Lucy Barrett was certain that her mother had perpetrated some kind of sick joke – a full-grown German shepherd in their house and neither of them knew the first tiny thing about dogs! That was almost a week ago now, and though she had argued with Kate that this notion was her silliest yet, Lucy was delighted now, sitting alone in the empty house doing her homework, that her mother had sternly insisted that Matthew -
– or Matt as they both called him now – would stay at least until they had time to see if he would work out. Matt was irrevocably a member of the Barrett's formerly all-female household now; he was curled contentedly at her feet even as she finished her assignments, half- asleep but keenly alert to any sudden noises or suspicious sounds.
They had kept him outside at first, and he slept in his good-sized doghouse the security man from Barrett's delivered, running about happily during the day inside the fenced perimeters of the long back yard. But Matt had a certain charm about him that brought about his hurried introduction into the inner confines of the Barrett home; now he was as much a part of the family as Clara, going outside only to sleep or when no one was at home, and Lucy had a strong hunch that even that single last remnant of a dog's life would soon fall by the wayside.
Lucy peered around the edge of the table at where the huge animal lay dozing; his tail swished as she looked down at him and Lucy giggled under her breath – the sly devil was watching her and pretending to be asleep!
«Come on, you tricky fella, open those big brown eyes and let me see you!» Lucy leaned precariously from her chair and stroked the soft clean fur of his neck; the big German shepherd made a noise in his husky throat that was almost like a purr, but much deeper. His whole expansive chest seemed to vibrate with the sound and his voice was rich and full of bass.
Matt shook his head violently to clear away the grogginess and pushed himself up with his powerful haunches; he rose to his feet and scratched the back of his head against the leg of the table where Lucy sat. «Stop being cute, Matt,» she said with mock severity. «I know you want your ears rubbed. Come a little closer and I'll do it for you.»
He gazed longingly up at his beautiful blonde mistress and instantly obeyed; he loved it when she put her delicate loving hands on his furry body. If only she were around more instead of off with that young male human! Matt had not liked him from the very beginning; perhaps it was only instinct, but he had growled the moment Lucy's boyfriend came near him and, so far, he had not relented in his distrust of that human. Lucy was by far his favorite; Kate was kind enough to him and, after all, she was the one who took him out of that dreary basement. But Kate Barrett seemed somehow artificial to him, and his keen powers of perception were not to be ignored; he was always friendly and obedient with her, but not like he was with Lucy.
«Does that feel nice, handsome?» Lucy Barrett asked softly as she scratched the sensitive flesh behind his ears and on the back of his thick furry neck. Matt purred his canine reply and Lucy scratched beneath his neck as he nodded his huge head in eager submission. «You like it when I do that, don't you?» she asked as if she expected an answer, and then felt very silly for talking this way to an animal. After all, he was only a dog – German shepherd's could hardly be expected to carry on conversations, even an unusually smart and sensitive one like Matt!
«Matt, I think I'm losing my marbles,» she confessed with a tender smile. The German shepherd turned his head upward and gazed comprehendingly into her soft blue eyes; his own brown eyes mirrored the intense feeling he had developed rapidly for his new human. «I know it's pretty silly talking to a dog, I mean, talking like I would to another person. But you just don't seem like an animal to me, Matt. Since you've come into this house, well, you're more like a friend. Or maybe it's because I never had any brothers or sisters and now I've got a chance to make you a sort of substitute big brother. Oh, Matt, you sweet dog you, I wish you could talk! How I wish I had somebody to talk to I could really trust!»
He was suddenly keenly alert, his whole body tensed and anxious, but true to his expensive and thorough training, he did not bark or even growl; he was like an experienced pointer, watchful, vigilant, and quiet. Lucy strained to hear what his super-sensitive ears had noticed, but she heard nothing, just the sound of an occasional car on the street outside and the wind through the pines that surrounded the house. Her skin tingled and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stiffen – her mother had gone out before supper, probably with that Marlowe man, though she had not mentioned his name. And David had called just moments later, breaking their date for tonight with something about an important business contact he had to make. Who could be on the property? Obviously that was what brought Matt to such alertness.
Just at that moment, she heard the key turn in the lock far down the corridor and then the muffled noises of voices – two voices – one the familiar sound of Kate Barrett. Lucy was perplexed for a moment and then she fully comprehended everything – of course, she thinks I'm out with David! That's why she came back here to the house instead of going out … it's that man! She's got Jerry Marlowe with her! In my father's house! How could she!
The mammoth German shepherd relaxed at the sound of Kate's voice, though he glanced up at his favored mistress for a sign that all was well. Lucy managed a smile, for after all it was not his fault that her own mother had taken up with a derelict alcoholic!
Lucy tried futilely to return to her work, but her heart was not in it. Once she tried phoning David, but there was no answer even though she let it ring a couple of dozen times. She could hear them in the living room, not actually understanding what they were saying, but catching an occasional loud word or laugh and the tinkle of glasses on the marble- topped bar her father had shipped from Italy. Matt seemed to sense her anger and frustration, and he stayed close against her bare leg as she sat at her writing desk; once, when she glanced down, he was looking up at her as if to say, I'd make it all right if I knew how, honest!
Lucy was wearing her favorite peignoir, a mint green gown John Barrett brought back from a buying trip as a special gift for her, and on a sudden impulse she loosened it and began to undress; she was already half-prepared for bed, but that was out of the question now. No, she was going out – alone – no matter what her mother might have to say about the lateness of the hour.
«Sorry, Matt,» she whispered, not anxious to give her mother a hint that she was at home; she wanted to see the expression on Kate Barrett's face when she walked through the living room and out to her car! «I'd love to sit with you, but I guess it'll have to be some other time. I've got to get out of this house before I scream!»
Lucy Barrett began to rummage through a pile of clothes in search of some fresh panties, anxious only to get as far away from her mother and that man as was humanly possible. Lucy could not have known it without clairvoyance, but her snap decision, nothing more than an emotional outpouring, was going to change her life. For tonight was going to be a long, long night … one that Lucy Barrett would never forget as long as she lived!