can bet on that,” he agreed. He frowned thoughtfully. “I expect he’ll have a terror of little girls for the rest of his life, poor old thing.”
She shook her head. “Well, I’m not going into the room with him unless he’s confined.”
“He hates cages. He’s too big for most of them, anyway. Besides, he sits on top of the fridge and eats bugs.”
“You need to get out more,” she pointed out.
“I’m trying to, if you’ll just agree,” he shot back.
She sighed. “All right, I’ll go. But people will gossip about us for weeks.”
“I don’t care. I’m immune to gossip. So are you,” he added when she started to protest.
“I guess I am. Okay. I’ll go. Is it jeans and boots?”
“No,” he replied. “It’s nice dresses and high heels.”
“I hate dressing up,” she muttered.
“So do I. But I can stand it if you can. And it’s for a good cause,” he added.
“Yes, it is.”
“So, I’ll pick you up here at six next Friday night.”
She smiled. “I’ll buy a dress.”
“That’s the spirit!”
* * *
Word got around town that she was going to the dance with Hayes. Nobody ever knew exactly how gossip traveled so fast, but it was as predictable as traffic flow in rush hour.
Even Merrie heard about it, although Ivy had no idea how. She phoned her best friend two days before the dance.
“Hayes actually asked you out?” Merrie exclaimed. “But he doesn’t date anybody! At least, he hasn’t dated anybody since that Jones girl who dumped him for the visiting Aussie millionaire.”
“That was two years ago,” Ivy agreed, “and I still don’t think he’s really over her. We’re only going to a dance, Merrie. He hasn’t asked me to marry him.”
“You never know, though, do you?” the other girl wondered aloud. “He might be feeling lonely. He loves kids.”
“Slow down!” Ivy exclaimed. “I don’t want to get married any more than Hayes does!”
“Why not?”
“I like living by myself,” she said evasively. “Anyway, I expect Hayes doesn’t know that many single women.”
“There are plenty of divorced ones around,” came the droll reply.
“The dance will benefit our animal shelter,” Ivy told her. “It will add new kennels. We’ve got so many strays. It’s just pitiful.”
“I like animals, too, but Hayes isn’t asking you to any dance because of stray dogs, you mark my word. Maybe he’s going to flash you to deter some woman who’s chasing him. That’s the sort of thing my brother does.”
“Your brother is better at it than Hayes is,” Ivy said, not wanting to think of Stuart. She hadn’t seen him in a long time.
“Well, of course he is. He gets plenty of practice.” There was a sigh. “Except he doesn’t seem to be dating anybody lately. I asked him why and he said it wasn’t fun anymore. If I didn’t know him better, I’d think he’d found someone he wanted to get serious about.”
“That’s unlikely,” Ivy said, but she wondered if Merrie was right. It made her sad.
“Unlikely, but not impossible. I think I might come to the dance, too,” she said out of the blue. “I can get someone to work my shift. Everybody owes me favors.”
“Who will you come with?”
“I’ll come by myself,” Merrie returned. “I don’t need a date. Tell Hayes to save me a dance, though.”
Ivy laughed. “He can take both of us. That will really shake people up locally. They’ll think he’s putting around a new sort of double-dating.”
Merrie laughed, too. “I had a flaming crush on Hayes when we were in high school, but he couldn’t see me for dust. That was about the time he fell in with the she-tiger who ditched him for the Aussie. Served him right. Anybody could see that she was only a gold digger.”
“Hayes owns his own ranch,” she began.
“And he inherited a trust from his grandfather,” Merrie agreed. “But Hayes isn’t the sort to live on an income he didn’t earn. He’s like Stuart. They’re both independent.”
“Same as you,” Ivy accused.
She laughed. “I guess so.”
“How do you like being a nurse?”
“I love it,” Merrie said honestly. “I’ve never enjoyed anything so much. I love knowing that I helped keep someone alive. It’s the best job in the whole world.”
“Merrie, you work all day with sick people,” Ivy pointed out.
“Sick people? Me? Are you sure?”
“You work in a hospital,” Ivy returned.
“No kidding? No wonder there are sick people everywhere!”
Ivy laughed. “Okay, you made your point. You’re in the right place. I’m glad you like your job. You might not believe it, but I like mine just as much. I’m working with some really interesting people.”
“So I’ve heard,” Merrie replied. “I’m glad you’re happy. But speaking of pleasant things, have you heard from Rachel?”
Ivy’s happy face fell. She drew in a long breath. “As a matter of fact, I haven’t. Not in over two months. The last I heard, she was trying to get away from Jerry the drug dealer so that she could shack up with a richer man. She wouldn’t tell me his name. She did mention that he was married.”
“Married. Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
“I could barely make sense of what she said,” Ivy replied. “She slurred her words so badly that she was incoherent. I can’t imagine what a rich man would see in a woman who stays stoned all the time. How she can still act in that condition is beyond me.”
“As long as she’s leaving you alone, that has to be a bonus.”
“I suppose. I just worry about her. She’s the only living relative I have,” she added. “Maybe the rich guy will wean her off drugs and get her away from Jerry for good. Unless his wife finds out.” She groaned. “That’s just what it would take to send Rachel over the edge. I’m sure she’s convinced herself that he’ll divorce his wife to stay with her. I don’t think he will.”
“Most
