“I’d back your dog up if I were you,” Cash said to Rusty.
“Is that your friend?”
“Yup.”
Rusty was attractive enough, but she didn’t have Tracy’s winning personality, nor was she drop-dead beautiful like Tracy. The grimace on Rusty’s face said she knew there was no comparison. Instead of leaving or backing up, she yanked the leash on her dog which increased the yipping.
“Dude, this is Cash,” Tracy said, stopping a few feet away. Her eyes flicked to Rusty, and she politely said, “Hello.”
“Cash hates dogs,” Rusty told her, around the noise and nipping.
Cash knew Tracy knew better. Not only had he told Tracy he was thinking of getting a dog, but she’d also seen him with Crockett. Because of Rusty’s misinformation, instead of introducing her to Tracy, he walked further away from her. Reaching Tracy and Dude, Cash held out the back of his hand. Dude sniffed and seemed to approve. As Rusty’s dog continued its tirade, Dude silently sat down on his haunches beside Tracy.
“Shake?” Tracy prompted Dude.
Dude looked at Cash and lifted his right paw. Cash shook it. “Nice to meet you, Dude.” Not wanting the German shepherd immediately being forced into the truck, Cash squatted down in front of him at eye level. “Want to go for a?—”
The yapping and snarling escalated to the point it cut Cash off. Cash had had enough of Rusty’s intrusion. When he stood and turned to Rusty, Dude stood as well and barked at the other dog. Just once. It was a loud and deep woof, and one was all it took. Rusty’s dog squeaked, pranced around behind her, and quieted. Dude’s big brown eyes looked up into Cash’s eyes as if communicating he wanted to hear what Cash had to say to him.
“Good dog,” Tracy praised Dude’s obviously well-trained behavior.
“Want to go for a ride?” Cash asked the German shepherd. Dude gave a happy jump. Cash petted Dude’s head and Dude placed his front paws on Cash’s thighs.
“Down, Dude,” Tracy said. Without hesitation, Dude sat down between her and Cash.
“Good luck holding onto Cash after he’s taken you to bed. He’s a confirmed bachelor,” Rusty said, glaring at Tracy. “Cash will kiss you goodbye and never look back.” With that, she turned away, held up her middle finger over her shoulder, and stalked toward the stucco building.
“That’s twice in less than twenty-four hours I’ve been flipped off,” Cash said.
“We,” Tracy said. “Because of me.”
“No.” Cash shook his head. He walked to the passenger’s side of the truck and opened the front and back doors to the cab. “Because of me.”
Holding Dude’s leash with her left hand, Tracy placed her purse on the passenger’s seat. Turning back to Cash, she said, “We both have our detractors, don’t we?”
“And our wingmen, like Beau, Ed, and Jacob,” he pointed out, relieved that she wasn’t upset with him. When he lowered his head to kiss her, she wrapped an arm around his neck and stood on tiptoes to kiss him. Sliding his left arm around Tracy’s slim waist, Cash felt Dude nudge his furry head underneath his right hand. He scratched Dude’s head. Here in the parking lot, under somewhat aggravating circumstances, Tracy made everything okay. His heart whispered to him. When Cash raised his head, his voice was husky as he said, “I love—dogs.”
Tracy gazed up at him with a glistening in her eyes and whispered, “Me, too, Cash.”
“Yeah.” Cash had almost said he loved her. Because he did. “Okay, hop in.” Tracy trustingly handed him Dude’s leash. As she climbed into the truck, he gave her cute derrière a familiar pat. “That goes for you, too, Dude. Hop in.” The dog jumped into the back seat and Cash said to him, “I’ve got a ranch and I hope you’re gonna like it.” He carefully shut the doors, walked around the truck, and slid in behind the wheel. Dude sat in the middle of the back seat and stuck his head between them.
Damn, if this didn’t feel right too.
“Next stop, my apartment,” Tracy said as they headed that way.
“Just a pit stop?” Cash asked.
“We’ll see,” she flirted with a sideways grin.
“Your bag is back at my ranch ya know.”
“Because you hid it.”
“I put it in the closet for you.”
She grinned and he soon turned into the drive leading up to her fenced-in apartment complex. When he came to a stop, she gave him the code to open the wrought-iron gate.
“Keep to your left and we can enter my place through the garage,” she said.
