was a scent that might have been a cinnamon apple candle that she likewise didn’t own. The rugs were free of dog hair. The pile of books and magazines on her coffee table had shrunk by half. And her end tables…
Wait a minute. Was that what they looked like without dust? They were a whole new color. And shiny. Very weird.
She unclipped the leash from Goliath’s collar. “Mom! Where are you?”
Her mother appeared at the kitchen door. She wore a crisp blue oxford cloth shirt, a pair of beige slacks, and sensible but stylish shoes.
“Oh, hello, dear,” she said. “It’s about time you got home.”
Goliath took one look at Loucinda, whimpered a little, then trotted to his spot beside the fireplace, where his blanket was supposed to be. Unfortunately, it had not-so-mysteriously disappeared. He ducked his head and looked back at Shannon anxiously. I’m so confused! Did the scary lady steal my blanket?
“Where’s Goliath’s blanket?” Shannon said to her mother.
“In the wash. It was filthy.”
“But he’s used to it being beside the fireplace. He’s still uptight about his surroundings. The blanket helps.”
“The dog may not care about the blanket being clean, but Dr. Morgensen will care very much.”
“Mom? What are you doing here, and why are you cleaning things?”
“Don’t be silly, dear. I don’t clean houses. Rosalinda cleaned it.”
“What?”
“Why not? Heaven knows she can use the extra money.”
“You paid your housekeeper to clean my house?”
“Well, you certainly can’t afford it. Not on that salary you make at the shelter.”
This was it. The last straw. Shannon was going to have to get her key back so her mother couldn’t come and go as she pleased. But she could only imagine the fallout that would cause, and she just didn’t have the time to deal with it now.
She swept past Loucinda and went into the kitchen. “Mom, you have to go. Russell is going to be here in less than half an hour. I have to get dinner ready to—”
That was when she saw that her oven was on. Peering through the glass door, she saw her mother’s favorite French white two-quart dish.
“Mom?” Shannon said with disbelief. “What have you done?”
“It’s a casserole. I put it on low so it’ll be hot when you sit down to dinner. Don’t worry, though. I made something simple. We don’t want Dr. Morgensen getting suspicious about where it came from, now do we?”
“You made dinner for my date?”
“Considering what’s in your refrigerator and pantry, there wasn’t a way in the world you could have made dinner yourself.”
“I was just going to bake some chicken breasts. Stick one of those vegetable steamer thingies in the microwave. And put out some bread or whatever.”
“Bread? All I saw was a sandwich loaf.”
“Right. Toast it a little, butter it—”
“Good heavens! Are you trying to drive him away?”
“How did you even know I invited him to dinner?”
“Eve told me.”
“How did she know? I didn’t tell her.”
“I think it had something to do with that odd little woman who works for Dr. Morgensen, whose name escapes me.”
“Mom. No casserole. You shouldn’t even be here.”
“Be realistic,” her mother said. “Dr. Morgensen is coming at six. It’s almost five thirty. You have no time to cook and make yourself pretty.”
“Fine,” she said on a breath of frustration. “Leave the casserole.”
“There are rolls to go with it. They’re wrapped in foil on the counter. And there’s a Boston cream pie in the refrigerator.”
Shannon opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Sometimes her mother just left her speechless.
“Wear something besides blue jeans,” Loucinda went on as Shannon escorted her to the door. “Dr. Morgensen is a professional man with good taste. He expects any woman he dates to look like…well, like a woman.” She faced Shannon, looking almost teary-eyed. “I’m so proud of you for doing this. There’s nothing like a home-cooked meal to let a man know how much you care about him. Who knows where this might lead?”
Yeah, and Shannon would just bet Grandma North was looking down from heaven with tears of joy, too.
“Call me tomorrow and tell me how things went,” Loucinda said.
Shannon let her mother out. Then she heard a whimper and glanced at Goliath, who was standing in the living room near the place where he’d last seen his blanket, looking lost. Shannon ran to her laundry room, grabbed his blanket out of the dryer, and laid it beside the fireplace.
“There you go, sweetie,” she said.
He stepped onto the blanket. Sniffed it. Looked back at Shannon.