Free Love Gone to the Dogs by Margaret Daley Page A

strong fingers that felt wonderful. Too much more of this and she would melt right there on the lawn and really give the neighbors something to gossip about.
    A fireman approached Leah, and all the relaxation she had felt vanished as she straightened. "Is everything okay?"
    "Ma'am, most of the damage was smoke related. Shane's promptness in calling saved your garage. The fire was still pretty much confined to the trash can when we arrived."
    "Thank you," was all she could say.
    Sam came running from behind the back of the house. "Mom, Arnold has escaped again."
    "I guess in all the confusion—" She sighed, realizing her life was one big roller coaster ride after another.
    Shane groaned. "My doggie door is locked, but he's probably in my backyard trying to figure out how to get into my house."
    Shane's hands slipped from her shoulders, leaving her feeling somewhat bereft. While he was gone she watched the neighbors finally grow bored with the unexpected entertainment the Taylor family had provided and drift toward their homes. Just when she thought she would have some peace, Shane walked across the street holding Princess in his arms with Arnold trotting along behind him. The scowl on Shane's face said it all.
    "I don't think I want to know. What did he do this time?"
    "Somehow Princess must have unlocked the doggie door to let this hound in. She's gone crazy." He shook his head. "And worse, he wouldn't let me pick him up. I had to coax Princess off the bed, which wasn't an easy task, and carry her over here in order to get him to follow me."
    Leah scooped Arnold into her arms. "I'll keep him indoors from now on. He won't like it, but I don't know what else to do."
    "I've never seen a dog so obsessed."
    There was a part of Leah that wished her life were as simple as Arnold's. He knew what he wanted, and he went after it with a vengeance, trusting everything would work out to his advantage. "Maybe to make our lives simpler I could buy Princess from you."
    "No."
    Shane said it so quickly and so fervently that Leah took a step back. Suddenly she saw Princess as a symbol of Shane's dead wife. If Leah had had any doubt about a relationship with him, his reply to her suggestion cemented her determination to stay away from the man. He was as good at building walls around his emotions as she was. He didn't want a commitment, and she had experienced too many men in her life who hadn't.
    "Surely we can outsmart two dogs," Shane said as though his earlier refusal hadn't twisted her heart.
    "Speak for yourself." She backed away another step from him. "Well, I hate to run, but I have—socks to sort. See you around." She pivoted and hurried into her house, feeling Shane's gaze on her back—hot, electric. It bored a hole into her that went straight for her heart, which was still contracted in a tight knot. Somehow she would find a way to keep Arnold away from Princess, and at the same time she would stay away from the bichon's master. He didn't want to get involved; she didn't want to get involved. What could be simpler than that?
     
    * * *
     
    Shane felt weariness in every bone as he left his office late for the fifth night in a row. He knew he was working long hours because he didn't want to face his empty house. He had spent several nights standing in the dark, staring out his front window at the place across the street. After the second night he swore he wouldn't do that anymore, but the only way he had found to keep the temptation in check was to work—long and hard—until all he wanted to do was fall into bed at night.
    He pulled into the driveway and glanced back at Leah's. Only one light was on. He wondered if she were already asleep. He wondered what she looked like while she slept, what she looked like aroused from a deep slumber by—
    He struck the steering wheel with the palm of his hand. Pain shot up his arm, and he welcomed the sensation, praying it diverted him from the path his thoughts always wanted to take