Free Fruit of the Poisoned Tree by Joyce and Jim Lavene Page B

too.”
    “I got a call from Rue when you didn’t show up.” He turned right and started down Providence Road. “She was worried about you. I told her what happened.”
    “I totally forgot about that! Thanks for covering for me. I’ll call her back and see if I can reschedule.” She glanced at him. “How did you know?”
    “Sam told me when I called the shop.”
    Peggy sighed and shook her head. “I’m sorry he bothered you with this.”
    “ Bothered me?” There was a slight edge to his tone. “You’re an important part of my life, Peggy. This was a major happening in your life. I don’t think letting me know would classify as bothering me.”
    She could tell he was a little riled up over being left out. She hadn’t thought of it that way. “I’m sorry. It’s still very new sharing these things with you. I’ve been alone for a while. That’s my only excuse. And I guess I really didn’t want to let on to Sam about how upset I was. Sometimes they treat me like I’m made of china!”
    “Okay. As long as you weren’t excluding me because you thought I couldn’t take it. I called the shop to see if you wanted to have dinner tonight. Sam told me what happened. I wish you would’ve called me.”
    “I know. I promise from now on when really terrible things happen to me, you’ll be the first to know.”
    “Good thing. You know what magazines say men are like when they get their feelings hurt. You don’t want to take one of those compatibility tests or anything, right?”
    She laughed. “Not right now. But if your offer for dinner is still good, I’d like to do that after we drop Shakespeare off.”
    “Sounds good to me. I’ll help you get the shop closed up.”
    But when they got to the shop, it was more cleanup than close up. Selena had locked the front door and gone into the back storage area for a few minutes to help a customer load some peat moss. When she came back, Shakespeare had ripped open a few dozen bags of potting soil and dragged them across the old wood floor.
    Selena didn’t realize she was playing his game as she chased him across the shop, spreading the mess everywhere as planters, pots, and gardening implements fell down in their wake. She grabbed him around the neck and tried to wrestle him to the floor. Shakespeare thought it was a new game. He rolled with her still holding on to him through the spring garden scene.
    That’s where Peggy came in. “What in the world happened here?”
    Selena looked up from under the demolished snowman. “It was a dog quake. I tried to stop it, but it was at least a seven on the canine scale.”
    Steve picked up a shovel lying across Shakespeare’s back. The dog looked up and wagged his tail. “Don’t try to get on my good side. I’m the one you dragged through the holly bush the other day.”
    “We have got to get you those obedience classes.” Peggy frowned at the dog.
    He whined and hid his head in his massive paws.
    “Bad dog!”
    They cleaned up the mess and took Selena home first after they left the shop. Dinner ended up at Steve’s house. Peggy didn’t want to go out. Besides being exhausted mentally and physically, she didn’t want to talk to anyone else yet about her experience with Park. The cocoon wouldn’t last long; only one night. Then the media would have done its job, and everyone would know. But she knew she’d be able to handle it better tomorrow.
    Feeling a little like another Southern woman who thought she could handle everything better tomorrow, she apologized to Steve for not being better company when he finally took her home. “Maybe you should’ve let me find my way back without you. All you got for your trouble was a mess at the shop and a lot of silence from me.”
    He kissed her good night at her door and told her it didn’t matter. “I love being with you no matter what. Besides, someday I might need you to be there for me. That’s what having a relationship is all about, right?”
    “Right. Thank