SEATTLE CINDERELLA: FOUR-IN-ONE COLLECTION Read online

  Kat squealed, clapped her hands, and danced on the spot. “I’m getting a dog! I’m getting a dog!” She jumped up, spun, ran to the fish pond, and then bent down to talk to the koi. “We’re getting a dog!” She dropped herself to sit on the ground beside the pond. A split second before her bottom hit the grass, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and started texting.

  Luke sighed. “It looks like I’m getting a dog.”

  Cindy pressed her palms to her cheeks, and her face paled. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to start something.”

  He sucked in a deep breath, thinking of all the responsibilities he’d been handed recently. “It’s okay, I guess. Besides, I’ve always wanted a dog. It’s time to put my money where my mouth is. Do you want to help put the salad, such as it is, together while she tells the koi and everyone else about our future family member?”

  Cindy followed him back to the kitchen, where he dug the bag of salad and a few extras out of the fridge and laid them on the counter.

  They chatted about dogs in general until he began to think he’d be dogged out by the time he got his new dog, which he had a feeling was going to be tomorrow after church. So he changed the subject. To his delight, they were both reading the same book, a recent release by one of his favorite authors. He had a great time conjecturing with Cindy who the evil mastermind of the story’s plot would be, and he knew he’d be up until well past midnight reading instead of sleeping.

  He had suspected that he and Cindy had a connection since the first time they’d met, but after today he was sure.

  When the timer on his cell phone set his pocket vibrating, they took the salmon to the barbecue and sat on the patio while it cooked.

  When everything was ready, Kat joined them.

  She pointed at his koi pond. “I don’t know how you’re going to eat their cousin and live without guilt.”

  “You’re only saying that so you can have my portion.”

  Kat giggled. “Busted.”

  Cindy giggled along with Kat. “Nice try. I wish I’d thought of that.”

  With Kat’s return, most of the conversation changed to her interests, including a new video on You Tube that Luke knew nothing about. Instead of trying to be part of a conversation that he couldn’t really contribute to, Luke sat back and let the women talk. He knew Cindy didn’t do it on purpose, but he could see that she was more animated and more relaxed with Kat than she was with him. Which, despite the wonderful time he had when it was just the two of them, confirmed what he thought when he’d first issued the invitation for her to join them.

  Cindy wasn’t there because of him. She was there because of Kat.

  He’d been falling hard and fast for Cindy, but she didn’t feel the same way about him. He didn’t want to admit it, but now the facts were obvious.

  If he played it right, he could probably gain her interest through Kat, but that wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted the woman he would eventually marry to love his niece, but it was more important that she love him first.

  Cindy gasped at something Kat said, and then the two of them broke into a fit of giggles.

  She liked dogs. She liked his niece. She liked his home.

  She just didn’t like him. At least not the same way that he liked her.

  One day he would find the love of his life.

  If he could get this one out of his heart.

  Chapter 6

  Annie, I need you to schedule appointments as people come in for a while. I have to go across the lot to the car rental.”

  “I thought you weren’t interested in Mr. Hottie.”

  Cindy sucked in a deep breath and counted to ten. “I have something I need to discuss with Luke that can’t be done over the phone.” Or rather, it was something she needed to see. “I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

  Without waiting for Annie to reply, Cindy dashed across the parking lot. Or at least she dashed as much as her steel-toed safety boots would allow.

  Sure enough when she pushed the door open, instead of a buzzer sounding to announce her arrival, she heard a bark.

  Cindy couldn’t help but smile at the fuzzy little dog sitting in a brand-new doggy bed in the corner of the office, looking up at her.

  “What a sweet dog. Is it a boy or a girl?”

  “Girl. They said she’s a cross of about a hundred different breeds. Give or take.”

  As Luke listed a number of possibilities, the dog stood but slowly, wobbling.

  “The rescue said she’s about two years old, and she—”

  Cindy gasped. “—only has three legs!”

  Luke stepped out from behind the counter, hunkered down, and gave the dog a gentle pat. “She was abandoned because she was in a car accident. The people who hit her took her to a vet who saved her life, but the owners didn’t want to pay for the bill and neither did the people who hit her, so the vet put her up for adoption at the rescue.”

  The dog approached Cindy, tail wagging.

  Cindy reached down to pat her and got a delicate lick of appreciation.

  Luke stood. “Kat renamed her Tippy. The rescue people said she’ll get more steady and balance better as time goes on.”

  “She doesn’t seem to be unhappy.”

  “The vet said she’d be fine as long as we watch her weight.”

  “Kat’s okay with this?”

  Luke chortled. “The people at the rescue said the dog has been very shy and even frightened of people. Kat only said one word and the dog immediately went to her. As soon as they told her what happened, she didn’t want to see any of the other dogs. It looks like Tippy’s a keeper.”

  As Cindy looked up at Luke, her eyes started to burn. Fortunately the old Chevy she’d been expecting rumbled into

  the parking lot. She turned her head so Luke couldn’t see her face. “That’s really nice. The Chevy is early. I’ve got to go. See you later.” She dashed out the door before Luke could respond. As soon as she rounded the corner of the shop, where Luke couldn’t see her, she swiped her sleeve across her face.

  She couldn’t believe she had actually started to sniffle. Over a dog. Or maybe the dog’s owner.

  She didn’t want to like him, yet the more time she spent with him, the harder it became. But regardless of her feelings for him, it wouldn’t be fair or practical to drag someone into the heat of her personal battles. Even if she could ignore the legal quagmire, if she did start a relationship with Luke, it wouldn’t be long before Annie had her claws out because Annie wanted him, too.

  She couldn’t get involved with Luke right now, for both their sakes.

  At least there was no risk of catfights if she got involved with…Kat.

  Cindy covered her face with her hands. She almost laughed at her own joke, except it was too pathetic.

  “Cindy! Are you coming?” Annie yelled from the office. “That…one you’ve been waiting for is here!”

  Cindy gritted her teeth. Annie had never appreciated the beauty of a classic old car or the satisfaction of bringing one back to its former glory. At least this time she hadn’t called it a wreck in front of the owner.

  She pasted on a smile, took the keys from the man, and got ready to get to work.

  “Kat, are you ready?” Luke checked his watch. “Cindy’s going to be here any minute.”

  He tried not to be impatient as Kat sprinted back into her bedroom, now painted a horrible shade of girlie pink, to select a different pair of perfect shoes to wear on another shopping trip during which she didn’t need to buy anything.

  He couldn’t believe Kat was spending another evening with Cindy. For the last month it seemed Cindy had been there nearly every evening and every weekend. Sometimes they stayed at the house, sometimes they went out, sometimes they only took Tippy for a wobble, but they seemed to spend almost all their time together.

  Still, he was glad Kat had the company. Most important, last weekend, for the first time since they’d lost Andrew and Sue, Cindy had convinced Kat to go to a c
hurch service on Sunday morning. For that, he would put up with any amount of girl stuff.

  Not that Cindy was very girlie. In all the times he’d seen her, including church, he’d never seen her wear a dress or even makeup. He couldn’t remember her wearing anything other than jeans, and the only things she wore on her feet were sneakers, work boots, or in-line skates. When all the rest of the young ladies in the youth group went to some kind of fashion party, Cindy took Kat and the boys to a car show.

  “I think you should come to the mall with us,” Kat called out from inside the walk-in closet.

  “I don’t.”

  Kat gave him a long, disgruntled sigh. “You have to come. You need a new pair of sneakers. How can you possibly have only one pair of sneakers?”

  “I only need one pair. These are fine.”

  “They’re”—Kat made a gagging sound—“white.”

  “They’re clean.”

  The doorbell signaled Cindy’s arrival, saving him from yet another argument about his insufficient footwear.

  Kat ran ahead of him to the door and yanked it open.

  Cindy stepped inside and hunkered down to give Tippy a hug. “Are you ready?” she asked without looking up.

  Kat ran back to her bedroom, calling over her shoulder as she ran, “Almost. I just need to change purses.”

  Luke sighed. The girl seemed to have a different purse to match every pair of footwear she owned, which was a lot.

  Cindy stood, so Tippy wobbled back to her blanket. “Would you like to come with us? There’s a sale at the shoe store. Buy one get the second item for half price.”

  Luke gritted his teeth. “I…” His voice trailed off at Cindy’s expectant smile, and something went haywire inside his brain. He smiled back. “Sure. I could use a new pair of sneakers.”

  At the shoe store, Kat hightailed it to the purse aisle, which was fine with Luke. That left him alone, or as alone as possible in a busy shoe store having a sale, with Cindy.

  In under three minutes, he found a pair of black sneakers. With his conquest tucked under one arm, he turned to Cindy. “Since a second item is on sale for half price with one regular priced item, would you like to buy something, too? It doesn’t seem right to be here and not get a bargain.”

  Cindy hesitated.

  “It’s obvious Kat’s going to get a new purse with whatever footwear we came for in the first place.” Luke regarded her calmly, and Cindy was reminded suddenly about his beautiful eyes.

  She shook it off. “Are you okay with that?”

  Luke shrugged his shoulders. “There are a lot of worse things she could be into than shoes and purses. I don’t mind. Look at that, they have boots out already in the summertime. I’ve only seen you wearing steel-toed work boots.” He grinned.

  “Very funny. But you’re right. I should get a pair of boots. If it snows next winter I’m going to need something warm for walking Tippy.”

  “I don’t know if what Tippy does can actually be called walking.” He gave her a wry smile.

  Cindy glanced in Kat’s direction. “Don’t you ever say anything about the way Tippy walks. Kat will be very angry with you.”

  Luke snickered. “I know. Kat reminds me constantly that Tippy gets around fine, she’s just a little balance challenged.”

  “She said that she’s going to train Tippy to—”

  “Cindy!” a female voice called out. “What in the world are you doing here?”

  Luke watched Cindy cringe. He looked at the woman who had spoken so tactlessly and recognized her immediately.

  He’d only met Cindy’s stepmother once before, briefly, but she was a woman he would never forget. A drop-dead gorgeous woman who knew it and used it to her advantage.

  Cindy regained her composure and smiled politely. “Hello, Melissa. Are you hoping to find a good sale?”

  Melissa waved one manicured hand in the air. “We’re here to see if we can find just the right shade to match the dress Annie’s going to wear to her graduation ceremony. I can’t imagine what you’re doing here. I didn’t think they sold work boots.”

  The hairs on the back of Luke’s neck bristled. To Cindy’s credit, she simply looked away. Luke stepped closer to her and rested one hand on her shoulder. “Cindy and I brought Kat to see if anything catches her eye.”

  Melissa’s eyebrows quirked, telling him she hadn’t noticed he was there. On the other hand, Annie and Zella, standing behind Melissa, were smiling at him and totally ignoring Cindy.

  Melissa rested one hand on Annie’s shoulder. “Annie has better taste in clothes and accessories. Maybe she should go with you.”

  At first Annie stiffened, but then she smiled and stepped forward. “I’d like that,” she said, as if Cindy weren’t even there.

  He could almost hear Cindy grinding her teeth. Her voice came out as sharp as a two-edged sword. “Maybe she can—”

  Luke didn’t let Cindy finish. He tightened his grip and eased her back away from the other ladies. “We’re going to finish our shopping. Excuse us.”

  He didn’t care where they went as long as it was far away from her stepfamily.

  “Are they always so rude to you?” he asked when they were far enough that they couldn’t hear.

  “No. Most of the time they’re worse, although a lot of the time I don’t think Annie and Zella know which way to go. Melissa does her best to fill them with all sorts of poison toward me. When Melissa isn’t home, Annie and Zella sometimes come to church with me, even though I think most of the time they’re just trying to meet single men.”

  “Still, I guess that’s a start.”

  “Enough of them. Let’s go find Kat. I have the sudden urge to go to that arcade place at the end of the mall and play some serious whack-a-mole.”

  Luke cringed. “How about instead I’ll buy you a nice chocolate milkshake?”

  She gave him a shaky smile, which did something strange to his insides. “Sure. That sounds perfect.”

  Chapter 7

  The second Luke walked in the door, he trudged over to the couch, sank down, and groaned. Usually his job was fairly stress-free, but today was the first day of a big conference at the Washington State Convention Center downtown. Through some creative marketing, he and Brent had agreed to offer attendees a discount, and they’d leased every available car. Or rather Luke had because today of all days, Brent had called in sick. Luke had spent the entire day on his feet, filling out forms or inspecting cars and checking insurance. He’d even had to help the lot boy wash a car because the man who called for it was early and impatient.

  “Uncle Luke? What are you doing?”

  His eyes drifted shut and his head fell back. “I’m going to have a nap. Order a pizza.” Using the last of his energy, without opening his eyes, he shifted his body so he could reach into his back pocket for his wallet then sagged back as he held it up.

  “What kind?”

  “Whatever you want.” He’d eat anything that meant he didn’t have to stand. Even sushi. Maybe.

  Her giggle told him that she wasn’t going to order anything he liked, but he was so tired he didn’t care. Kat took the wallet out of his hand and ran into the kitchen.

  The couch shifted slightly, and Luke couldn’t help but smile. Tippy couldn’t jump onto the couch, so Kat had made a staircase out of firm pillows to allow the dog to scramble up without help. Tippy nudged his hand up with her wet nose then crawled into his lap.

  He’d wanted to lie down, but he didn’t have the energy or the heart to push Tippy aside.

  Keeping his eyes closed, Luke listened to the sounds of drawers squeaking open and slamming closed as Kat searched for the menu from the pizza joint. Some kind of bad music drifted from Kat’s bedroom. Tippy was snoring.

  He didn’t know a dog could fall asleep so fast.

  He sighed as he started to drift into oblivion. His house used to be quiet. Not anymore. He used to be able to come and go as he pleased. He didn’t have to pick up his socks.
r />   Now there was always some kind of noise coming from somewhere, and he had learned to put his socks in the hamper right away or Tippy would get them and he’d find them in the backyard a few days later.

  His mind wandered as he thought of what would make his home perfect. He had part of the equation already: a kid—even if she was kind of big—and a dog. He only needed a wife. A blond wife who came home from work wearing blue coveralls and smelled like grease. They would have fun making supper together and then get distracted as he hugged and kissed her. She’d kiss him back. They would forget about cooking and…

  Tippy’s paws pounded into his stomach.

  “Luke?”

  Luke groaned as the picture faded. He struggled to block out the world, but the image wouldn’t come back.

  “Luke? Wake up.”

  Tippy began to bounce in his lap.

  He straightened to protect himself, winced, opened one eye, and looked up. The dream was back. Blond. No blue coveralls, but he could smell a little grease.

  “Are you awake? There was a pizza guy in your driveway, so I paid him and brought it in.” She held up a box.

  He tried to clear his head. “Cindy? What are you doing here? No, never mind. I’m glad you’re here. How much do I owe you?” He started to move his hand toward his back pocket but froze, remembering that Kat had his wallet. “I don’t want you to pay, but I do want you to help us eat it.” He gave Tippy a nudge, encouraging her to jump off the couch and follow Cindy into the kitchen. Then he did exactly the same.

  Remnants of his dream hung in the back of his mind. It would have been so natural to step up closer to Cindy and give her a hug then a kiss. If she reciprocated his feelings. Which she didn’t.

  Cindy set the box on the table, leaned over it, and inhaled deeply.

  “Barbecue chicken and peppers. My favorite.”