by T. S. Ryder
After a few minutes, Jesse himself came out to greet her.
“Hello.” He stuck out his hand to her. “I’m Jesse Barrett.”
Ella forget her name for a moment. She gulped and her hand shot out automatically, missing his by a few feet. She laughed and shook his hand. “Hi.”
In person, he was even more gorgeous than in the magazines. Her glimpse of him in the forest the other day had been from too far away to appreciate him fully. His eyes and teeth glittered when he smiled. His dark hair stood up in sexy spikes on top of his head. His smile was so warm, she felt her knees go weak.
“Do you have a name?” he asked.
“Yes.” She swallowed again. “Ella McCarthy.”
“Nice to meet you, Ella.” His mouth fell into a half smile. “It just so happens, my regular walker quit on me this morning, and I had to come home on my lunch break to walk Murphy.”
“I brought some coupons. Did you get them?”
“I did. I’d love to give you a shot. Any chance you have time now?”
“Oh. To walk the dog?”
He nodded. “I realize I’m putting you on the spot. If you don’t have time, that’s alright.”
“No, I have time. I’d be glad to do it now.”
“Thanks,” he said. “I’d really appreciate it. I have a lot of work to do today.”
“Absolutely.” This was working out even better than she had planned. She gave him her best smile and he grinned back.
“So, come on in and meet Murphy, then.”
They didn’t have to go far. The golden lab was waiting patiently in the living room, sitting on his hind legs, his tail swishing back and forth on the floor. He must have been trained to not bark at people at the door.
Jesse bent down to pet the dog and Murphy responded by jumping up and rubbing back against him. There was one downfall to this dog walker plan, Ella realized. She hadn’t thought much about the fact that she would have to actually spend time with this dog, walking him and, presumably, picking up his poop. She wasn’t opposed to dogs, but she didn’t have much experience, either. Her mom had been allergic, so she’d never had one as a kid, and later, she had just been used to life without a dog.
She wasn’t entirely sure what to do with a dog, but it couldn’t be that hard, right? He seemed very well trained and Jesse had surely paid for the best obedience school around. She walked over and petted the dog, who licked her hand and sniffed her.
“He’s pretty well behaved,” Jesse said. “And he’s usually good with new people, so you shouldn’t have any trouble.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine. I am a pro, after all.” She winked at him.
He chuckled. “Right. I’ll get his leash.”
Ella waited while Jesse left the room. She looked down at the dog, who looked back up at her. He seemed very friendly indeed. Jesse came back and handed her a red leash to match Murphy’s collar. She snapped it on and took the handle.
“I’ll just be working from home, so if you need anything, just call.” He handed her a business card with his name and number on it.
“Thanks.” She tucked the card into her back pocket. “We’ll be back soon.”
He pulled his eyebrows together in confusion. “You’re going to walk from here?”
“Umm. No? I thought I’d take him to the park.” She hadn’t thought about that either. Where in the world did you go to walk a dog?
“My former walker took him to the one down the street. That’s probably easiest since he knows it already.”
“Sounds perfect.” She smiled again and walked toward the door.
Murphy didn’t budge. He just sat there, watching her as she gently tugged on his leash.
“Come on, Murphy,” she said.
He opened his mouth slightly and panted.
Jesse whistled and Murphy came running. “He responds to whistling if nothing else works.”
“Perfect.” Except she couldn’t whistle. Maybe she could cast a spell to make a whistling sound, though. Or better yet, a spell to make the dog listen and obey her.
Ella led the dog outside and opened the door to her car. He sat there and looked at her again.
“Murphy, get in the car,” she said in a high-pitched, baby voice.
He didn’t move.
“Don’t you want to go to the park?”
His tail swished harder on the driveway. He looked excited. Just not excited enough to actually get in the car.
“Okay, then get in the car.” She motioned toward the open door and even tried to push him into the car.
Crap, what if Jesse looked out the window and saw her? He would know she was a fraud. She was messing this up already.
She tried to whistle. Murphy tilted his head at her but didn’t move. She went around and started the car, putting the stereo on. From the front seat, she turned back to look at Murphy, who sat by the door, waiting and watching her.
“Come on, boy.” She tried again to whistle, and this time cast a spell on her lips to make herself sound more musical. The sound that came out wasn’t exactly a whistle, but it was better than it had been, and it seemed to be good enough for Murphy. He jumped in and lay on her back seat.
She got out to close the door, trying not to think about his hair and dirty feet getting all over her car’s seat. She would need to bring some old towels or a blanket next time. She opened the map on her phone and found the closest park, then drove there.
Murphy knew this place, as Jesse had said. When Ella opened the door, he needed no help this time. He jumped right out, and she had to snatch the leash’s loop quickly before he took off. That would have been all she needed, to lose the guy’s dog on the first day.
She wrapped the leash around her wrist and held it so that even a sharp tug wouldn’t pull it from her hand. It was a good thing, too, because Murphy was a big dog and got very excited at the park, which meant he pulled very hard on his leash. She called his name and tried to whistle again. She would really have to work on that spell.
They found a pace, which was a bit faster than Ella cared for, but it worked. The park had a nice, paved walking trail and they followed it. They passed plenty of people running, walking and biking. Then a man and his dog approached, and Murphy apparently wanted to say hi.
Murphy tugged and the other dog—some smaller, hairier breed—barked. Murphy barked back. The owner had immediate control of his dog. One spoken command and the dog halted, though it continued to growl. Murphy returned to Ella, but only because his attention had been forcefully averted by the other dog walking away.
They continued on, but she was highly watchful of other dogs. Wasn’t there some sort of spell she could cast on Murphy to make him chill out? There had to be. She’d need to research that.
And then, of course, it happened. Murphy walked off the path a bit and squatted. It would be one thing if he peed on a tree. But there were signs everywhere warning dog owners to pick up the mess their animals left behind. She had no bags of any sort. She had no way to dispose of it. But she did have magic.
She waited until no one was looking and Murphy had returned to her and sat by her side. Then she kept her words as quiet as she could, but loud enough to work. The pile of poop lifted into the air and moved over to a nice, big bush. The pile slipped into the bush, out of sight. At least no one would step in it, and no one should find it there.
Ella was feeling a bit more confident once that was taken care of. He wouldn’t go again… would he? Well, no matter, she could do the same trick. Honestly, it was much better than scooping it into a bag and carrying it to a trash can. Maybe she’d just go with that solution every time.
They headed back to the car after what seemed to be a mostly successful walk. Had it been long enough, though? She had no idea how this sort of thing worked. Oh well. She could Google that later, too.
She stepped off the path to head to the car and Murphy jerked his head. Some sort of small animal—a squirrel maybe—ran across his path. He whined
and pulled on the leash.
“No way, Murphy. Let’s go.”
But Murphy wasn’t paying attention to her. He was watching the animal. And then, he took off after it.
Ella was chasing after the dog in a second. But she wasn’t a runner and he was fast. She chased him for a while but finally cast a spell to calm him down. In her panic, it may have been a bit too strong, though. Murphy stopped dead when the spell hit him. He lay down and rolled over, right into a big muddy puddle. He looked up at her, calm and happy, as he wiggled his back in the mud.
She got hold of his leash and pulled him along. She had nothing to clean him off with. All she had were a few napkins, but they wouldn’t go far.
She did the only thing she could think of. With her hands, she wiped as much of the mud off him as possible. Then she wiped her hands in the grass. He was still dirty. Mud caked the hair on his back and arms. And of course, it was in his tail. He swiped little mud marks on the parking lot.
She sighed. She’d take him back and offer to wash him. That might not go well, but what else was there to do at this point? Hopefully Jesse wouldn’t be mad at her.
When they pulled up to the house, she gulped before knocking. Jesse opened the door and she gave him an apologetic smile.
“I’m really sorry. We ran into a little trouble,” she said.
Jesse looked at Murphy and his eyes widened. “What happened?”
“There was a squirrel…”
“And then?”
“He chased it. And when he was done, he laid down in the mud.”
Jesse looked at Murphy, who happily let his tongue hang out of his mouth. “You played in the mud, Murph, did you?”
“I’ll wash him. I’m so sorry.”
“Ah, it’s okay. I should have warned you that he tends to do that. I think he likes the coolness of the water.”
Right. And the spell she had cast on him didn’t have anything to do with it. “So it’s not just me?” She gave a nervous chuckle.
“No. Come in. I’ll show you to the bathroom.”
He led them to a door that went down to a basement. Luckily, the floors were all marble or hardwood, so the dirt Murphy left behind could be swept up easily. In the basement, which was fully finished like an extra story of the house, Jesse took her past his workout equipment and into a bathroom with a large tub.
“This is where I wash him,” Jesse said. He reached into a closet and took out a basket with dog shampoo and other grooming supplies.
“Thanks.” She started the water.
“I hope you don’t mind,” he said. “I have a few things to finish up. But I can come help in a bit?”
“Sure, don’t worry about it. I got this.”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely.”
He smiled before he left.
She got to work. First, there was getting Murphy into the tub. She had to half push, half pull him in, but he finally stood in the shallow water and let her pour cups of water over him. This part was much easier than she had expected. Maybe Murphy liked baths.
Getting him back out of the tub once he’d been washed and rinsed was more challenging. She again had to tug on him to get him to move. She was toweling him off when Jesse came back down.
“I see you managed okay,” he said. He leaned against the door frame, watching them with a smile on his face.
“We did. I’m so sorry, again.”
“It’s not a problem. Though I think you’ll need a bath yourself after this.”
She looked down at her dirty shirt and shorts. “Yeah.” She laughed. “I really get into my work.”
“So, can you come back tomorrow? I usually have him walked every day, around midday.”
“That’s perfect.” She wouldn’t mind seeing Jesse every day.
He kept smiling. That was a good sign. As they left the bathroom and she followed him back upstairs, she cast a light spell. The one she’d told Charlotte about—the one to heighten feelings—could be done at different levels, like all spells. The stronger they were cast—the louder and the more intensely felt—the stronger they would affect the target. Since they’d just met and she couldn’t be sure what Jesse was feeling, she cast it lightly. It should be enough to make him like her more. Maybe not romantically, but that would come. This was a start.
Chapter Four
The next day when Ella showed up to walk Murphy, she was disappointed to be greeted by Marla, the housekeeper. Jesse was at work all day. And he would be every day. How had Ella and Charlotte not considered that when they were making this plan? He’d never fall for her if he never saw her. The rest of that week, every time she knocked on his door, she was hopeful, then disappointed.
“What am I going to do?” she asked Charlotte. “If I never see him, I can’t cast spells or make him love me.”
“Hmm. Maybe you could call him and ask to talk about Murphy?”
“What about him?”
“It’s been a week. Ask him for a business meeting to recap. You could see if he has any suggestions, changes to the schedule, things he’d like to see going forward. Make a doggie plan or something. I don’t know. Treat it like a business. That’ll work on him.”
“Okay, sure. A doggie plan.”
Ella thought about it, then called Jesse.
“Is everything okay?” Jesse asked, after greeting her.
“Oh, sure. Well, I hope so. I like to meet with my clients after the first week or so to make sure everything is okay. I’d like to discuss any plans or changes you might have for scheduling, exercise or discipline. Is there anything you’d like me to be working on?”
“I think it’s been great. I’m happy and Murphy seems happy. Thanks.”
This wasn’t going as well as she’d hoped. “Would you have a few minutes to look over the plan I have laid out for him?”
“Umm.” There was silence for a minute. “Sorry, I have someone in my office. Let’s do this. Can you meet for coffee near my office tomorrow?”
“I’d love to.”
Not only was she going to get to talk to him, but this was something that felt like a date. Ella hung up, excited. Then she realized she needed to actually have some sort of stupid plan for this dog. She spent the rest of the day on Google and came up with something that seemed feasible.
The real plan was what to wear and how to cast spells on him in order to make him fall for her. She tried several different outfits, finally deciding on skinny jeans and a top with flats. It was casual, but still very cute.
Normally, she would arrive a few minutes late to this sort of half date meeting. That way, she wouldn’t be sitting there alone, looking pathetic, and it would give him the chance to get them a table. But this time, she got there early. With his busy schedule, she didn’t want to inconvenience him. She sat with her notebook out, reading it as if she were concentrating.
She saw him coming in, of course, but she pretended not to. He approached the table.
“Hey there,” he said.
She looked up and acted surprised to see him. “Hi.”
“Can I get you a coffee?”
She smiled and shook her head. “This is my meeting and you’re my client. I’ll get you the coffee. You can take a look over this while I get it.”
He chuckled and sat down. “Okay.”
The real reason she wanted to do this, though, was so she could spike his coffee. She had made a potion that raised the drinker’s spirits. It was normally used when people were sad, to make them feel better, but she thought if used right, it could double as something of a love potion. If he felt good when he was with her, maybe he’d just come to associate good feelings with her. When she popped the lid off her own coffee to add sugar, she popped his off to add the potion.
She set his coffee down and sat across from him.
“Thank you,” he said, taking a sip. He gestured at the plan in her notebook. “This is… thorough.”
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Fir
st of all, is there anything you’d like to change in how we’re doing things? Schedule or timing?”
“Nope, it’s all good.”
“Okay, great.” She made a note in her notebook. She had to look as professional as possible. “So, then, discipline? Anything you want to work on?”
“If you can get him to stop loving puddles, that’d be awesome. But otherwise, he’s very well behaved.”
“Right.” She made another note. At this rate, they’d be done in five minutes. She needed a way to get him talking. “What about his diet? I can make recommendations for him if you need them.”
“I think we’re good there. I buy whatever the vet tells me to. And I have an excellent vet.”
“Of course you do.” She smiled. What else could she ask him about the dog to get him talking? “Well, is there anything else you want to tell me about Murphy that you think I should know? Or anything you want to ask me?”
He sat back in his chair and gave her a half smile as he looked at her. “I do have one question.” He leaned forward and asked, “Do you really do this with all your clients, or was this just an excuse to see me?”
Her cheeks went hot. He’d figured it out. What was the best way to play this off? She looked down and picked at the lid of her coffee for several moments before answering. “I, umm, usually see my clients more regularly so I can discuss these things with them, but since you’re usually at work, I just thought…” She lifted her shoulders and gave him a sheepish look. “I’m sorry if I’m wasting your time. I just want to make sure that Murphy is getting the best care possible.”
“I appreciate that, I really do. He’s important to me. But, Ella, let’s do this the right way.”
“What do you mean?”
“Have dinner with me.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?” Maybe playing the innocent, shy girl worked on him. It seemed to be doing so far.
“Really. Tomorrow at seven?”
“Yes. Absolutely.”
He stood up and pushed his chair forward. “I do have to get going, though. Thanks for the coffee. See you tomorrow.”
“See you then!”
Ella watched him walk out and realized she was excited. She was looking forward to their date. This was not good. She couldn’t fall for him. That would ruin all their plans. She had to remember that this was payback for breaking Charlotte’s heart. There was a purpose for this. And the purpose wasn’t her own happiness. If she fell for him, that would only break Charlotte’s heart even more.
