and turning the key in the ignition.
Disappointment assailed her as he
eased back out onto
the main road. The feeling was
inexplicable, unjustifiable. He
was doing as she'd asked. Why then
did she feel so
miserable?
The drive to the high school parking
lot seemed to take
forever. Colby ached for him to
touch her, to cover her hand
with his, wrong as she knew it to
be. She focused on the
road ahead, telling herself she'd
done the right thing. When
he stopped beside her car, she slid
out of the passenger side
and held the door open. “I
think it's better if we don't see
each other anymore. For all
concerned.
“Colby—
But she wouldn't let herself stop
and listen to him. She
turned to her truck, fumbling to get
the key in the lock. He
cal ed out again, but without
looking back, she tore out of
the parking lot while she stil had
the will to leave.
260
41
olby pul ed into her driveway at
nearly three a.m.
CPhoebe sat on the front porch
waiting for her,
huddled up in Frank's old varsity
football jacket.
Colby got out of the truck and
jogged across the
yard. “Phoebe,
are you all right? What's wrong?
Phoebe sniffed and wiped her cheek.
“How about
what's not? It'll take less time.
Colby sat down on the step and put
an arm around
her friend's shoulder, almost
welcoming the distraction
from her own troubled thoughts.
“Come on, tell me
about it.
“There's not much
to say. One day I thought we had
a great marriage, and now. . .now
everything's a mess,
she said with a broken sob.
Colby hugged her closer. “Where
are the kids?
“At their
grandma's.
“Come on, then,
she said, getting up and pulling
Phoebe to her feet. “I'll
make coffee. You'll talk.
261
INGLATH COOPER
Phoebe followed Colby into the
kitchen and sat
down. In a couple of minutes, Colby
had the coffee
made, filling a cup for each of
them. She took a fortifying
sip. “What
happened?
Phoebe's face crumpled. “He
said he had some kind
of business dinner tonight. And he
wasn't home when I
left at midnight.
“He could have
had a flat tire. Anything might have
happened.
“He always takes
me with him if he has business on
the weekend.
“Have you talked
to him about any of this, Phoebe?
“I'm afraid to.
What if he's having an affair? I don't
think I want to know. And, on the
other hand, I think I'll
die if I don't find out something
soon.
“What good does
it do to assume the worst,
Phoebs?
“What else could
it be? She sighed, looking
miserable. “Our
fifteenth wedding anniversary is coming
up next week. I never thought I'd be
celebrating it like
this.
Colby hadn't wanted to believe Frank
would ever do
such a thing. But maybe she was just
being naive. Why
was it so hard to believe? Why had
she thought him any
different from most men? Any
different from Ian
McKinley, who had kissed her
tonight, who had wanted
more than that? Ian McKinley, who
belonged to someone
else.
262
GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
She'd driven home, ridiculing
herself for letting
things get so out of hand. How far
would they have gone
if they hadn't been interrupted? She
would like to think
she'd have come to her senses, but
who was she kidding?
She forced her attention back to
Phoebe. “Did you
leave him a note? she asked.
Phoebe nodded, sniffing.
“Then why don't
you stay here tonight? Lena's
staying at Millie's. You can sleep
in her bed.
“Are you sure I
won't be putting you out?
Colby squeezed her shoulder and
said, “Never.
Phoebe stayed until almost ten the
next morning.
The two of them were up early,
though, talking and
drinking coffee. Colby listened
while Phoebe talked.
Hearing the strain in her friend's
voice, she realized
Phoebe had been holding her worries
in, hiding behind
her usual front of good spirits. She
felt guilty for not
having taken Phoebe's concerns more
seriously. She'd
felt sure there had to be some
explanation for Frank's
behavior, but now, she honestly had
no idea.
Once Phoebe had left, she
straightened up the house,
admitting to herself that she didn't
know about a lot of
things anymore. Her relationship
with her daughter. Her
growing preoccupation with an
unavailable man.
What had happened to her steady, if
somewhat
predictable, life? How many times
had Phoebe accused
her of being set in her ways? Of
refusing to open herself
up to the possibility of falling in
love? If that meant she
didn't have to walk around with a
knot in her stomach
263
INGLATH COOPER
and a yearning for something she
couldn't have, then
she'd choose that option any day of
the week.
She took a shower, got dressed and
drove to the
clinic to check on a Springer
Spaniel named Hermie that
had been hit by a car on Friday. The
dog had been badly
hurt with internal injuries and a
broken leg. Andrea
Morris, the dog's person, as she
liked to be known,
absolutely doted on the dog. She'd
been nearly hysterical
when she'd brought him in. Colby
opened Hermie's
kennel now and stepped inside. He
raised his head and
looked at her, his eyes noticeably
more alert than
yesterday. She bent down and rubbed
his ears. “Hey,
fella. Glad to see you're feeling
better.
The dog whimpered again. She stroked
the fur
beneath his chin, and he tipped his
head back a little
farther, obviously enjoying the
attention. She looked at
the cast on his leg, checked his
temperature, relieved to
see it was normal. He had also eaten
some of the food in
his bowl, another good sign. She
went to her office and
called Mrs. Morris to tell her that
Hermie was doing
much better. The woman's relief was
tangible.
“If you'd like to
come see him, someone will be here.
Just knock at the back door.
“Thank you, Dr.
Williams. I'll do that.
Colby hung up, taking satisfaction
in knowing she'd
relieved the woman's worries. She
drove back home and
spent the rest of the morning
preparing lunch for Lena,
who was supposed to be home by
twelve o'clock. But her
mind was only half on what she was
doing. She kept
264
GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
reliving last night, hating herself
for it but unable to stop
thinking about Ian. She wasn't naive
when it came to
chemistry between a man and a woman.
There was
definitely chemistry. That and then
some.
The memory of last night was both
sweet and
poignant. Poignant, because she knew
it couldn't happen
again. She was a God-fearing,
churchgoing, small-town
veterinarian and mother. Women like
her didn't have
affairs with engaged men from
Manhattan who looked as
at home in tailor-made suits as she
did in manure-
spattered rubber boots. It wouldn't
be anything more
than an affair. And in the light of
day, she knew that an
affair was out of the question.
The front door opened, then closed.
“Lena. Is that
you? she called out.
No answer. Lena appeared in the
kitchen doorway,
her expression stony.
“Hi, honey, Colby
said cautiously. “Did you have a
good time last night?
Lena folded her arms across her
chest and stared at
her. “I was about
to ask you the same question.
She faltered under the criticism in
Lena's voice.
“What do you
mean?
“Mom, how could
you? The whole town's talking
about you and Mr. McKinley.
Everybody knows he's
engaged, and the rumor is that
you're moving in on him!
The attack left Colby stunned.
“What?
“Well, aren't
you?
“Where did you
get that idea?
265
INGLATH COOPER
“Maybe from the
way you were hanging all over him
at the dance last night. I guess
that's why you haven't
gotten in touch with my dad yet.
You're too busy trying
to steal Mr. McKinley from his
fiancée to bother.
The injustice of the accusation cut
like a knife. Colby
had been walking on pins and needles
for the past few
weeks, waiting for Doug to call,
hoping he would want to
meet his daughter. “Regardless
of whatever resentment
you're feeling toward me, Lena, I'm
your mother, and I
won't tolerate that kind of
disrespect.
Lena's mutinous expression wavered a
bit. Colby
never spoke to her in that tone of
voice. But she'd just
about reached her saturation point.
She turned around
and went outside, sitting down in
the rope swing attached
to the maple in their backyard.
She pushed off with her feet, taking
the swing higher
and higher. Higher than she'd ever
allowed Lena to go.
Higher than she should have.
The rebellion felt good. It eased
the anger inside her,
anger quickly followed by an
avalanche of guilt. How had
things with Lena gotten so out of
control? She ached for
the kind of relationship they'd once
had. How she would
have talked to her about last night.
For the light-hearted
moments in which she joked with her
about bad dates
and bad days.
Not once had she ever imagined
things would be like
this between them.
266
GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
Lena's accusatory words played
through her mind
again.
Maybe from the way you
were hanging al over him at the
dance last night.
Had she been hanging all over him?
Did the rest of
the town think that, as well? If her
face revealed the
feelings swirling around inside her,
then they couldn't be
thinking anything else.
She had fallen for a man who
belonged to another
woman.
She, who had been perfectly content
with her life.
She, who had not gone out looking
for this. Who
considered herself immune to the
kinds of feelings she'd
known last night in Ian McKinley's
arms.
She'd let things get out of hand.
Way out of hand.
She'd embarrassed her own daughter
and made a fool of
herself in front of half the town if
what Lena said was
true.
She stopped the swing with her feet
and sat staring at
the grass beneath her shoes. She'd
made the correct call
in telling Ian they couldn't see
each other anymore. As
much as she might have wished for
things to be different,
she'd simply met the right man at
the wrong time.
267
42
n Monday, Lena skipped school and
hitched a
O ride to the health department in
the next
county.
Getting the appointment with a
doctor had been a
breeze. She'd cal ed that morning,
and the doctor would see
her at two o'clock.
She arrived at the clinic two hours
early and sat in a
diner across the street, drinking
lemonade and trying to stil
the butterflies in her stomach.
There were a couple of moments when
she nearly
chickened out and headed home. But
this was the right
thing to do. If she wanted Luke
McKinley to like her, it
was the
only
thing to do.
Colby had just gotten in from work
on Thursday when
the phone rang. She dropped her
grocery bags at the door
and dashed for it.
“Hi, Dr. Wil
iams. This is Millie. Is Lena in?
268
GOOD GUYS LOVE DOGS
“Hi, Millie. Just
a minute. I'll check. She covered the
phone and cal ed up the stairs for
Lena. No answer. “She
must have gone out for a run or
something.
“Oh, shoot. You
don't see her algebra book anywhere
nearby, do you? I need to borrow it
if she brought it home
with her.
She craned her neck for a glimpse of
Lena's book bag
and spotted it on the living room
couch. “Just a sec. She
put down the phone and reached for
the backpack. There
were two books inside. English Lit
and Algebra. She put the
bag back on the couch. It caught the
side of a cushion and
slid to the floor, spilling the
contents beneath the coffee
table.
She sighed and picked up the phone.
“It's here, Millie.
“Great. I'l cal
her in a little while and come over and
get it.
Colby hung up, then picked up the
contents of Lena's
bag. She dropped to her knees and
gathered up what she
could readily spot: pencils, paper
clips, a notepad. She put
everything inside and zipped the
bag. Just as she got up
from the floor, she saw the edge of
something sticking out