chair. “What did you say?”
“I’ve hired a sitter to stay with Duchess during the day until I get home from the office,” Cassie answered nonchalantly. “I do work for a living, you know.”
“But a sitter? I mean, we are talking about a dog here.”
“A world-class champion,” Cassie reminded him. “Besides, I leave home at seven in the morning and usually don’t get home until seven or later in the evening. Duchess is going to have to be fed properly and exercised at least three times a day.”
With that said, she reached for the calculator on her desk. “That will average out to the sitter working about twelve hours a day. At $6.50 per hour, that will be…” Cassie started punching in the numbers, but Nick’s quick mind did the math before she could finish.
“That’s seventy-eight dollars a day,” Nick barked in disbelief. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. You’re talking about over fifteen hundred dollars a month. And the dog still has to carry those puppies for…”
“At least one more month, maybe a little longer,” Cassie provided. “The vet says there’s no way to know when she’ll deliver. This is Duchess’s first litter. The puppies could be early or they could be late.”
Nick stood up and unzipped his jacket the rest of the way, giving Cassie the impression that he suddenly found the room much too warm. After walking back and forth in front of her desk several times, he stopped and shook his head in disbelief. “So what you’re telling me, is that on top of these outrageous vet bills, you expect me to pay someone to come to your house and sit with a dog?”
“You said fifty-fifty, Nick,” Cassie reminded him smugly, using her first opportunity to call him by name.
A muscle twitched along his lower jaw. “I know what I said, Cassie,” he snapped, “and I will pay my half of the vet bills, but paying a personal nursemaid to sit for a dog is where I have to draw the line.”
Cassie bristled. “Then I’m afraid we’re back to square one, aren’t we?”
Instead of trying to negotiate a plan B as Cassie had expected, Nick snapped his fingers, prompting Earl to propel himself from the chair and into his master’s arms. “Then sue me,” Nick said, his voice full of confidence.
Cassie was so shocked, she couldn’t seem to find her voice. Before she was able to respond, Nick strolled to the door with his furry friend tucked under his arm. But when he reached for the doorknob he looked back over his shoulder and sent Cassie that cocky grin she was quickly growing to despise.
“But I’ll make you one wager, counselor. This will be the damnedest fight you’ve ever had in a courtroom.”
As furious as she was, Cassie wouldn’t permit herself to dignify his last remark with a comeback. And even before the big Harley-Davidson thundered to life and roared out of the parking lot, Cassie’s fingers were already pounding her computer keys, typing up the paperwork that would put Nick Hardin’s latest challenge to the test.
5
“ALIMONY, PALIMONY…but pet-imony? Remember, you heard it here first, folks. It looks as if the world really is going to the dogs. As if our courts aren’t already overloaded with senseless lawsuits that clog the system and stand in the way of justice, it seems yours truly has been hit with a ridiculous lawsuit that will make all others pale in comparison. In fact, I’m willing to conduct a public-opinion poll here at the radio station to see if my faithful listeners don’t agree that the lawsuit I’m sharing with you today shouldn’t win first prize in the Stupid Lawsuit of the Year Contest…”
Cassie switched off the kitchen radio and began devouring her bagel with the ferocity of a man-eating tiger. Her only satisfaction was the fact she’d been the one to draw first blood. Thanks to modern technology and that wonderful little invention called the fax machine, his truly had been served with her lawsuit less than four hours after he strolled confidently out of her office.
“Stupid Lawsuit of the Year Contest, my elbow,” Cassie mumbled under her breath, then whistled for the ball of white fluff that was lying in the middle of the kitchen floor. When Duchess refused to acknowledge her, Cassie left her chair and drew the tiny bundle into her arms. “You have to eat something, sweet girl,” Cassie cooed as she stroked the dog’s soft fur. “You have little puppies to think about now.”
The old woman standing beside Cassie sent Duchess a worried look of her own. “I prepared her food just like Dee instructed,” she said.
“I know you did, Louise. I’ve tried to get her to eat this morning, but she won’t even take a nibble.”
“Well, the poor little thing’s gonna have to eat something.” Louise sighed, wiping her wrinkled hands on her bright-colored apron. “She’s as limp as a dust mop now. She sure can’t go on like this much longer.”
Cassie gave the dog a final pat and smiled when Duchess rewarded her with a halfhearted kiss on the chin. After handing the dog over to her new nursemaid, Cassie picked up her attaché case from the kitchen table and glanced at her watch.
“I’m running late, Louise, but I’m going to call Dee as soon as I get to the office. In the meantime, you might try tempting Duchess with those milk-bone treats she likes. I bought her some new toys, too. They’re in a box in the sun-room.”
“Don’t you worry about us. I’ll take good care of her,” Louise said as Cassie headed down the hallway. “Me and Miss Duchess will do whatever it takes to get some food inside that little tummy of hers.”
Cassie pulled out of the driveway minutes later, feeling a twinge of guilt for running off to work when Duchess was in such a fragile state. After the initial shock had worn off, Cassie was actually looking forward to having a few more bundles of white fur romping through the house. Or was her ticking biological clock just using this opportunity to bring out her maternal instincts?
Sliding her hand over her taut stomach, she wondered briefly what it would be like to have another life stirring inside her. She’d never given much thought to marriage or to motherhood before, especially since her work had always been the driving force in her life. But now that she thought about it, she realized that she would want a large family. Possibly because being an only child had been such a tremendous burden to bear.
More than once Cassie had wondered if having brothers and sisters may have made life with Lenora a little easier. Dee scolded her on a regular basis for being the “dutiful daughter,” and she had been, but Cassie had done so out of love, not fear. Despite Lenora’s overbearing personality, Cassie loved her mother dearly. And like her father, she had just found it much easier to bend to Lenora’s will.
Thinking about her parents now, Cassie realized how quickly things had gotten out of hand in their short absence. Duchess was pregnant, and Cassie may as well have been pregnant since everyone in Asheville was buzzing about the rumor Evelyn Van Arbor repeated to anyone who would listen. Cassie hadn’t missed the snide looks people sent her way, or the fact that everyone she ran into lately had their eyes focused directly on her stomach.
“Oh, well, I don’t have time to worry about the rumor now,” Cassie said aloud as she pulled into her reserved parking space. She had more important things to occupy her mind at the moment.
Things like whether or not Dee had the ability
