He couldn’t help noticing that she’d skirted the question, but he didn’t push it. Instead, he nodded and took the leash while Stella licked his calf so thoroughly, he wished he’d worn jeans instead of shorts.
“Thank you,” Savannah breathed, touching the car door to unlock it. “Now, listen to me, Josh. She has to have her stuff near her at all times. It’s her comfort.” She reached into the car and pulled out a cushy, fuzzy dog bed. “She has to sleep in this bed every night and usually all day. It’s very important for her happiness. Keep it with her all the time. Even if you go somewhere, she has to have the bed, okay? Otherwise, she’ll get her days and nights mixed up, and believe me, you don’t want that if you value sleep.”
He took the pillowy bundle, looking down to see some toys, treats, a blanket, and a few cans of dog food. “Got it. When are you coming back?”
“I’m…not entirely sure how long I’ll be gone.”
“A week?” he suggested. He could handle a week. He might be able to handle two.
She bit her lip, brows drawing together, with a look of uncertainty on her face. “Maybe a month or so?”
His eyes popped.
“She doesn’t need much but food and love,” she said quickly. “And maybe you can get her trained so that when I get back she won’t be so hard to deal with. You can ask your pretty new tenant to help.”
Oh, that would be a fun conversation to have after he’d told her his stance on pets. “I’ll figure something out,” he said, watching Stella circle again.
Savannah searched his face, her eyes full of that unreadable emotion again. It had to be guilt, but it seemed to go deeper than that. “I know I screwed up, Josh. I know I did a stupid thing giving you up, but I need to do this. It’s the right thing to do.”
Take a vacation with his stepbrother? In whose world was that the “right” thing to do? He shook his head, unwilling to discuss it anymore. “Okay,” he said. “Have a good trip.”
“Thank you, Josh. You’re a doll. Always were the sweetest guy.” She blew him a kiss and yanked the driver’s side door open. In less than five seconds, she revved the SUV and took off, leaving him staring at the North Carolina plate as it got smaller.
And then he felt something warm and wet dribble down his sock and into his shoe. Looking down, he and Stella were both standing in a pool of pee. She looked up, terrified, then nuzzled his sneaker in shame.
“It’s all right, kid,” he said, tugging the leash and nearly dropping the bed and all its contents. “You’re a poor blind fool who’s been thrown overboard for Gideon Bucking. Trust me, I know exactly how that feels.”
Chapter Six
Darcy woke at the sound of a bark coming from outside, pulling her from a dream. She’d lived with and around dogs for most of her life, so a dog wouldn’t usually wake her, but this one sounded…strange.
She rolled over to check Kookie, who was curled up in one corner of the antique cradle that had rocked two generations of Kilcannons next to their parents’ bed. Of course, her brothers had teased her mercilessly about the dog bed, but even in the teasing, there had been love and a little sentimentality. Hell, if Kookie didn’t sleep in it, she thought Andi and Liam would have wanted to claim the cradle for baby Fiona, but it was so old it no longer met modern safety standards.
Who could blame them? Their mother had retired the cradle after six kids, turning it into a toy for Darcy’s many dolls. When Darcy had moved back home after Mom died and stored some stuff in the attic, Kookie had discovered it, jumped in, and fallen sound asleep. She’d slept in it ever since, in a corner in Darcy’s room.
Outside, the dog barked again, a little louder, followed by a whine. And it definitely came from the courtyard. Throwing off the comforter, Darcy sat up, and of course, Kookie did, too, the moonlight streaming in to show her little hairy head lifted in curiosity.
Climbing out of bed, Darcy headed to the French doors and opened one side, stepping on to the small balcony that faced the courtyard. Now she could really hear another stream of barks, some shuffling, then a man’s voice that was too low to make out what he was saying, but Darcy could detect a note of desperation in the murmured words. What the heck was going on down there?
She squinted into the moonlit area, scanning the shadows and small path that ran the perimeter and crossed in the middle.
A man stepped out from behind a bush, making Darcy suck in a soft breath. Well, if it wasn’t her boyfriend the hot landlord in nothing but sleep pants.
“Stella!” he called in a hushed whisper.
She bit her lip, almost laughing. The dog might be named after a clothing designer and not a character in A Streetcar Named Desire, but the man sounded like a bad Marlon Brando impersonator.
She heard a bark from the shadows and bushes in the far corner. Was that the blind dog she’d met today? So the ex must have left her dog with him…in the House of Rules.
“Oh, irony. How I love thee.”
In the scant moonlight, she could make out his stance, hands on hips, head turning from side to side as he tried to find the dog.
“Stella, please. I can’t see you either.” Even from two stories above him, Darcy could hear some heartbreaking ache and frustration. Peering into the darkness for a few minutes, she finally spied the dog, using the advantage of height and the light of the moon on her white fur.
The moon that was also like a spotlight on Hot Landlord’s shirtless jaw-dropper of a body. Man, God must have been in a good mood the day he made that one.
He moved with the kind of masculine grace that always caught Darcy’s attention, easy and solid and comfortable with all those muscles. His dark hair looked tousled from the million times he must have run his fingers through it, making Darcy’s hands itch for a chance to do the same thing.
When he stopped, turned his back to her, and put his hands on narrow hips and huffed out yet another noisy breath, she stepped to the wrought-iron railing and leaned over to see it all. Yes, that was one very sculpted, sexy stunner of a man who not only didn’t want dogs in the building, but currently had responsibility for one he couldn’t even handle.
Kookie padded around the cradle, whimpered, and let out her own little bark at the disruption of her precious sleep.
“Shhh.” Darcy waved over her back.
“Stella, please come out.” True despair floated up to her balcony, taking Darcy’s attention from the man to the dog, who really might need help.
Stella let out a soft wail, furrowing under some bushes. That sound reached Kookie, who stood straight in alert mode and started to bark, loud and hard. If there was one thing Kookie couldn’t take, it was an unhappy dog.
And neither could Darcy.
She let out a soft whistle, making him turn and look up. “She’s over there. To your right, about twenty feet.”
She saw those big shoulders drop a bit—probably because Mr. No Pets Allowed was breaking his own rules—then he nodded thanks and took off after the dog. She watched from her vantage point, saw him get closer, then a flash of white when Stella got spooked by something and darted to the other side of the courtyard.
He let out another sigh and looked up at her and even from this distance, she saw concern for the dog in his eyes. “Hey. Rapunzel.”
“I prefer Juliet.”
“Did you see where she went?”
She didn’t hesitate for even a second. “Hang on,” she called down to him. And you better be prepared to bargain.
She closed the door and headed to Kookie’s cradle to comfort her. “There’s a poor little blind dog down there who needs my help.”
Kookie barked as if to say “Then move it.”
Darcy gave her quick pet. “And a big handsome sexy landlord who’s about to put a little addendum to the renter contract.”
Kookie shuddered and sighed, as if she understood and approved of that, then tucked into a ball to go back to sleep.
Slipping into flip-flops, Darcy grabbed a handful of treats from a jar on the co
unter and headed out, taking the steps to the back door that led to the courtyard.
Once outside, the night air cooled her skin, making her aware that she wore little more than a thin tank top and cotton PJ pants. Oh well. It was more than he wore. And surely it would help her at the negotiating table.
* * *
It took Josh a moment to catch his breath after Darcy disappeared, and it wasn’t because he’d been running after the dog. She left him freaking breathless, that’s why. Up there on that balcony, she was like an angel, an apparition, a goddess in the sky hovering above him with her sweet voice and halo of hair and…
Shit. He had to get a grip. She was a woman, and his tenant. And no doubt she’d extort a pound of flesh from him for this favor.
Not that he’d mind one single pound of her flesh.
He shook off the thought, forced himself to focus, and walked to the doorway where she would come out from the back stairs. He could still hear Stella whining, a sound that cracked his heart wide open. But every time he’d get close to the sound, she’d scurry under bushes and out of sight.
He’d finally had her settled down in that bed Savannah left, but then Stella had gotten up and started trotting around the apartment, bumping into every piece of furniture until she made her way to the door. Without bothering to find her leash, he ran her out here, set her down, and wham, she bolted.
The back door opened with a noisy creak that he made a mental note to fix. Then Darcy stepped into the moonlight, and all mental notes evaporated. How did she roll out of bed and look like that, all soft and sweet and sexy?
She raised a cupped hand. “I have the magic.”
No kidding. “Treats?” he guessed.
“And the view from above.” She hesitated a second as she reached him, her gaze dropping over him, searing him with a slow, interested appraisal. Then she notched her head to the left. “She’s back there, and if you let me go alone and quietly, I’ll get her for you.”
He nodded, and she breezed by him, leaving a wake of something that smelled like spring flowers and fresh-cut limes and heaven. Helpless, he followed.
She tiptoed to the far edge of the courtyard where the landscaping was thick and low. Without saying a word, she tossed a treat in the air, letting it land on the path, and a few seconds later, he heard the tap of tiny paws.
Crouching down, she opened her hand and beckoned Stella, whispering her name very softly. Josh stayed back but had a full view as Darcy sat on the ground, one hand out and one skinny strap of a tank top slipping over her shoulder.
Oh boy.
Finally, Stella came into view, moving with uncertainty and distrust. That poor kid, Josh thought, finally focusing on something other than Darcy.
“Here you go,” Darcy coaxed without moving from her spot. “You can do it. You can have another.”
Finally, Stella was right in front of her, eating the treat from the ground. Instantly, she sat down and looked straight ahead for more.
“Oh, someone taught you to sit for treats.”
Josh had taught her, and it had been easy because when he first adopted the dog for Savannah, she was spunky and smart and fearless. Now, she didn’t trust anyone or anything.
Except this woman with the treats.
“Good girl.” Darcy lifted her hand, making sure the dog could smell the cookies. “Here you go, baby love. All for you.”
She got up and came closer, giving a soft mewing sound from her throat that could have been fear or distrust or utter relief to have been found.
“I won’t hurt you, honey. You can trust me. I have goodies that you want. Sweet goodies. Delicious treats.”
Oh, she sure did. Josh managed a slow breath at the invitation, issued to a dog but hitting him right in the libido.
Darcy’s words must have been enough for Stella to relax, because she finally came all the way to the treats, letting Darcy carefully and tenderly lift her onto her lap. There, Stella settled down to accept this woman’s slow, loving strokes and tender kisses.
Holy crap, how did a creature get that lucky?
“Nice work, dog whisperer,” he said, standing above her and looking down.
She dropped her head back and gazed up at him, as beautiful upside down as right side up, with the added benefit of unwittingly offering him a peek down the tank top. Everything in him short-circuited, so he instantly walked around her and dropped to the stone path to sit across from her.
“I come from a long line of dog folk,” she said, still petting Stella. “Not much experience with blind ones, though.”
“Could have fooled me.” He reached out and patted Stella’s head. “Hey, kid. You okay?”
The dog nuzzled deeper into the nest of the warm woman, avoiding his touch.
“She’s shaking a little,” Darcy said, as if that explained why the dog would shun him for a stranger. “And maybe she’s more comfortable with females, having been raised by one.”
He huffed a breath. “She used to be my pal,” he said. “And I’ve only been gone for a month and four days.”
Darcy’s brow shot up with interest. “Still counting the days, are we?”
He let out a guilty laugh. “It was a tough breakup, and leaving this little thing…” He leaned closer and managed to pet her paw. “Was a little harder than I expected it to be.”
“So you’re dog-sitting for an ex who tore up your heart.” That made her smile. “That’s a point in the Nice Guy column.”
“Or the Big Idiot column,” he replied. “I’m keeping her dog for a month while Savannah goes on vacation with her new boyfriend, who happens to be my stepbrother.”
She inched back, making a face. “Dude. That’s a helluva sob story. Almost makes me like you.”
“Don’t go overboard.”
She laughed softly and nestled Stella closer, leaning over to whisper, “Think he’ll make a deal with me, Stell?”
“Oh, I already know what you want, Miss Kilcannon.”
“No, you don’t, Hot Landlord.”
That made him laugh. And instantly wonder what she wanted and how—or if—he could possibly say no. “You want to keep your dog,” he guessed. “Who is currently asleep in a cradle up there on Juliet’s balcony. Am I right?”
“Not on the balcony,” she corrected. “That would be a liability.” She dragged out the word, mocking him with the sweetest twinkle in her eyes.
Oh, yeah. This assist was going to cost. And he might like it a lot.
But then she squished up her face. “And how’d you know about the cradle?”
“I saw it being moved in on the shoulders of who I’m presuming is one of many brothers.”
“Four. All moving me into the Dog-Free Zone. Or…what was the Dog-Free Zone because you can’t enforce your precious rules on me and break them yourself.”
He huffed out a sigh of resignation. “Yes, you can keep your dog if she doesn’t go near the construction. Kookie, is it? I mean, she,” he corrected quickly.
Darcy pointed to him. “There’s hope for you yet.”
“I really do like dogs,” he said, surprised at how important it was for her to believe him.
“Ever have one of your own?”
“One. Roscoe.” He gave a humorless smile. “He left me far too soon.” Along with others in this life.
“Aww. Well, you have decent instincts, but don’t take out a blind dog out without a leash.”
“Lesson learned. I’m still getting used to her being blind.” He let his gaze slide down to Stella, who looked as happy and content as she had since arriving earlier that day. “You seem to have quite a touch.”
She stroked the white fur, silently confirming that. “There are some really specific things you can do from a training and home setup standpoint for blind dogs,” she said. “I don’t know if you heard me tell your ex, but my family owns a canine training and rescue facility a few miles out of town. We could help you.”
A rush of relief rolled over him. “That’
d be great.”
They both were quiet for a beat, the only sound was Stella’s low-grade snore. Thank God, she was relaxed.
“But I want more than Kookie in my new apartment,” she finally said.
He swallowed as she looked at him, her blue gaze steady and warm and direct. Good God, please let her say she wanted him. “You have more dogs?” he guessed.
“I have a different…need.”
Okay, here we go. There was no way he’d turn this down. Heat rolled through him from the bottom up, making him lean a little closer. “You do.”
She nodded slowly. “I need something from you.”
A trickle of sweat meandered down his back as tension and desire and everything that made him a man tightened and hardened and threatened to choke him. He looked down at Stella, curled on her thighs, her back pressing against small but feminine breasts, her tail resting on the silky skin of Darcy’s arm.
Right at that moment, he’d kill to be that dog. “What do you need?” His voice came out gruff through a thick throat.
“Be my boyfriend.”
“What?”
She laughed at his outraged response. “Only if my father asks.”
He shook his head, stunned at the request. “I can’t do that. I don’t even know you,” he said.
“Well, it’s not for real. I need you, if you run into my dad for any reason, to give him the impression I’m, you know, off the market. Maybe be seen with me out in public so the rumor mill whispers something in his ear.”
She wanted a fake boyfriend? “Why?”
“So he’ll stop trying to turn my life into an episode of The Bachelorette.”
“Why don’t you tell him to stop?”
“And tell the sun not to shine while I’m at it.” She rolled her eyes dramatically. “You don’t know this man. He’s relentless. And he already said he’d back off, or I thought he did. But as soon as I met you, I knew what he was up to. Going for match number six in the Kilcannon family.”
“Maybe if he’s that good at it, you’ll like one of these guys he’s setting you up with,” he suggested. “Then you’d have a real boyfriend.” The idea hit a little harder than it should.