Once Bitten (A Melanie Travis Mystery) by Laurien Berenson Read Free Book Online

attitude out for a test drive.
    “It didn’t work out.”
    I peered at Bob closely, looking for signs of sadness or maybe remorse. I found neither. “How come?”
    “She decided to go back to college.”
    So help me, I almost laughed. So much for the new maturity.
    “I’m sorry,” I managed to say instead.
    “Don’t be, I’m not. It obviously wasn’t the best decision on either of our parts and we parted pretty amicably.”
    I pulled off my jacket and hung it on the coatrack. Making himself at home, Bob followed suit. I waited until he turned back to me, then asked bluntly, “Bob, what are you doing here?”
    “What do you mean?” He seemed genuinely surprised by the question. “Frank invited me. I came for the wedding. I’m going to be an usher.”
    “The wedding is six weeks away.”
    “So I’m a little early.”
    As soon as Bob tilted his head to one side, adding that boyishly innocent look that I suddenly remembered from years gone by, I knew I was in trouble. He was hiding something. That, and hoping to cajole his way past my questions until he was ready to let me in on his plans.
    I wondered what it was this time. Last time he visited unexpectedly, he’d been hoping to gain joint custody of his son.
    “Don’t you have things you need to be doing in Texas?”
    “No.”
    “A job?”
    “I’ve made some good investments.”
    This was said with becoming modesty. Eighteen months earlier, my accountant ex-husband had seen his oil well come in. Literally. I guessed things had been going pretty well for him since then.
    Bob started to follow Davey toward the back of the house. I put a hand on his arm to stop him. Before we continued our conversation in front of our son, I needed a clearer picture of what was going on.
    “So what are your plans?”
    “Plans? Who needs plans? I thought maybe I’d just hang loose for a while.”
    “Hang loose?” The skeptic in me nearly added a snort.
    Bob put his hand on top of mine and patted gently, like a cowboy trying to soothe a skittish filly. His fingers felt warm and solid against my own. “Don’t worry, darlin’. Everything will be fine.”
    Not in this lifetime, I thought.
     
    Just as Aunt Peg had forecast, the next morning I got up, got in the car, drove back to the show site, and did the whole thing all over again. With one small exception. This time I had Bob with me.
    “Dog show?” he’d said the evening before, when I informed him that Davey and I had plans for the following day. “Sounds like fun.”
    The man was lying through his teeth.
    The only time I’d ever seen him pay any attention to Faith, he’d compared her to a bear. And I knew for a fact that he thought her elaborate trim was downright silly. Add to that the fact that he wouldn’t know anyone at the show or understand what was going on. But if Bob wanted to make himself accommodating, far be it from me to discourage him.
    Once again, Poodles had been assigned a late morning judging time; once again, we had to leave early. The Bob I had known liked to sleep in. He must have suspected that if he wasn’t ready I’d leave him behind, because he was standing by the front door, jacket on, holding two steaming cups of coffee five minutes before the appointed hour.
    He’d made one for me, too. Darn it.
    Then again, I thought, how hard was it to get to the door on time when you’d only been sleeping at the top of the stairs?
    Last time Bob had visited, he stayed in a motel. This time he was planning to bunk with Frank, but the drive had taken less time than he’d anticipated. My brother wasn’t expecting him until after the weekend, and so he’d come to our house first.
    It hardly made sense for him to leave, sleep for a few hours, then come right back, Bob had argued the night before. Why not just let him stay?
    All I can say is, I must be getting soft in my old age.
    Our small house only has two bedrooms, as Bob knows perfectly well since he lived here for two years of our