Chapter 1 Page 5

  I stood, ready to meet my master. Berto’s hand reached out and gripped mine, while his eyes assessed my worth.

  I faked a confident smile. “Nice meeting you,” I said, then turned toward Nick. “And good to see you again.” After Carmen’s lecture about my treatment of him, I’d decided to be polite. Nick gave me a brief nod and greeted Carmen with a friendly hug.

  Hmm. Passive aggressive? Going to give me the silent treatment now?

  Berto wasted no time getting to the point. “So, Miss Julie. You think you can tame these wild animals of hers?”

  “They’re not wild,” Carmen said, sticking out her bottom lip and giving him a light punch on the arm. “Can’t we just let them be dogs?”

  A muscle in Berto’s jaw tightened, and his dark brows drew together. “Remember, we made an agreement. Nick tells me you won’t let Julie use the training collars. You’ve got to listen to her. That’s what we’re paying her for.”

  “But...I like mis niños as they are. Happy and having fun.”

  “Carmen, we’ve discussed this at length. These dogs are out of control. Noche snapped at me. What if he bites one of us, or someone else? We could be sued.” His voice sounded ominous. “I have spoken.” With that declaration, he strode out of the room, his face grim. Carmen ducked her head.

  Whoa. This was serious.

  Nick reached over and gently lifted Carmen’s chin, forcing her to look at him. “He means it, Carmen.”

  She slumped into a chair and gave Nick her pouty look. Frankly, I was tired of her pouty look. Feminine wiles had never been my strong suit.

  “It’s not fair,” she said. “Making me choose between my niños and him.”

  Nick shook his head, his lips grim. “Sorry, can’t help you. We’ve both known him long enough to know when he means business.”

  Carmen looked at me, her eyes challenging. “So. Y-you have to do it. You have to make them better.”

  My neck was getting stiffer by the minute. I reached back and grasped it with my hand and did a couple of neck rolls. “I’m doing the best I can, but we’ve just started. Poodles are smart, but training any dog takes time and consistency. You’re going to have to be the pack leader all the time, not just when we’re working them.”

  “Working them,” she huffed. “You make them sound like slaves.”

  “What about the training collars?” I asked.

  Carmen lifted her chin. “No.”

  I took a deep breath and looked toward Nick. I needed an ally. But his eyes were stony and unreadable, and he still hadn’t spoken one word to me.

  Great. Now I had all of them put out with me. “Look, I’m trying, but I’m not a miracle worker. It took Annie Sullivan over a month to get through to Helen Keller.”

  Carmen looked baffled.

  “It’s a play,” Nick explained. “Based on a true story. About a woman who was deaf and blind.”

  Hands on hips, Carmen pushed her face up close to mine, invading my personal space. I wanted to lean back but held my ground. “This isn’t a play,” she hissed. “This is real.” Then she played the money card. “I’m paying you to perform a miracle.”

  That’s when I exploded. “It’s not about the money!”

  Carmen had just tapped into my personal prejudice—rich people. They thought because they had money they could lord it over everyone else. I should know. I’d spent my whole life around them.

  After the burst of anger, tears welled in my eyes, and I turned away so Carmen and Nick couldn’t see. But when they spilled over and ran down my cheeks, I headed for the nearest door without looking back.

  Once outside, I drew a deep breath of night air to clear my head. That’s when I realized how angry I really was. Angry with myself for losing control. Angry with the Espositos for expecting miracles and treating me like an inferior. And angry with Nick Worthington for…for being so damned desirable.

  I took off for the guesthouse at a fast clip. Nothing was keeping me here. I could go back home to Abilene tomorrow. I didn’t need any of them. But then I thought about the poor, undisciplined dogs. Who would take care of them if the Espositos split up? Too, there was a part of me that couldn’t admit failure. Was I willing to give up so easily? If I stayed, even if I failed, I’d have done my best. There was also the issue of money.

  Halfway to the guesthouse, I heard footsteps behind me. I walked faster.

  “Julie, it’s me, wait.” Nick caught up, grabbed my arm and turned me to face him. The night was warm, his hand on my arm even warmer. “You know how to give a guy a run for his money.”

  Sweet fragrance of magnolia blossoms suffused the air. Moonlight softened all it touched, including Nick’s face.

  “Don’t pay any attention to Carmen. I told you she was fiery. Stubborn, too. That’s part of the problem with her and Berto. She doesn’t listen to reason.”

  He reached up and lightly touched his thumb under my eye, still wet from where a tear had fallen. “Hey,” he said softly. “Let’s have none of that.”

  I was tongue-tied. He was too delicious. Delicioso. When he pulled me to him, I was too weak to resist. My body dissolved into the warmth of his embrace. A sense of comfort and safety gathered me up and transported me to Wonderland, Neverland, Disneyland. I could have stayed in his arms forever.

  Then something happened. Whatever it was, I was keenly aware he felt it too. Maybe it was the moonlight. Maybe it was the scents engulfing us. Or maybe it was just biology, a man and a woman alone on a dark summer night. I quivered as a throb of longing swept over me.

  We looked into each other’s eyes for a long moment. Then Nick cupped my chin in his hand, tilting my face up to his. He slowly bent down and brushed his soft, warm lips against mine. Then, he moved closer, kissing me more intensely. By now we were both trembling.

  I pulled my lips from his and with a shaky laugh broke the spell. So this is what happened when I tried to be nice. If I wasn’t careful, I could end up in that king-sized bed with him, angry at myself for being such a pushover.

  Nick continued looking at me, his heart thumping against my breast. Reluctantly, I drew back and repeated his last words, my tone light. “Hey, let’s have none of that.”

  His laugh was husky. “You drive a hard bargain, lady. Follow me.” He led me to a bench beside the pathway and sat beside me. Any closer and we could have been Siamese twins, joined at the hip.

  “I have an idea. Tomorrow, after the dogs’ lesson, let me take you up in the plane…for fun. It’ll be good for you.”

  Much as I wanted to say yes, the thought of facing my fear of small planes and being in the air under Nick’s control made me hesitate.

  “You can’t stay here at Casa del Lago for a whole month and never leave the house.”

  I laughed. “But I’ve only been here a few days.”

  “You’re halfway through your first week.”

  He was right. My time here was on fast-forward. I smiled. He touched his finger to my lips, and they parted slightly as he traced their outline. Then he reached up and brushed a strand of hair out of my face, ever so gently. Like a heroine in an old romantic movie, I wanted to grab his hand and pull it to my heart. But this was no movie, and my life hadn’t exactly been filled with happy endings.

  “I’ll make you a better deal,” he said. “You’re afraid of flying. And you’ve probably noticed I’m…well…uneasy around dogs.”

  “You’re afraid of dogs?”

  He avoided my eyes and my question. “Fly with me, and I’ll help you with Carmen and the dogs tomorrow.” He paused. “That is, if you want me to.” Twice now, he’d come to my defense. His offer was a godsend, though I hated the thought of being indebted to him. But Carmen did listen to him when she wouldn’t listen to me.

  “It’s a deal. But no fancy stuff.” I could imagine him getting me thousands of feet in the air and doing loop-de-loops to show off.

  He chuckled. “I’m not an aerobatic pilot. I promise I’ll take as good care of you as
I would my own sister. Not that I see you as sisterly.”

  “Oh, you have a sister?”

  “No.”

  We both laughed.

  “Until tomorrow then.” He turned and walked toward the main house. As I watched him, he stopped, spun around, and blew me a kiss. Though I was seated, my knees went weak. I stayed on the bench for several minutes after he left, luxuriating in the memory of his soft lips, the warmth of his strong, hard body. Like a conjurer, he’d cast a spell that lingered long after he was gone.

  A rustling in the brush broke the spell. I squinted into the darkness and saw a man slipping from the trees and onto the pathway between me and the house. I recognized Berto from his build. Was he outside blowing off steam after his encounter with Carmen? Or had he followed us and watched us kiss? Whatever the reason, an uneasy feeling began churning in the pit of my stomach.

  Chapter Four

  The next morning as I brushed my hair, my hands trembled at the thought of flying again in such a small plane. Or maybe it was the memory of last night’s kiss, still fresh in my mind. I leaned into the mirror, reached up and lightly outlined my lips with a finger, as Nick had done, trying to replay that moment, but my fingertip was cool.

  I walked to the bedroom window, pushed the button that automatically drew the drapes, and watched the first rays of sun embrace the lake. Nick was right. The view was spectacular—miles of green shoreline in the distance and blue water dotted with an occasional fishing boat or graceful sailboat, propelled across the surface by an unseen breeze.

  Though she’d balked at the idea at first, claiming it was too early, I’d convinced Carmen to bring her poodle children and meet me outside at ten. She was probably hoping to stall any training at all, expecting me to create some sort of magic on my own. But since she didn’t trust me, she insisted she be there at all times. I totally agreed. She had to learn to control them herself, since I wouldn’t always be around.

  This time we would work outside. By ten it was hot, but not unbearable. Nick was right. I was getting slightly stir crazy from being inside so much, and Noche and Blanco could also use some fresh air.

  To my surprise, Carmen was waiting with the dogs when I reached the main house. Neither of us mentioned last night’s blowup. She looked as if she hadn’t slept well, but then she’d admitted she wasn’t a morning person. “Nick said he’d meet us as soon as he gets back,” she said, handing me the leashes while she lifted her hair from the back of her neck and secured it with a wide tortoise-shell clasp. “He had an errand to run in town.”

  Or maybe he’d decided to skip out on his promise to help. Which meant I wouldn’t have to fly with him after all. Now that it was daylight, I was embarrassed at my behavior the night before. Though it had been only a kiss—okay, two kisses—I was being paid to work here, not to carry on romantic trysts in the garden. Despite what Carmen said about Nick being the pick of the litter, I doubted the Espositos wanted me carrying on with their longtime friend, even if he was just a pilot. In their eyes I was hired help, several rungs below them all on the social ladder.

  I put the dogs in a sit-stay, keeping them on a tight lead to make sure they didn’t budge. They looked at Carmen as if hoping she’d release them, but I shot her a warning look. “Before we start, I need to ask you some questions about Noche and Blanco. They’re housebroken?”

  “Oh, yes. The people we bought them from did that.”

  Bad sign. Good they were housebroken, but bad because she’d evidently done nothing with the dogs except indulge them.

  “No hiking?”

  “Ugh,” she said. “I hate the outdoors, though sometimes we walk around the yard.”

  I kept my expression bland and pressed my lips together hard to keep from laughing. “I mean, does Noche hike his leg, inside…to pee.”

  “Oh no! Noche is a good boy, aren’t you Noche?” She knelt down and hugged his neck, burying her face in his dark fur. Noche rewarded her by turning his head and flicking his pink tongue out in what amounted to a French kiss. Carmen didn’t blench.

  “See, he loves me. He also knows how to hug me. Watch.” She stood up and pulled Noche onto his hind legs and wrapped his front legs around her waist. “You love to hug your mommy, don’t you?” she said in baby talk. Noche’s hips began to hunch forward and back.

  Carmen turned around so Noche was facing her back with his paws still around her waist. “He can also line dance. Watch his feet.”

  I couldn’t think about his feet. All I could see was a dark pink protuberance between his legs, growing longer with each swing of Carmen’s hips. I’d heard of a dance from the sixties called “the dirty dog.” Now I knew where it got the name.

  My eyes widened in disbelief. “Enough! Enough! I think I understand a big part of your problem now. Tell him off! And push him down. Please!”

  But she was ignoring me, and I couldn’t wait. I grabbed the lead near Noche’s neck and pulled hard, telling him off in a low, commanding voice. Once I had them uncoupled, it was time to be blunt. “Carmen, he’s not hugging you, he’s humping you!”

  “What?”

  “Humping. He thinks he’s having sex with you.”

  Her eyes looked troubled, but she shook her head in denial. “You have a dirty mind. Noche’s just a baby.”

  I clapped a hand on top of my head. “He’s almost a year old. That’s a teenager in dog years, and he thinks you’re his woman!”

  Carmen gave me a fierce look. “That’s ridiculous. I’m his mama.”

  I’d planned to add he also needed neutering but decided I’d already given Carmen more information than she could handle in one day.

  “Come on, let’s get to work.” I walked toward an open, grassy area that would give us plenty of room. “I’ll take Blanco,” I said, giving Carmen no choice. “We’ll work on the down command today.” I prepared myself for some major resistance. “This isn’t the same as off. Use off when they jump on you. Down means lying down. And, please, no more dancing.”

  Despite their lack of formal training, the poodles were already responding well to heel, sit, and come commands, so I thought we’d keep them challenged while their learning curve was on its way up.

  “One thing you can do to reinforce what we learn here is to work it into your daily routine. For instance, when you see either of them lying down, praise them. Say, ‘Good down.’ Or anytime they’re doing something you want them to learn. Like now. See, Blanco is sitting.” I went over to Blanco and patted her fluffy white coat. “Good sit! Good sit!” Blanco wagged her tail and gave me a doggy smile, mouth open, tongue in lick position. “See, she knows she’s doing something good.”

  I reached into my belt bag and broke off a piece of fat-free wiener and held it in front of Blanco’s nose so she could get a good whiff. “Watch,” I told Carmen. “I’m going to lower the treat as I pull down on her collar. And as I’m pulling down, I’ll say down in a low voice and lower the treat so she’ll have to lie down to get it.”

  Carmen put her hands on her hips. “I don’t understand how this is going to help at all. It’s in bed Berto is complaining about. I can’t do this when we’re in bed!”

  Patience. I’m training the owner as much as training the dog. Somehow I had to make Carmen understand. Where her dogs were concerned, she had a blind spot as big as Texas.

  “Once they know you’re in control and acknowledge you’re the alpha figure or the pack leader, they’ll be more likely to obey you in other situations. Remember, even the mother dog sets boundaries for her pups.”

  “But they won’t like me if I order them around and make them obey my every command,” she wailed.

  “I promise you they’ll still like you. But right now, they think you’re their littermate, not their mother. It’s like trying to be a friend to your children instead of a parent.”

  “I’ll try,” she said reluctantly, pooching her bottom lip out like a spoiled brat.

  As soon as Blanco lowered into a down position,
I gushed. “Good girl! Okay!” I gave her a treat. She wagged her whole rear she was so happy. “She’s a wiggle-butt!” I said in a high voice, causing Blanco to wag more excitedly.

  “See, it makes her feel good to please you. They want to please you. And they like learning. Dogs get bored if they don’t have some enrichment. You try it now with Noche.”

  I reached into my belt bag again, broke off a chunk of weenie, and handed it to Carmen. “After he obeys and you release him, reward him with just a tiny piece.” If she could master this, then maybe there was hope.

  She held the treat in front of Noche’s nose, but before she could ease him down, he grabbed at the weenie and Carmen let him have it. “Good boy,” she said. “He’s hungry!”

  “No, Carmen.” I used the same tone with her I used with the dogs. She gave me a withering look, but I didn’t blink. “Sorry, but you can’t let him have the treat until he’s done what you want. It sends him the wrong message. Let’s try again.”

  I bent over at the waist to stretch out some tension, and when I looked between my legs, Nick was standing behind me getting an eyeful. I jerked to a standing position and let out a loud “Eeeek!” Immediately, the poodles embarked on an ear-splitting rampage. “Quiet,” I barked back, loud as I could, and silence descended.

  Nick looked unperturbed. “Need some help? I know a thing or two about submission.”

  Carmen made a face at him. On her it looked cute. “I’m sure you do. And if I weren’t happily married to Berto, I’d be one of your love slaves, like all the other women.”

  I felt totally unqualified as a love slave. My hair was plastered to my head, and I’m sure I’d sweated off all my makeup. But why did I even care? Nick and Carmen’s repartee reinforced what I’d already decided about him. He wasn’t the kind of man to stick around once he’d made his conquest.

  I nodded to him and explained the down command, trying not to sound bossy this time. “Take Noche and watch me with Blanco.”

  When Nick took the leash from Carmen, Noche whined and looked up at her to rescue him. Frustrated at losing his sex partner, no doubt.