The sound of the back doorbell and the unmistakable click of Waffle’s toenails on the tile floor caught her attention. Of course he could open the door. His entrance was the only thing that saved her from breaking into a tirade against this dumb cowboy for what she felt were cruel methods of training.
Looking back, she smiled at her dog. “Hey, Waff, come see the baby.”
Without warning, this stranger stepped toward Waffle. “Buster? Buster, is that you?”
Waffle let out a pitiful whine. He looked up at her, then back at the cowboy as if he was confused. His long tail began to whip and before she knew it, the puppy’s new owner had handed her the sleeping baby and dropped to a squat near her knee. “Buster? Buster? C’mere, buddy.”
Waffle charged forward as if he’d been shot from a cannon. He reared up and placed his front paws on Nick’s shoulders, licking and whimpering and pushing him onto his back. He began to feverishly lap at Nick’s face.
Nick scruffed his head and neck, wrapped his arms around his neck and hugged him. “It is you, buddy. It’s you. Where have you been?”
Sandi had to take a step backward to keep from getting caught in the fray. In her wildest imaginings, she could not have foreseen what was taking place before her eyes. “Waffle! Waffle! Stop that! Bad dog!” She grabbed his collar and with great effort, pulled him back. “What are you doing? Bad dog.”
Barking, the dog broke away from her and barked and danced and bounced around the room, then returned to Nick, who lay back on the floor propped on one elbow and laughing. “I taught him to do that little dance. He still remembers.”
Sandi stood glued to the floor. Clearly Waffle knew Nick, but the lout couldn’t possibly mean anything to her precious Waffle.
Still cradling the sleeping puppy, she reached down and yanked her dog back by his collar again. “Waffle! Settle down, boy, settle down.”
Nick got to his feet, still laughing. He had lost his hat and she noticed his dark blond hair, mussed and slightly wavy. And he did have the nicest eyes and they showed a glimmer of wetness. Tears?
She thrust the puppy back to him, his hands came out reflexively and he cradled it in one arm. “I’m sorry he did that,” she said. “He loves everyone who comes in the shop, but I’ve never seen him get so excited. He must have smelled—”
“Ma’am. Stop.” Nick raised a hand, showing her his palm. His eyes held an intense look. “Just stop.”
A feeling of dread crept up Sandi’s spine. Some kind of nightmare was unfolding.
“Ma’am, that’s my dog. The one I told you I lost. It was about nine months ago, just after I went to work for the Flying C.” He bent and picked up his hat. “Man, I can’t believe this. I’d given up ever finding him.” He clapped the hat on his head, then pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and dabbed at his eyes. He shook his head, then looked at her, his beautiful eyes alight with utter joy. “How long have you had him?”
Sandi could not let herself be distracted. She tilted her chin. “For a while. Quite a while, actually. Since he was a puppy.”
He shook his head again. “Man, oh man. To think he’s been this close all this time.”
What? He didn’t believe her? “You have to be mistaken. Waffle’s my dog. He’s part of me and part of my store. You can ask anyone.”
“You saw his reaction—”
“I saw him get excited. That’s not exactly something I haven’t seen him do before.”
A lie. Waffle never acted out. Lying was the only defense in this desperate situation.
Nick’s handsome face morphed into a stare of incredulity. Then he smiled a killer smile. “Tell you what. I’m extremely grateful that you found him and that you’ve taken such good care of him. This little puppy’s the same golden color. He’s gonna be a pretty dog when he grows up. And you obviously like him. How ’bout you take him? I’ll take Buster off your hands and we’ll call it an even trade.”
“I would never trade Waffle to someone like you,” she snapped, a death grip on Waffle’s collar.
Nick’s fist reflexively jammed against his hip. “What do you mean, someone like me?”
“I’ve never muzzled him or left him to sleep outside or treated him like an... an...”
“Like a dog?” Nick finished.
Close to sputtering, all Sandi could manage was, “I love Waffle and he loves me.”
“Look, I apologize for coming across wrong. I got overexcited when I realized I’d found my dog.” His deep voice almost became a purr. Sexy and seductive. “I know that women who are alone tend to get involved with their pets, especially if they don’t have much social life or kids to take care of and—
“What? You know nothing about me. About my life.”
“Now don’t get upset. I asked the woman who gave me this puppy about you. She told me you’re divorced and don’t have any kids, so you give all your love to animals.”
Such a rage raced up Sandi’s spine her head might explode and her eyes might burst from their sockets. She squelched the powerful urge to grab her head with both hands in case that very thing happened. She would kill that Prissy dead, dead, dead the very next time she saw her. “Prissy Porter discussed me and my personal life with you?” Her voice had become as shrill as a harpy’s. “Why, in all my life, I’ve never been—”
“Now, calm down.” Nick patted the air with his hand. “I didn’t mean to upset you. What I mean is, you said you were in love with a parrot, too. What that says to me is you throw that “love” word around pretty freely. Maybe you need a boyfriend or something.”
That was the last straw. “What?” She sank to the floor on her knees beside Waffle and wrapped protective
