Diamond In The Ruff

Lily darted out of the office and hurried to her vehicle.

* * *

“You look like someone’s chasing you,” Theresa observed when she all but burst through the front door of the catering shop. “Is everything all right?” the older woman asked.

“Fine. It’s fine,” Lily answered a little too quickly.

Theresa opted to leave her answer unchallenged, asking instead, “How did he like your pastries?” When Lily looked at her blankly, her expression not unlike that of a deer caught in the headlights, Theresa prompted helpfully, “The vet, how did he like the pastries that you made for him?”

“Oh, that. He liked them,” Lily answered. “Sorry, I’m a little preoccupied,” she apologized. “I’m thinking about the desserts for tomorrow night’s event,” she explained. Because she always wanted everything to be perfect—her way of showing Theresa how grateful she was to the woman for taking such an interest in her—she was constantly reviewing what she planned on creating for any given event.

This time it was Theresa who waved a hand, waving away Lily’s apology. She was far more interested in the topic she had raised.

“Well, what did he say?” she asked. “Honestly, child, sometimes getting information out of you is just like pulling teeth.” Drawing her over to the side, she repeated her request. “Tell me what he said.”

She could feel her eyes crinkling as she smiled, recalling the exact words. “That he thought he’d died and gone to heaven.”

Theresa nodded in approval. “At least he has taste,” she said more to herself than to Lily. Maizie had come up with a good candidate, she couldn’t help thinking. “It’s an omen,” she decided, giving Lily’s hand a squeeze. “We’ll go with Bits of Heaven for the celebration tomorrow night.” And then, because Lily didn’t seem to be inclined to say anything further about Christopher for now, she changed topics. “By the way, if you’re wondering where Jonathan is, Meghan took him out for a walk. Until he gets housebroken, one of us is going to have to take him out every hour until he finally goes,” Theresa advised.

Utterly unaccustomed to anything that had to do with having a pet, Lily looked at her, momentarily confused. “Goes? Goes where? You mean with his owner?” she guessed.

Theresa suppressed a laugh. “No, I meant as in him relieving himself. Unless made to understand otherwise, that puppy is going to think the whole world is his bathroom.”

Lily looked at her in complete horror. “Oh, God, I didn’t think of that.”

“Don’t beat yourself up, Lily,” Theresa told her kindly, putting her arm around her protégé’s shoulders. “You’ve never had a pet before.” Then, to further ease the young woman’s discomfort, Theresa told her, “There were always dogs around when I was growing up. This is all like second nature to me.”

If she felt that way, maybe there was a chance that she could convince her boss to take the puppy if no one came forward to claim him. Lily gave it one more try. “Are you sure that you don’t want to—”

Immediately aware where this was going, Theresa deftly headed it off. “Not a chance. My Siamese would take one look at Jonathan and scratch his eyes out, then go on strike and not eat her food for a week just to make me suffer. As long as that prima donna resides with me, I can’t have any other four-footed creatures coming within a yard of the house.” Theresa gave her a sympathetic smile. “I’m afraid that until you find his owner, you and Jonathan are going to be roomies.”

Lily nodded, resigned—for the moment. “Then I’d better get started trying to find his owner,” she told Theresa.