The Perfect Match

by Kimberly Cates

“Yes, you are a bad, bad dog! Running away like that!” she scolded, unable to keep her voice from quavering. “I’ve been worried sick about you!”

  Clancy swiped her cheek once with his tongue, then collapsed to the ground and hid his nose under one massive paw.

  Rowena climbed to her feet, and shook the hair out of her eyes, beaming. “Oh, Cash! Thank you so much for bringing him back to me. I’ve been terrified with him lost. Anything could have happened to him.”

  “Something did.”

  He wasn’t smiling. He wasn’t irritated or put out or any one of a dozen other reactions she might have expected. Rowena stilled. Something was badly wrong.

  “What—what happened?”

  “While I was off working a double shift, Charlie found him wandering loose in our neighborhood. She and Mac hid him in the playhouse until after dark.”

  “Oh.” Why on earth would Clancy end up clear across town? Maybe he really had been looking for his little girl. She imagined Charlie’s excitement, her desperation to keep the dog. The lonely little girl trying to hide a mountain of a dog in plain sight. “Oh, Cash, I’m sorry.”

  “That’s not all of it.”

  Rowena swallowed hard, peering up into the deputy’s brown eyes. Deep lines carved around his mouth, dark circles under his eyes, his face haggard, as if he hadn’t slept any more than she had. “Then what…?”

  “After their babysitter was asleep, Charlie climbed out her bedroom window and got the dog so it could sleep in her room. When their babysitter went in to check on them, there was some kind of commotion—the dog jumping up, the girls screaming. The damned dog tripped him.”

  “Oh, no.” Rowena felt herself shrink inside, horrified.

  “He broke his goddamned leg.”

  “Clancy? Oh Lord! I’ll call the vet!”

  “Not the dog. The girls’ babysitter. Doctor says he’ll be on crutches for eight weeks, maybe longer. Hell, he’s sixty-eight years old.”

  Rowena felt the blood drain from her face. Guilt washed through her. “Oh, Cash. I…”

  “I told you this dog is dangerous! But no. You wouldn’t believe me.”

  “Did Clancy mean to—to hurt him?”

  “Vinny says no. The dog was lying next to Charlie’s bed and Vinny tripped over him. But what does it matter whether the dog ambushed him on purpose or not? Doesn’t change the fact that Vinny’s in a cast, or that there’s no way he can handle Mac and her wheelchair.”

  Cash ran his splayed hand over his head in frustration. “What the hell am I supposed to do now?” he demanded. “My childcare is down the toilet. My girls are a mess. And I’m in the worst bind I’ve been in since my ex-wife took off.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Rowena said, feeling helpless, completely to blame. Why hadn’t she called the authorities two days ago, when she’d done her first sweep of the neighborhood and realized Clancy wasn’t just nosing around the corner somewhere?

  Because she’d taken Cash Lawless at his word when he said he’d only give the dog one last chance. And yet, if she had reported Clancy missing, any officer patrolling the town would have been on the lookout for the dog. Maybe none of this would have happened.

  “This is my fault,” Rowena whispered, heartsick.

  “You think it’s your fault. Charlie thinks it’s her fault. Hell, look at your blasted dog’s face! He thinks it’s his fault.” Cash thrust the rope Clancy was tied to into Rowena’s hands. “Truth is, it doesn’t matter who’s to blame. Doesn’t change a damned thing.”

  Rowena winced at the truth in his words. “Can you give me your—your sitter’s name and address? I’d like to…to…”

  To what? A voice demanded in her head. Pay for the guy’s medical bills? And just where would you get the money?

  “Vinny Scoglomiglio—631 Cameo Drive. Apartment 3.”

  Rowena didn’t bother to write it down. She knew she’d remember every word. Guilt did that to her. She caught her lip between her teeth, searching for something to say.

  “Tell me just one thing, will you?” Cash asked her, obviously at the end of his rope.

  “What’s that?” Rowena’s hands trembled as she looked into his eyes.

  “I’m supposed to be back on patrol in six hours. Who’s going to watch my kids while I work?” Cash glared at her. She took a step back. Couldn’t help herself.

  “Don’t know the answer to that one, do you?” His shoulders slumped. “Neither do I.”

  He sounded defeated, hopeless, alone. Rowena clutched the makeshift leash so tight bits of twine cut into her hands. He swung around, then stalked to where his dark-green SUV hugged the curb.

  Rowena watched him open the door and climb in. His kids must both be in the back, strapped into their car seats. Charlie’s face peered out the window, a pale smear of misery and huge, worried eyes.

  Who would take care of the girls while the babysitter recovered? Rowena wondered as the vehicle pulled away down the street. Such sweet little things, so battered by forces beyond their control. Mac not able to walk. Charlie hurting deep inside where the scars didn’t show. Their mother gone. Now, their caretaker was nursing a broken leg.

  Rowena remembered the steep flight of steps that led up to the Lawless house. Even without a broken limb, it would have been difficult for whoever watched Mac to get the little girl and her wheelchair up to the landing or down to the street.

  It was a daunting job. How was Cash Lawless going to find someone to help him in such short order?

  Collaring Clancy, she went back into the shop and locked the door behind her. Suddenly she needed to hear a familiar voice.

  Rowena went to the phone, punched in Bryony’s number. It rang until the answering machine picked up. “Hey, Bry, it’s me. I’ve um, got a situation here I’m not sure how to handle. Just wanted to talk—”

  “Don’t hang up!”

  Her older sister’s voice startled her. Rowena almost dropped the phone. “Bry?”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s me. I was screening my calls. Hard to get any work done around here.”

  “Sorry for interrupting.”

  “Yeah, well. I almost managed to ignore you, but then I realized you’ve got your ‘oh, shit’ voice on so I couldn’t do it. What’s this situation?”

  Rowena leaned against the wall. “You wouldn’t believe what happened now.”

  “With you involved?” Bryony laughed wryly. “Try me.”

  Rowena spilled her guts to her sister, Bryony gasping and commiserating at all the right places until the tale was done.

  “Listen, Rowena, I know you feel bad,” Bryony said at last. “But this Lawless guy probably has plenty of other people to help him out of this jam once he stops to think about it. Friends, coworkers, women who’d love to get a shot at making themselves indispensable to a man who looks that hot.”

  “I didn’t say what he looks like!”

  “You didn’t have to. I can tell from your voice. You’ve got a thing for him, don’t you?”

  “What do you mean, a thing?” Rowena demanded, feigning indignance.

  “He’s divorced. He’s got two kids. One in a wheelchair and one who wants a dog. It’s a typical Rowena to the Rescue scenario. Am I right?”

  “Well…I…”

  “Did he kiss you?”

  “No! He barely touched me! Like only to put a bandage on…my eye…when I crashed into Mac’s wheelchair.”

  “So that’s the real scoop on that shiner mom was telling me about. Ariel thought your story of stepping on a rake and getting hit with the wooden handle was suspicious. I was going to give you the benefit of the doubt, even though it was a lame excuse.”

  “I saw it in a skit on Saturday Night Live. It was the only thing I could think of that would make a mark like the tube part of a wheelchair. Next time I’ll call you and Arry for a consult.”

  “Not a bad idea. I’m way better at making up stories than you are.”

  “So how about writing me an ending for this one?�
� Rowena pleaded. “What do I do now?”

  “Absolutely nothing.” Bryony said. “I know you feel bad about those little girls. But consider the problem from all angles. Yes, your dog got loose, but you weren’t the one who brought it into the Lawless house, were you?”

  “No. But—”

  “This babysitter—you said he’s a man, right?”

  “Right.”

  “Typical. He was responsible for keeping an eye on those kids. I mean, a Newfoundland isn’t exactly something a kid could sneak in the house in a pocket, like that frog you sneaked in ’cause Bobby Keifer wanted to eat its legs. I think I still have hearing loss, the way Mom screamed when she found that thing in her bath tub.”

  “Listen, Bry. Listing off my previous disasters is not helpful. The frog deal is over and done with. It’s this current mess I’m trying to sort out.”

  “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. It’s not your mess. I’m sure Bobby just went out and caught another frog to turn into sushi, and this guy—what was his name?”

  “Cash Lawless.”

  “Oh, for God’s sake. That doesn’t even sound real. It could be an alias for all you know. Maybe he knocked off his wife, and the kid in the wheelchair is a con game, you know—and—”

  “You should write that down—you’d have a thriller on your hands. The man is a deputy, Bry. You know. Badge. Gun. Protect and serve. You’re not going to find him on America’s Most Wanted.”

  “That’s not the point.”

  “Then what is?”

  “This is his problem, honey. Not yours. You’ve got a shop to run. Animals to take care of. Sisters to phone and a mother to bamboozle with stories about rogue rake-smacking incidents. This guy sounds like he has enough baggage to trek from that dinky little town you’re in all the way up Mount Everest.”

  The reference carried Rowena back to the first time she’d talked to Charlie Lawless, teased her about her indestructible bookbag and the journey she could take with it. Charlie’s words fell from Rowena’s mouth. “People freeze up there, you know.”

  “Has this guy threatened to sue you? Or…”

  “No!” Rowena stopped, her voice quieter. “No.”

  “Then stay away from him. I don’t want you to get hurt, honey.”

  “I promise I’ll be careful.”

  Bryony muttered under her breath. “Careful? Right. That’s what you told me when you picked up that fox in the woods. The one in the trap?”

  Rowena winced, hating the memory. Of all the mishaps of her childhood, that one had caused her the most heartache. She’d convinced Bryony to let her bundle the creature up in her jacket and hide it in the garden shed. While Bryony waited with the fox, Rowena had run inside, asked her father if she could rescue the animal. He’d told her to leave the thing alone! She could get rabies. But it hadn’t stopped her. Trouble was, when those sharp white teeth had chewed up her hand, Bryony had tried to save her. Her sister had gotten bitten herself, and endured the painful shots that followed, as well.

  “Hey, Bry. Thanks for…well, listening.”

  “Which is a nice way of telling me it doesn’t matter what advice I’ve given you. You’re going to do exactly what you want. Well? Isn’t it?”

  Rowena didn’t answer.

  Bryony sighed. “Row, you’ve got the biggest heart of anyone I know. I just wish it weren’t so damned stubborn. What are you going to do?”

  “I’ll tell you when I figure it out.”

  “Terrific.”

  Rowena sobered, a wave of homesickness sweeping over her. She knew Bryony had inherited their mother’s aversion to PDAs, but she wished she could give her sister a hug.

  “You’re the best,” Rowena said.

  She heard Bryony’s disgruntled snort. “Then how come you never do what I tell you to?”

  “Slow learner.”

  “I’ll say. Honey, just make sure…”

  “What?”

  “That this time, you’re not the one who gets bitten.”

  SO MUCH FOR SISTERLY advice, Rowena mused as she mounted the stairs to Cash’s door three hours later. Her pulse was jumping, her nerves strained, Bryony’s voice in her head telling her she was about to make a Clancy-sized mistake.

  But Rowena just couldn’t help herself. In spite of her sister’s oh-so-logical insistence that the accident at the Lawless house wasn’t Rowena’s fault, she had to do something. And hopefully in the hour she’d spent in Vinny Scoglomiglio’s comfortable apartment, she and Cash’s ill-fated babysitter had come up with a solution that just might work.

  Vinny had certainly been eager to give it a try. And Rowena had spent the best part of her drive to the Lawless place reassuring herself that the grizzled ex-cop hadn’t just agreed with her because he’d been whacked out on the painkillers the doctor had given him before he set Vinny’s leg.

  With the Lawless girls in school, Vinny had insisted this was the perfect time for Rowena to pitch her idea to the deputy and get his reaction. Cash was sure to be home.

  But when she knocked on the door, the house beyond stayed silent, still.

  Of course, if Cash had seen her van with the vivid Open Arms logo, he might decide not to open the door, she thought wryly.

  She waited a moment, then pressed the doorbell and knocked louder, her fist stinging from the impact. She chewed at her bottom lip, her nerves growing more ragged by the minute.

  He had to be in there. Vinny had seemed so organized and insistent when he’d charted out Cash’s schedule with her, sketching out every school project, every doctor’s appointment and every spelling test day on the Lawless family calendar.

  Cash must just be trying to avoid her. She winced at the thought. Well, she wasn’t going anywhere until they talked about this like civilized human beings and he did exactly what she wanted.

  When no one answered, she walked around the house to peek in the backyard. Empty. Then back to the window that looked into the house’s living room. Her shoulders tensed as she remembered the one time she’d actually set foot in the room, the sting of the cut under her eye and the far more painful burn of embarrassment once she realized what a terrible mistake she’d made.

  When she’d first realized Cash Lawless was a far different man that she’d imagined he was.

  Is that what this offer of yours is really about? That jolt of sensation you felt when he put his hand on you? When you looked down at his mouth and wondered if he’d taste as good as he felt? As if he’d ever want someone like you. Especially after the wife he’d had…

  Okay, so maybe—just maybe—she might have mixed motives. Wanting to reach out to Charlie, wanting to make up for Clancy’s caper, wanting to test the hot waters Cash Lawless had stirred in her with his soul-weary eyes and his strong, healing hands. But if the guy thought she was just going to give up and go away if he ignored her long enough, he was wrong.

  She pounded on the door one more time, then went to the picture window to see if there were any signs of life. Cupping her hands around her eyes to kill the glare off the glass, she squinted to see inside.

  Bad idea!

  Rowena’s heart almost stopped as she saw a tall, wet, very naked Cash Lawless stalk out of the hallway, wrestling with the tangled up bath towel he was trying to cinch around his hips.

  Too late.

  Rowena had already gotten an eyeful—long, muscular legs, a toned curve of buttocks and…well, the most impressive equipment she’d ever seen. Not that she’d seen that many to compare it to.

  Appalled at herself for staring, she straightened, fully intending to flee back to the front door and feign innocence. But she jerked up so fast her elbow hit the window. The glass rattled like thunder.

  Cash spun toward the window, stepping on the tail of towel in the process, ripping the length of terrycloth completely out of his grasp.

  His gaze locked with Rowena’s through the glass, his incredible body frozen for an instant like one of those nude models Ariel had painted in art clas
s.

  No wonder her sister had flunked it on purpose so she could take it twice, Rowena thought, unable to tear her gaze away from him.

  Oh, Lord, she thought wildly, what would Ariel do in a situation like this?

  Jump his bones, her sister’s voice whispered wickedly in her ear.

  Rowena settled for the next best thing. She forced a wan smile to her face. Then she held up her hand and waved.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  SHE WAS WAVING AT HIM. For a split second Cash froze in disbelief at the sight of Rowena in the window. Then a cool draft from the kitchen window he’d left open a few inches chilled the drops of water still clinging to his freshly showered skin, and startled him enough to shake him out of his trance.