“Theodore has his hands full with work and Debbie. The others in this neighborhood are nice enough, but they keep to themselves. The last thing they would want is to help the crazy old lady.” She looked almost sad as she said that. Then her smile returned, her evil, calculating,mischievoussmile. “Besides, this would be a good test.”
“Test?” That word had my brows knitted and arms cross in a flash. “A test of what?”
“Whether you’re really planning to stick around.” Her eyes twinkled. “If you can handle Cuddles for a week, you can handle anything this neighborhood throws at you, including a certain precocious little girl with an affinity for dragons and whisks.”
I glanced down at the dog, who was still sniffing through the fence with what appeared to be genuine curiosity rather than predatory intent. Her tail wagged a little more confidently.
“She could kill me,” I pointed out.
“She could, but she won’t. Besides, I have insurance. Your death would be well repaid.”
“You’re not helping!”
She chuckled.
“How can you be so sure she’ll be good, that she won’t attack me again?”
“Because she’s a good judge of character, always has been. If she’s decided you’re worth keeping around . . .” Mrs. Chen shrugged. “Well, that’s good enough for me.”
I stared at the dog, then at Mrs. Chen, then back at the dog.
Every rational part of my brain was screaming that this was the worst idea in the history of stupid, idiotic, possibly rabid schemes. I knew I should politely decline, suggest she ask someone else, hire her a dog sitter or something, and get back to my route before I completely lost my mind.
Instead, my lips and voice betrayed me without any permission from my brain.
“When do you need me to start?”
Mrs. Chen’s face lit up with relief and gratitude. “Two weeks from Monday, but maybe you could come by this weekend so I can show you where everything is? The food, the leash, the spare key?”
“The spare key,” I repeated faintly.
“You’ll need to get into the house to feed her and let her out. Unless you want to climb through windows every day. Thatmight check the box on one of my lifelong fantasies I’ve yet to enjoy.”
“Uh, no thanks. No windows,” I stammered, earning a chuckle in reply.
Right. Of course. Agreeing to pet-sit for my canine nemesis wasn’t complicated enough—now I’d also have a key to Mrs. Chen’s house. This felt like responsibility and trust—the kind of commitment that meant I really wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
“Saturday afternoon?” she suggested.
“Saturday afternoon,” I agreed, wondering what the hell I’d just gotten myself into.
One cheek pat later, I was back in my truck, shaking my head as I pulled away from the curb. Through my rearview mirror, I could see Mrs. Chen resuming her rocking and sipping on her porch, Cuddles at her feet, both of them watching me drive away.
She lifted a hand in a wave. Cuddles slumped down, my visit already forgotten.
I’d just agreed to take care of a dog who thought I was her personal human chew toy, a dog who belonged to a woman who somehow knew exactly which buttons to push to get me to do things that defied all logic and self-preservation.
A dog who lived across the street from the man I was falling for and his daughter, who’d stolen my heart.
What in the world had I just gotten myself into?
But as I thought about Theo’s smile and Debbie’s gap-toothed grin and the way it had felt to be part of their little family last night, I realized I didn’t care about the risks, not a growling dog or potentially ruined uniform shirts. I was no longer terrified of the expectations I saw in Debbie’s eyes or the fear so clearly held in Theo’s. If Mrs. Chen trusted me, if she saw me as worthy, we could make this work.
I could make this work.
Bring on the chaos.
Chapter 19
