Free Fudgeballs And Other Sweets by Lori Copeland Page A

taking her to my house and putting her down for a nap?”
    â€œShe isn’t yours!”
    â€œShe isn’t yours, either.”
    â€œStop this, Dave.” Her eyes narrowed. “ I will take care of her.”
    â€œYou’ve got a store full of customers and no help. Don’t be stubborn about this.”
    â€œDon’t you be stubborn! Mrs. Wilcox will be here any moment.” They locked horns, their gazes fixed and determined.
    â€œExcuse me?” A woman with three children stood by the register waiting to pay for her purchases. “Is anyone working here?”
    Jenny caught her breath. Her eyes fixed on Dave’s fingers, making tiny circles on the baby’s back. She imagined his hand on her back. She blinked the disturbing image away.
    Stop it , her head screamed. Stop looking at him that way and thinking of him that way. She was so close to achieving financial security, so close to fulfilling her dreams for Fudgeballs. She couldn’t throw a monkey wrench in the works by getting emotionally involved with him. She couldn’t.
    â€œDave, go home. You’re not needed anymore. I can handle it from here.” Blunt and to the point was the only sensible way to handle the matter.
    Disbelief, then hurt flickered in his eyes.
    â€œJenny—”
    Taking Dory from him, she ignored the disappointment in his tone. Tough love. She’d heard of it, just never put it to use. She stepped around him and carried Dory into the back room.
    When she returned a moment later, he was gone.
    Swallowing the knot in her throat, she pasted a smile on her face and waited on customers.

5
    P RINCESS DIPPED HER HEAD to stare at the sleeping bulldog. “ Mon ami?”
    Jake opened one eye, yawned and licked his chops. “Huh? What’d ya call me?”
    â€œ Mon ami. I called you my friend.”
    â€œFriend? Since when?” Jake shifted to his other side to resume his nap.
    Princess nudged his backside with her nose. “Come play with me.”
    Jake raised his head. “Play? With you?” He sat up and looked at her. “Are you nuts? You’re askin’ me to play with you ? One minute I’m barred from looking at you, the next you want to play?”
    Tears welled in her eyes, and she swiped them away with her paw.
    â€œAw, shoot. What are you bawlin’ for? What’d I do?”
    â€œI am lonely, monsieur.”
    He rose, shook and strutted around her, giving her a couple of sniffs. “You been drinkin’ something stronger than water?”
    She laid down, put her head between her paws and whined.
    â€œOkay, okay—quit your bellyachin’. I’ll play. What’ll it be? Chase?” He jumped at her, pulled back and jumped again.
    She didn’t move. He put a paw on her back and gave her a shove. “You wanted to play, let’s play.”
    â€œI don’t feel like it anymore.”
    Jake snorted, hiked his leg on the tree, then settled in his former spot. Poodles!
    Princess let out a mournful whimper. “Talk to me.”
    Good grief . “What do you want me to say?”
    She turned away. “If you don’t know, then I’m not going to tell you. Don’t talk to me.”
    Jake pushed himself to a sitting position. “Is this a game? Play with me—don’t play with me. Talk to me—don’t talk to me. You missing a few kibbles?”
    Princess let out a wail.
    Jake shot up like a bullet. “Oh, for cryin’ out loud. Now what’d I say?”
    â€œI haven’t gotten one kibble treat since the baby came,” Princess sniffed.
    Jake snorted and licked his nose. “Is that all? That’s nothin’ to cry about. That chunk o’ nothin’ wouldn’t fill a hollow tooth.” I could give her back her bone. Nah.
    He rummaged in his dog dish for a scrap of leftovers and came up with a piece of crust off Dave’s bologna sandwich. “Here.” He