Project Valentine (A Homespun Romance) (3 page)

"What breed is he?"

"Great Dane."

"Bet he weighs a ton." They tittered, pleased by their own wit then they slunk off arms twined around each other like bean runners needing support.

Beside her Arthur lifted his head, stared at another dog nearby, and then settled down again.
Throat tight Jessica looked at her watch. Three o'clock.

What if Jose Garcia was right?
What if no one came by for Arthur in the next two hours? What if...

Jessica clamped down on her imagination.
No, that wasn't going to happen. As long as she thought strong she couldn't fail. Arthur would find a home by tonight.

"If I could have you, I would," she told Arthur for the umpteenth time.
"But they are very strict about pets in the apartment. If only there was some way I could afford a house...."

That wasn't possible on a computer programmer's salary.
Not while she helped David out, whenever his funds ran low. For the umpteenth time, Jessica searched her memory bank for anyone she knew who would fit the bill.

Worry checked all the bases she'd covered so far.
Her lunch hours last week had been spent talking about Arthur to anyone at work willing to listen. She'd put up huge notices by the coffee machine on each floor. Staying late one evening she'd printed some flyers and paid the newspaper boy to place it on car windshields around the apartment complex.

The response had been disappointing.
No one wanted a dog the size of Arthur. Besides, most people assumed it cost an arm and a leg to feed a Great Dane. Most people were right. But that wasn't the real problem. Finding a person who liked Arthur was. If only someone showed a real interest in the Great Dane, she was even willing to pay for part of his upkeep.

Thursday, Jessica had put a call through to Universal Studios, talked to a couple of people.
They had been sympathetic, but firm. They had all the dogs they needed for the time being.

Restlessly, Jessica's gaze roamed the mall.
So many people, so little time.

The red dot she'd seen next to Arthur's name on Jose Garcia's pad this morning had scared her.
Skewering the officer with her fiercest look, she'd demanded, "What's that for?"

"The shelter can only keep the animals for so long, Jessica," he'd replied gently, "Arthur's time with us is almost up."

Jessica closed her eyes briefly. The sands of time dragged her hopes along, as they ran out on Arthur's life. Harsh reality waited impatiently to force its way in.

"Please," whispered Jessica.
There had to be a patron saint of dogs somewhere, with more than human powers. "Please. We need a miracle."

Two minutes later Molly and her father crossed her line of vision, halted in front of the bookstore. Jessica stiffened as neon bulbs came on in her head.

Strong.
Caring. Perfect.

Molly looked over at their group.
Interest flickered in her face as she saw the Project Valentine sign. Her eyes opened wide as she noticed Arthur. A flash of recognition lit her face as she saw Jessica. She tugged at her father's hand, said something. The pair walked over.

Jessica fixed a smile on her face.
Out of the corner of her mouth she said, "This could be our big break, Arthur."

The man looked from her to the badge that bore her name, nodded briefly.
Their earlier encounter might never have been.

Not that there was much to hold his gaze, Jessica acknowledged humorously.
Her straight chin length dark hair and eyes to match weren't exactly spectacular. Her mouth was too full, the rest of her features just there. She pushed her glasses up.

"Hi!"
greeted Molly with an infectious grin.

"Hello again."
Dropping ice cream on someone's foot forged an instant bond. They smiled at each other like conspirators. Jessica kept her eyes on the girl while every nerve ending informed her exactly where Karl Wagner was.

"Is he yours?"

Jessica looked from Molly to the dog in momentary surprise.
For a couple of heartbeats she'd forgotten Arthur. "No, he belongs to the humane society of Clearview."

"Did you bring him here so people could learn about Great Danes?"

"No," Jessica swallowed hard, forcing herself to concentrate. Odd little quivers kept interrupting her thinking. "We brought the dogs to the mall today hoping to find good homes for them."

"What's his name?"
Molly asked.

"We don't know.
The humane society found him wandering the streets."

The blonde head bobbed wisely.
"My teacher told us all about the humane society. They round up strays and take in dogs no one wants. Did his owners just leave him, do you think?"

"That's most probably what happened."

He'd apparently just come along so his daughter could satisfy her interest in the dogs.
His eyes already held a trace of impatience as he looked over the other dogs. There was no real interest there. Jessica's heart sank.

The girl put a hand out to the dog.

"Don't touch him, Molly," Karl Wagner snapped.

"Arthur wouldn't hurt a soul." Jessica interposed quickly. "He's wonderful with children. I had a little girl here earlier who stepped on his paw by mistake and he didn't turn a hair. Good nature is a primary characteristic of Great Danes."

"Arthur?" the deep voice pounced.
"I thought you said he didn't have a name?"

Jessica felt the color ride up under her skin.
She blinked rapidly. "It's my own private name for him."

Defiantly she met his gaze.
That look of his was really something. She had a feeling the contents of her brain were on view.

Molly put her hand out and let Arthur sniff at her.
Then at Jessica's nod, she touched Arthur's head.

"Great Dane?"

"Purebred."
The squeaky pitch of her voice was humiliating. Disgusted by the fact that her sales pitch was so hard to find, Jessica took a deep breath and tried again, "They make excellent companions and great watch dogs. I don't know why anyone would install an alarm system when they could have a dog instead. Research has proved pets provide excellent therapy. They improve heart function, lower blood pressure, ease anxiety." A quick breath and Jessica rushed on, "They are definitely man's best friend. Faithful, loyal, loving. Giving all. Asking nothing. In a few weeks you'll wonder how you ever lived without him."

Out of breath, she had to stop finally.
If he was impressed, he hid it well. In fact there was a tinge of sardonic amusement in his eyes she didn't care for at all. Not that it mattered what he thought. She wasn't the issue here. Arthur was.

Karl Wagner looked from her to the dog as if he might say something, then merely nodded.
An arm shot out, flexed. A wafer thin gold watch worth a lifetime supply of dog food, apparently gave him his clue, "Molly we have to hurry or you won't be able to get something for Nana."

Molly gave Arthur one last pat before she turned away, slipped her hand into her father's.

Failure was a dry well, disappointment the gravity pulling Jessica inexorably to the bottom.
If she'd failed on her own account she wouldn't have minded so much. But Arthur's life was in question here. Tears threw themselves against the muscles of her throat, wanting out. Agony drummed a finale in her ears.

"No."

The word held as much conviction as a solitary male chauvinist at a women's lib rally.
She'd not only failed, she'd broken every rule in the humane society book. Jose Garcia had warned her about this.

Rule number one was to be detached about the animal in your care.

Jessica hadn't been able to muster a trace of detachment after the first long look from Arthur's molasses eyes.

Rule number two was never force a pet on anyone. For it to work, the process had to be a carefully thought out one.

Jessica was a breath away from breaking that one as well.
She wanted to run after Molly and her father, beg them to think of taking Arthur home with them.

Irrational as the urge was she couldn't even explain it to herself.
Gut instinct again. That's what it was. She just knew that Arthur and the pair would do well together. It had to do with the gentleness with which Molly had patted Arthur, the love in the hazel eyes. Karl Wagner was right too, though he didn't seem to think so.

"It's something to do with his mouth," she explained to Arthur.

Jessica had studied mouths over the years.
Thin lipped ones belonged to people who had a tendency to miserliness. Too full ones, hinted at deeply sensual natures except in her case...she was as sensual as a case of Granny Smith apples. Normal mouths, neither too thin nor too full, were a happy balanced blend of everything. The right sort for Arthur. The right sort for her?

Unbidden, the memory of being scrutinized came to mind.
Jessica shivered. She should have stopped for breakfast. Or made use of the break she'd been spelled for, by getting herself something to eat. Hunger was making her lightheaded, playing strange games with her emotions.

"It's not as if I'm a kid," she elaborated to Arthur, "I'm a logical, clear headed, woman."

Which fact still didn't buy one insurance against a pair of laser eyes or account for why her heart felt as if it had been on a roller coast all afternoon.

CHAPTER TWO

At half past three a woman in a fur jacket stopped by to talk about Arthur. Jessica took in thin lips painted a deep fuchsia, the pretentiousness of the stranger's manner, and her hackles rose.

"Isn't he cute?"
A blast of a hundred and twenty dollar an ounce perfume hit Jessica. "I could use him in my commercials."

Jessica looked down at her shoes.
A nightmare vision of Arthur perpetually on the end of a chain, being arranged in poses under the glare of camera lights all day, churned her stomach. His only purpose would be as a foil to this woman whose gravest concerns were the color of her toenails, the state of her hair.

Over Jessica's dead body.

"You don't want this dog," she said point blank, "he's got a sullen nature."

"Oh my!"
the leather skirted vision stepped back. Jessica's grip tightened on the collar and Arthur cocked his head benignly. The model moved her million dollar legs clear out of nipping range.

As the woman left without a backward glance, Jessica's gaze shifted to Arthur.
Guilt throttled her like a choke chain.

"I couldn't let her have you," she said fiercely.
"A life like that would be worse than...." she swallowed hard, "worse than...."

Jessica sighed.
As usual she was guilty of leading with her heart. The mother-hen syndrome made her want to protect the whole world.

She'd probably scotched Arthur's only chance of having a home.

"Want to pack it in?"

Jessica looked at Jose Garcia and then around her.
She was the only volunteer left of the twenty that had been there since eleven that morning. It was four o'clock. Nineteen animals had found new homes. The last one stretched his forepaws, gave an enormous sigh and put his head down. His unquestioning acceptance of whatever lay in store for him rekindled Jessica's fierce resolve, fanning it to blaze proportion.

"No," she said firmly.
"There's still an hour left."

Under her stubborn stare Jose Garcia's eyes dropped.
He wasn't going to get into another argument with her. There was no doubt what the result would be. He could see the edge of pain in her eyes, the shadow of self-doubt. He cleared his throat noisily. For her sake he would give her the time she wanted. She needed it to accept the truth. No one wanted that dog.

Jessica blinked the tears away.
She wasn't going to give up yet.

Concentrating on the thinning crowd she picked out people who looked suitable and began sending out desperate telepathic messages to them.
Come here. Look into those soulful eyes. Do you know the difference a dog can make in your lives? There seemed to be a breakdown in her ability to communicate mentally. No one stopped.

Jessica took Arthur for a brisk fifteen minute walk outside at four thirty.
She was almost back to her spot when she noticed a familiar broad back approach Jose Garcia. Heart in mouth Jessica picked up her pace. There could only be one reason they had returned.

"There was a teenage girl here earlier, about this high."
Indignantly Jessica noted his raised hand put her closer to four feet than five. "Dressed in really bright clothes, talks a lot." Red hot color surged to her face. "She had a Great Dane with her. We were wondering if the dog's found a home."

"Looking for me?"
Jessica's voice dripped honey. Laced with a lethal dose of arsenic.

He didn't look a whit abashed.
Swung around and treated her to one of his gimlet glances.

"Ms. Woods," inserted Jose Garcia helpfully, hitching up his pants, "is very knowledgeable about dogs.
We are lucky she could help us today."

Jessica smiled her gratitude at the portly man, and then looked coolly at Molly's father.
Karl Wagner didn't look the least bit put out. One lofty eyebrow was his only reaction to the news she wasn't a teenager.

"You're still here!"
Molly beamed. The smile slipped as she looked at Arthur, "Doesn't anyone want him?"

Jessica swallowed hard and mustered every drop of composure she had.
Arthur's life was at stake here. That took precedence over wounded pride, "Not so far."

"Molly I'm going to pick up my book."
Karl Wagner's words extinguished hope completely. "Do you want to stay here?"

Molly nodded.
"Yes, please."

Why had he come back if he wasn't interested in Arthur?
Jessica didn't glance up as she sensed him walk away. Jose Garcia retreated to his folding table and began shuffling papers. A quarter to five. Her heart plummeted. 

"How old is Arthur?"
Molly asked.

"About two years old, they think."

Talking would help speed the remaining time.
Tomorrow she would think up some new way of helping Arthur. All she wanted to do now was go home and have a good cry. Maybe it would lessen the pressure in her chest. It had been a rotten day from start to finish.

"Human years?"

"Human years," agreed Jessica. Considering each human year was seven years of a dog's life Arthur was fourteen. In his prime. "Great Danes age a little faster than other breeds though. Seven human years might be old for this breed, still young for a Labrador, or another breed."

"Aren't some people mean?"
Molly patted Arthur's head. "If you belonged to me, I would never leave you behind." The girl's hand suddenly stilled. She turned to Jessica face riddled with excitement, "Can I have him?"

"Not unless your parents want him too," Jessica said firmly.

Molly didn't reply.
There was something about the faraway look in her eyes that Jessica could only classify as a Napoleonic gleam. In one as young as Molly it could mean anything.

The father was coming out of the book store.
Jessica's stomach muscles clenched as he neared them. War was about to be declared. And she was on the wrong side this time. She kept her gaze riveted on Molly and Arthur.

"Hi Uncle Karl!"

Jessica's stomach muscles quivered. Uncle Karl.

For a second the world tilted.
Colors whirled around her. Red: the explosion of shock, green: the unbelievable happening, golden yellow: promise of happiness.

"Molly we have to go now or we won't have time to get your present."

Molly didn't budge.
She tilted her head and Jessica was reminded of a frigate going to war.

"Uncle Karl, I want this dog."

Surprise dropped Jessica's jaw at the same instant Uncle Karl's dark brows snapped together. It was a minute before she absorbed the import of Molly's words.

"What did you say?"

"I want Arthur."

"You can't have this dog.
He's huge." Uncle Karl glared at the world in general, her in particular.

He thinks I put the idea into Molly's head.

Jessica tilted her chin so quickly her earrings swung to and fro as she glared back at him.
Of all the nerve! He jumped to conclusions faster than she did.

"I know he's huge," Molly's matter of fact voice snapped the thread of tension.
"That's what I like about him."

The well cut lips tightened ominously as he said firmly, "You can't have him.
Henley Apartments don't allow dogs, remember? Where would you keep him?"

"At your house?" The guileless smile took Jessica's breath away.
Molly was clearly a tactician of tremendous skill.

"Molly, I don't want a dog."
Jessica's heart sank. He sounded stern and implacable. Maybe she'd been mistaken about the kind mouth. "Even if I did, I wouldn't pick one this big."

"You said I could pick out a present for Valentine's Day at the Mall."
The sigh, the dropped lids conveyed disillusionment perfectly. Molly shrugged with adult indifference. "Well, if you can't keep your word, I guess you can't."

Move over Sarah Bernhardt.
Molly's here now.

Her uncle looked as if someone had flung a glass of iced water in his face.

"Wha...?" Realization dawned and he said defensively, "I promised you a present, not an animal the size of a house."

Molly's mouth tightened exactly like her uncle's.
Jessica's insides shouted up a storm as she watched the pair.

"Grownups know best about these things," she inserted gently.

The remark earned her another fiery look from Uncle Karl. One would think she was championing Molly's cause. She was in her heart of course, but for Arthur's future it was more important to have everybody want him.

Molly didn't say a word.
She didn't have to. Her expression clearly implied her opinion of adults who didn't keep promises.

One hand raked through the thatch of black hair reducing it to disorder.
He was definitely not happy about this turn of events.

"Molly, when I mentioned a gift, I meant something you could keep with you, like a doll, or a dress."
His face blanched as Arthur stretched. "Or a Blu Ray DVD player for your room?"

Jessica's mouth twitched.
He must really be getting desperate.

"You gave me a DVD player for Christmas, remember?"
Molly said reasonably.

Frustration increased tenfold on his face, "So, I did.
Well, how about a cell phone of your very own? You'd like that wouldn't you?"

"Maybe when I'm a teenager," the terror said kindly, "I'm only eight.
Let's go home, Uncle Karl. I'm very tired."

He took a step forward, stopped, stared from Molly to the dog.
A gamut of emotions chased across his face.

"I'm a dentist.
I don't know anything about dogs. I don't have time for one."

The litany didn't seem directed at human ears.

A dentist. Jessica's pulse accelerated. Based on what hers charged every time he asked her to open her mouth, money certainly wasn't one of Uncle Karl's problems. And that mouth. She checked again quickly. Yes, there was hope. Excitement spiraled within her.

Come on, Molly.

"You'll only have to keep him till we get our own house," said Molly reasonably, "Dad said it wouldn't take more than five to six weeks for escrow, and they've promised me a dog." Turning to Jessica she said, "We've just moved from New York to be near Uncle Karl. That's how come we are in an apartment."

She'd neatly piled one more layer of guilt on her uncle's shoulders.
Jessica dared not look at him. The U.N. had desperate need of diplomats like Molly.

Pulling a wallet out of his hip pocket her uncle held out a five dollar bill to Molly, "See the ice cream place?" he enquired pointing to a spot two stores away, "treat yourself to a cone and then sit on that bench, till I call you."
He pointed to a wooden bench surrounded by artistically massed greenery, out of hearing range. "I'm going to call your parents and then make a decision."

Molly nodded angelically and set off.

Jessica braced herself as the angry giant returned after the phone call.
She could almost see the smoke bellowing from his nostrils.

"As I said before," he threw at her repressively, "I don't want a dog."

Behind her Jose Garcia snapped a case shut and cleared his throat. Arthur's time had run out. She'd failed after all.

"If I do this, it will be for Molly."

Surprise jerked Jessica's head up.

She had to repeat the words to herself to be sure she'd heard them right.
Molly's parents must have agreed to her having Arthur. Ignoring the herd of butterflies performing acrobatics in her stomach Jessica smiled widely, "You won't regret it."

He looked at her flooded eyes and a spark shot out of his eyes as he smiled.
The first real smile he'd given her. Not rescuing-angel smile, not kind-and-caring smile. This was big league. Man-woman. Joy slipped out of Jessica's heart, wrapped them in a layer of emotion so thick the rest of the world faded away. Karl Wagner's glance slipped to her mouth. Time missed a beat.

A loudly cleared throat startled Jessica.
Jose Garcia was getting restless. It was past five o'clock.

She bent to pat Arthur.
It was as good a way of hiding her hot face as any. No one had ever told her a smile could induce cerebral paralysis.

"Tell me what you know about the dog's history."

"He was found two weeks ago, starving, abandoned." The well molded lips tightened. Jessica was reminded of the way he'd dealt with the two delinquents. Karl Wagner had no use for cruelty. "He's two years old and in excellent physical condition. Great Danes are very good with children, very amenable. He won't be any trouble." Honesty took over. "Any dog does require a certain amount of care and attention." A quick glance at his face as he looked toward his niece wasn't encouraging. There was still some indecision there. Scared that he was slipping through her fingers, Jessica laid her hand on his arm. "Would you like to pat him?"