Free Save the Date by Mary Kay Andrews Page A

it. But something, somewhere, was buzzing. And at eight o’clock on a Sunday morning. Her doorbell?
    Cara jumped out of bed, wide-eyed and startled. Who would be ringing her bell that early on a Sunday?
    She stumbled over to the window and looked down at the street below. A man stood by the recessed entry to the apartment. He had a big, fluffy white dog on a leash.
    Poppy!
    *   *   *
    Cara flew down the wooden staircase, barefoot, dressed only in her sleep shirt. She unlatched the chain guard and flipped the deadbolt.
    Jack Finnerty stood on the street just outside her door. He wore paint-spattered jeans, a faded T-shirt, and a look that could best be described as sheepish.
    “Uh, well, here’s your dog.”
    “Poppy!”
    The dog stood up on her hind legs, put her front paws on Cara’s hips, and shook all over with joy. Cara wrapped her arms around the dog. “I missed you! You bad, bad girl. I missed you so much. I hardly slept last night, worrying about you.”
    “Yeah, uh, she didn’t get much sleep either,” Jack volunteered. “Look, I’m really sorry about this. I’ve been a jerk. I should have listened to you yesterday.”
    “Yes,” Cara said severely. “You should have. And yes, you were a jerk. And worse.”
    “You’re right,” he said, staring down at his shoes. “And I apologize.”
    “Where’s your dog?” she asked, sticking her head out the door and looking around.
    “At home. Now. After she jumped out of my truck yesterday, she made it all the way to Victory Drive and Abercorn. A woman managed to corral her and she took her to the vet, and they recognized her. Shaz is chipped, so they read the chip, just to be sure, and called the owner.”
    “You,” she said accusingly.
    Jack winced. “My ex. Shaz technically belongs to her. But she’s out in California, so Shaz is mine. Sorta. The vet called Zoey yesterday to let her know Shaz had been found. But Zoey, being Zoey, decided to torture me by not calling me until three this morning.”
    Cara looked him over. His hair was mussed and there were dark circles under his eyes, so it was apparent he’d gotten about as much sleep as she had.
    “Look.” Jack’s voice was low. “I really am sorry. Truly. Your dog looks almost exactly like Shaz. But if I hadn’t been such a prick, I would have looked closer and realized I had the wrong dog. Especially since when I got home last night, I discovered she’d peed all over my hardwood floors. Shaz is housebroken. Your dog, on the other hand, is fairly neurotic, but I guess you already know that.”
    “Neurotic! She is not,” Cara said sharply. “And Poppy is housebroken. She never pees at home. She was probably traumatized by being dognapped. And then left alone in a strange house for hours and hours.”
    “Whatever,” Jack said. “I better get back to Shaz. She’s been penned up in a crate at the vet’s office all night, and right now she’s probably not too happy with me either.”
    “Thank you for bringing Poppy back,” Cara said coolly. “She’s home now, and that’s all that matters.”
    “Have you had her microchipped?” Jack asked.
    “No. I keep meaning to, but running my own business…”
    “You should do it right away, especially since she seems to be such an escape artist,” he suggested.
    “I know how to take care of my own dog,” Cara said, bristling. “Maybe you should do a better job of taking care of your own, especially since she got all the way to Abercorn and Victory.”
    “Riiight.” Jack’s lips were clamped tightly in anger. “Anyway, see ya.”
    She took great satisfaction in slamming the door in his face. “Not if I see you first, jerk,” she muttered. Poppy whined, and Cara knelt down on the floor and hugged her tightly. “Don’t ever do that again, you hear me?”
    Still kneeling, she gazed out the sidelights as Jack walked rapidly down Jones Street.
    “Horrible man,” she told Poppy. “I feel sorry for his real dog. No wonder she ran