It's a Dog's Life (a romantic comedy with a canine sidekick) Read online

  It's A Dog's Life

  A romantic comedy with canine sidekick

  Dale Mayer

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidences either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2011 Dale Mayer

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN : 9780987741158

  DEDICATION

  This book is dedicated to my mother. It's the perfect story for her.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  It's a Dog's Life wouldn't have been possible without the support of my friends and family. Many hands helped with proofreading, editing and beta reading to make this book happen. I had a vision and without all these special people, I couldn't have made it come to pass.

  I thank you all.

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  About Dale Mayer

  Prologue

  Wind whistled through the open door of the garage. Moonlight danced across the broken lock. Shadows slipped inside the empty room. Troy loved it when people took off for holidays and left their houses wide open and inviting like this. Sure, there'd been a lock on the door, if that's what you'd call it. He hadn't even needed to tinker with it; his crowbar had popped it in seconds.

  The owners had been gone exactly three days. Idiots had forgotten to stop the newspaper. He'd be in and out in no time. If they had some good stuff, he'd arrange to come back a second time.

  Great neighborhood. Rural and small - worked for him. He'd been working this ten block radius for two months now. Easy pickings. Hadn't these people heard of alarm systems? Not that he couldn't deal with those, too. But tonight's job was a joke. No dog, no alarm, no locks worth a crap. In and out and then on to the next one.

  The next couple of blocks were a goldmine. Hard times had struck the small town. Not only were the regular owners of this house absent, but there were many deserted houses all around. People who couldn't make their payments, couldn't sell their houses, had walked into the bank and handed over the keys. Only the bank couldn't get their money back, because they couldn't sell the places, either. No one came out ahead on those deals - except him. He did some demo work and stripped out what he could. There was always a market for scrap. Tonight, though, he was looking for the good stuff. Easy money.

  Cash, collectibles, electronics, jewelry, anything and everything he could carry out and sell fast.

  The neighbors had a dog. But it didn't seem to give a damn. If he crossed into its yard maybe. As it was, he had enough here to keep him busy for tonight and maybe tomorrow night.

  There was a tiny one bedroom bungalow in the next block. The cutie lived there. He didn't know her name, but he'd caught sight of her one night while casing the houses beside hers. Small and slim, not skinny. She curved where women were meant to curve and swelled where women were meant to. She also lived alone. Something he hadn't been able to forget. He was no peeping tom, but this girl; well...she'd caught his attention something fierce.

  Maybe when he was done here, he'd swing by for a quick look to see if she was home.

  Who knows, he might get lucky.

  Chapter One

  The Lost for Options animal center reminded her of a beehive. People and dogs swarmed toward the sprawled building at the front, while another group appeared to be overtaking the neighboring field. Ninna pressed a hand to her temple, wishing the pounding would go away. She did crowds, she didn't do stampedes. There were animals - everywhere. The place had been dead when she'd been interviewed several weeks ago.

  Besides, she had no experience with animals. None. Nada. She'd never had a pet growing up or even had friends with dogs. She had nothing against them, she liked them well enough, she just had no experience with them. Not that she'd told her interviewer that. She could do the job, which was clerical. This was the only company in six months to offer her a job.

  She closed her eyes. Breathe. Her yoga instructor's voice whispered through her mind. Remember to breathe, Ninna. Take a deep breath, now release. Good.

  Good my ass. Fat ass, too. Damn her to hell for that second muffin this morning. She shouldn't have eaten it, knowing she'd be starting this new job today. Of course, a bad case of nerves was the reason she had. And another bad night. With the rash of neighbourhood break-ins lately, it was hard to relax enough to sleep. She hadn't been able to let go of the feeling of being watched. Then again, any excuse for a banana chocolate chip muffin worked for her.

  "Hey, are you alright?"

  Spinning around, Ninna smiled sheepishly at the tall redheaded male moving up steadily behind her. With him dressed as he was in black jeans and a gray knit shirt that fit perfectly, she had trouble focusing. Why was it some men caused no reaction when they walked by, and then some guy just made her eyes pop open and her mind turn to mush? Pulling herself together, she said, "Yes, I'm fine. Sorry. I didn't mean to stand in the way."

  "No problem. You looked lost, that's all." He gazed at her quizzically.

  She was, but that wasn't something to share with a stranger, regardless of the stunning green eyes and thick black lashes. Damn, he must be Irish. Stumbling slightly, she explained, "I'm actually starting a new job here this morning. So I'm dragging my heels a little."

  Sharp blue eyes studied her face intently. "Ninna, right?"

  She widened her gaze, "Uhm, yes. Do you work here, too?"

  He grinned, his face lighting and his green eyes sparkling. "I'm Stuart, the resident vet, animal health instructor for the center. You'll see me coming and going at all hours."

  "Oh, wow. That's nice." Somehow, without really understanding how, she found herself walking up the last couple of stairs to the center's front door. Puzzled, she shot a glance around her, but the vet opened the door and nudged her through. "There, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

  She blinked owlishly, and something in her expression made him laugh. "You'll be fine. Everyone here is very nice."

  "Sure they are," she muttered. They would be unless they found out about her weirdness. But that was all better now. At least she hoped so. She'd never have tried for this job otherwise. How many other people had never been around animals? Any animal. Ever. How would the animals react to her?

  "Come this way, Jenna is here already, and Stacey will most likely be in the back. She usually opens the center and gets people organized. It's chaos this morning."

  "I can't imagine that this many people own dogs here. Bentley is a small town. Does everyone come here at the same time?"

  It was standing room only for both dogs and handlers. The room they'd entered looked like it was intended as a community center, with a coffee corner, tables for sitting. And was that a water fountain close to the floor? Confused, but willing, she followed the vet forward until they'd reached a large counter where people on both sides were talking...or barking.

  Good thing she liked animals - at least she hoped she would if she had a chance.

  "Damn good thing, actually."

  "What?" she asked Stuart, placing a tentative hand on his arm to get his attention. "Sorry, I missed what you just said."

  "I didn't say anything." He motioned to the crowd. "It's hard to hear anything right now. Let's get up to the counter."

  "Oh, sorry." Confused, Ninna looked around the people beside her, to see if one of them had spoken to her. N
o one was even looking at her, much less talking to her.

  Following Stuart deeper into the crowd, she came out the other side at a large counter. It was tight, but she managed to squeeze up beside him, where she could see female staff helping customers.

  Stuart caught the first woman's eye. "Hey, Jenna. This is your new employee. She's a little lost."

  Silence.

  Dead silence. Ninna gulped as dozens of faces turned toward her. Putting on a brave smile, she lifted her hand in a small finger wave. "Uhm, hi."

  Just like that the noise resumed, at a lower level, but still people returned to their own conversations. A cheerful looking blond, Ninna thought was Jenna, leaned forward and grinned. "Hey, welcome to the zoo!"

  "That's definitely my first impression." But Jenna's grin was wide and authentic, and Ninna couldn't help but smile back. "Where do you want me?"

  "I'd say back here, but there's some paperwork for you to fill out and things are a bit nuts right now. Grab a coffee, find a chair and sit down, and let me work through this crowd. It will ease up in..." she glanced over at the clock, "in about ten minutes when class starts."

  With that Jenna turned to someone else and answered a question for him.

  Dismissed, with Stuart having disappeared somehow, Ninna squeezed back away from the crowd, decided against the coffee but managed to find a comfy chair by a fireplace, of all things. Summer time in the Pacific Northwest was either hot or wet or hot and wet. Either way, she was glad the fireplace wasn't on. Now in winter that might be a nice touch. Settled and out of the way, she finally breathed easy.

  "I wouldn't get too comfortable if I were you."

  Frowning, she looked around. No one was close enough to be talking to her. And that was just wrong, not to mention scary. She'd weaned off her drugs a long time ago. This so wasn't the time for her old problem to reappear.

  "You don't listen very well, do you?"

  "I would if there was anyone to listen to," she muttered. No one was speaking to her. That meant only one thing, at least one thing she was willing to admit - she was hearing voices again. She couldn't resist snapping back at her disembodied speaker, "What is your problem? Just go away."

  Keeping her voice down to a whisper was hard enough.

  "Me? I don't have a problem. You're the one that's too stuck up to talk to me."

  The voice was clear and full of attitude. The person should be in her line of vision. Somewhere.

  "I'm right here."

  She shuddered. She couldn't see anyone talking to her. She wrestled the neck of her soft blue t-shirt away from her throat as panic settled in. So not a good sign.

  "Ease up will you. You'll figure it out - eventually."

  A heavy harrumph followed by a huge gusting sigh caught her attention, even as she listened to the voice in her head. She searched the huge room. Her glance bounced off a dog then came back as a huge basset hound did a boneless slide to the wood floor at the far side of the room. When his chest hit the floor, a heavy sigh gusted out of his mouth. From the sounds of it, the poor thing was exhausted.

  "Yeah, you're there."

  Distracted by the voice, she looked around. "Shut up," she hissed, hoping, pleading to see a person talking to her. No one was even close. Neither were any animals.

  No. No. This was not happening. Not again. She'd spent years in therapy when she thought people, and, yes, the odd animal were talking to her when they weren't. Therapy had worked, finally - after three specialists and more medications than a pharmacy had a right to offer. The voices had to be from the stress of trying to find a job. She'd been so desperate for so long. That had to be it. She refused to accept anything else.

  Nothing could be allowed to screw her new job up. Nothing.

  "Well that's good. Because I'm definitely not nothing. I am something. Mosey's the name, by the way."

  Ninna closed her eyes, swallowing hard. Please let there be a short person somewhere playing a joke on her. Please.

  Oh quit your whining. You should be happy to talk to me. I'm happy to talk to you. You know there are not many people that can connect with dogs the way you do. What a great place for you to work.

  "Oh. Oh. That's so not right. This is so not the place for me," she whispered under her breath. Yet she had to make it work. She was desperate.

  Yeah, about that. A little too late to be making that discovery, isn't it. Didn't you just say something about being broke?

  "No, I didn't. I thought something about it." And that made this scenario even more bizarre. Realizing her voice had risen, she glanced around nervously.

  Bizarre, smishare. You need to get over yourself. My food dish is empty. Isn't filling it one of your new job duties?

  "Oh, no," she whispered under her voice. "Please don't."

  Please don't what?

  "Please don't tell me you're a dog?"

  A half snuffle sounded beside her. She stole a quick look. A big black Doberman sat staring at her, his ears pointed and tilted in her direction.

  She slunk deeper into her chair, giving the dog a wary half smile. It was happening all over again. Damn. She needed to call her therapist.

  "He's something isn't he?"

  Startled, Ninna looked up to see the owner, or at least the leash holder, smiling down at her. Tall, slim and pink. Ninna shuddered. Surely there was a law about that much pink hoarded in one spot. The middle aged woman said, "He's really gentle. He looks dangerous, but he's a kind soul."

  Ninna relaxed slightly and laughed. "That's great. I'd hate to meet him alone at night."

  "No worries. He sleeps on my double bed, complaining that my husband and I haven't left him enough room."

  Wow. That dog was big enough she'd never have argued in the first place. Ninna would have moved to the spare room instead. As the woman walked away, Ninna surveyed the other animals in the room. The room swarmed with wagging, wiggling, fur covered canines. She shuddered. Ninna didn't even want to think about trying to figure out if one of these dogs was the cause of her derailed imagination.

  A small rat-like thing with huge hairy ears, barked at her several times. The tone sent razor blades scraping down her spine. She shuddered. A deep woof sounded from the far side of the room. She didn't know the breed, but the furry thing in front of her appeared to be a teddy bear with a pink bow on its head. She really needed to brush up on her breeds. She continued to survey the mess of people and dogs until her gaze landed on a ray of sunshine beaming in through the large window and something with a whole lot of skin to fill out sitting beside it. the same huge basset hound she'd seen earlier.

  No way. She narrowed her eyes studying the overweight dog before shaking her head. Nope, impossible.

  "Hey, you found me. Maybe you'll pick this up faster than I expected."

  Several dogs walked in front of him, several sniffing the air in her direction.

  She studied the new dogs, searching for a sign of which had spoken. The voice sounded in her head. In her mind. With so much confusion and noise, it appeared that no one else had noticed anything unusual. So chances were it wasn't speaking aloud. Of course it wasn't. It couldn't, for God's sake. Animals didn't talk.

  She took several deep breaths and tried to relax. She'd heard conversations like this before. She'd ignored them back then, and she could ignore this one now.

  "Well, ya ain't gonna ignore me. You know how long it's been since I had someone to talk to?" The voice was heavily sarcastic and puffy like the speaker was out of breath.

  Her stomach knotted and Ninna gulped. Nope. Not happening. She could control this. It was her choice to let that voice in or not. She'd spent years figuring out how to block them out. She's gotten so good at it, she'd become lax. Time had eased the fear, so she'd finally forgotten about the problem. Until now.

  "Yeah, let me know how that works out for you. I'm so not going away."

  Ninna frowned as something odd registered. She wasn't actually speaking to this other person, or animal or whatever th
e hell it was. Always before she'd had a two way conversation where she'd actually voiced her thoughts. Yet this time, whoever was speaking had to be reading her mind. And that meant it had to be her imagination. With that, she broke out in a sunny smile. Whew. She could deal with that. She'd just make an appointment with her doctor and get her old prescription reactivated and filled. He might need her to see a therapist again, but even that was no trouble. Not considering the options.