Life Guards in the Hamptons (21 page)

Peg wore a T-shirt with an MFD logo, donated by the ambulance crew, baggy surgical scrubs provided by the nurses, and a man’s flannel shirt over her shoulders, because of the sling, from the hospital’s lost and found department. She cried about that, too. She managed to look both attractive and feminine in her hand-me-downs, way younger than her forty-something years with her auburn hair pulled back in a ponytail. If her green eyes weren’t so red from crying and her nose so red from wiping from the crying, she’d be really pretty. I wondered how someone who appeared as delicate as Peg could handle a full-grown Newfoundland. Sure they’d look good trotting beside her in a show ring, but what about
on the road, if they saw a squirrel? Those puppies already weighed more than I felt comfortable managing. Of course I was used to a six-pound Pomeranian, and no one carried a Newfie around like an accessory.

I told Peg how good I thought she looked, considering what she’d been through. She started weeping again.

“All my clothes, I bought new ones for the cruise, like a trousseau for the first vacation I’ve had since the divorce, and now they’re gone.”

“We can stop in Bridgehampton on the way home. There’s a shopping center with a lot of the chain stores you’ll recognize. You’ll want to get things like a hairbrush and underwear and deodorant, too. There’s a drugstore.”

“But I have no money!” she sobbed. “No wallet, no checks, no credit cards.”

“I’ll put it on my card for now—” which caused more tears of gratitude and another painful hug, “—and I’ll call Mr. Whitside at the bank in Paumanok Harbor. If you give him your social security number, he can have a new card waiting for you by the time we get there.”

I sincerely hoped so, because she bought a complete fall wardrobe, mostly black that looked really good with her red-brown hair, plus shoes, cosmetics, watch, and cell phone, all on my credit card. I bought a new pair of jeans and two long-sleeved jerseys with cash. She changed in a ladies’ room. I stayed in my turquoise silk shirt. The spots were almost dry by now.

All that shopping—and controlling my impulses—made me hungry. Since I decided Peg needed sustenance after her ordeal, and since the Carvel store was right across the street, I treated for that, too. Peg, who still looked dainty, petite and put-together now, with a filigree hair clip and neat trousers and a tailored blazer draped over her shoulders because of the sling, had a kiddie cup of no-fat frozen yogurt. I had a coffee royale ice cream cone. With sprinkles, so there. And I only got a couple of drips on my good shirt. So there. And there. And there.

We talked about her dogs and her business and the expenses of showing a dog through puppy classes to
champion status, so a bitch’s offspring and a dog’s stud service had more value. Thank goodness my mother wasn’t in the car with us. Her views on dog shows and breeders did not mesh with Peg’s—by about a football field.

Tears started to fill Peg’s eyes again when she worried the puppies might not be salable now, if they lived. She’d have to return the deposits, pay the vet bills, feed the growing pups, start training them herself while she searched for good homes for them, with no income until next spring, when she hoped to have two new litters to sell. Only Mollie, she felt, had show potential that might never be realized.

She loved her dogs, but they were still a business and her livelihood. I couldn’t imagine someone turning down a puppy because it wasn’t perfect to its breed standards. But who was I to judge? I loved a three-legged critter with missing teeth and an attitude problem.

I didn’t want to get Peg’s hopes up about Frankie yet. The middle-aged Romeo might change his mind and decide the fancy sports car was a better chick magnet than a drooling puppy. “Look on the bright side,” I told her. “You are all alive.”

Damn, the woman could cry! “I thought those pills would have worn off by now.”

“Oh, I’m always like this when I’m upset. Or happy. Or tired. I just cry a lot. My ex couldn’t stand it, especially when we went to a sad movie. He walked out.”

Of the movies or the marriage?

She stopped weeping in time to get her new credit card at the bank and withdraw the limit, which she used to repay me, thank goodness, or I’d be paying interest on my next bill.

She didn’t cry much when she saw two of her puppies bound out of the back room at Matt’s clinic to greet her. Mollie came slower, but she did wag her tail. Matt’s last two customers applauded.

Of course Peg turned on the waterworks again when she threw herself into Matt’s arms in joyous gratitude for saving them, for keeping them safe, for letting her stay at his own house when she had nowhere else to go.

I almost mentioned she could go to any of the Montauk motels reserved by the
Nova Pride
’s owners for the stranded passengers, but I liked her and liked how she appreciated the generosity of his offer. What I didn’t like was Peg in Matt’s arms, his hand patting her back. “There, there. It’ll be fine.”

No, it wouldn’t, because my father’s latest gloomy premonition just came true. There it was, the green-eyed mouser. Only he meant the green-eyed monster that clawed at my heartstrings leaving raw, bloody furrows. Peg and Matt were about the same age, both divorced, both dedicated to dogs. And she didn’t have Little Orphan Annie curly hair or a too-flat chest, an extra five pounds—okay, ten—or weird and dangerous friends from other worlds.

She was normal.

I felt like crying myself. Yeah, Dad, it hurt. A lot. One of these days I’d have to admit to myself how much Matt meant to me. I knew we were friends, knew he might wish for more, but I’d made my decision not to get involved with any man, especially not one who lived in outer Bumhampton. So where did this jealousy come from, this knife-edged wound?

I decided to play Scarlett and think about it tomorrow. Today? Today it hurt.

Melissa coughed, reminding Matt he still had those last two patients to see. As I walked Peg and the bouncing puppies out the door, Melissa sneered and recommended club soda for the stain on my blouse. I almost told her she could use my grandmother’s vanishing cream on the dark circles under her eyes, but I didn’t truly believe it worked … at vanishing people, that is.

Over at Matt’s house, I played with the dogs while Peg made the calls to the prospective owners and, predictably, came away crying. They’d all heard about the shipwreck and they all demanded to know how long the dogs had been in the water, what kind of treatment they’d received, their current conditions. Peg was honest.

As a result, a fellow breeder no longer wanted Mollie, not if she was traumatized. Too much work.

Moses’ buyers had planned to show him in the puppy classes. The shaved IV spots would take months to grow in and they could not count on his future looks or personality, etc., so they backed out. Too much wasted time.

Only Maggie’s family still wanted her. They had three kids and lived in a lighthouse on the coast. If Maggie could play and swim, she’d still be the perfect pet. I wasn’t sure about the swimming part, not after what they’d endured, but she played hard, knocking me over once and stealing one of Matt’s shoes near the door.

Having to return the deposits for the other two meant having to absorb two-thirds of the cost of the cruise ship also. Matt walked in to see Peg sitting on the floor of his living room surrounded by three dogs almost as wet as they’d been last night, from her tears, and one chewed-up sneaker.

I could see his face go white in panic. “It’s okay, she just cries a lot. You kind of get used to it. And I’m sorry about your sneaker. I thought Peg was watching while I used the john, but she was too busy crying. Why don’t you call Frankie and see if we can fix some of her problems?”

Frankie and his Porsche arrived in minutes, as if he’d been waiting in Paumanok Harbor for the call. Mollie went right to him and licked his face when he bent down, bronzer and all. He promised her a fenced-in yard, a man-made, spring-fed pond, a regular swimming pool, too. And he thought she looked beautiful all bathed and groomed.

We left them in the living room to negotiate while Matt put some cheese and crackers on a plate. I helped by not throwing myself at him.

When we came back, Peg’s green eyes glistened with tears, happy ones now. The only problem was convincing Frankie to leave Mollie here for a few more days to be sure she had no lasting ill effects.

“I guess I’ll have to. Can’t keep her at the Yacht Club anyway. And I need time to get rid of Tina and buy the Land Rover. I decided to keep the Porsche for when I go places without the dog.” He bent over her and promised
that wouldn’t happen often. She licked his face again, sneaker smell and all. He laughed. “Two days, Doc?”

“If she’s eating and playing.” He looked pretty certain she would be.

There were hugs and handshakes all around, and a few tears. Mine, too.

Frankie had to go pry Tina out of his suite, after taking her to East Hampton to a fancy dinner. He hugged everyone again for good-bye. Peg sighed.

“He is just what Mollie needs, a strong, generous, affectionate man.”

I wondered if she was speaking for Mollie or for herself.

She went on: “I couldn’t have picked a better family for her. Now I can think about getting Maggie to Nova Scotia, on the cruise ship’s dime. Frankie suggested I ask them for the use of their company jet. My dogs do
not
fly in any baggage compartment. I’ll insist they pay your bill, too, Matt.”

“It’s all taken care of. Frankie is making a donation to our local charities.”

She sighed again. “What a fine gentleman.”

Frankie was a letch. He’d squeezed my ass. “Maybe you can visit him when you get back from delivering Maggie. To check on Mollie’s condition, of course.”

I swear she gave a Tina-like smile. “Of course.”

Matt wanted to know her plans for Moses. Did she have a waiting list of prospective buyers?

“A long one, though none as suitable as those I’d chosen. But anyone paying his fee will want guarantees I cannot give now. He could be afraid of water, afraid of the dark, afraid of being left alone.”

Now she was talking about me? Nah.

“I have a better idea.” Peg pointed to the big puppy leaning against Matt’s leg. “You take him.”

“Me? I don’t have that kind of money.”

“I don’t need it, not after Frankie offered twice Mollie’s price. Moses adores you. He left my side the instant he heard your footsteps at the door. A Newfie is the most loyal, loving dog in the world. Once he gives his
heart, it’s for life. He might even go into a decline if I place him with anyone else. Look how his eyes follow your every move. He went right behind you into the kitchen, didn’t he?”

Little Red did that, too, for the chance at crumbs. Lord knew my dog wasn’t loyal or loving, only fair. He bit me as often as he did strangers.

Peg turned those green cat eyes on Matt. “And he gets along with everything, dogs, cats, children.”

“And parrots,” I put in.

“Well, I never tried my dogs with birds, but I suppose you treat birds here, too. You’ll have to teach him not to chase them, of course, but he’ll learn anything, to please you.”

Matt shook his head. “I work too hard to keep a dog of my own. Too many long hours like yesterday and today.” He looked at me for confirmation.

I didn’t give it. “He can go to work with you. How many dogs of working people can do that? And you have a whole kennel staff happy to look after him when you can’t.” Everyone but Melissa, but I didn’t say that. “And you know you already love him.” His hand hadn’t left the dog’s silky head. I refused to be jealous of the dog, too. Men, women, children, and animals all adored Matt. At least I was in good company. “You want him.”

“I want a lot of things. Frankie’s Porsche, two weeks in the Bahamas …” The look he gave me said he wanted a lot more, from me.

In front of Peg? I blushed, damn it.

He smiled.

I ignored his knowing that I knew what he really wanted. And tamped down my answering want to lean against him like Moses. “Yeah, and I want a penthouse duplex on the East Side.” There, I’d reminded him I was not settling in Paumanok Harbor like some robin that forgot to migrate. “But this one you can have, today.”

His soft smile turned to a grin. Which meant, I supposed, that he supposed that he could have me another day.

I grinned back.

Peg wept.

M
ATT ORDERED PIZZA AND WE ATE off paper plates. He let Peg pay for it, not because he was cheap or not macho, but because she needed to reclaim her pride and independence.

Her young dogs didn’t beg or whine or go to the door in a subterfuge to get noticed. Little Red and I had come to terms about my meals: he got some. We’d have words when I got home. Which better be soon so Matt could get some rest.

Unless he and Peg stayed up getting better acquainted. Damn.

On the ride home I called the police station. I felt safe, now that Uncle Henry would be home. I told the operator no, this wasn’t an emergency, and I would call him tomorrow. I hadn’t returned his call earlier since I was in Southampton picking up one of the survivors and assisting her to get settled, since she had a broken arm.