fifteen minutes ago, he’d seen firsthand that his little boy could be reached. Natalie Fortune had reached him—just by smiling and saying hello.
Now, she was watching Rick anxiously, no doubt worried by his extended silence. “Mr. Dalton?”
“Call me Rick. What?”
“Is there some problem?”
“No. No problem at all. This sounds just right for us. And I’d be glad to look after the dog. I need a couple of weeks to arrange a leave of absence from my job and tie up my affairs in the Cities. So I’d like to move in on July twelfth, and stay until August thirty-first. And don’t move across the lake unless you want to. It’s a big house, and you’re welcome to stay right here until you leave on your trip.”
The smile she gave him then took his breath away. “Whew. Relief. That’s what I’m feeling now. Capital R. I thought for a moment there that you were going to say this wasn’t what you were looking for.”
“No, this is exactly what I’m looking for.”
“Good. Because you and Toby are perfect. Bernie will be so happy you’re the ones.”
“Bernie will be happy?”
She rolled her eyes. “I really wasn’t going to go into it.”
“Into what?”
“You’ll think it’s odd.”
“Tell me.”
She shrugged her spangled shoulders. “All right. It’s like this. Bernie was my grandma Kate’s dog. When she left me the house in her will, she stipulated that Bernie always had to have a home here. Also, until I get married, the house always has to be occupied.”
Rick understood then why she’d seemed so uncomfortable when she requested that he look after the dog. He couldn’t help asking, “What does your getting married have to do with anything?”
Around her neck she wore a thin gold chain with a single charm, a golden rosebud, hanging from it. Her fingers closed around the charm. “If my grandmother were still alive, you can be certain that I’d ask her.”
Rick shook his head, marveling at the eccentricities of the very rich.
“So. Do we have a deal?” she asked.
“You haven’t named a price.”
She did.
“That sounds more than fair,” he said.
She stood. “I’ll get you an application, then. But it’s just a formality. If you want the house from the twelfth of July until the end of August, it’s yours.”
“I want it.”
She got him the papers, then returned to the parlor to join Toby and the dog while Rick filled in all the blanks on the application.
“Finished?”
He looked up to see her standing in the door to the hall, still dressed in her forties finery, with Toby on one side and the dog on the other.
He grinned. “All done.”
“Then leave those boring papers right there and come on. I want you to see the Lady Kate.”
They all trooped out to the sloping expanse of lawn behind the house and down to the lake. She took them out onto a wide dock and into the attached boathouse, where the houseboat, that had been mentioned in the ad was moored next to a much smaller open-bowed ski boat.
“This is the Lady Kate, one of my grandpa Ben’s favorite toys,” Natalie explained fondly, patting the hull of the larger boat. “Grandma Kate liked speed and adventure. She was an ace pilot. She even had a hydroplane dock put in at the estate across the lake. And just a few years ago, she bought herself a matching pair of jet skis. She was forever harassing the rest of us to buzz around the lake with her. But Grandpa Ben had a quieter side. He liked long days on the lake with his fishing pole. Sometimes he’d take me with him. And more than once, he took my whole family—my dad and mom, my brother and sisters and me. We’d all stay the night out on the water.” She laughed her musical laugh. “It was no hardship, I can tell you. The Lady Kate has all the conveniences of home. She’ll be at your disposal during the time you stay here.” For a moment, those enormous eyes met his. And he couldn’t help thinking that he’d like more than the houseboat to be at his disposal.
He wondered at himself. In the past few years, since the debacle that had been his relationship with Vanessa, he’d been wary of women. But from the moment he stepped into Natalie Fortune’s parlor, his usual wariness had seemed to fade away.
The big dog bumped against his side. And Toby, who was holding Natalie’s hand, turned for the door that would take them out onto the open dock. The adults and the dog followed where the silent little boy led them.
Outside, the water lapped softly against the pilings and the wind ruffled the surface of the water and far off over the lake somewhere Rick actually imagined he heard the wild, laughing cry of a loon.
He wanted to forget all about Minneapolis and the architectural firm where he’d been working like a demon for nearly a decade now. He wanted to forget his expensive house on its nice suburban street and just stay here. Leave it all behind and remain forever in the rambling farmhouse by the lake with the son who had smiled today and the big, friendly dog and the enchanting woman who sang along to Janis Joplin wearing a lampshade on her head.
But none of that was possible—not for two weeks, anyway.
He smiled at his son. “It’s time to go.”
Two
Natalie waved goodbye as her new tenants drove off. Bernie bumped against her side. She knelt and ruffled his neck fur.
“You love ’em, don’t you, boy?”
Bernie swiped at her with his big, sloppy tongue, letting her know just how happy he was. Natalie laughed and ducked away from his canine kisses. She was every bit as pleased as her dog.
Not to mention relieved. Five prospective tenants had come by yesterday; none of them had worked out. But now she could relax. She’d found just the right people to look after the house and Bernie. The silent, sad-eyed little boy was adorable. And Rick Dalton seemed ready to treat her house and her dog as if they were his own.
He was also a hunk, with his lean good looks and his warm, exciting smile. And she would be living right here with him for two weeks….
Letting out a little grunt of self-disgust, Natalie rose from petting the dog. It was only in her silly, romantic fantasies that men like Rick Dalton wanted a woman like her. In real life, she was much too ordinary to hold their interest for long. And besides, he was taking the house for his son’s sake. He’d have his hands full trying to get to know that little boy of his. The last thing he’d be looking for would be a summer romance.
And Natalie wasn’t looking for romance, either—at least not until she got on that cruise ship and met someone exotic and different. Then maybe she’d go in for a shipboard dalliance.
