Project Valentine (A Homespun Romance)

by Kakade, Geeta

  As Jessica slid behind the wheel of her second hand Honda Accord she took a deep breath. And a few more. Shaking her head she squared her shoulders. She was doing this for Arthur. And her imagination better believe that.

  Half an hour later they stood by the car again, purchases completed.

  "You have all you need for the present," Jessica said as Karl got out of the car and put the packages into the trunk. "Molly's going to feed Arthur tonight and tomorrow. I'll be over Monday evening." Jessica had to tilt her neck way back to look at him. In the gloaming she couldn't see his face clearly. Holding out the change from the hundred dollar bill he'd given her with the cash receipt, Jessica was very conscious of his nearness.

  "Thanks for helping Molly pick out the things." The warmth in his voice sent tiny tremors through Jessica's body.

  "Well, I guess I'd better be going." Wanting to, was no excuse for lingering.

  "How about dinner?" The question caught her by surprise. "I noticed a place called Kim's Soup and Sandwiches across the street. Would you care to join us? I know Molly's hungry."

  Jessica hesitated. He probably wanted to discuss times she could go over to care for Arthur and so on. Her stomach growled an urgent reminder that she was starving. "A sandwich does sound nice."

  Molly asked to eat in the car. Jessica suspected Arthur was going to share the requested double burger but she didn't say anything. A little spoiling was exactly what Arthur deserved.

  The only available table was tiny. Karl placed the tray on the table and sat down. Jessica felt a surge of electricity move up her spine and interfere with her breathing. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Maybe she should have gone straight home.

  This close he seemed to shut out the world. He took big clean bites and chewed quietly. He didn't talk with his mouth full. He didn't......

  For Heaven's sake! she was really going overboard with this awareness thing today, Who nominated you Emily Post the Second? Concentrate on your meal.

  "Whatever you may think, I didn't talk Molly into adopting Arthur." She hated untidy ends and she had to clear this one up.

  "I know. My niece has a mind of her own. It's just that for a few moments there I felt trapped."

  She could understand that. "He won't be any trouble, you'll see," she said comfortingly.

  Karl Wagner flicked her with his gimlet gaze. "So, how does it feel to be victorious?"

  "Victorious?"

  "You found Arthur a new owner. Jose Garcia told me how you championed his cause, what it meant to you to find a home for him. You're a fighter aren't you?"

  Color stained Jessica's face. The old blabbermouth. She had a good mind not to take him the bowl of special chili she'd promised him. "Arthur deserves another chance. I only wanted to make sure he got it."

  "What would have happened if he'd been returned to the shelter today?"

  "He would have been put to sleep," Jessica swallowed the lump in her throat, "The length of time they keep the animals depends on space. Arthur's been there three weeks already."

  A silence ensued. And grew.

  "You won't regret taking him. He's a wonderful dog." Jessica repeated.

  Narrow prisms of light reached out to her from Karl's dark eyes. Jessica felt her mind pull up anchor, drift away to a distant galaxy where the sky was silk, each new sensation a star.

  "I don't think I will at that."

  "I beg your pardon?" What had they been talking about?

  Karl wiped his mouth, crumpled the napkin and tossed it into the empty box in front of him. "Never mind. You've had a long day. You look half asleep. Shall we go?"

  Half asleep wasn't what she wanted to look like. She wanted glamorous, gorgeous, unforgettable.

  "I haven't finished my sandwich." Jessica took another bite, chewed slowly. One didn't hurry a dream along.

  "Should I get some meat and a bone for Arthur from the supermarket tomorrow?"

  "No." Jessica vetoed the suggestion immediately. "Raw meat is bad for dogs. It carries all kind of bacteria that cause bad stomach infections. Real bones are out too. When dogs chew them, bits break off and damage their intestines. Natural bones wear out a dog's teeth as well. There's a nylon bone in the bag Molly can let him have. Surveys show that's the best kind for a pet."

  "Do you have a dog of your own?"

  "Not now. I live in an apartment that doesn't allow pets. As a kid though, I can't remember a time when I didn't have a dog."

  "A Great Dane?"

  "No. A Benji type first called Tramp, then a black and white mongrel called Trucker."

  The trouble with fast food was it disappeared too quickly. One couldn't chew forever. Jessica closed up her empty box, emptiness pooling inside. It was time for the last curtain call.

  Outside she thanked Karl Wagner for her dinner, patted Arthur on the head, and exchanged a few words with Molly through the window of the Audi.

  "Bye Jessica. I'll take good care of Arthur. Don't you worry about him," promised Molly solemnly.

  Jessica felt the prick of tears behind her lids, "I know you will, Molly."

  A cold mist of loneliness that had nothing to do with leaving Arthur accompanied her home. There was no reason a successful day should leave her so empty.

  The telephone startled her awake at six the next morning. Jessica opened one eye to glare at the invention balefully. The caller had better have a good reason for disturbing her. She loved sleeping late at the weekends. Saturday she'd sacrificed with no second thoughts. Sunday she wasn't about to.

  "Jessica, we can't find Arthur anywhere," Molly's hurriedly caught back sob held pure pathos, "I think he's run away."

  "I'll be right over." Adrenalin flooded her system chasing out the last traces of sleepiness. Oh, Arthur! "Give me directions, will you?"

  Karl Wagner came on the line. There was nothing in his voice that revealed how he felt about the situation. Jessica scribbled down directions, thankful he was saving his comments for when she got there, and flew into the bathroom.

  It wasn't till she got off the freeway at Jacaranda Meadows that she realized the orange wrap around skirt she had grabbed, and yesterday's red shirt, made her look like a rotten egg yolk.

  Oh, well. It didn't really matter. What mattered was finding Arthur and convincing Molly's uncle he wouldn't make a habit of running away.

  Barely did she have the car in park on the drive, when Molly flung herself into her arms and lifted a tear blotched face, "I woke up at five and went down and he wasn't anywhere. Uncle Karl has helped me look everywhere." She gulped back a hiccupping sob.

  "Shh, it's alright. We'll find him," Jessica hugged the girl to her, gently caressed her head.

  What on earth was she going to say to Karl Wagner? Arthur had already proved every word she'd uttered yesterday wrong. Jessica winced, recalling her exact words. No trouble at all. A fine friend. Worth his weight in gold.

  Arthur had let her down badly.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Over Molly's head Jessica looked at Karl Wagner. The rumpled hair, sleep tousled eyes, the blue tinge of his chin made him look heart stirringly human. He was in grey sweats but the beige material of his pajamas peeped out over the waistband of his sweat pants. In the vee of the top nestled a clump of curly black hair. It didn't need a psychic to guess he'd dressed in a hurry.

  Jessica sucked in a deep breath and blinked. She hadn't come here to stand and stare at the man.

  "Let me call the humane society first, then we'll go look for him," she told an overwrought Molly.

  The official who answered the call at the Pomona humane society said no one had reported spotting a runaway Great Dane yet. Yes, she would get back to them immediately if someone did. Yes, she would make a note of it, for the people who came in later.

  Jessica sighed as she set the receiver down. Molly's chin wobbled ominously. She'd caught the gist of the conversation.

  "Show me around outside," Jessica said gently.

  Molly's description had been accu
rate. The enormous yard wrapped the house on three sides. On two sides it was walled with concrete stone. The back went straight out for fifty yards and then sloped gently to a wrought iron fence. Beyond the iron railings were huge clumps of oleander bushes. Karl Wagner certainly liked his privacy.

  Jessica whistled and called alternately as she walked towards the railings, "Here Arthur. Come here boy."

  There really weren't any hiding places in the yard itself for a dog his size. A stretch of grass beautifully landscaped, low bushes and flower beds, a winding path. To one side a miniature waterfall gurgled into a lily pond. Medium sized fruit trees punctuated the gentle slope of the hillside. Jessica walked to the bottom of the gently sloping hill and raised her voice.

  There was a scrambling sound from behind the oleanders. Heart thumping Jessica called again, "Here Arthur. Come on boy. Come on."

  The rustling was repeated again. Molly ran past her just as the big dog wiggled under the fence. Jessica followed, noticing the pile of dirt beside the freshly tunneled hole. Going down on her knees beside the dog she put a hand on his side scolded softly, "Where have you been?"

  It wasn't exactly an auspicious first beginning. What had Molly said? She'd woken at five to check on him? Jessica groaned silently. Less than twenty four hours and already Arthur was making waves.

  Molly sobbed into Arthur's neck, "Don't you ever, ever do that again, you bad dog."

  Jessica's own eyes flooded at the love threaded through the relief in Molly's voice. Apparently Arthur sensed it too. A huge tongue came out and he licked Molly's tears.

  "Did you see that?" the little girl's tone held awe, her tears magically stemmed, "He likes me! I thought he ran away because he was frightened of me."

  "Not of you," Jessica said gently, "just of the new place, of another move."

  "Let's go back to the house," Karl Wagner's voice was gruff, not unkind. "The grass is still wet out here."

  "He's afraid and disoriented, that's why he ran away and hid," Jessica plunged into Arthur's defense as soon as Molly was out of earshot. "It's going to take a while for him to settle down. He really won't be any trouble once he gets used to your place. In fact it might be a good idea to tether him to the end of a long rope for a day or two till he gets used to his new home. That way you won't have to go through this again. I can stop off at the hardware store for some rope and come back later."

  Aware she was babbling, Jessica stopped and stole a look at Karl. A corner of his mouth quirked upwards. Relief swamped Jessica. He wasn't angry.

  "I have some rope in the garage," he responded quietly, "if you will show Molly how to tether him I'll fix some breakfast for all of us. Tomorrow I'll get somebody to fix the fence at the back so he can't get under it again."

  Once Arthur was tended to Jessica sat on the deck and sipped gratefully at the coffee Karl brought out . Molly was beside a tethered Arthur, leaning against his broad side. Her clear young voice carried into the morning air as she explained to Arthur why he had to be tied. The fifteen foot rope Karl had produced ensured Arthur ample freedom, access to sun, shade, two dishes of water, his bone, a ball, and what looked like a piece of carpeting to lie on.

  Life should be so good for every dog.

  Jessica looked around her appreciatively. The redwood deck was raised four feet off the ground and ran the width of the house. Steps separated it from the lawn. Huge white tubs sported bursts of spring color at each corner. Somewhere in the trees, a pair of birds twittered furiously. The rays of the rising sun shot the sky with molten gold.

  An enchanted morning. Jessica closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and ordered her pulses to calm down.

  She wasn't a lump of play dough to be so easily impressed. The fact that Karl Wagner was a good looking, sensitive human being was no reason to fall in love with him. There was more to love and marriage than just, `getting your man.' Her mother and four sisters didn't agree. In the Woods' family a woman was considered lucky when a man took an interest in her. If that man had a steady income and was nice looking, wedding bells were in order. They had rung many times already. But not for Jessica. Jessica wanted something more. She just wasn't sure what. It had to do with fairy godmothers, a special feeling, magic.

  "Breakfast's almost ready. Let me show you where the bathroom is."

  Jessica jumped and pushed her glasses up. How long had he been there? Had he seen her mooning-like-a-sick-cow look? Hurriedly she followed Karl indoors. Leaving her damp shoes on the mat outside the patio door she stepped into the house. He'd taken a few minutes to shower and shave. His light brown slacks and fawn tee shirt made her feel like a bag lady. The light scent of sandalwood drifted to Jessica from Karl. She took a deep, greedy breath of it.

  They were in an enormous family room separated from a gourmet kitchen by an eating island. The hallmark of designer decorating was everywhere. Hardly daring to breathe, Jessica followed Karl down a small hallway that veered to the right.

  Inside the bathroom she leaned against the door. Her reflection in the gorgeous mirror over the gold streaked ivory washbasin was the only thing out of place. It didn't seem possible but she looked plainer than ever this morning. Jessica washed her hands and contemplated getting a perm. It might make her look more interesting.

  Wiping her hands nervously on a velour hand towel edged with a satin border of scalloped sea shells, checking to make sure she hadn't left any dirt marks, Jessica grinned. It would need a whole lot more than a perm to make her over. It would need plastic surgery.

  The redwood table had been set by the time she went out again. A covered dish, three glasses of what looked like freshly squeezed orange juice, and a pot of coffee rested on a smooth oak tray. A wicker basket held bran muffins ensconced in a napkin. Curls of butter in a crystal dish, three kinds of preserves. Karl Wagner didn't do things by halves.

  "Come and sit down. Molly wants to have a picnic next to Arthur."

  She wondered how old he was, why he was watching the feisty little girl this weekend, whether it threw a spanner in the leisure routine of an eligible bachelor.

  It's none of your business.

  Jessica shook her head. She could always rely on her conscience to clear her head fast.

  "Is everything alright? Don't you like eggs?"

  Aware he was waiting for her to start eating, Jessica picked up her fork. "Everything's fine."

  They ate in silence for a while, then she asked, "Where are Molly's parents?"

  Karl looked at her, laid his knife down before saying slowly, "My sister Andy, Molly's mother, is in the last trimester of a difficult pregnancy. Carrying the baby to full term means Andy has to stay in bed. Jim, my brother in law, is a chartered public accountant, who's just opened his own office in Walnut. He has to work long hours, besides coping with all the work at home. It doesn't give him much time to do things with Molly. Andy and Jim are both worried about how all this is affecting her. I try to help by having her here as much as possible, doing things with her. She's a neat kid."

  "Yes, she is." Jessica wiped her mouth on a snowy white napkin, glad she wasn't wearing any lipstick. What he’d said explained his capitulation over Arthur. She'd wondered about that. Despite the mouth, Jessica didn't think either Molly's tactics, or her own powers of persuasion could influence Karl Wagner. He didn't look the malleable kind. But he'd realized a dog could make a difference to Molly.

  "Molly, precocious as she is, worries about her mother." Karl went on. "I'm hoping weekends here, especially now she has Arthur, will help her."

  Jessica didn't know any other single man who would do so much for a niece. He must be very close to his sister. The way he was with Molly made it even harder to figure out why he was still single.

  Jessica swallowed. It was none of her business. General conversation was all that was called for, not speculation about the man's private life.

  "Nice place you have here."

  "I like it." He sounded as detached about it as he did about most things.

/>   "Do you live here alone?"

  He raised an eyebrow and hot color flooded her cheeks. She'd done it again. Charged into a private part of his life that was none of her business.

  "What I mean is, it seems so huge for one person and it must need quite a bit of cleaning and...."

  And you'd better shut up long enough to get your foot out of your mouth Jessica Woods.

  "I like space." Jessica couldn't understand the gleam in Karl's eyes. He looked more amused than irritated. "The place is a good investment. A cleaning crew comes in once a week to give the place a once over. For the rest of the time I like being by myself."

  Jessica forked up a small mountain of scrambled eggs and put it in her mouth. It was one way of keeping it closed. Investing and turning a profit was what mattered to him.

  She felt his eyes on her and looked up. "What's wrong?"

  "Wrong?" she sipped her coffee to clear her throat, "Nothing. Why?"

  "You've been quiet, " a look at his watch, "for all of two minutes. Why?"

  That hurt. Her next words were frosty, "Whatever you may think Dr. Wagner, I don't babble continuously."

  "Karl," he corrected. "We've been through too much to be formal Jessica."

  "Karl." The way he said her name made it sound beautiful. Hers had emerged a croak.

  "You must live close by to have gotten here so quickly, this morning."

  "Three miles away. I rent an apartment in Clearview."

  "That's convenient." His gaze went to the picture Molly made on the grass by Arthur. She was leaning against the Great Dane feeding him tidbits off her plate. Jessica looked at Karl. He didn't seem to mind. It was all working out well. With a little bit of luck there'd be no further mishaps. Jessica smiled just as Karl turned and looked at her.

  "What would you have done if we lived somewhere else? Would you still have offered to look after Arthur?"

  Jessica nodded, "Yes. Driving long distances is a way of life in California. A little while more behind the wheel wouldn't really make that much difference."