Read Online Catwalk by Sheila Webster Boneham - Free Book Online Page A

that Mom and Marconi were holding hands. Twenty minutes in, I noticed something in their body language that bespoke an intimacy beyond casual acquaintance. When I left, I glanced back at them from the exit and knew it for sure.
    Fine by me , I thought, and smiled all the way home.

twelve
    I had just linked my camera to my laptop when Leo strolled in, scratched his ear, hopped onto the table, and sprawled across my keyboard.
    â€œLeo mio ,” I said, slipping the backs of my fingers across his cheek and down the length of his silky orange back. “Quiet around here, huh, buddy?” I glanced at the clock on my laptop. “They’ll be back any time now.”
    Leo narrowed his eyes and chirp-meowed at me.
    â€œReally, they will, although I hate to tell you, they’ll smell of lake water.”
    Leo yawned and turned belly up, rolling several commands onto the keys and sending my photo management program into flashing seizures. I gently but quickly scooped his orange furry highness off the keyboard and onto the floor, where he feigned indifference, swiping a paw twice with his tongue and then strolling off with his tail crooked like an orange candy cane. The images on my computer screen were still dancing when I looked at it. They quickly ran through all the commands Leo had rolled out and I let out a long breath as the screen went still. Everything is backed up, but I still didn’t relish having to redo my newly edited files.
    â€œOkay, then,” I said to the image on the screen. Leo’s rollover had opened a new file, and I was looking at a stunning rooster, his feathers shimmery blue-black, his comb a proud scarlet. It was one of many photos I had taken in July at the county fair. I smiled at the handsome bird and was closing the file when the phone rang, the kitchen door banged open, and Jay and Drake rushed me, all wriggle and wag, doggy grins and damp fur.
    â€œWhoa, guys!” I pleaded as my chair rolled backward across my dining-room-cum-office. It came to rest against the wall and Jay popped his paws onto my shoulders and stared into my eyes, his whole being vibrating from his two-inch tail to his grinning face. Drake wormed his head into the space between me and Jay and wham wham whammed his tail against the wall. I lifted Jay’s paws off my shoulders, pushed him back, and let him down gently. “Come on, boys, give me a break! Off!” I tried to sound stern, but was laughing too hard to make it work. Still, both dogs obeyed and kept their feet on the floor. Leo watched from a corner of the counter, eyes half closed, nose and tail both twitching.
    â€œLooks like boys’ afternoon out was a success,” I said.
    Tom grinned at me from the kitchen doorway.
    â€œWe had a great time.” Tom peeled off his faded navy University of Michigan sweatshirt and ran a hand through his graying hair. “Nothing like a good game of fetch and a bracing dip in the lake when it’s forty degrees out.” He mock shivered.
    â€œIt’s not! I was out in just this,” I said, indicating my long-sleeved T, “and wasn’t cold.”
    â€œSorry I missed that,” said Tom.
    â€œFunny guy.”
    â€œTemp has dropped a bit, and the wind is coming up,” he said, then glanced at his watch. “I need to go home and get some dry clothes. Can I interest you in some dinner in, say, two hours?”
    â€œHmm. Depends. What do you have to offer?”
    He raised his eyebrows and grinned at me. “Well …” He dragged the word out. “But first, for dinner, how about linguini with clam sauce?”
    â€œSold.”
    â€œBoy, this commuter relationship is complicated,” he said.
    It wasn’t the first time he’d broached the subject, and if I were honest about it, the idea of consolidating our resources had more than a little appeal. But giving up my autonomy scared me. I didn’t want to get into it right then, so I ignored