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Walk, Don’t Run

(From the Tails of Love collection)

   Pets play matchmakers in four modern love stories. Contemporary novellas with pets as major contributors to each story’s romance. Authors: Lauralee Bliss, Pamela Griffin, Dina Leonhardt Koehly, and Gail Sattler.

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One

 “This isn’t happening to me,” Kerry Bradford mumbled as she put her forehead to the sliding door, cupped her hands around her mouth, and tried to make her nineteen-month old niece understand her. “Come on, Ashley, honey. Unlock the door for Aunt Kerry.”

In response the toddler waved her hands, letting loose a stream of garbled words Kerry could barely hear--thanks to the thick pane of glass separating them--then fell to her bottom.

With dismay, Kerry realized Ashley’s wet bathing suit would stain the cream-colored carpet, since the child had plopped down in the flowerbed before Kerry managed to get her inside. And if there was one thing Kerry’s sister was fanatical about, it was the cleanliness of her home.

Kerry again tugged the handle, but the door remained stuck. Why did things like this always happen to her?

Seeing Ashley would be no help, Kerry moved to the balcony of the second-story apartment and looked down, the heat of the Texas sun searing her already punished skin. She supposed she could climb over the rail, jump to the ground and try to avoid the prickly shrubbery directly beneath.

She put a leg over the rail then changed her mind. What good would that do? She had locked the front door when they returned from the pool. Then, too, she didn’t want to let Ashley out of her sight. And those man-eating bushes looked as if they’d inflict even more damage to her roasted skin. But she couldn’t wait out here all day!

Kerry blew out a frustrated breath, setting her sparse honey-colored bangs to flight. She supposed she could use a neighbor’s phone and call a locksmith, then force herself to eat humble pie when Dani found out. Shaking her head, Kerry could almost hear the caustic comments her sister would hurl her way.

Wait a minute . . . Wasn’t maintenance equipped to handle situations like this? And they could get here before a locksmith, nullifying the possibility of Dani ever finding out.

Positive she’d arrived at the best solution, Kerry debated a safe way to drop to the ground, when a young boy wearing a pair of bright yellow swim trunks ran past.

“Hey! Hold on a sec,” she called after him.

He stopped, looked behind him, then his gaze lifted to Kerry.  “Yeah?” he asked a bit on the irate side, obviously upset about his delay with the cool, blue waters.

Kerry put on her most winning smile. “I need your help. I’ve locked myself out of the apartment and there’s a baby inside. I need you to find maintenance and tell them apartment 236 needs a key.” Seeing irritation cloud his face, she coaxed, “There’s a tall, iced Coke in it for you, if you help me.”

The boy, who looked thirteen--though the hair shaved on both sides of his head was probably an attempt to make him look older--scrunched up his freckled face. “You’re locked out, huh?  No kiddin’? Did you try jigglin’ the handle?”

Great. Of all the people in the apartment complex she had to wind up with a miniature Bob Vila. “Yes. Look, please hurry, will you? I’ve been out here close to fifteen minutes now.”

“Okay, lady, okay. Don’t blow a gasket or anything.” Turning, he slowly ambled toward the office.

Kerry let out a sigh of relief mixed with frustration. Kids today! She moved back into the shade by the door and smiled at her niece. “I’ll be there soon, honey.”

“Ashy go poh-ee.”

The faint words struck a chord of sheer terror in Kerry’s heart. “Ashley, no! Go to the potty chair in the bathroom like a good girl. Go on, honey! Hurry!”

A relieved look crossed the toddler’s features, and with a sinking realization, Kerry knew it was too late. She closed her eyes and remembered a greeting card she’d recently designed.

On the front was a drawing of a bedraggled woman who stood under a broken umbrella, rain soaking her, a bag of soggy groceries clutched in one arm--several items having fallen into the many puddles surrounding her--and a tiny dog viciously tugging at one of her rubber galoshes. Above were the words-- “Having one of those days?” And on the inside--“Into each life a little rain must fall, but don’t give up. The Son will soon shine for you again.”

It was how Kerry, or “Hannah Kerry,” as she signed her artwork, designed her greeting cards. Something humorous on the front--laughter was often the best medicine--with something inspiring on the inside to encourage, and a bible verse relating to the theme underneath.

Maybe one day I’ll design a card relating to this, Kerry thought. That is, if I live that long. If Dani gets home early and takes a look at her carpet before maintenance gets here, I’ll be pushing up daisies. What was taking so long?

She moved to the balcony, again eyeing the evil-looking shrubbery beneath her. Or was it some kind of cactus?  Whatever it was, it didn’t look like something she wanted to tangle with.

A beautiful collie trotted by on the sidewalk. Recognizing the dog as belonging to Sarah, the apartment manager, Kerry leaned over the rail with relief. She’d never met Sarah, but she’d seen her walk her dog from a distance and had heard about his strong penchant for car rides. “Here, Prince! Here, boy!”

Tail wagging, the collie stopped and stared up at Kerry with soft brown eyes, tongue lolling.

“Good dog!” Kerry’s heart soared. “Go get help, Prince. Get Sarah.”

He plunked his bottom down on the cement and scratched behind a pointed ear with his hind leg.

“No, Prince. Get help. Go on, boy!”

Yawning, the collie took a few steps her way with his forepaws, stretching out, and then flopped to his stomach.

“Stupid dog,” Kerry muttered. “You’re sure no kin to Lassie.”

Prince rolled on his back and wriggled in the short grass.

“Go on, Prince. Get maintenance. Get Sarah. Emergency! Fire!” Kerry thought a moment then smiled. “Go bye-bye!”

The dog rolled over as if someone had set fire beneath him. He shot up and ran toward the office, barking with enough frenzy to alert the entire neighborhood.

The smile faded from Kerry’s face. What good had that done? Prince probably wouldn’t come back, much less lead someone here. More than likely he had jumped through the rolled down window of Sarah’s Buick Le Sabre, waiting to “go bye-bye.”

Jake Hartwell swam his last lap, then planted his hands on the hot cement bordering the pool and hoisted himself from the cool water. Not bothering to towel off, he sauntered to a lounge chair and lowered himself to it, stretching out on his back. Eyes closed, he swept one hand over the pavement beside his chair until his fingers connected with his sunglasses. Snatching them up, he put them on.

Ahhhhh . . . this was the life. Sarah was right. He had needed a vacation . . .

Frantic barking interrupted his peaceful slumber and groggily he opened one eye, turning his head toward the noise. Through the black rails of the pool fence he could see Sarah’s collie bounding past, white and golden brown fur flying. Jake forced himself to sit up and leaned on his elbows.

“Prince! What’s wrong, boy?”

At Jake’s shout, the dog stopped his mad trek toward the office and faced Jake, still barking.

“Prince, stop that!”

The dog took off in the direction from which he’d come, then whipped around and barked at Jake again.

Prince’s strange behavior alerted Jake to trouble. He rocketed up, grabbed his T-shirt, and hurried to the gate. It wasn’t like Prince to disobey a direct command from either Sarah or him.

“Okay, boy, show me what’s up.”

The collie took off running, and Jake followed.

After a few minutes passed with no sign of help, Kerry decided none was coming. She’d have to take matters into her own hands and pray the bush didn’t slice her to smithereens.

Muttering, she cast off her flip-flops and threw one leg over the rail, holding the hot banister in a death grip as she straddled the bar. Carefully she brought her other leg around and over the banister. Now facing Ashley, she forced a bright smile in the toddler’s direction. Ashley pressed her palms and face to the glass, blue eyes wide, as though she questioned her aunt’s sanity.

Kerry was beginning to do the same.

Biting her upper lip, she took one bare foot off the solid and secure edge of the wooden balcony, lowering it at an angle while bending her other leg, trying to escape the sharp claws of the monster bush. A needle-like prick bit the sole of her foot.

“Ouch!”

Hurriedly she pulled her leg up and looked over her shoulder and down. Maybe if she scooted over and tried with her other foot . . .

She inched over a few feet and lowered her left leg at an even greater angle, relieved when she touched only air . . . But, come to think of it, what good would that do? She couldn’t jump backwards in an arc, could she? She was no gymnast. Maybe if she turned around, with the rail to her back, and jumped forward as far as she could. The worst she could do was sprain an ankle. At least she hoped that was the worst she could do . . .

“Hey! What are you doing up there?”

The abrupt masculine shout startled Kerry, and she almost let go of the rail, which had grown slippery. She brought her leg back up and turned her head to look over her shoulder.

A part of her mind quickly assimilated the bronzed face turned upward was attractive, the hair dark and wavy, and though she couldn’t see the eyes because of the sunglasses he wore, she imagined them to be brown. Deep brown.

“Just stop right there and don’t move,” he drawled.

Don’t move? What did he think she was going to do--a jig on the edge of the balcony, with the rail for her partner? And then it hit Kerry. He thought she was trying to break into the apartment! Well, if she were a felon, she’d sure have more sense than to take a flying leap over a cactus with bare feet in broad daylight, wearing only her yellow maillot and cover-up. Couldn’t he figure that out?

Swallowing her irritation, she forced herself to remain calm. “Could you please help me? There’s a baby inside. And both doors are locked.”

“A baby?” He frowned as he looked up at her. “I’ll have to get the spare key.”

He loped off, Prince running after him, and Kerry took the welcome opportunity to climb back over the rail and assume a more dignified position. The dog must have alerted someone in the office after all. Or had the young boy been the one to locate maintenance? No matter, help had come.

“Won’t be long now, sweetie.” Kerry smiled at Ashley and talked nonsense with her through the glass while she waited.

The man from maintenance was back within minutes, taking the outside stairs leading to Dani's apartment. Kerry heard him mumble something about ditzy blondes, and how people shouldn’t leave small children alone.

His words stung and added to her already bad afternoon. He acts as if I left Ashley there on purpose!

After he let himself into the apartment and opened the sliding glass door, Kerry lit into him. “If it hadn’t been for that stupid door, this wouldn’t have happened! The lock slips, and when I came outside to put the beach ball in the storage shed, Ashley closed the door on me. The door you were supposed to have fixed three weeks ago!”

His mouth tightened into a narrow line, but his voice came level. “You reported this three weeks ago?”

“As if that’s news to you,” Kerry huffed as she stepped inside. “I happen to know it was called in at least four times! But each time they say the same thing--‘there are other work orders, and they are taken in the order they’re received.’”

For the first time she noticed his dark hair was beaded with drops of water. Her gaze traveled to the damp T-shirt covering a muscular chest, a pair of wet neon swimming trunks underneath, then to his bronzed legs and thonged feet.

“Oh, yes, I can see you maintenance men are kept quite busy,” she murmured with a saccharine-sharp twist. “Well, if you can spare me a few minutes, would you mind taking a look at the door? I have to take care of the baby.”

Turning away, before she said something she’d really regret later, Kerry scooped up her niece from the soiled carpet. She stopped short when she noticed a strange man in faded denim coveralls at the open front door. “Can I help you?”

“You send for maintenance?”

“Yes, but your partner’s already here.”

He lifted a thick dark eyebrow and looked beyond her to the man in swimming trunks jiggling the door handle.

“Give me a Phillips,” Kerry heard the first man order tersely from behind her.

Anxiety covered the newcomer’s face, but he lifted the requested tool from his tool belt, walked to the porch and handed it to the other man.

Kerry headed for the baby’s room; she couldn’t put off what needed done any longer. “I have to get her into some dry clothes,” she threw over her shoulder. “I’ll be back in a sec.”

She knew she shouldn’t leave two strangers unsupervised in her sister’s apartment--even if they were from maintenance--but she didn’t know what else to do.

She divested Ashley of her swimsuit, powdered her, stuck her in a pair of training pants, and snapped her into a pink Onesieâ in record time. Cradling her niece on her hip, Kerry hurried for the front room.

Both men had gone.

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