AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Hedidn’tmeantoletgoofher,either,buthisarms stopped doing what he told them to do.
She dropped. He froze. No, she was okay. She’d fallen onto the bed.
His relief lasted less than a second. The bed splintered. It rolled her over and dumped her onto the floor. He dropped to his knees beside her and scanned all of her. She wasn’t hurt. Relief flooded his veins.
She scrambled onto her back so she could look up at him. He knew what she’d see. A confused, frightened thundercloud.
“This doesn’t augur well for our little talk,” she said. “I knew the bed was getting a little rickety, but I didn’t — ”
“Don’t say it,” Van said through gritted teeth. “Just don’t say it.”
After man and dog left, Mary hunkered down on her living-room floor with Guinevere, miserably stroking her silky brown ears.
“That didn’t go very well, did it, girl? For me, I mean. You obviously made out like a bandit. So to speak.Asforme,itwasdownrightembarrassing.Not to mention frustrating.”
Allofwhichweretheleastofit.Hadshescaredhim off forever? By being a klutz with a death trap of a house? Or by daring to mention that four-letter word love?
Her Saint Bernard gave voice to a “ro-o-ro-o-w” of commiseration.
“Do you think he’ll ever be back?”
Guinevere nodded.
“You do? I don’t. But you’ve been right a thousand times before when I was sure you were wrong.” Mary tried hard to hope.
Guinevere slipped her nose under Mary’s free palm, tilted her head and turned her eyes up to gaze sideways through her eyelashes at her mistress.
Mary had to smile. “You’ve been perfecting that coy Princess Diana look for Lancelot, haven’t you?”
Guinevere quirked one eyebrow in question.
“Yes, hon, it works. You look adorable doing it. But listen, misery loves company, you know.”
Guinevere whined.
“What do you mean you’re too happy to stay miserable with me?
Guinevere yawned.
“Hey, is that a smug yawn? Exhaustion due to great sex? Stop looking so — so replete. You don’t have to rub it in, just because you’re the only one getting any satisfaction around here.”
Guinevere hid her shamed face under her paws.
“Aww, that’s okay. But we do need to have a mother-daughter talk about your new beau. Are you sure this Lancelot fellow will stick around? After all, you guys don’t get to have sex all the time to keep a relationship going. Just when you’re in heat. Will he just produce some puppies and strut away?”
Guinevere woofed in reproof at Mary for even suggesting such a thing.
“Okay,okay,butdon’tsayIdidn’twarnyou.”Mary knuckled the dog under her ear. Guinevere leaned happily into the caress-apology.
“All right, I’ll admit it. I’m really reminding myself that the guy I want won’t stick around, if I even get him in the first place. I guess I should tell both of us: be very, very careful, or you’ll get hurt.”
Mary knew that, for her, it was already too late.
Chapter Eleven
The Husband Hunt
T
