Sweet Christmas Kisses (35 page)

Joanna suppressed a yawn. “Can I do something for you?”
Maybe he found an ill animal in the woods and doesn't want to tell his parents.

“Are you a witch?” The boy gulped out the question like a challenge and turned half-way away, ready to flee if this particular witch should become dangerous.

Joanna blinked. “Am I what? A witch? Of course not.” She frowned. “Where on earth did you get that idea?”

The boy pointed with one thumb over his shoulder. “You live in a witch's house.”

Joanna grinned and looked at her house with affection. Her eyes lingered on the crooked windows Sally had planned with care, on the colorful planks that formed the porch, and on the curved piece of drift wood that formed the banister. Covered with snow that seemed to glow in the dusk, she couldn't blame him for thinking that this house wasn't real. “Yes, it looks like a witch's house, doesn't it? My friend built it for me.”

The little boy rocked back on his heels. “Why?”

Joanna locked the Jeep and walked past him to the house. The snow crunched underneath her feet. A gust of wind blew snowflakes from the fir tree to her left. They trundled in wide circles to the ground in front of her. “My friend is an architect, and she designed that house as the final project of her studies. She won an award for it, and then we couldn't resist and had to build it.”

She opened her front door. “Do you want to come in and have a look?”

He shook his head, quick and scared.

I bet he's afraid I'll eat him for dinner.
Just like Mr. Eyebrow. Only in a boy it's more appropriate.
She suppressed another yawn. “Well, good night then.”

“Good night.” He turned on his heels and ran away.

Joanna shook her head as she closed the front door. “A witch. Whatever will come next?”

Her thoughts went back to Mr. Eyebrow as she removed his clothes and slipped into her comfortable trainers and a wide sweatshirt. She decided to wash his stuff and return it the first day when her job would take her in the right direction again. She would wrap everything and place it into a big plastic bag. In case he wasn't in, she could leave them on the front step. Maybe she should add a treat for Dimitri. Mr. Eyebrows had not looked like a guy who had any idea about dogs. She'd better add a book on how to train dogs, too. Then she pulled herself up short. “Nonsense, my girl. You won't bring him any gifts. He doesn't deserve it.” She heated up some broccoli soup in the microwave and ate it on the sofa where she fell asleep.

When the phone started to ring, she sat up with a start. “Joanna Damanti speaking.” The words sounded slurred together.

“Are you all right?” Sally's worried voice cut through the receiver.

“Tired.” Joanna didn't suppress her yawn; she knew her best friend wouldn't take it personally.

“I just met Bernice at your father's restaurant, and she said you'd gone MIA last night.”

Joanna felt as if a snowball had been thrown into her face. “Oh, no. Did she also tell Dad?”

“I'm afraid so.”

“Darn.” Joanna rolled her eyes. “What did he say?”

“Nothing extraordinary.”

“Come on.” Joanna got up and carried her empty soup bowl to the kitchen. Her feet felt heavy. “You don't need to spare me.”

Sally sighed. “Well, he complained that you didn't even think of calling him, after a close escape from death. He said that's not unusual, but he felt just a teeny weeny bit hurt from being shut out from your life.”

Joanna could picture her father, throwing up both hands in despair in his typical Italian gesture she knew so well. “Great. It'll take me ages to coax him out of his bad mood again.”

“Don't worry,” Sally sounded cheerful. “When I told him I had no idea either, he was almost restored to his usual good humor.”

“Thanks.” Joanna placed the soup bowl into the dishwasher. “Then I can go to bed now and will only have to call him tomorrow.”

“You can't go to bed now.”

“Why not?”

“Because I want to know where you spent the night. Bernice assumed you slept in the Jeep, but if you had done so, you would have been frost-bitten. So?”

Joanna fixed the phone between her shoulder and her ear and climbed the ladder to the loft that housed her bedroom. For once, she wouldn't brush her teeth. Sometimes, sleep was more important. As she snuggled between the sheets, a sigh of contentment escaped her. “I'll tell you about it, but if I should start to snore, you'll have to wake me.”

“Joanna. It's nine-thirty.”

“So what?” Joanna yawned until her jaw cracked. “I helped a foal to see the light of day until two AM last night. As I didn't want to spend the rest of the night at Old John's house, I decided to return home.”

“Are you crazy?” Sally sounded shocked. “Hadn't you heard the weather report?”

“No. Besides, my Jeep is fine in bad weather.”

“Even your Jeep doesn't stand a chance with the worst blizzard that has hit Long Island since 1932.”

“I didn't know that at the time, did I?” Joanna pulled the duvet higher, so it would cover her head. She loved the feeling of being snuggled up inside a warm den. “Well, an hour or so later I had completely lost my bearings and had managed to drive myself into several ditches, one after the other. It took ages to get out again.”

“Gosh. Why didn't you call somebody?”

“I had forgotten to charge the phone.”

Sally groaned. “I don't believe this.”

“This is just the beginning.” Joanna turned to the side and balanced the phone on her ear, so she could relax both arms. “I finally managed to overturn the Jeep, so I abandoned it and tried to get to a house. It got a bit scary at that point because I thought I wouldn't make it.”

“You're kidding.”

“Then I died.”

“What?”

“That's what I thought at first, because it felt like a special sort of hell when I came to myself and realized I had found a house with an inhabitant, but that this inhabitant was so rude, he almost kicked me out again.” Joanna yawned.

“He didn't! How dare he?”

“He's a sort of musician with paranoia. He locked me in while I took a bath, so I couldn't snoop, and later, after he had let me out again, he watched my every move.”

“No way.” Sally took a deep breath. “I've never heard of a musician with paranoia in the area. Are you making this up?”

“Not a bit.” Joanna wriggled her feet. She felt sleepier every minute. “He said he was impressed by the way I could imitate chattering teeth.”

“You can imitate chattering teeth?” Sally sounded surprised.

“Of course not.” Joanna took a deep breath. Nothing smelled as good as fresh bedlinen. “He also said I looked ugly when I cry.”

“I can't believe this.”

“He fed me as if he begrudged me every crumb, then finally allowed me to sleep on the sofa.” Joanna opened her eyes again with an effort. She was half-asleep already. “He was good-looking, though. Good-looking and ill-mannered.”

“Aha.” Sally perked up. “I'm glad to hear you're noticing good-looking men again. It's about time, after the trouble you had with Hugh.”

Joanna ignored her. She was too tired to start a discussion, too weak to cope with hurting memories. She stretched until her toes touched the end of the bed, then curled into her sleeping position. How lucky that she always fell asleep on the side, so the phone on her ear did not disturb her. Her eyes closed all by themselves. “Good night, Sally.”

“Hey, you haven't told me how it ended.“

“Hmm?”

“What happened next?”

“Then came Dimitri. So cute.” Joanna's words sounded mumbled now.

“Who?”

“I hope he pees beneath the piano.” The phone slid from her shoulder, so she couldn't hear her friend's questions anymore. The next second, she was asleep.

I

“Here comes the Queen! Here comes the Queen!” Trudy's shriek became louder every second.

Joanna frowned and dried her hands. What on earth had excited the parrot so much that she could hear him all the way from the waiting room? She heard laughter, loud voices, then a dog started to bark.

Where was Bernice? What was happening? She hurried from the clinic into the waiting room.

Several people had gathered around one chair in the corner, but she couldn't tell who was sitting there, as the circle of humans blocked her view. Every dog in the room barked, Trudy shrieked louder every second, and even the humans all seemed to shout at once. Mrs. Lefarge waved a piece of paper and a pen, and Bernice was hugging Mr. Jewel in exuberance.

Joanna's jaw dropped.
Are they on drugs?
She rapped her knuckles on the door and shouted. “Silence, please!”

The noise-level dropped, and everybody turned around.

Bernice ran to Joanna, flung both arms into the air, and shouted. “You'll never believe this! It's Conran Dark! Conran Dark is here, in our clinic!”

Joanna frowned.

“Don't you know Conran Dark?” Bernice took a step back. Her eyes widened until they looked like blue-and-white orbs.

“Of course I know Conran Dark.” Joanna made an impatient move with her right hand. “But I don't understand why we have to go crazy just because a famous singer happens to be at the veterinarian.”

Mr. Brown shuffled to the side, taking the parrot cage with him. Trudy cocked her head to the side. “Here comes the Queen!”

The ring of people widened and allowed Joanna to see the center of interest.

She met a fierce blue gaze. His ponytail hung over a checkered shirt that was rolled up at the sleeves. His muscular arms held Dimitri on his knees. Her heart contracted. “It's you.” The words jerked out of her before she could stop them. Her head felt dizzy.

Mr. Brown frowned and looked from Conran to Joanna. “So you know each other already?”

“No.” Joanna's reply was a gut reaction.

“Barely.” Conran said at the same time.

Bernice looked from one to the other. “What is it?” Her eyes lit up. “Is it a secret?”

Conran recoiled. His eyes narrowed; his jaw clenched.

Joanna glared at her assistant. “I think we should continue. Who's next?” She turned on her heels and hurried to the clinic. Why did this encounter unsettle her so much? He was nothing but a rude star. No reason to go wild about him.

The door opened and Conran Dark appeared beside Bernice.

Joanna frowned at Bernice. “I don't think it's Mr. Dark's turn. We shouldn't treat him any differently than the others.”

“Oh, it's no problem.” Bernice grinned. “He promised to give everybody an autograph, so they're happy to wait.”

“Interesting.” Joanna made sure her voice sounded dry. She bent forward and stretched  out her hand so the little dog could sniff it. “Hi, Dimitri. How are you?”

Bernice placed both hands on her hips. “How come you know the name of his dog? I thought you barely know each other?”

Joanna watched as Dimitri started to wag his tail. “I know the name of every dog in Stony Brook, Bernice. Now stop trying to make up secrets.” She turned her head and smiled at her assistant to soften the blow. “Could you please find out if Mr. Jewel is only here to have Padoo's claws clipped? If so, I think you could do it. It would cut down on their waiting time.”

Bernice lifted her chin. “I think you're mean. You want to keep him all to yourself.”

Joanna clenched her teeth. She didn't dare to look at Conran. How mortifying that her assistant refused to do as she was told. “Bernice. Please.”

“Humpf.” Bernice rushed out of the door and closed it with a bang.

“I'm sorry.” Joanna lifted her gaze to his face.

He was watching her with narrowed eyes, not a trace of a smile on his face. “In the waiting room, you said you knew me. How come you pretended you'd never seen me when you ended up on my doorstep two nights ago?”

How dare he!
Joanna drew herself up to her full height. “I might have said that I knew you, but I only meant that I knew your name. After all, your songs are played all day long on the radio.”

His lips curled in a sneer. “And you didn't recognize me?”

“No, I didn't.” Joanna clenched her teeth. “I happen to listen to the radio when I'm on the road to my patients, but I don't read magazines, and I rarely watch TV.” She didn't add that she always fell asleep after five minutes, no matter which program was airing at the time.

From the way he looked, she could see that he still didn't believe her, so she added, “It might seem incredible to you, Mr. Conran Dark, but there are still some females out here who don't swoon when they see you.”

His sneer didn't waver.

“Besides, I don't care for men with ponytails, no manners at all, and a serious case of paranoia.”

“Paranoia?” He bent forward, his eyes blazing.

Dimitri looked at him and whined.

“I don't have paranoia, I am persecuted.” He hissed out the words. “Didn't you notice what happened outside? I can't even go to a veterinarian in the middle of nowhere without having a crowd of crazy fans all around me.”

“Yes, life is terrible.” Joanna made sure her voice dripped with sarcasm. “Why don't you go live in Hollywood? With so many famous stars all around, you'll only be a minor celebrity. You'll be lost in the masses. Just what you want. How perfect for you.”

He looked as if she'd shot him in the chest. His chin dropped, both his eyebrows climbed until they almost touched his hairline. Then he narrowed his eyes again. “You don't know, do you?”

“What?” Joanna glared at him.
What had she missed? A scandal in Hollywood? Some dreadful event in his past?

A curious expression had come into his eyes. “You really had lost your way in the snow?”

Her impatience rose again. “I keep telling you, yes!”

“So how come you were able to disappear without a trace the next morning?”

Joanna sighed. “When I woke, you were still asleep. I realized my patients would be waiting, so I returned to my Jeep. I found someone to dig it out of the ditch and came straight here.”

“And I'm supposed to believe that?” His lip curled.

“Listen, I don't care what you believe.” Joanna wanted to strangle him. “You might be a good singer, but as soon as you open your mouth to speak, you are unbearably rude, arrogant, and full of yourself. So if you don't mind, let's stop talking about this topic.” Her chest heaving, she turned to the puppy in his arms. “What is the matter with Dimitri? Are you worried about him?”