She glanced out the window on the back deck. There was no sign of him. She strode through the kitchen, calling his name again. “I have cheese!” She didn’t have cheese, but the word usually brought him running from wherever he was hiding.
Still nothing.
She’d had the worst day at work. The stress of the lawsuit still hung over her head. She couldn’t think about anything else, but the clients never stopped walking through the doorway. Each case was more complicated than the last. Finally, she’d felt like throwing her hands up in the air. She couldn’t solve any more problems today. Thankfully, she’d been able to leave before it was dark, which was unusual. The paperwork would just have to wait. She had a pounding headache, her stomach had formed itself into a big hungry knot, and she desperately needed a massage.
She stopped walking to roll her head from side to side, palpating her neck with her fingertips as she did. The muscles were tight. She padded down the carpeted hallway to her bedroom and threw her purse onto the bed.
With a sigh, she walked into the closet to kick off her shoes. She’d worn low heels. What had she been thinking? She generally stuck with sneakers, but had wanted to make more of an effort today. Her feet utterly regretted that move. They ached in places and ways she didn’t know was possible.
Before taking off her shirt, she stopped short. There was Ozzie, lying on the closet floor with one of her Steve Madden silver pumps between his paws, his teeth tearing at the silver ribbon that tied around the ankle.
“What on earth? Ozzie, you little scoundrel!”
Matilda lunged for the shoe, and Ozzie jumped away playfully with the shoe in his mouth.
“Give that to me!”
The puppy thought that was a great game. Head down and tail raised, he dodged from side to side, keeping just out of reach. Finally, she managed to grasp the heel in her hand as she landed on the carpet, rolling sideways. Her cheek ended up resting on Ozzie’s side as she held the shoe triumphantly overhead.
“I got it! Ha!” Still cushioned by Ozzie’s fluffy belly, she studied the shoe. “Oh, mate, it’s a goner.” She grimaced. The shoe was done for. There was no coming back. There were chew marks all over it, and the strap was completely severed.
Ozzie licked the side of her face, then lay back panting. She snuggled into his side. It was hard to stay angry at a creature this cute. His fur was like cuddling one of those ultra soft pillows, but better, and he smelled like her rose-scented shampoo. She’d used it on him the day before when he’d rolled in the mud at the edge of the lake.
“What am I going to do with you? I need to remember to keep this bedroom door shut. Otherwise, you’re going to have to stay outside during the day. You keep ruining my favourite shoes.”
The dog wagged his tail against the floor. Thump, thump, thump.
“What’s going on in here?” Ryan leaned against the doorframe, one eyebrow quirked, his arms crossed.
Matilda sighed heavily. “My shoes are dead.” She tossed the shoe toward Ryan’s feet. He picked it up and examined it.
“I’m sorry, honey. I know you loved this pair.”
Matilda stood and kissed Ryan on the lips. He smelled like aftershave and coffee. She couldn’t get enough. She wound her arms around his neck and stood on tiptoe to deepen the kiss. He dropped the shoe and encircled her in a firm embrace.
“Did you have a good day?”
She leaned into his chest. “Not great.”
“What’s up?”
“I’m worried about this lawsuit. It’s all I can think about. I’m not focusing on my clients well enough because I’m so anxious, and I’m miserable the whole time I’m there.”
He stroked her hair. “That’s not good. Listen, why don’t you talk to my lawyer and see what he has to say? I don’t know why I didn’t think of it earlier, but I can set something up now if you like.”
She stepped back. “Really? That would be great. I don’t know any lawyers other than the one I used when I purchase the clinic. I was about to do a Google search, but that seemed like a terrible way to find someone decent.”
“I’ll give him a call tomorrow and set up a meeting for you. Don’t worry. You did nothing wrong.” He kissed her on the tip of the nose. “We’ll get through this. It’s all going to be okay.”
Chapter Ten
Jessica was picking peaches with her neighbour Teja. The trees behind the farmhouse were heavy with fruit. It was ripening by the day, and according to Teja, if they didn’t pick it soon, it would fall to the ground and rot.
She climbed down the ladder Teja had brought over and set her full bucket on the ground. Then she wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand.
“There’s no way I’m ever gonna be able to eat this many peaches.” She sighed and stared at the wheelbarrow she’d pulled from the overgrown garden shed. She had washed it out that morning, and now it was filling up with fruit. Soon it would be too heavy for her to wheel back to the house. She’d have to empty it and start again, or it would be stuck forever in this spot.
Teja set her own bucket on the ground with a grunt. “I’ll take some, but you’re going to have to make preserves, cakes, pies, cobblers… anything you can think of.” She laughed. “I hope you like to bake.”
