Page 17 (1/2)

"What?" sheto let that puppy worm his way into lass of ith dinner?" she asked, wanting to change the subject before the puppy became an object of contention between them

"If you do"

"Red or white?"

"Red"

"Okay" She went from the kitchen to the walk-in pantry, where they kept several bottles of wine, and chose a Shiraz She returned with the wine, used a corkscrew to open it and let it breathe

"What do you think of Beauregard?" Cliff asked

"Beauregard who?"

"As a name," he said pointedly

"Oh, for the puppy It’s fine but a little long, wouldn’t you say?" She caught herself, adding, "Not that I care"

"We’d call him Beau for short"

"We?" She placed her hands on her hips and glared at him "You na to do with it"

Cliff nodded "Then Beau, it is" He ran his index finger down the puppy’s golden back as Beau sucked greedily at the tiny nipple The bottle looked like so that came with a child’s doll

"Make sure he doesn’t do his business in the house," she warned

"No problem I’ll wait fifteento be a nuisance "He’ll probably interrupt our meal," she complained "And you know darned well that he’ll be awake at all hours of the night How many years has it been since you’ve had to deal with a puppy?"

Cliff smiled down at Beau, completely entranced Her husband was an easy victim to the puppy, but not Grace She fully intended to keep her distance, emotionally if not physically

Cliff took Beau outside and returned just as she wasthe potatoes He looked in her direction and shook his head

"No success?" she asked

"None"

"He’s not too bright, is he?"

"Grace," her husband chastised "He hasn’t had a chance to learn what itto ad She could see how attached Cliff was getting, and the puppy hadn’t even been with the this anilanced up fro with the puppy, and grinned "Whatever you say"

"I’"

"Whatever you want"

Grace narrowed her eyes as she set their dinner on the kitchen table "Proroaned, "this is no joking matter You wait and see, he’ll interfere with dinner It’s already begun"

Sure enough, in the middle of dinner, the timer went off

"What’s that for?" she asked, startled

"Beau I’lass, Cliff headed outside with the puppy, who’d been curled up on an old towel near the stove

Grace reached for her own glass and raised it to her lips

"It’s only for six weeks," Cliff reminded her as he opened the door off the kitchen

Grace had a feeling that these would be the longest six weeks of her life

Thirteen

Hurrying out of the courthouse, Olivia frowned as she looked at her watch She’d told her brother she’dhad run late Will had already left one h she hadn’t taken the time to listen to it

Thankfully the courthouse was just a few short blocks from the Harbor Street Gallery It was a crisp October day, so Olivia decided to walk The trek was downhill, which was sorateful for And she loved the beauty of the brilliant autuone in another week

Olivia walked steadily but she was out of practice and out of breath She’d be seeing Grace later for their weekly Wednesday-night aerobics class She was slowly regaining her strength; maybe she’d even catch up to Grace in skill and endurance soon

Thinking about her friend, Olivia couldn’t contain a s for that puppy of Beth’s Beau had instantly won over Cliff Not so Grace, who stubbornly refused to grow attached to hi Grace would be able to hold out Her friend had loved Buttercup and she’d love Beau, too, if she’d give him a chance Still, Grace insisted that in less than six weeks, she’d hand Beau over to Beth Morehouse without a second’s hesitation Noback If Olivia was a betting wo that puppy

She arrived at the gallery and entered, accoed behind her, rattling the s