felt like some ugly person had
gotten inside her, and she no
longer had any control over herself.
Flipping over on her side, she
reached in her nightstand
drawer and lifted out the wrinkled
envelope she'd found in
the top of her mom's old closet at
Grandma's house. The
letter had been written on notebook
paper, the kind with blue
lines and read so many times that it
had gone thin and
lifeless.
Lena unfolded it and let her eyes
scan the page, even
though she'd long since memorized
the words.
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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
Dear Colby,
I wish I didn't have to say this,
but things aren't working out.
There are too many dif erences
between us for it ever to last. As for the
baby, the decision was yours. I
can't be a part of it.
Doug
Unwanted tears stung Lena's eyes.
She refolded the
letter and careful y tucked it back
inside the envelope. Al
these years, she'd believed her
mother when she said her
father died. She remembered asking
her mom why they had
the same last name as Grandma and
Grandpa Wil iams. Her
mom explained that she'd just
decided to keep her own when
she and Lena's father married. And
after he had “gone
away, as she always put it, she'd
wanted them both to have
the same surname. At the time, she'd
been too young to
question the story. Looking back on
it, she remembered the
guilty look on her mom's face and
knew now that the lie
had been behind it.
Lena's father never married her
mother. Lena had
been born out of wedlock. Given her
mother's maiden
name.
A knock sounded at the door, fol
owed by her mom's
voice. Lena shoved the envelope back
in her nightstand
drawer and sat up on the bed,
clutching a pillow to her
chest. “Yeah?
The door opened. “I've
got dinner ready, her mother
said, sticking her head around the
corner. “Why don't you
come on down?
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INGLATH COOPER
“I'm not hungry.
Lena studied the bedspread, hearing
the sul en note in her own voice.
“I have homework to do.
“I made your
favorite. Macaroni and cheese.
The desire to hurt as she hurt felt
too strong to resist.
She glanced up at her and said,
“No, thanks.
“You're sure?
Ignoring the look of surprise in her
mother's eyes, Lena
reached for the book on the
nightstand and turned to the
marked page. “Yeah,
I'm sure.
After a second or two, her mother
stepped out and
closed the door behind her. Lena
almost called her back but
squashed the desire before the words
were out.
She lay there for a few moments,
regretting her actions,
but then pushed away her remorse and
let her thoughts
wander to Luke McKinley, instead.
She thought about him al the time
now. The problem?
He didn't know she existed.
She'd been trying to find a way to
introduce herself to
him since the first day of school.
But what did a girl say to
a guy like that? He was gorgeous.
No, more than gorgeous.
He had coal black hair and moody
blue eyes that looked as
if he'd seen things most of the kids
here hadn't even thought
of yet.
She'd had her chance one afternoon
after school when
she and Mil ie went to the Dairy
Queen. Lena had just
placed her order at the register
when she turned around to
find him standing behind her in
line. At first, she completely
blanked, but realizing this might be
her only chance, she
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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
smiled and said, “Hi.
I'm Lena Wil iams. You're new here,
aren't you?
“Yeah, he said,
looking surprised. “I'm Luke
McKinley.
“I know. I mean,
someone mentioned your name.
He didn't say anything for several
seconds. He just stared
down at her with those incredible
eyes of his while her
cheeks caught fire, and she longed
for enough
sophistication to throw out
something cute and flirty, but
nothing came to mind. He finally
said, “I'd better place my
order.
She stepped back and lifted a hand.
“Okay. See you
around.
“Yeah. See you
around.
Lena went back to her table, where
Mil ie demanded all
the details.
At home that night, Lena longed to
talk to her mom
about Luke. Ask her how to get him
to notice her. She and
her mom had been best friends for as
long as she could
remember. She'd always asked her
advice on everything. But
all that changed when she found the
letter. Her mother had lied
to her. Now that Lena knew that, how
would she ever believe
another word she said?
113
18
onday morning turned out to be a
busy one at the
Mclinic. After things finally slowed
down a bit,
Colby told Stacey to go to lunch
with Laura and Ruth-Ann.
Cecil Maynard had just brought in
his German shepherd,
Wal y, for his yearly shots, but
she'd manage that on her
own.
“The old lady was
supposed to bring him in during her
lunch hour, Cecil said when Colby
lifted the dog up on
the table. “She
had to work though, so I just brought him
in myself.
Colby opened the cabinet beside her
and took out the
supplies she needed. She'd never
considered herself a bra-
burning feminist, but there were
times when she
understood why the whole movement
got started. “Exactly
how old is Myrna, Cecil?
His eyebrows rose in surprise.
“She's forty-
something.
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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
“I see her car at
the Exercise Hut on Tuesdays and
Thursdays. I'd say she's a pretty
wel -maintained forty-
something.
“Reckon she is.
“Then why do you
cal her your ‘old lady'?
A few seconds of puzzled silence
followed the question.
“Heck, I don't
know, Doc. It's just a figure of speech. What
difference does it make?
“Let's put it
this way, Cecil, Colby said, aware that
some of her outrage for Myrna
stemmed from her own
recent experience with the lack of
sensitivity on the part of
the male gender. “She
doesn't go to the Exercise Hut twice
a week to keep herself looking good
just so her husband
can call her his old lady.
Another pause and then a chagrined,
“I expect you're
right.
“Hel o.
Colby looked up to find Ian standing
in the doorway
of the examining room. The sight of
him caught her by
surprise. She struggled for a
professional smile and said,
“I'm with someone
at the moment. If you'll have a seat in
the waiting room, I'll be with you
when I'm finished.
“Sure, he said,
looking a little taken aback by her
tone.
So much for tact today. First, she'd
attacked Cecil on
behalf of womankind, and now she was
giving Ian the
deep freeze. After giving Wal y his
shot, she put the dog
back on the floor and said,
“Stacey's at lunch, so we'll send
you a bil .
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“Sure thing, Doc.
I'l be sure and tel
Myrna
you said
hello, he said with a grin.
She smiled and shook her head.
“You do that.
Once Cecil left, Colby took a moment
to gather her
composure. Cool, calm, poised. That
was the picture she
would present. She didn't want to
provide Ian with another
reason to think she'd given a second
thought to his surprise
fiancée. Tucking her hair
behind her ears, she stepped into
the room and found Ian sitting on
one of the benches with
Don Juan stretched out beside him,
the dog's head in his
lap. He stood up and smiled at her.
“Very diplomatic. I'm
surprised Myrna didn't hit him over
the head with the frying
pan a long time ago.
Colby shrugged and met his gaze
head-on. “I guess
some men don't realize how their
words or actions might
be perceived by others.
Ian shoved his hands in the pockets
of his jeans and
looked more than uncomfortable.
“Including me, right?
Look, Colby, I should have said
something about being
engaged Friday night. I started to,
but once I figured out
what Phoebe and Frank had in mind, I
didn't want to
embarrass them or you. As it turns
out, Mabel played a little
part in al this. I threatened to
hide her kitchen step stool if
she ever did it again.
As hard as she tried not to, Colby
smiled. He made it
difficult to stay angry with him.
After all, he'd been under
no obligation to tel her anything
about himself.
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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
“I never meant to
deceive you, Colby, he said.
“Everything about
that night caught me off guard. I guess
I was just enjoying myself and. . .
.
They stood for a moment looking at
each other, and
she found herself wishing he would
finish the sentence.
But he didn't. “Well,
he said, running a hand around
the back of his neck. “I'd
better be going. I just wanted to
stop and thank you for the pie. It
was all gone by last night.
I couldn't keep Luke out of the
refrigerator.
“You're welcome.
The least I could do to repay you for
carting me around. Not to mention
getting your car stuck in
the mud.
“That was my
fault, he said, smiling suddenly. He
stood there for a few moments,
watching her, before
saying, “Okay. I
should go.
“Yeah. I've got
things to do.
Still, neither of them moved. They
just stared at one
another until he finally backed
away, then turned and pushed
through the door. Colby heard him
pul off and told herself
that it made no difference that he
semi-redeemed himself by
apologizing as if he really meant
it. The man was engaged.
And even if he hadn't been, she
wouldn't be fooled by some
too-handsome, too wel -off,
out-of-towner who was nothing
if not a surefire prescription for
heartbreak.
117
19
n the way home, Ian stopped by
Thurman's
OHardware to pick up some paint. In
the back,
leafing through sample chips, he
overheard a
conversation with his name in it. He
stretched his head
around the corner and saw two older
men in bib
overalls standing by the cash
register. He recognized
them as the Nolen twins, Dillard and
Willard. The other
times he'd been in the store, he'd
noticed them sitting
on the wooden bench where locals
gathered to talk.
Willard had just reached into his
pocket for a pack of
tobacco when Dillard said, “It's
a shame to see the place
go to weeds like that. I'd hoped
whoever bought it
would get it back in shape.
“Yeah, that's
some of the best farmland around,
Willard agreed.
“That McKinley
seems a nice enough fella, but I
doubt if he'd know the front end of
a tractor from the
back. City slicker if I ever saw
one.
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GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
They both chuckled. Ian stayed put,
feeling
inadequate in ways he'd never
imagined would bother
him. He'd gone to college on
scholarship and built a
career that earned him more money
than he would ever
likely spend, and yet he felt like
less than a man because
two old geezers labeled him as the
city boy he was.
When he got home, he put the paint
inside the
storage building behind the house
and looked out at the
farm. As much as he hated to admit
it, the Nolen
brothers were right. The weeds were
taking over. And it
was up to him to do something about
it.
The tractor sat parked at the back
of the barn, full
of gas, the mowing blade attached.
If he drove a car, he
could certainly drive this thing.
Not like it could be that
hard. He'd show those two old-timers
city slicker.
Luke was in school, and Mabel had
taken the day to
visit her brother two towns up the
Interstate. Rachel
had returned to New York. At least
if he messed up,
there would be no one here to
witness it.
He found the ignition and turned the
key. The
tractor sputtered and lurched
forward, coming
dangerously close to rolling through
the wall in front of
him. He slammed his foot on the
brake, realizing he'd
forgotten to press in the clutch.
Honest enough mistake. Might have
happened to
anyone.
He tried again. The old tractor
labored to life, black
smoke billowing out the back. He
fumbled with the
gears until he hit reverse. The
tractor torpedoed
119
INGLATH COOPER
backward out of the barn at a speed
that would have
flattened anyone unlucky enough to
be standing in its