Listen To Your Heart by Fern Michaels Page B

Thanks again for agreeing to keep Zip.”
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    The clock on the nightstand shrilled to life. Josie cracked an eyelid. She groaned. No one should have to get up at five-thirty in the morning. Absolutely no one. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and groaned again. The boxer rose to his feet and stretched. Rosie did the same thing. “Time to go out, huh? Okay, let’s go and let’s make it quick. We have company coming for breakfast.” She leaned over the boxer. “Your owner is coming for you.” The dog stared at her for a long minute before he dropped to his belly and squirmed his way under her bed.
    Rosie yipped her disapproval by peering under the bed; Josie dropped to the floor. “Look, Zip. Maybe I’m wrong and your owner isn’t coming. Maybe it’s wishful thinking on my part. I’m going to pick up your girlfriend and take her outside. If you pee under my bed, you will never be allowed up here again. I know you understand everything I’m saying, so let’s hop to it.” The huge dog dropped his head between his paws and stared at her. It was obvious he had no intention of moving.
    Josie whirled around to grab Rosie before she could belly under the bed to join Zip. They were back in the house in under ten minutes. Zip was still under the bed. “If you’re under there for the long haul, we’re going to have a problem,” Josie said as she headed for the bathroom.
    It was six forty-five when Josie exited the bathroom dressed in a swirling lavender skirt with matching blouse. “Let’s go downstairs where I’ll have some café noir and you get some kibble. That’s an order, Rosie.” She wasn’t the least bit surprised when neither dog followed her down the stairs and out to the kitchen. Rosie was always ahead of her and would jump up on one of the chairs to wait expectantly for either a treat or some real food. The sudden urge to cry was so strong, she bit down on her lower lip. Damn, her well-ordered life was suddenly upside down. “I wish you were here, Mom. Something’s happening to me, and I’m not sure how I should deal with it. If you were here, you’d know exactly what to say to me. It’s really strange, Mom, that Rosie would choose the chair you always used to sit on when we had our café noir. You always said our early-morning coffee was the best. I put chicory in it just like you used to do. Rosie is like a person. She really is. Damn it, I just want to cry.”
    â€œThen goddamn it, cry!” Kitty said from the open doorway. “You talking to Mom again? I talked to her myself last night. You know, to apologize for running buck-ass naked through the rain, slurping on a mango. Just in case she could, you know, kind of see . Why do you want to cry?”
    â€œBecause Rosie doesn’t need me anymore. All she wants is Zip. They’re both under my bed, and Zip won’t come out because I told him Paul was coming for him. When I got home last night he was waiting on the back porch. Paul said he knows how to open the French doors. He came here. He must have been here for hours. I felt sorry for him, so I let him stay. Paul’s bringing beignets, and I just made coffee. Tell me, what was it like?”
    â€œYou mean being naked in the rain or the part about the mango or the details on how it felt being chased by Harry? Mangos are so juicy, especially if they’re ripe. Harry loved licking the juice off my body. In a word, spectacular ! That’s with a capital S.”
    â€œI see now why you were talking to Mom.” Josie laughed. “Set the table.”
    â€œPaper plates okay?”
    â€œSure. I’m too busy today to do any cleanup. The ladies are coming to help. This little luncheon we’re catering and the dinner party will be a good way for them to dive in and see how it all works. I hope for all our sakes that it works out.”
    â€œMe too. If