didn't say anything for several
seconds. He just stared

down at her with those incredible
eyes of his while her

cheeks caught fire, and she longed
for enough

sophistication to throw out
something cute and flirty, but

nothing came to mind. He finally
said, “I'd better place my

order.

She stepped back and lifted a hand.
“Okay. See you

around.

“Yeah. See you
around.

Lena went back to her table, where
Mil ie demanded all

the details.

At home that night, Lena longed to
talk to her mom

about Luke. Ask her how to get him
to notice her. She and

her mom had been best friends for as
long as she could

remember. She'd always asked her
advice on everything. But

all that changed when she found the
letter. Her mother had lied

to her. Now that Lena knew that, how
would she ever believe

another word she said?

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18

onday morning turned out to be a
busy one at the

Mclinic. After things finally slowed
down a bit,

Colby told Stacey to go to lunch
with Laura and Ruth-Ann.

Cecil Maynard had just brought in
his German shepherd,

Wal y, for his yearly shots, but
she'd manage that on her

own.

“The old lady was
supposed to bring him in during her

lunch hour, Cecil said when Colby
lifted the dog up on

the table. “She
had to work though, so I just brought him

in myself.

Colby opened the cabinet beside her
and took out the

supplies she needed. She'd never
considered herself a bra-

burning feminist, but there were
times when she

understood why the whole movement
got started. “Exactly

how old is Myrna, Cecil?

His eyebrows rose in surprise.
“She's forty-

something.

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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS

“I see her car at
the Exercise Hut on Tuesdays and

Thursdays. I'd say she's a pretty
wel -maintained forty-

something.

“Reckon she is.

“Then why do you
cal her your ‘old lady'?

A few seconds of puzzled silence
followed the question.

“Heck, I don't
know, Doc. It's just a figure of speech. What

difference does it make?

“Let's put it
this way, Cecil, Colby said, aware that

some of her outrage for Myrna
stemmed from her own

recent experience with the lack of
sensitivity on the part of

the male gender. “She
doesn't go to the Exercise Hut twice

a week to keep herself looking good
just so her husband

can call her his old lady.

Another pause and then a chagrined,
“I expect you're

right.

“Hel o.

Colby looked up to find Ian standing
in the doorway

of the examining room. The sight of
him caught her by

surprise. She struggled for a
professional smile and said,

“I'm with someone
at the moment. If you'll have a seat in

the waiting room, I'll be with you
when I'm finished.

“Sure, he said,
looking a little taken aback by her

tone.

So much for tact today. First, she'd
attacked Cecil on

behalf of womankind, and now she was
giving Ian the

deep freeze. After giving Wal y his
shot, she put the dog

back on the floor and said,
“Stacey's at lunch, so we'll send

you a bil .

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INGLATH COOPER

“Sure thing, Doc.
I'l be sure and tel
Myrna
you said

hello, he said with a grin.

She smiled and shook her head.
“You do that.

Once Cecil left, Colby took a moment
to gather her

composure. Cool, calm, poised. That
was the picture she

would present. She didn't want to
provide Ian with another

reason to think she'd given a second
thought to his surprise

fiancée. Tucking her hair
behind her ears, she stepped into

the room and found Ian sitting on
one of the benches with

Don Juan stretched out beside him,
the dog's head in his

lap. He stood up and smiled at her.
“Very diplomatic. I'm

surprised Myrna didn't hit him over
the head with the frying

pan a long time ago.

Colby shrugged and met his gaze
head-on. “I guess

some men don't realize how their
words or actions might

be perceived by others.

Ian shoved his hands in the pockets
of his jeans and

looked more than uncomfortable.
“Including me, right?

Look, Colby, I should have said
something about being

engaged Friday night. I started to,
but once I figured out

what Phoebe and Frank had in mind, I
didn't want to

embarrass them or you. As it turns
out, Mabel played a little

part in al this. I threatened to
hide her kitchen step stool if

she ever did it again.

As hard as she tried not to, Colby
smiled. He made it

difficult to stay angry with him.
After all, he'd been under

no obligation to tel her anything
about himself.

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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS

“I never meant to
deceive you, Colby, he said.

“Everything about
that night caught me off guard. I guess

I was just enjoying myself and. . .
.

They stood for a moment looking at
each other, and

she found herself wishing he would
finish the sentence.

But he didn't. “Well,
he said, running a hand around

the back of his neck. “I'd
better be going. I just wanted to

stop and thank you for the pie. It
was all gone by last night.

I couldn't keep Luke out of the
refrigerator.

“You're welcome.
The least I could do to repay you for

carting me around. Not to mention
getting your car stuck in

the mud.

“That was my
fault, he said, smiling suddenly. He

stood there for a few moments,
watching her, before

saying, “Okay. I
should go.

“Yeah. I've got
things to do.

Still, neither of them moved. They
just stared at one

another until he finally backed
away, then turned and pushed

through the door. Colby heard him
pul off and told herself

that it made no difference that he
semi-redeemed himself by

apologizing as if he really meant
it. The man was engaged.

And even if he hadn't been, she
wouldn't be fooled by some

too-handsome, too wel -off,
out-of-towner who was nothing

if not a surefire prescription for
heartbreak.

117

19

n the way home, Ian stopped by
Thurman's

OHardware to pick up some paint. In
the back,

leafing through sample chips, he
overheard a

conversation with his name in it. He
stretched his head

around the corner and saw two older
men in bib

overalls standing by the cash
register. He recognized

them as the Nolen twins, Dillard and
Willard. The other

times he'd been in the store, he'd
noticed them sitting

on the wooden bench where locals
gathered to talk.

Willard had just reached into his
pocket for a pack of

tobacco when Dillard said, “It's
a shame to see the place

go to weeds like that. I'd hoped
whoever bought it

would get it back in shape.

“Yeah, that's
some of the best farmland around,

Willard agreed.

“That McKinley
seems a nice enough fella, but I

doubt if he'd know the front end of
a tractor from the

back. City slicker if I ever saw
one.

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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS

They both chuckled. Ian stayed put,
feeling

inadequate in ways he'd never
imagined would bother

him. He'd gone to college on
scholarship and built a

career that earned him more money
than he would ever

likely spend, and yet he felt like
less than a man because

two old geezers labeled him as the
city boy he was.

When he got home, he put the paint
inside the

storage building behind the house
and looked out at the

farm. As much as he hated to admit
it, the Nolen

brothers were right. The weeds were
taking over. And it

was up to him to do something about
it.

The tractor sat parked at the back
of the barn, full

of gas, the mowing blade attached.
If he drove a car, he

could certainly drive this thing.
Not like it could be that

hard. He'd show those two old-timers
city slicker.

Luke was in school, and Mabel had
taken the day to

visit her brother two towns up the
Interstate. Rachel

had returned to New York. At least
if he messed up,

there would be no one here to
witness it.

He found the ignition and turned the
key. The

tractor sputtered and lurched
forward, coming

dangerously close to rolling through
the wall in front of

him. He slammed his foot on the
brake, realizing he'd

forgotten to press in the clutch.

Honest enough mistake. Might have
happened to

anyone.

He tried again. The old tractor
labored to life, black

smoke billowing out the back. He
fumbled with the

gears until he hit reverse. The
tractor torpedoed

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INGLATH COOPER

backward out of the barn at a speed
that would have

flattened anyone unlucky enough to
be standing in its