Double Dog Dare

  “I don’t want a real boyfriend,” she replied. “I’ve finally moved out on my own, and I’m starting my own dog grooming business in town. The last thing I need is a boyfriend. I need a deflection. Could you do that for me?”

  For a long time, he scanned her face, zeroed in on her mouth, and felt his whole body gear up for a trip down heartbreak lane. Then Stella snuggled tighter against Darcy and lapped her tongue over the rise of the breast he’d been admiring and all bets were off.

  No, he wouldn’t. Not ever again. He’d never put himself in that position again, and any amount of time with her would be…dangerous. This was not a woman he could resist, and she wasn’t one who’d ever be a one-night stand.

  That was all he was allowed under current Joshua Ranier Rules, and unfortunately, that part wasn’t on her little bargaining table.

  “I can’t,” he managed to say, knowing it would have been easier to eat nails.

  “Do you have another girlfriend hiding in the woodwork?” she challenged.

  “I don’t have or want a girlfriend,” he said, vehemently enough that she drew back an inch.

  “Savannah really did a number on you, didn’t she?”

  “Yes, and the number was zero, which is the amount of times I will ever let myself get deeply involved with a woman again.” Casually, physically, and horizontally? Yes. But not with a woman like Darcy. Once would never be enough.

  “I’m not asking to get deep,” she insisted. “On the contrary, it’s my complete desire not to settle down that makes my father act like this. If he thinks I’m even toying with the idea, he’ll cool off completely. At the right time, we’ll ‘break up’ for his benefit as easily and painlessly as we got together.”

  He studied her for a long time, trying to imagine spending any amount of time with this woman and not wanting more. “No,” he said. “I have one rule—”

  “You have fifty rules.”

  “—and that is no lying, ever. And that would be a mess of lies. So, sorry, the answer is no.”

  “Really.” She angled her head and added a playful frown of confusion. “No lying, huh?”

  “Never, ever. I despise liars.”

  “But I heard you lie.”

  “No, you didn’t.”

  “What would you call it when you told your ex I was moving in with you?”

  Oh, man. “It just came out that way. I didn’t…” He scowled at her. “You were eavesdropping?”

  “Don’t tell me, that’s rule number two.”

  “But you listened?”

  “But you lied?”

  He shuddered out a breath. “She got the wrong impression, which I immediately corrected.”

  “Then let my dad get the wrong impression, and don’t correct it…” She inched forward. “And I’ll help you with the dog.” Still holding Stella, she extended her hand. “Deal?”

  He stared at her fingers and inched back, already feeling himself being reeled in by this impossible, adorable, irresistible woman. And when she was done with him, she’d toss him back in the water and look for the next catch. “The answer is no.”

  Her whole face fell in disappointment, doing something stupid to his heart…like make it long for that smile to come back.

  She let out a sigh and stood so gracefully that she didn’t even wake up the dog. “Okay, then. Bye.”

  Bye? “But will you help me with her?”

  “Sure, but don’t expect me to cover for you when Stella’s owner comes back and wonders why only one pillow on your bed has a dent in it.”

  His gut squeezed at the thought of her in his bed, denting pillows and mattresses and each other. “I don’t expect anything,” he said, also getting up. “And neither does she.”

  She looked up at him, a good eight inches shorter than he was in bare feet. “And I get to keep Kookie even after you’ve given this dog back.”

  He nodded. “Just don’t let her near the construction site, okay?”

  “Of course not.” She handed her furry bundle to him, making Stella squirm as she was transferred to a harder chest and thicker arms. “I’ll pick her up in the morning and take her to work with me,” she said. “I’m at my family’s canine center all day tomorrow, and she’ll be fine. In the evening, we can go over some simple rules for having her in your home. You’ll like that, right? More rules.”

  “I love rules.” Like the one he was clinging to right now: never, ever again.

  “Great.” She tipped her head to the side and gave him that crazy-cute smile. “I’d kiss you to seal the deal, but I’m sure there’s a no-kissing rule, right?”

  Wrong. “Right.”

  “Smart.”

  Really? Because right then it felt really stupid to him.

  Chapter Seven

  The sight of Gramma Finnie rocking on the porch, laptop open, gnarled fingers flying, gave Darcy a kick of joy. Not only because her grandmother was probably one of the few successful octogenarian bloggers on the Internet, but also because Gramma had had a blind dog once and Darcy needed some advice.

  The ride over here from home had been sheer hell. Stella snarled, snapped, and growled at Kookie, rejecting any attention from her, terrified to let any person or any dog close to her. But Kookie, used to being loved by everyone, wouldn’t let her be. Darcy had ended up putting Stella in a crate in the back of her car, making the poor baby whine all the way over, and Kookie barked until Darcy wanted to cry.

  All of Darcy’s brothers and the trainers were with dogs and clients, and Darcy had only twenty minutes until her first grooming appointment. But that would be long enough to get some input from Gramma Finnie, and maybe some help keeping an eye on her. Kookie shot toward the training pen and kennels as soon as Darcy opened the door, as if to show that whining pooch in the back just how well she was liked by others.

  Darcy reached into the crate and cradled little Stella, whispering soothing words as she headed to the porch.

  “And who is this wee darlin’?” Gramma asked, setting her laptop to the side to pin her gaze on Darcy and the new arrival.

  “My latest project,” she said, carrying the dog closer. “Her name is Stella, and she’s completely blind.”

  “Oh, a Chinese crested!” Gramma was up in a flash, so remarkably spry for a woman deep into her eighties, coming close to greet the dog. “Are you grooming her today?” she asked as she slid her hands into the soft fur.

  “I’m watching her to help out my landlord, who’s been asked to keep her for a month, but oh my heavens, she can’t stand Kookie.” She rubbed the dog’s fur some more and found that spot under her chin she seemed to like to have scratched. “I’m telling you, it was hate at first sight.”

  “Hate?” Dad’s voice made her turn to see him stepping out on the patio, a look of concern on his face. “You hate the man who owns your building?”

  Darcy snorted a laugh. Of course that would panic the Dogfather. Well, Rule-Obsessed Ranier might not go along with her plan, but that wouldn’t stop her from steering Dad in the other direction. “I wouldn’t call it hate,” she said with a sly smile.

  But she wasn’t sure he’d heard her, because his attention was fully on the dog now, frowning as if Stella was the only thing this veterinarian cared about. “She’s blind?” he asked.

  “SARDS,” Darcy confirmed.

  “How old?” he asked, taking the dog’s head in his hand with the strong and gentle touch that animals—and his kids, for that matter—always responded to.

  “Uh, I’m not sure. She belongs to Josh’s girlfriend—”

  “He has a girlfriend?”

  “Ex-girlfriend,” she corrected quickly. “He’s got Stella for a month and is utterly clueless about how to manage a blind dog. Which worked in my favor because he has a no-pets rule, so now I can keep Kookie. Did you know that, Dad, when you set me up…to live there?”

  “I most certainly did not.” His focus was torn between the conversation and the blind dog, but the dog won. “You look lik
e an otherwise healthy little girl.”

  “Except she hates Kookie and she’s scared of every sound, movement, and breath. I don’t know more than rudimentary things about training a blind dog, but wasn’t Laddie blind, Gramma?”

  “Aye, he was,” she confirmed. “Of all the setters we’ve had in this family, I had such a weakness for that one.”

  “Speaking of, where’s Rusty?” Darcy asked. “If he comes tromping out here to sniff a new dog, Stella will lose her mind.”

  “Let me see this sweet Stella,” Dad said gently, easing the dog from Darcy’s arms. “Rusty’s asleep in my office, so we’re safe for now. Let’s take a look at you, little one.”

  Everything else was momentarily forgotten as Dad settled the dog in his arms with the same tenderness Darcy saw when he held baby Fiona. “Do you know if she has any other diseases or issues? Kidney problems?”

  “No idea.”

  “How long has she been blind?” Dad was in full vet mode now.

  “I think the owner said a few weeks. I’d have to confirm.”

  “Oh, that’s good. Less than a month is very good.”

  Darcy felt a frown pull. “Why?”

  “I want to see if she’s a candidate for reversal.” He stroked the pup’s cheek again. “She might be just the dog we’re looking for.”

  Darcy inched back. “Reversal of the blindness? Is that even possible? I thought SARDS was permanent.”

  He gave a look that said he wasn’t so sure of that. “It has been, for the past ten years or so since it was first diagnosed, but veterinary ophthalmologists have been working, with some success, on an experimental treatment. Judith Walker, who teaches at Vestal Valley College, and I were talking about this when we had dinner last week.”

  “You had dinner with a lass?” Gramma inquired with way too much interest.

  “She’s a professor of veterinary medicine,” he said, throwing her a look. “And she asked if Molly or I had seen any good candidates for a study they’re doing on a new procedure to cure this very disease. They’re approaching the final approval stage and need one more round of perfect candidates.” He held Stella a little higher, scrutinizing her eyes. “Which you might be, pretty girl.”

  “Dad.” Darcy clasped her hands. “How awesome if you could give this dog back her sight!”

  “Well, there are a lot of research study hoops to jump through, first, but we’d have to do them fast before Judy gets another patient lined up.”

  “Judy, is it?” Gramma Finnie asked with a sly smile.

  Dad narrowed his eyes at his mother. “Et tu, Brute?”

  “I’m a wee bit surprised, is all. You never mentioned having dinner with a Judy Walker.”

  “Because he’s sixty and doesn’t need us clearing his dates,” Darcy said.

  “It wasn’t a date, it was a…a professional encounter, and if you want this dog in the running for the treatment, we need to get the owner’s approval for certain injections and quickly. The dogs in the program have to have acquired SARDS recently. Thirty days, forty-five tops.”

  “Well, Josh said she was normal when he last saw her, which was a month ago.” A month and four days, but that seemed excessive to add.

  “Where is this ex-girlfriend of Josh’s?” He added a look. “You did say ex, right?”

  “Most definitely an ex. All he said is she was traveling for a month, but I’m sure he can reach her and get approval. Of course, he’ll want to know the risks and process. And so do I. Is it a dangerous procedure?”

  “Not at all, and they’ve had some success in the past, but Judy needs to find three more candidates before she can go ahead with the experimental treatments and have them qualify for final approval. So Josh should meet her as soon as possible, because time is of the essence. I’d love to give this dog her sight back, Darcy.”

  A thrill rippled through her at the possibility. “That would be amazing, Dad.”

  “Great. Why don’t the four of us have dinner and she can explain everything about the surgery?”

  The four of them have dinner? “Like a double date?” Darcy asked on a smile. “Or would this be a ‘professional encounter’?”

  Even Gramma snickered at that, but Dad managed a totally straight face as he pointed to Stella. “It’s about the dog, Darce.”

  “Got it.”

  Still, she didn’t mind the idea at all, and from the look of satisfaction on his face, neither did Dad.

  * * *

  “Hello? Knock, knock? Anybody up here?”

  Josh turned off the noisy heat gun he had aimed at the linoleum floor, cocking his head at the woman’s voice he’d heard over the buzzing noise.

  “Hello? I’m coming in, ready or not.”

  Not. He was never ready for her. Not last night in the dark courtyard. Not this morning, when she’d shown up all glowing and glorious in a baby-blue T-shirt that matched her eyes and hugged her body. And not now when he was trying hard to work and not think about Darcy Kilcannon.

  But he’d thought of little else that day.

  “Don’t bring a dog in here,” he called out, looking at the materials and sharp tools spread around the kitchen floor.

  “No dogs, just me and some really exciting news.” She appeared in the framed kitchen doorway, tucking her hands into the front pockets of her jeans. “Whoa, what are you doing?” she asked.

  “Testing the linoleum seams to figure out the best way to lift it.”

  She glanced around, making a face at the yellow metal cabinets and chipped Formica counters. “Did my apartment look like this before you renovated it?”

  “Worse, actually.”

  “And you did it yourself?”

  “Mostly.” Setting down the heat gun, he pushed the goggles over his head and grabbed a rag to wipe his hands. “How’s Stella?”

  “She’s fine. Great, as a matter of fact, or could be.” She gingerly stepped over some tools and leaned against the counter, regarding him like she had a secret she could barely contain. “How would you like to restore her vision?”

  “Is that possible?” He’d read a few articles on SARDS after Savannah left Stella with him, and nothing he’d seen said it could be cured.

  “We’re not sure, but my dad thinks she might be a candidate for a specialized, experimental treatment to cure SARDS that is in the final stages of approval in a study. He’s friends with the head of veterinary ophthalmology at Vestal Valley College right here in Bitter Bark, and she’s looking for canine candidates.”

  Still wiping his hands, he processed this incredible news. “What do we need to do?”

  As the words slipped out, he realized they’d just become a we, something he’d sworn wouldn’t happen. But these were extenuating circumstances. He’d be a we if Stella could see.

  “We need to get her health history, all of her records, and, of course, her owner’s approval,” Darcy said. “They need to know how old she is and as close to a specific date as possible for when she started losing her sight. Didn’t Savannah say Stella only had this a few weeks?”

  “That’s when she noticed it.” He frowned, thinking back to that morning and the way Stella had circled and stared past him. “You know, she could have been going blind before that. She was weird the last time I saw her.”

  “It matters a lot,” she told him. “The longer she’s had the disease, the less chance of a cure.”

  “I’ll try and find out, but I don’t know…”

  “Swallow your pride and call Savannah,” she said. “Do it for the dog.”

  “It’s not about pride, Darcy.” He blew out a breath, remembering their last conversation. “She’s off the grid. Went on some adventure vacation.”

  “But she didn’t go without a cell phone,” Darcy replied. “Anyone with a brain—and a blind dog—has to be reachable. What about if there was an emergency? Who would leave her dog in someone else’s hands and not be sure you have a way to reach her?”

  He replayed the conversation in
his head. “She was in a hurry, and all she told me about was the bed Stella likes.”

  “She didn’t leave a medical release, by any chance? It’s common when dogsitting for a long period.”

  “No, and I was too stunned by the turn of events to think of it at the time,” he admitted. “My mother or stepfather might know how to reach Gideon, so we could get to her that way.”

  “What about her family? Mother or sister or someone?”

  He shook his head. Savannah had cut ties with her family years ago. She’d left the double-wide where she’d grown up and never looked back. “Maybe her clients can reach her,” he said. “She’s a stylist and personal shopper for a lot of my mother’s friends.”

  “Worth a try to help that little darling,” Darcy said. “She really doesn’t play well with others.”

  “I thought I heard some barking when you were getting into your car.”

  “She’s so scared of other dogs,” she told him. “And people. And walls. And grass. And—”

  “I get the idea,” he said. “All the more reason to do whatever is necessary to help her.”

  “She’s getting some help today,” she told him, glancing around again. “My brothers are the best in the dog training business, and I handed her over when I left.” She pointed at a kitchen cabinet. “If my place was this ugly, you do really good work.”

  “Thanks. What will they do to help her?”

  “They’ll start her slow with our friendliest, most tolerant dogs. She might not be a pack dog by the end of the day, but I’m hoping she can tolerate the smell and sound of another dog. I need her to get along with Kookie, at least. So you actually added that balcony?”

  “The balconies were there, but needed reinforcement and new railings. Then I knocked out the window and made it floor-to-ceiling. Same with the bedroom, like yours. The balconies were there, but only for decoration. Now you can use them. Where’s Kookie? I thought you never went anywhere without her.”

  “She was pretty happy to be back home, so I let her hang with my grandmother while I had a break and zipped over here. I wanted to tell you this news in person.” She reached out and put a hand on his arm. “Josh, we have to make this happen. We have to help Stella get her sight back.”