Handsome Flirt

by Lori Wilde

  When they got out of the car, the sound of barking was almost deafening. No wonder Sarah lived so far off the beaten path. She had to. No neighbor would put up with the noise.

  They headed toward the house first, but an elderly woman stepped out of the long building on the side and waved at them. As they walked over to join her, Dani couldn't help but get her hopes up. This woman looked happy and settled and not at all amazed by love.

  “So glad you found us,” Sarah said, shaking Dani's hand. “My husband, Ron, said you would get lost, but I figured GPS would get you here.” She smiled and added, “I knew you'd find your way.”

  Dani returned her smile and admitted, “I wish I could take credit, or even give the GPS credit, but Travis found the place.”

  “That's not true. Your presence in the car helped me find the way,” Travis said with a grin. “I couldn't have done it without you. We make a good team. Maybe we should hire ourselves out to help lost travelers.”

  Yup. Travis was definitely the same goof she'd known in high school. She liked that. She liked how they'd picked up their friendship as though school had been yesterday.

  “Come in. I want you to meet my husband and my granddaughter. I've told them a lot about Freda over the years, and I'm sure up until now they thought I was making her up,” Sara said. “Freda is quite a character.”

  “That she is,” Dani said as she and Travis followed Sarah inside. The front part of the building was a vet's office, with exam rooms and a waiting area.

  “What do you do here?” she asked.

  “One of my daughters is a veterinarian, and she has her practice here. It's closed today, but normally the place is mobbed.”

  Sarah continued to the back of the building, which looked like a small hospital. They headed down the main aisle, stopping by the last room. Inside the room were a tall older man and a teenaged girl. Settled on a padded doggie bed were a glorious black Labrador retriever and a swarm of puppies.

  Sarah walked over to the man, who slipped one arm around her waist. “This is my husband, Ron.” She reached out and patted the teenaged girl's shoulder. “And this lovely lady is Lauren, my granddaughter. This is Dani and Travis.”

  Ron leaned forward and shook both of their hands. “It's nice to meet you, but you've ruined my ability to tease my wife that she's making up your grandmother. Seriously, does she really go around cursing people?”

  Dani laughed, immediately liking this family. “Sorry to spoil your fun, but my grandmother is very much real. And I apologize for the curse on your wife.”

  “Didn't seem to hurt her,” he said, giving Sarah a quick kiss on the forehead.

  “What is this curse supposed to have done?” Lauren asked, her expression mischievous. “Is Grandma going to go nuts or grow fur on her back?”

  Sarah pretended offense. “Hey.”

  “Yeah, hey,” Ron said. “She's already done those things.”

  Everyone laughed, including Sarah, who gave her husband a playful tap on the arm.

  “Now you see why I love this man,” she said. “He makes me laugh.”

  Dani could easily see the deep love in this family.

  They might joke and tease, but only as one more way to show their affection.

  “My grandmother told your grandmother that love would always amaze her,” Dani explained to Lauren, starting to think this was finally a curse recipient who might end the lawsuit. “But that could mean anything, right? Most of us find love amazing.”

  Lauren looked at her grandmother. “Is that where you got the name?”

  Dani froze. Any positive thoughts she was having suddenly vaporized. “The name?”

  Pride was in Ron's voice when he said, “Didn't my wife tell you? She runs this shelter and finds homes for the strays.”

  “Sounds good,” Travis said.

  “She finds the animals homes so they can help people. Like she matches up dogs and cats with lonely seniors. She works with lots of charities and is great at matching up people with animals they love,” said Lauren, flashing her grandmother a grin. “Not only do the animals supply the people with companionship and devotion, but in the case of the dogs, they often perform tasks that help with daily life. Grandma's phenomenal.”

  “Not me,” Sarah said. “The dogs are phenomenal. They deserve all the credit.”

  Although personally, Dani found what Sarah did terrific, she also realized that the way things were going, she might as well tell her grandmother to pull out her checkbook.

  “This sounds wonderful,” Dani said, glancing at Travis. She could tell he hadn't seen this coming any more than she had.

  “Is this shelter new?” Travis asked.

  “Not really. It’s called Amazing Love,” she said with a small laugh. “And I swear, I wasn't thinking about your grandmother when I came up with the name. I've just always found the love these animals show to people to be amazing.”

  “Oh,” was all Dani could think to say. This was unbelievable.

  Sarah glanced at the dog with her puppies, and then smiled at Dani. “Do you realize that in a way, your grandmother's curse came true? I have found amazing love, in more ways than one. Not only the amazing love of my family, but also of these wonderful animals.”

  One of the hardest things Dani had ever done was return Sarah's smile. Sure, she was thrilled that this nice woman had a loving family and a wonderful business that helped people in need, but a tiny part of Dani wanted to stomp her feet and scream “no!”

  She quickly got that tiny childish part of herself under control and managed a fairly decent smile at Sarah.

  “It's funny how it worked out,” Dani said, glancing at Travis. He gave her a sympathetic look, but she could also clearly see from his expression that he didn't consider this the end of the world.

  And he was right. This was a setback, but the important thing was, despite her grandmother's curses coming true, or maybe because of them, all of these people were happy.

  She took a deep breath and settled her emotions. Okay, so this hadn't worked, but she was a good lawyer. She could work out some sort of settlement with this man to stop the lawsuit and prevent her grandmother from getting financially drained.

  These people were happy and that was what really mattered. And maybe Travis was right—maybe that was the bargaining chip she'd use. Every person her grandmother had cursed was better off because of the curse. That man must have done something to mess up his curse; otherwise, he'd be happy like everyone else.

  It was worth a shot.

  For the next hour, Dani let herself enjoy her visit with Sarah and her family. She and Travis toured the impressive facility, seeing where the dogs and cats were housed. It was, as Sarah said, an example of amazing love.

  When they were about to leave, Dani stopped to give Freda's phone number and address to Sarah. When she turned back around, she saw Travis stuff several twenty-dollar bills in the donation box near the front door. He did it subtly, obviously not wanting anyone to see what he'd done.

  And something tightened in Dani's chest. Travis Walker was a genuinely nice guy. She'd always known that, even in high school she'd known he was nice. He might come across to some women as all flirt and no substance, but she'd always seen the person under the persona.

  A person who meant a great deal to her.

  “I hope you'll come back and visit,” Sarah said, shaking their hands once more. “And tell Freda I'll be in touch. It's been far too long since we talked. You should never lose touch with your oldest friends.”

  Dani didn't bother to point out that the women hadn't spoken in almost fifty years. The way her grandmother told the story, she had stopped by Sarah's house to talk about a boy she liked, and when Sarah had admitted she liked him as well, an argument had broken out.

  Naturally, Freda maintained the fight wasn't at all her fault, but Dani suspected her grandmother had started it. Anyway, the end result was that the friendship had been destroyed and Freda had put the curse on Sarah.


  “Yes, I'll have her call you,” Dani said. “Also, do you have some brochures about your business? I know a lot of lawyers with way too much money on their hands, and Amazing Love looks like a perfect tax deduction to me.”

  Sarah laughed and handed Dani a handful of brochures. “We get a lot of our funding from people looking for a non-controversial tax deduction, which is fine by me. Money keeps this place going, and I welcome all of it.”

  Dani tucked the brochures in her purse. Later, she'd drop her own check into the mail for Sarah, but like Travis, she didn't want thanks for giving. She simply wanted to help. She was sincerely in awe of the good Sarah was accomplishing both for the animals and for the people.

  As they headed toward the truck, Dani glanced at Travis. He smiled at her, but it wasn't his usual lady-killer smile. He seemed as touched by what they'd just seen as she was.

  She waited until they were both settled in the truck and Travis had started driving before she said what she knew he was dying to say. “At least she's happy.”

  Travis chuckled. “Since you're the one pointing that out this time, I take it you've decided to use that as the defense.”

  Dani sighed. “I know when I'm beat. We gave it a good try, but let's face it, Freda's curses do come true. We talked to three people who were cursed for different reasons and in each case, the curse came true. There's no way I can use any of these people.”

  “We could talk to some more,” Travis offered, turning onto the main road that fronted Sarah's property.

  “Do you honestly think we'll find anything different?” Dani asked, curious as to what he thought. Maybe she'd made up her mind too quickly. Maybe he didn't see what she saw—a lost cause.

  For a few seconds, he didn't say anything, and Dani found herself holding her breath.

  Then he said, “I think you're right. I'm not into magic, and I really don't think Freda has magical powers, but it does seem like her curses do influence the recipients. Maybe on some subconscious level, they do what she said would happen in the curse. I don't know how they work, but they work.”

  “I don't know either,” Dani admitted. “I'm really not sure why whatever Freda says seems to come true. I agree with you. I'm not a believer in magic, and I really don't think my grandmother is some sort of witch. But I can't explain how all these people end up with lives that mirror what she said. All I know is, I can't use them to head off a lawsuit, and so I'm going to see what sort of settlement I can arrange.”

  Travis glanced at her. “I don't think you should offer him money. What kind of person blames a curse for his bad luck? This guy needs to take responsibility for his own actions and not blame his problems on your grandmother.”

  Dani had expected him to agree with her about a settlement, so his reaction caught her by surprise. “I agree, but what else can I do? I can't use any of the people we've met this week to prove that their lives weren't impacted by what Nana said. If I don't offer him something, he's going to file suit, and we've got nothing if it goes to court.”

  “But you can bring these people into court and show how their lives were improved by what your grandmother said, and that his life would have been improved, too, if he hadn't done something to screw it up,” Travis said. “Don't let him win, Dani. It's wrong.”

  Dani realized he had an excellent point, and a new idea started forming in her mind. “Any chance you can find out what exactly happened to his business? I mean, something must have happened to cause him to lose everything. So what was that something? I realize he started focusing on that woman and stopped paying attention, but what exactly happened? Did he stop coming to work so the store wasn't open? What?”

  Travis flashed her a grin. “Now that's an idea I like. I'll get started right away. Shouldn't take too long to find out what this guy did wrong to send his business down the tubes.”

  For the first time in several days, Dani felt optimistic. This sounded like an excellent plan, and she was sure she could find out something that would help them. She smiled back at Travis and wasn't surprised when attraction slammed into her like a tornado.

  Last night had been fantastic. She'd always enjoyed sex before, but sex with Travis was a whole new experience. He not only took her breath away, he made sex fun.

  So much fun that she could hardly wait to do it again. Maybe, if he wasn't busy tonight...

  “So what happens now?” he asked, almost as if he'd read her thoughts.

  She blinked and tried to focus on what they'd been discussing. “I guess we should head home and tell my grandmother what we're going to do.”

  Travis shot her a devilish look. “Okay. And then after that? I don't know about you, but I'd kind of like to get some more exercise. Guess I should be a little more subtle, but hey, subtle isn't my strong suit.”

  Dani laughed, thrilled he felt the same way about last night as she did. As excitement curled inside her, she said, “No, you're not exactly Mr. Subtle, but that's the great thing about being friends with benefits. You don't have to be subtle. We can be ourselves. We can say what we think.”

  When she didn't say anything else, he asked, “Okay, so what do you think about getting more exercise?”

  “It sounds like an excellent idea to me,” she admitted. “A truly excellent idea.”

  TRAVIS LOOKED AT THE smug expression on Freda's face and bit back a smile. The older woman was obviously delighted to learn that despite their best efforts, Dani and he had been unable to prove her “romantic suggestions” didn't work.

  He knew Dani had been reluctant to come and speak to her grandmother for that very reason. But after they'd stopped by her apartment so she could each change clothes, they'd come over to Dani's parents' house to face the music.

  And now, Freda was enjoying this. She sat, very regally, on the couch next to Dani and literally beamed at him.

  “Ha! I told you my suggestions work,” Freda said, her grin as bright as the full moon outside. She leaned over and patted Dani's hands. “I wouldn't make the suggestions if they didn't work, but I appreciate you trying to help me.”

  “I'll admit, for some reason, your romantic suggestions do seem to invoke some sort of subconscious power,” Dani said. “So the bottom line is, we need to take another approach to prevent this lawsuit.”

  Freda waved both of her hands and shook her head. “What do you mean by subconscious? Are you saying you still don't believe in what I do? Didn't you just admit that they work? It has nothing to do with their subconscious. It has to do with reality.” She looked from Dani to Travis, then back to Dani. “You must have seen how powerful my romantic suggestions are. They are magical. And they work.”

  Travis watched in fascination as Dani carefully chose her words. He could clearly see how much she loved her grandmother and didn't want to hurt her, but he also knew Dani didn't believe in the magic of Freda's suggestions.

  “I'll admit, your romantic suggestions had a powerful influence on these people's lives,” she said, leaning over and patting her grandmother's hands. “And I know you must be thrilled to learn that these people are very happy and remember you fondly.”

  “Because of what I did,” Freda said, looking at him for confirmation. “They like me because of what I did, right, Travis? They are happy because my romantic suggestions came true and changed their lives.”

  Man, talk about a dangerous situation. Freda was looking at him with expectation while Dani was frowning at him. For a moment, the right thing to do totally escaped him. Then his survival instincts kicked in, and his brain finally managed to formulate an answer.

  “From what I saw, your romantic suggestions had a huge impact on these people's lives,” he said, not clarifying how he thought this impact happened.

  “Each of them is happy and said to thank you for what you did.”

  There. He'd danced around her questions very adeptly if he did say so himself.

  Freda once again got that cat-who-ate-the-canary expression on her face and turned to he
r granddaughter. “You may not be able to admit you believe in what you saw because it's how you were raised, but in my heart I'm sure you know that I caused those people to be happy. My romantic suggestions are powerful, and when I make one, people's lives change.”

  Conflicting emotions crossed Dani's pretty face. Travis could tell she was torn between saying what her grandmother wanted to hear and what she felt was the truth. One of the many things he admired about Dani was how much she cared for her grandmother. Dani was a woman with a heart.

  A heart he only hoped remained untouched when their time together was over. As much as she kept saying the whole “friends with benefits” thing worked well for her, he also knew she was the type to fall in love.

  And that worried him. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt Dani.

  But right now, looking at Dani, she seemed fine. She didn't strike him at all as a woman suffering from a broken heart. In fact, what she struck him as was someone trying to escape a verbal trap.

  “So you believe a little, right?” Freda asked Dani, still trying to force an admission from her reluctant granddaughter.

  In a move Travis could only describe as inspired, Dani leaned forward and hugged her grandmother.

  “I love you. You're a terrific woman with many, many talents,” Dani said.

  Travis softly chuckled. Way to avoid answering the question. The woman was obviously an excellent lawyer.

  Freda's knowing smile made it clear she was well aware of what her granddaughter was doing, but she let it go. She patted Dani's cheek and asked, “So what do we do now? I refuse to give Carl any of my money. What other options do we have?”

  Travis leaned forward. “Dani and I think we can show that he did something that prevented his curse...I mean, his romantic suggestion, from taking hold.”

  Freda nodded. “He did mess it up. He didn't understand, and that's why his business went down the drain. It's not my fault that he got involved with some floozy who didn't really love him.”