* * *
Ritz merged into their lives with hardly a ripple, her only fault being that she wanted to be with Jenny constantly. After getting stepped on several times, Ritz learned to be unobtrusive, lying under tables and in corners out of the way. To give her greater freedom and still preserve the open beauty of their yard, they had an underground fence installed around the perimeter of their property.
Not that they worried about her wandering into the street, but they discovered she loved swimming in the lake. The fence worked beautifully, and Ritz quickly learned that she couldn’t get within five feet of the lake while wearing her electronic collar. After a few weeks, she didn’t mind leaving Jenny’s side to chase the ducks and Canadian Geese perpetually parading through the backyard.
One sunny Saturday afternoon, Jenny worked in her office, when Ritz’s frenzied barking broke her concentration. The frenetic bark, punctuated by yelping, differed from her usual bird chasing bark.
Jenny went to the window and saw her neighbor’s boy racing down the hill in their back yard, chasing his soccer ball. “Chill, Ritz, he’s getting his ball.”
Ritz continued whining and then started scratching at the door.
“Ritz, no!” She was going to scratch the heck out of the glass if she kept that up. Jenny got up and went in the kitchen. “Knock it off.”
Arms wrapped around his soccer ball, the boy wore an exasperated expression as he stood halfway up the hill and looked down behind him. He put a hand on his hip, like she imagined his mother did when she was annoyed, and called out to someone just out of view.
Ritz whined and pawed at the door again.
“Stop it.” Jenny frowned and stepped closer to the window.
Oh, no. So that’s what had Ritz all in a tizzy. At the base of the hill, toward the far side of the yard, Steve’s toddler was chasing four little goslings. Uh oh. A baby goose was never far from her—yup, there was the mom on the dock. The goslings hurried after their mother, but the toddler was closing in fast.
Steve was nowhere in sight.
Jenny unhooked Ritz’s electronic collar and yanked the sliding door open. “Get ’em, Ritz!”
Hopefully the charging dog wouldn’t give the baby a heart attack, but Jenny was pretty sure Ritz would go for the geese before she’d stop to lick the kids to death. And if the little girl got a scare, too, maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing either.
“Hey! Leave those babies alone, sweetie,” Jenny called out as she trotted down the slope.
The toddler got within a foot of the goslings before the mother goose whirled on her, sprinted back hissing and flapping her wings furiously. Oh, crap. A pissed off goose could hurt the child.
The golden retriever streaked by the little girl and rushed the geese. The furious mother hissed, honked, and lunged at Ritz while her goslings scrambled over the break wall into the water.
“Sophie, come back here,” the boy called, as he raced behind Jenny.
The startled child stood frozen, mouth open, wide-eyed watching the frenzied animals. Ritz barked and dodged mama goose, trying to stay away from her sharp, pinching beak.
Jenny scooped up the sweaty, scared little girl. Tears pooled in her eyes, but she seemed too enthralled with the animals to cry. “And what’re you doing out here alone?”
The honking goose half-ran and half-flew after Ritz, chasing her across the yard, driving her away from her goslings.
Jenny carried the toddler up the hill. Whistling, she called, “Ritz, come.”
Ritz seemed happy to give up her game, and as soon as she turned away, luckily, the mama goose went in search of her babies. Good thing, too. The last thing Jenny wanted to do was to try to outrun a mad goose while carrying twenty-some pounds of kid uphill.
The baby twisted in her arms, pointing over her shoulder. “Duck.”
“Goose. No touch. The mama goose will bite you.”
“Sophia? Josh?” Her neighbor called from his yard.
“Over here.” Jenny carried the baby up the hill. Ritz pranced ahead beside the boy.
Ping-pong paddle in hand, Steve strode through the hedge with Gabe on his heels. “What’re you guys doing over here?”
“Getting my soccer ball and playing with the dog.” The boy stroked a panting Ritz.
“And rescuing this one from a piss—,” Jenny glanced at Josh, “—an angry mama goose.” Given that his son was watching them, Jenny reigned in her annoyance when she really wanted to bite Steve’s head off for not watching his kids better. She raised her eyebrows at Steve. “She tried to pet some goslings.”
Steve lifted the baby from Jenny’s arms. “Thanks.” Turning to the toddler, he frowned sternly. “Sophie, you know you can’t touch the babies. We talked about that, remember?”
With one chubby arm anchored around his neck, she twisted in his arms, pointing to the dock. “Duck.”
He turned to Jenny. “Sorry about that.”
“You need to watch your kids better.”
“Yeah, they slipped away while... I will.”
“If Ritz hadn’t been there, that goose could have really hurt her or she could’ve fallen in the water.”
“I know. I’m sorry.” He met her annoyed gaze with a soft, contrite expression. “It won’t happen again. Though, she can swim.”
“She can?” Gabe asked. “How old is she?”
“Two. Josh is four.” He turned to the kids. “Josh and Sophie, this is Doctor and Mrs. Harrison.”
Josh muttered a greeting.
“Josh and Sophie are my girlfriend’s kids. Josh swims pretty well, and Sophie swims well enough to float on her back if she fell in.”
The fact that they could swim somewhat mollified Jenny. Shaking off the lingering fright, she inspected her husband, taking in the Ping Pong paddle and white ball in Gabe’s hand, his sweaty, flushed face, and his mussed hair. “You look like you’re having fun.”
“Just a friendly game.” He pointed at Steve. “He got a new table and needed a little help putting it together.”
“And then you had to try it out.”
“Had to break it in,” Gabe agreed.
Steve set Sophia down, and the adults watched chubby, short legs pump as she retrieved a basketball from the garage and carried it to the hoop seven and a half feet over her head. Jenny worried the baby would hurt herself with the hard ball that was half her size, but Steve didn’t object.
The ball rolled off her fingertips as Sophie tried to heft it over her head. Josh scooped it up and lobbed the ball into the air in the right general direction. Jenny winced, praying that the ball wouldn’t come down on either of their heads. It brushed the bottom of the net and bounced off the pole back toward them. Steve palmed the ball and handed it to the baby, then lifted her by her fat thighs and moved close enough to the basket rim for Sophie to roll the ball through the net.
Cute trick. Jenny moved closer to Gabe.
Josh danced around Steve’s legs. “My turn. My turn.”
Jenny nodded toward Steve, as Gabe wiped his face on his T-shirt sleeve. “How come he’s not all sweaty?”
“’Cause he runs every morning and I’m out of shape.”
“Not anymore.” Steve grimaced. “Having trouble with my Achilles. Can’t run anymore, so I’m going to start biking.” After helping Josh make a basket, he returned him to the ground, kicked the wayward basketball back to the children, and looked at Gabe. “You should come.”
“How far you going?”
“Just a couple of miles to begin with.” He waved them over, picked up the baby, and headed back through the hedge into his garage. “I got a new bike. These things are so light, two miles should be a breeze. Check it out.”
Gabe circled the gleaming blue state-of-the-art bicycle, his eyes lighting up like a little boy watching his first fireworks display.
Steve smiled at the look of envy. “Go ahead, try it out.”
Gabe carefully moved the bike out, mounted it, and wobbled down Steve??
?s driveway and up theirs. On the way back, he rode steadier, much more confident.
“What’d you think?”
Gabe straddled the bike, grinning. Eyebrows raised, he looked first at Steve, then at her. “I’ve got to get one.”
Jenny laughed and went back to work as the men and children, headed for the bike store. Several hours later, Gabe called her out to admire his newest toy.
“Where’s Steve?”
Proud eyes glued to the red bike, he rested a hand on the foam handlebars. “Putting the kids down for a nap. What do you think?”
She shrugged. “It’s a bike.”
“It’s a b-e-a-utiful bike. We’re going for a ride this evening after his girlfriend picks up the kids,” he turned to her, hopeful. “Unless you’d be willing to work over there just in case—”
“Not a chance. I’ve done my babysitting for the day. You’ll have to wait. Besides, Alex is coming for dinner, remember?” She touched the shiny rearview mirror, then the tiny computer attached to the handlebars. “I see you’ve got all the cool gizmos.”
“Had to have them.” He grinned. “We’re going to ride at least three mornings a week before work. I need them.”
Jenny smiled at his defensive tone and couldn’t resist teasing. “Gotta have ’em. Did you get one of those cute, tight little spandex outfits, too?”
He scowled, clearly appalled at the idea. “I don’t think so.”
“How about a helmet?”
He rummaged around a shelf and pulled out an old black bike helmet. Brushing off the dust, he plopped it on his head. “Still fits.”
“It looks a bit worn. Why didn’t you get a new one while you were at it?”
“It’s already broken in. It fits my head perfectly.”
Jenny laughed, delighted by Gabe’s new interest. “Well, it’ll be good for you.”
He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Why don’t you join us?”
She gave him a horrified look. “I’m not getting up before seven in the morning, three times a week, to get all chilled and sweaty—” She raised her eyebrows in a suggestive look. “Well, at least not for that.”
“We’ll see. You’re going to be jealous. I’ll be all hard muscles and buff.”
Jenny loved his hard muscles and doubted that he could be much more buff, but if it made him happy, why not?
She ran her hands over strong arms and down his firm, hairy chest. Trailing her arms under his shirt, she circled his warm, bare waist and pulled him close until their stomachs and thighs pressed intimately together.
“And I’m gonna love it. But first...maybe we should conduct a thorough inspection, a sort of before and after, hmm?”
A growl rumbled deep in his throat as he lowered his head for a long, deep kiss that left them both breathless. Jenny slipped her arms around his neck and nuzzled the spot under his jaw where hints of his morning cologne tended to linger.
God, with so little effort, just a simple kiss really, he had her trembling, longing for more. It’d never been this wonderful with any other man—not even during her infatuation with her first love—and she suspected it never could be with anyone else. She rubbed her hips against his arousal in blatant invitation.
“I love the way you think, lady.” Suddenly bending and lifting, Gabe scooped her in his arms and carried her into the house.
Jenny’s phone started playing the theme song from Jaws. She pulled Gabe’s head down for another kiss. Gabe pecked her lips and set her on her feet. “Answer your mother.”
Jenny slid her phone from her back pocket. “Hey, Mom. What’s up?”
“Dad was sharpening the kitchen knives, and he sliced his hand. I’ve got to run him into the ER for stitches.”
Yow. Jenny winced.
“But Michael’s got a dance tonight and the parents of the other boys we’re carpooling with have already gone out to dinner. Can you drop the boys off at school at eight if we’re not back by then?”
“Sure. No problem. Has Michael eaten?”
“No. I was starting dinner.”
“No worries. I’ll be right over to get him. He can eat with us.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
“Okay, Bye.”
“What’s going on?”
“Mom’s gotta take Dad to get stitches.” Gabe followed Jenny from room to room as she searched the house for her purse. "Michael’s going to have dinner with us, and then I’m chauffeuring him and his buddies to a school dance if Mom and Dad aren’t back in time.”
“What happened to Mike?” Gabe followed her out of the bedroom and downstairs.
“Cut his hand sharpening knives.” Could she have left it in her car? Jenny headed for the garage. Not in the front seat. Ah! There it was on the backseat. She picked it up and went inside for the Jeep keys. “If Alex gets home before I get back will you ask her to make a salad?”
“What hospital are they going to?”
“Probably St Francis. That’s the one we always use. Why?”
“Hang on a minute. The ER’s packed most Saturday nights. Let me make a phone call.” Gabe pulled out his phone. “Hey Helen, it’s Dr. Harrison. How’re you doing tonight? Great. Is it very busy there? Mmm hmm. Okay, well, look. My father-in-law’s on his way in with a hand laceration. His name’s Mike Campbell. Can you put him in a room, and I’ll be there in ten minutes?” He nodded. “Thanks very much. Bye”
Gabe turned to her. “I’m going to run in and take a look. If it’s a simple cut, I’ll sew him up myself. If it’s complicated, I’ll call in a plastic surgeon buddy of mine to take care of him.”
Jenny frowned. “What about your bike ride?”
Gabe shrugged it off. “Steve will understand. We’ll go tomorrow.”
“Why would you do that?”
Gabe smiled. “Perk of having a doctor in the family.”
“Oh, yeah? What perks do you get from my dad?”
Gabe wrapped his arms around her. “He gave me you. I can’t think of a better perk than that.”
Chapter 11