LITMIR.BIZ

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CHAPTER SEVEN

      A WEEK BACK in Manningsport, and Lucas had spoken to an attorney, who told him that a divorce for Uncle Joe was going to be just about impossible. Lucas wasn’t giving up on that just yet. New York divorce law was a tangled, Puritanical web, but maybe there was a loophole somewhere. Then there were Joe’s finances; he wanted whatever assets he had to go to Bryce. What exactly those assets were remained to be seen, because Didi kept a tight fist around the family funds.

      In the meantime, Lucas found a short-term, furnished rental in a pretty building on the green, roughly two hundred feet from O’Rourke’s front door. He’d been avoiding the pub, not wanting Colleen’s panties to get into a twist (though thinking about her panties wasn’t the worst way to spend time).

      Today, however, he was stopping by the Manningsport Animal Shelter to see Bryce, and hopefully get his cousin to commit to a plan of action for a future that included more than playing video games in his mom’s basement. Bryce loved animals; maybe Lucas could convince him to go to school to become a veterinary assistant or the like.

      The shelter was a gray building on the outskirts of town, and Bryce’s Dodge Ram pickup truck was parked outside, along with a cute little Porsche and a mountain bike with a wicker basket on the handlebars. Lucas went inside. There was no one in the waiting room, but he heard voices coming from behind a closed door. Some female murmuring, then Bryce speaking more clearly.

      “Let’s use a little lubricant, don’t you think, baby? Don’t be scared. I’ll just ease my finger in like that and squeeze, nice and gentle.”

      Lucas froze.

      “Doesn’t that feel good, sweetheart?” Bryce went on.

      A moaning sound came in response.

      What the hell? Was Bryce having sex in an animal shelter?

      “Bryce? It’s Lucas.”

      There was a scrambling sound from inside, and then the door opened, and there was Colleen, her hair tumbled, cheeks pink.

      A white-hot knife of jealousy slid between Lucas’s ribs, and for a second, he couldn’t see straight.

      “Hey,” she said calmly, though her eyes widened a bit.

      “Colleen.”

      She raised an eyebrow at his tone, then looked behind her. “Your cousin’s here, Bryce,” she said.

      “Hey, Lucas!” Bryce called. “I’m covered in slime. Be out in a second.”

      Colleen came into the waiting room, closing the door behind her. “We meet again. How are you, Spaniard?”

      It was her old nickname for him...she had often said he looked like a Spanish pirate.

      “I’m fine,” he said tightly. “What exactly were you doing in there?”

      She cocked an eyebrow, then grinned. “Sounded like sexy time, didn’t it? But no. Just Bryce expressing the anal glands of a very cute little dog.”

      “I—okay, I’m speechless.”

      “I know. There’s just no good comeback for that.”

      “Is life so quiet here that this is what passes for fun?”

      “Don’t sell it short. Want to watch? He’s really good.” She grinned, and Lucas felt a responding smile start in his chest.

      “So your dog required some, um, special treatment?” he asked.

      “No, that would take the New York Giants and a very, very brave vet. It’s Mrs. Tuggles, one of Paulie’s recent acquisitions. Rufus over there is my baby.” She pointed, and Lucas glanced over to where a gray, cow-sized dog lay on its side as if dead.

      “Are you a good boy, Rufus?” Colleen asked.

      The dog’s tail thumped twice in confirmation.

      “So these anal glands,” Lucas said. “Your way of getting Paulie and Bryce together?”

      “Mmm-hmm.”

      “How romantic.”

      “Hey. It’s working. You see, Lucas, a lot of men don’t appreciate what’s right in front of them, so they have to be shown. In twelve-foot neon letters. With arrows pointing to it.” She paused to let that sink in, lest he miss the innuendo (whatever it was). “Also, Mrs. Tuggles was blocked and kept scooching her butt across Paulie’s rug. You get the picture.”

      The exam room door opened again, and there was Paulie, holding Mrs. Tuggles, a rotund little dog that looked extremely satisfied at the moment, her wide mouth grinning, tongue lolling. The dog yawned and closed her eyes.

      “Looks like she could use a cigarette,” Colleen said. “Bryce, what did you do to her?”

      “I aim to please,” Bryce said, drying his hands on the paper towel. “Hey, Lucas! You know Paulie, right? We went to high school with her senior year.”

      “Nice to see you again,” Paulie said.

      “Good to see you, too, Paulie,” he said with a smile. Her face grew pink...then red...then blotchy. That was some blush.

      “Mrs. Tuggles, say hi to Lucas,” Bryce said. He bent down to kiss Mrs. Tuggles’s head, bringing his own head in the vicinity of Paulie’s chest. Her face went into the purple zone, and the dog licked Bryce’s face with exuberant gratitude and slobber. Kind of disgusting.

      “You got a minute, Bryce?” he asked when the dog was done frenching his cousin.

      “Totally. Girls, it was great seeing you both,” Bryce said. “All three of you, that is.” He scratched the pug on the head.

      “Oh, yes...uh, I mean, yeah. You, too,” Paulie said. She cleared her throat and took a deep breath. “Colleen, thank you for coming with me.” Her voice was loud and expressionless. “I was so concerned about poor Mrs. Tuggles, and it was good to have a friend.” She took a shaky breath. “Bryce, you were so wonderful. Let me buy you a beer some night.” Her face went nuclear.

      Lucas would bet a hundred bucks Colleen had given her those lines.

      “Sure. That’d be great,” Bryce said, completely oblivious. Paulie’s eyelids fluttered, and she took an unsteady step backward, looking as if she was about to faint.

      Colleen gave her a little push forward and picked up a bike helmet from one of the chairs. “See you around, boys. Paulie, I’ll walk you out. Come on, Rufie!”

      The women and their animals left, and Bryce stretched his arms over his head. “I think Colleen might have a thing for me,” he said.

      There was that flash of jealousy again. “I’m pretty sure that’s not it,” Lucas said.

      “You never know. She and I—” He glanced at Lucas as if just now remembering that Colleen had once been with Lucas. “Uh...nothing. We hit it off. As friends, you know? At the bar, just shooting the shit. Friends. You’re right, there’s nothing there.” He cracked his knuckles. “What can I do for you, bro? You want a dog? Or a cat? My mom won’t let me have one, which is probably why I work here, you know?”

      “I can’t have a pet, Bryce,” Lucas said. “I’m only in town for a while.”

      “Right, right. Or you could move back.”

      “Not gonna happen, pal.”

      “Right. South Side forever.”

      Lucas smiled. “I figured you could show me around, since you said you spend a lot of time here.”

      “Sure! Come on back.”

      Another door led to the kennels. The usual suspects—pit bull here, Rottweiler there, with a couple of older-looking dogs. Bryce

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