Gotcha! by Fern Michaels Read Free Book Online Page B

don’t take the time, and I know breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If you’re going to be cooking for me—and you haven’t said you are—but if you are, we need to discuss payment. I don’t have a clue what to pay you or what homemade meals cost on the open market, so whatever you decide is okay with me.”
    Julie pondered the question as she turned the pancakes. “Well, I can’t charge you full price, whatever that would be, because I’m asking your opinions of the dinners. Breakfasts are a no-brainer. I’m going to be cooking the dinners anyway, but then there is the shopping and prep time involved. How does three dollars for breakfast sound and ten dollars for dinner and you clean up? That would be ninty-one dollars a week. Do you know how to load a dishwasher or work the garbage disposal?” Mace shook his head. “Well, I’ll show you. So, do we have a deal?”
    “Absolutely,” Mace said as he pulled money out of his wallet to pay a month in advance. “I think you’re cheating yourself, Julie. Are you sure this is enough?” Mace said, pointing to the money he put on the table.
    “It’s fair.” Julie stacked the pancakes and the golden fluffy eggs onto a plate, the bacon on a separate dish, and set it in front of Mace. She proceeded to scramble more eggs, then crumpled tiny bits of bacon in them. She added dog food and set three plates down on the floor.
    “My dogs eat what I eat. They even like vegetables and some fruits. My last two dogs lived to be twenty and twenty-one, so I know what I’m doing. There are people out there who wouldn’t agree with my dogs’ diets, but I really don’t care. Oh, I’m taking Gracie and Cooper this week to the vet to have their teeth cleaned, and I can take Lola, too, if you want.”
    “Of course. These pancakes are delicious. What kind of syrup is this?”
    “My own blend, banana and mango syrup with melted butter. I won a blue ribbon for it at a bake-off.”
    Julie sat down at the table with her cup of coffee. If her breakfast companion had seen the late-night news, it obviously wasn’t bothering him. He smiled and asked if she shopped off television.
    “I hate waking up to hearing the news; it’s never anything good. I don’t watch it before I go to bed, either,” she fibbed, her fingers crossed in her lap. “I am not a television watcher; I prefer to read. When I do watch television, it’s more for sound than anything else. Either the Discovery Channel or the Home Shopping Network and, yes, at times I do shop online because I hate going to the malls and standing in line. Been there, done that, when my kids were little. How about you? By the way, how did Lola do last night in her new home?”
    “I read the Times online. Lola did very well. She slept on the bed with me. I hope that was okay.”
    “Of course it’s okay. She obviously feels the need to be close to you. Dogs have feelings, you know. Cooper, as I mentioned, suffers from separation anxiety. He’s getting better about it. You might want to think about getting another dog when you go back home; otherwise, Lola is going to be very lonely. Oh, look! Gracie just showed her the doggie door.” Cooper threw back his head and howled, an ungodly sound. Mace bolted off his seat, a wild look of panic on his face. Julie laughed. “He’s mad because Gracie went first, then Lola. It’s that male thing. You see how bothered the two females are.”
    Mace sat back down, a sheepish look on his face. “Obviously, I have a lot to learn when it comes to animals. I’ll take all instructions and criticism to heart.”
    Julie laughed again. “More coffee?” Mace shook his head. “I’ll give you some to go in a hot pot. If you’re done, then, let me show you how to work the dishwasher and how to clean up the kitchen. I have to go out now and run some errands. Is there anything I can get for you while I’m out?”
    “No, not really. I’m going to . . . ah . . . work myself. Do you want