Chapter 1 Page 4

  I took a few seconds to study my new boss. Even in the bright sunlight, Carmen’s light brown skin was smooth and clear, except for a light dusting of freckles over her nose. “Did you sleep well?” she asked, her smile warm.

  “Like el vampiro after a night on the town. Thank you for all the food and supplies.”

  “Oh, it’s nothing.” She waved dismissively. “We’re used to company. But sit. I can’t wait to see the lesson plans for mis niños.” She held out her open hand. I looked around to see if it was meant for someone else, but we were the only two people on the patio.

  “Uh, you mean you want something in writing?”

  Her dark brows drew together, and she pulled back her empty hand. “When my children were in school, their teachers always had the books with plans in them. You know, with objections and activities.”

  The muscles in the back of my neck tightened. I had a feeling she’d be providing the “objections.” I made myself take a deep breath before speaking the words I knew Carmen Esposito didn’t want to hear.

  “I know they’re like your children, but these are dogs, you know. I don’t have a written plan, but I do have some commands we can work on.”

  “Commands?” She spat the word out, like soured milk.

  “Okay, let’s pretend it’s school. We’ll call it puppy kindergarten. But I hope you understand that at one year, Noche and Blanco are teenagers who haven’t learned their basics.”

  Carmen pressed her lips together and looked straight into my eyes but didn’t speak, so I continued my lesson.

  “I thought we’d begin with a few simple commands and see how they respond. We’ll go from there. Once they get on lead, it’ll be easier to control them.” I cringed inwardly as I said the word control, fearing it might set her off, but considering the antics of her two hooligans last night, they needed some boundaries.

  Carmen glanced past my shoulder and her face brightened. “Oh, here’s Nick.”

  He’s still here? Did he just hang around the Espositos’ house when he wasn’t flying them somewhere? He surely didn’t live here, and he obviously wasn’t on vacation. Curious though I was, I had too much pride to ask.

  “Hi there, beautiful women,” Nick said, pulling out Carmen’s chair, then looking toward me. I sat down before he could do the honors. Maybe Carmen’s presence would keep him from sniffing around me for a while.

  He took a seat between us, unfolded his napkin, and placed it in his lap. “So, this is the big day. Everyone ready for the first lesson? Thought I’d tag along and watch, if that’s okay.”

  My eyes widened and met his denim blues. No, it’s not okay, I wanted to say. Instead I snapped, “It won’t be very interesting for you.”

  What was wrong with him? The worse I treated him, the harder he tried. Surely he didn’t think I was playing hard to get. I was seriously un-gettable, and he wasn’t getting it.

  “You might be surprised what interests me,” he said, his voice husky and low.

  After lunch, my stomach full of enchiladas, I hoped someone would suggest a siesta, but no one did.

  While Carmen went to get the dogs, Nick ushered me into the ballroom.

  By now I should have been beyond surprise, but when we entered a room the size of a small gymnasium, I gaped. The four massive crystal chandeliers must have cost as much as my annual salary. Antique chairs and sofas lined the walls. Polished hardwood floors, stained glass windows, and a mural covering an entire wall completed the picture. Scarlett O’Hara would have fit right in. Such waste. I’d grown up with money, lots of money, but the Espositos’ furnishings made my mother’s lifestyle look downright frugal.

  Echoes bounced off the walls when Nick shut the door. “You were quiet at lunch. Everything okay?”

  “I’m fine. Just doing my job.”

  Actually, I had the jitters. I’d never trained someone else’s dogs before, and a marriage was riding on my success, not to mention the fate of two dogs. Adding Nick Worthington to that equation made my cellulite quiver.

  But I had little time to fret further. The door burst open and in ran Noche and Blanco, dragging a panting Carmen behind them. She was so tiny that together they probably weighed as much as she did.

  “They’re full of energy today,” she gasped, as they pulled her toward me. Once they were close enough, both dogs rose up on their hind legs, determined to put their paws on my chest. If I hadn’t backed up, and if Nick hadn’t stepped in and taken hold of their leashes, they’d have knocked me flat on my butt. He held them off while I talked to Carmen.

  “First lesson.” I used a low, stern voice I hoped both Carmen and the dogs would respond to. “You must establish yourself as the alpha figure, the pack leader. That means you have to be firm and in control.”

  I reached out and took Blanco’s leash from Nick. “Think of them as children if you like, but children who need discipline. I don’t mean spanking. Just a firm hand.”

  Last night I’d observed that Blanco, like most bitches, was top dog of this poodle two-pack, so I’d start with her. My job was to out-bitch her and the humans.

  Nick smelled spicy and fresh, like shampoo and deodorant. “As long as you’re here, make yourself useful,” I told him. “Take Noche’s lead.” For the first time since we’d met, he didn’t seem so confident. In fact, he looked downright unnerved. I, by contrast, was getting a control-freak rush now that I was in my element. I could do this. “Now follow me. Carmen, you watch.”

  I took Blanco’s leash, knelt beside her, and slipped the training collar over her head before Carmen realized what I was doing. “Think of it as the letter P. It’s important you don’t put it on backwards. That could hurt her.”

  Carmen reached out and grabbed the leash from my hand and pulled Blanco away from me. “When I said, no choke chains, I meant no choke chains.”

  Nick put his hand on Carmen’s arm in an attempt to get her attention. “Carmen, won’t you give Julie a chance?”

  Carmen planted her feet firmly and drew Blanco closer. “I’m giving her a chance. She can use collars and leashes. No choke chains.”

  Nick turned to me. “Can you try it without the chains for now?”

  I stretched my neck from side to side and looked at Carmen. “Do I have any choice?”

  Carmen slipped the chain off Blanco’s neck and threw it against the wall. “No. Now let’s get started.”

  I took a deep breath and tried to calm the thumping in my chest. “It’s your marriage.” I bit my lip to keep from saying something I’d regret. “Okay, follow me with Noche as I walk Blanco. Do what I do, but don’t get too close.”

  I kept reminding myself to remain calm and think positive, knowing my emotions would travel right down the leash to the dogs. I held a treat over Blanco’s head to get her attention and got her to sit, then gave the heel command, walking forward with my left foot first. “Every time they get out of heel position, say watch. Our goal is to teach them to walk by our side without pulling. And give lots of praise in a high voice when they do it right.”

  “A high voice?” Nick asked, his voice hesitant.

  “Don’t worry. I’m sure your masculinity will remain intact.” I restrained a laugh.

  I demonstrated with Blanco to help Nick get the hang of it, smiling inwardly when he used a high voice, remembering his natural husky tone.

  “Then reward with a small treat, but not every time. Intermittent reinforcement works best when using food. But always reward with verbal praise.”

  We made a few laps around the ballroom. “Nick!” I barked at one point, “You have to take charge. He has to know you’re boss.”

  Nick grimaced in frustration. “I’m trying. But it isn’t working.”

  “It takes time. When you stop, he needs to stop and sit. Take your hand and push his butt down gently. Then tell him good sit. Remember, you’re in control. Think of it as flying a plane. You have to be alert at all times.”

  Nick took a deep, shaky breath and let i
t out. “I don’t think he likes this. He keeps giving me funny looks.”

  Squeezing the top of my head in despair, I looked into Noche’s big brown eyes, then narrowed my blue ones at Nick. “Your turn, Carmen.”

  Her eyes were soft and brown like Noche’s. She reluctantly took hold of the leash, but Noche knew an easy touch when he felt one. He rose up and knocked Carmen backwards with his front paws. If Nick hadn’t managed to catch her, she’d have fallen hard.

  I threw up my arms. “Listen up. This is proof. You’ve got to get control. If not, someone’s going to get hurt.”

  Carmen looked miffed but took Noche’s leash and circled the room, while I called out instructions. I demonstrated again with Blanco, parading around the room, growling at her when she tried to take control and praising profusely when she did it right. “Good girl, that’s a good girl.” At least Blanco realized I meant business.

  I turned to Carmen and Nick. “Remember to control them with your voice. Higher pitch when you’re pleased, lower tones for correction. That’s what the mother dog does. She growls if the pups get out of line. Now, you try it, and I’ll watch. Nick, you take Blanco from me, and Carmen, you try it with Noche.”

  At first both dogs and people seemed to be catching on. Then, as Nick and Carmen rounded a corner too close to each other, Noche mounted Blanco.

  “Pull him off, pull him off!” I yelled at Carmen. “Nick, help her!”

  Carmen let go of the leash and put her hands on her hips. “He’s just doing what comes naturally.”

  By now, I was hot and sweaty and not amused. “This is what he’s going to do when you have guests. This is not good. This is bad.” I sounded like a page from a Dick and Jane reader.

  Maybe I was being too hard on them. After all, this was only the first lesson.

  “One more time,” I commanded, brushing a strand of hair out of my eyes.

  “How much longer?” Carmen wailed.

  “We need to work at least an hour a day. Two sessions would be best. But you also need to reinforce the same behavior when we aren’t officially working.”

  Carmen sat cross-legged on the floor and let the two dogs lick her face and arms as if she were a big doggy treat.

  “Stand up,” I ordered. “If you get down on their level, they’ll think you’re a littermate and treat you like one.”

  She looked up at me and whined. “But I’m their mommy.” She put her arms around them and kissed their faces. “Good babies.”

  “Up, get up! High voice is for praise. You don’t want to praise inappropriate behavior.”

  She hugged them to her chest. “But I like them loving me. They’re doing better, don’t you think?”

  I groaned inside. “It’s a start.” That’s when the realization hit me hard. I had one month to perform a miracle. “Let’s stop for now. I see some tired faces.”

  “Yes, mis niños are tired, aren’t they?” Carmen continued kissing them.

  “I meant you and Nick. The dogs don’t seem tired at all.”

  She pulled herself up from the floor, and we untangled the leashes from around her; but when I looked up, Nick was nowhere in sight. I’d been so busy trying to corral Carmen and the dogs I hadn’t realized he’d disappeared.

  “What’s up with Nick?”

  Carmen rolled her eyes. “He’s a man.”

  “So?”

  “You may know a lot about dogs, but you don’t seem to know much about men.”

  I lifted my chin. “I know enough about men like Nick Worthington.”

  Carmen looked me over. “Then you should know men don’t like bossy women, women telling them what to do. Nick’s mama was a bossy woman. And no man wants a woman to be like his mama.”

  Was she serious?

  “Uh, this is the twenty-first century,” I reminded her.

  She tossed her head. “Men, not just men like Nick, any man wants to be in control. Or think he’s in control.”

  I twisted my sweaty hair behind my neck, wishing I had a clip or rubber band. Training dogs was harder than it looked. “I don’t play those kinds of games.”

  She eyed me in disbelief. “Men are like dogs. They need praise…and treats. You should be nicer. Has Nick done something he shouldn’t?”

  Her question caught me off guard. She was right. I’d been playing alpha-bitch to Nick. I thought back to how he’d insisted on getting the car and how he’d wanted to pull my chair out for me. Finding the choke chains. Defending me to Carmen.

  I lowered my head. “No, he’s been a perfect gentleman.”

  “Then what is the problem? Most women want to please him.”

  A corkscrew of jealousy began to twist its way between my ribs, but I summoned my strength and reversed its direction. “I’m not most women. And I’m not submissive like a dog, ready to roll over and pee on myself simply because an attractive man like Nick looks my way.”

  Carmen tossed her head. “Nick could have any woman he wants. He’s—what you call it?—the pick of the litter.”

  “I’m not looking for another dog.” She was starting to sound like my mother.

  Her brow furrowed. “You could do worse.”

  Oh, did I ever know that. I’d already done worse. That was the problem. Nick did seem too yummy to pass up, but I’d made a vow, and I was trying like hell to keep it. Even if it meant wearing a hair shirt and sleeping on a bed of nails.

  Chapter Three

  The next night, after a light supper, Carmen and I retired to the library. At one end, soft leather chairs, grouped around a stone fireplace, took up an entire wall. Rich wood paneling and a beamed ceiling added ambiance.

  Waving her hand for me to sit, Carmen picked up a heavy crystal decanter and poured dark red liquid into two Waterford wine glasses, then handed one to me. I recognized the Lismore pattern. It was the same as mine. My mother had thrown a fit when I’d sold all but two stems to help raise money for the adoption center.

  Carmen sat in a chair next to mine, kicked off her sandals, and tucked her bare feet beneath her. I took a sip of wine and leaned back. As the warmth flooded through me, I thought of Nick. He’d been gone for over a day. I should have felt relief, but instead his absence left me with an unexpected hollow feeling. With him around, the house seemed full of life, but without him it was cavernous and empty. I was beginning to understand Carmen’s empty neck syndrome.

  “When is your husband coming home? Is he still in Mexico?”

  Her face lit up. “Business usually keeps him out of town, except on weekends. But this week, he’s coming back early…” She took a sip of wine. “…to meet you.”

  My stomach flip-flopped. I wasn’t too keen on meeting the man of the house until I had his errant hounds under better control. Maybe I had daddy issues, but powerful men made me nervous, and I doubted Berto Esposito would be an exception.

  “That’s great.” I smiled, attempting to mirror her joy. I hadn’t felt comfortable enough to ask before, but now the timing seemed right. “What kind of business is he in?”

  She pointed to the small, ornate wooden table between us. “Imports. Mainly furniture, but he also picks up decorative items. I shouldn’t complain. He does very well. But I do get lonely with him traveling so much, especially now that my niños—our children—have grown up and moved away. That’s why Berto let me get Noche and Blanco, but now…” As her thoughts trailed off, she puffed out her lips in an exaggerated pout. “Berto will ask you if we’re making progress.” The slight tremor in her voice reminded me her marriage hung in the balance.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll make it sound good.”

  The hand holding her wine glass trembled slightly. “I think they’re fine the way they are, but Berto...” She sighed and set the glass on the table. Her perfectly manicured nails matched the wine. With her money, she could have sent the dogs off to a posh doggy boarding school for training rather than risk breaking a fingernail. I had to admire her for wanting to do it herself.

  “You like
them?” she asked suddenly. “Mis niños?”

  Her question took me by surprise. “Of course I like them. I love dogs.”

  Carmen chewed on her bottom lip. “The others didn’t like them. They pushed on them and said down with a loud voice.”

  Uh-oh. We weren’t ready for the down command yet, one of the most submissive positions for a dog to learn. For both our sakes, I hoped when the time came, subtler techniques than wrestling them to the floor would work.

  I tried to reassure her. “We’ll take it a little at a time. Now, if you had terriers, you’d probably have more of a problem, but poodles learn quickly.”

  “I hope so.” She stared at the empty hearth, twirling a strand of her long dark hair around a finger. “Berto doesn’t understand.”

  “Does Berto like the dogs?”

  “Oh, he likes them.” Her tone was defensive. “But he says I’m the one who’s with them all day, and I’m the one who has time to train them.”

  “He does have a point. It’s not something you can do in a weekend.”

  Her eyes filled with pain. “Or a month?”

  “We’re going to give it our best,” I said, wishing I could promise more. The pressure of having only a month weighed on me too. As I took another sip of wine, the library door flew open and in stepped a tall, broad-shouldered man with a Van Dyke beard.

  Carmen leaped from her chair. “Berto!” She ran to him and threw herself into his arms. He easily lifted her small frame off the floor with one arm, and they kissed passionately.

  Pretty impressive after twenty-five years of marriage. I was still watching them, entranced, when Nick sauntered in, causing my breath to catch.

  Carmen extracted herself from Berto’s arms to introduce us. “Julie, my husband, Berto.”