Dogs and Goddesses Read online

“No.” Daisy realized she was clenching her teeth and loosened her jaw. “It was Vera Dale who died. Kammani tried to call her to service, and it killed her.” Daisy nodded to Squash, who snored quietly in the corner. “That’s her dog. Was her dog.”

  “Vera,” Peg said, her voice soft. “She was the last of Il-tani’s line. I wonder what happens—” Her face went white. “You don’t think they’ll call me, do you?”

  Daisy released a slow breath. “No, Peg, I really don’t. One per bloodline, far as I can tell.”

  “Oh.” Peg relaxed and then, finally, her face morphed into an expression of sympathy for Vera. Bailey came back, this time with a dusty tennis ball in his mouth. He dropped it at Daisy’s feet and sneezed.

  “Bless you,” Daisy said, and picked up the ball. “Jeez, Bail, where did you find this?”

  “Under the bed!” Bailey barked. “Throw!”

  “Ugh,” Daisy said. “I’ve got this kind of dust under my bed?”

  “Yes!” Bailey barked. “Throw!”

  Daisy threw the ball and sat back, her mom staring at her, eyes wide in childlike fascination.

  “Did he just … talk to you?”

  “Yeah,” Daisy said. “They all do.”

  “All dogs?” Peg said. “They can talk now?”

  “No,” Daisy said. “We can understand them now.”

  “Who? You and Noah?”

  “No. Me and Abby and Shar. And the rest of the Seven.”

  Six now.

  Peg nodded, seemingly fascinated for a moment; then a mischievous glint sparked in her eye. “So, what do you and Noah do?”

  “Oh, for the love of—” Daisy picked up her wine and went to the kitchenette, Peg close behind.

  “Honey,” Peg said, “just tell me the sex is good. If the sex is good, you can fix everything else. Except drugs and other women.” She sipped her wine thoughtfully. “And other men.” She waved her hand in the air, then grinned at Daisy. “So tell me. How is it?”

  “Now, this is fascinating. You, who lied to me, expect me to just open up to you, is that it?”

  “I didn’t lie.…”

  “Yes, you did,” Daisy said, her hands clenching at her sides. “Not telling is lying. You should have told me what was happening, and you didn’t, and someone died. How can you expect me to trust you now?”

  Peg stared at her. “Where is this coming from, Daisy?”

  Daisy lowered her eyes. “Let’s just drop it, okay?”

  Peg hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. “Okay. As lovely as this little visit has been, I have unpacking to do.” She went to the hall table and picked up her purse, then said, “Come on, Bailey.”

  The air around Daisy went suddenly still. “Wait, what?”

  Peg blinked at her. “I’m taking Bailey. I thought you couldn’t wait until…” She trailed off, realization hitting her. “Oh.”

  Between them, Bailey dropped the ball on the ground, his tail slowing down and lowering. “Peggy’s going?” he barked.

  “Yeah, Bail.” Daisy’s chest hurt as her mind reeled. How had she not seen this coming? The instinct overcame her to send some chaos her mother’s way, to make her back off, force her to give up Bailey, but she looked at Bailey and thought, No. Instead she stepped out from behind the island and knelt by Bailey, petting his head.

  “Bail,” she said, “if you want to go with Peg, that’s okay. I’ll understand.”

  “If he wants to … ?” Peg said, stepping forward. “He’s been my dog for three years, Daisy, of course he wants—”

  Daisy stood up and shot a look at her mother. Peg’s mouth stayed open, but she went quiet. She looked from Daisy to Bailey and nodded. “It’s okay, Bailey. You can come with me, but you don’t have to.” Then she shifted her eyes to Daisy and said, “He can understand me?”

  Bailey lowered his head, and Daisy said, “He understands.”

  There was a long moment of silence, and then Bailey lifted his head and trotted over to Peg, who said, “That’s my boy!” and knelt down to pet him.

  Daisy leaned against the island and looked at the ceiling for a second while her heart sent stabs of sadness through her on each beat. Not gonna cry, not gonna cry… She blinked hard, got it under control, and looked at Bailey. He was wagging his tail, putting his front paws on Peg’s knees, licking her face. He would be happy with her, and that was what mattered.

  “Love you!” Bailey barked, and licked Peg one last time before Daisy’s mother straightened up and looked at Daisy, her face uncharacteristically conflicted. “Honey…”

  “It’s okay,” Daisy said, but it was not okay, and the sooner her mother and Bailey left, the better.

  “Okay.” Peg walked to the door and opened it, then turned to Bailey and said, “Let’s go, Bailey.”

  But Bailey turned and trotted back to Daisy’s feet, then barked, “Love you!” at Peg again, and relief flooded through Daisy.

  Peg stared for a moment, then looked up at Daisy. “What did he say?”

  “He said he loves you,” Daisy said.

  “What does that mean?” Peg looked at Bailey. “Bailey, do you want to stay here with Daisy?”

  “Daisy’s mine!” he barked.

  Daisy could tell by the look on Peg’s face that she didn’t need to translate.

  “Okay.” Peg nodded and put on a strong smile for Bailey. “Love you, too, baby.”

  Then the door opened, and Noah stepped into the apartment. Peg looked at Daisy, said, “Good-bye,” and left.

  Noah watched her go, and when the door closed behind her, he turned to Daisy. “Everything okay?”

  “As okay as it ever is.” Daisy knelt down to Bailey and scratched behind his ears, and he jumped up and licked Daisy’s face, then ran over to Noah and hopped up, scrambling his front paws over Noah’s knees.

  “Noah!” he barked, glancing back at the tennis ball. “Ball!”

  Noah picked up the ball and threw it, then looked at Daisy. “So, what happened?”

  Daisy watched him for a moment, then said, “Nothing. I asked her for help banishing”—no, no, no—“I mean, doing something, and she wouldn’t help me because she’s Peg and that’s just who she is.”

  Noah walked over to her, looking into her eyes, his own dark and thoughtful. “Is it something I can help you with?”

  She looked into his eyes and he looked back at her, and she wondered what she was so worried about. He would never betray her; he would never lie to her. This was no whammy, it was real, and she knew it.

  Almost all the time, she knew it.

  “No,” she said finally. “I don’t think you can.” Then she kissed him, picked up her knife, and sliced into the last tomato.

  Wednesday dawned cloudy and dim. Abby dragged her sorry ass out of bed and into the shower later than usual. So late that the coffeehouse was deserted. Daisy was gone—off with Noah, no doubt—and Gen was missing as well. Friday was the one day the place was closed—Abby usually spent the time baking in preparation for their now-regular open-mike night, but last night she and Gen had stayed up till the middle of the night, coming up with new and startling combinations, like anise-poppyseed muffins and cinnamon-pomegranate pressed cookies.

  When she went into the kitchen, the room was spotless; having Gen move in had been a godsend, even taking into consideration that Christopher Mackenzie seemed to consider it his responsibility to check on his cousin at least once a day. At least he’d kept his distance since the day they’d gone to investigate the temple hot spots. The next day he’d returned the notebook and a seven-page paper, with illustrations and footnotes, for heaven’s sake, listing the possible use of the power spots. And then nothing. He still came by every day but assiduously ignored her. As if that kiss in the dark had never happened.

  She pulled the apron over her head and began setting out Granny B’s mason jars and her own pathetic attempts. Thank heavens for her grandmother’s colorful clothes. The jeans she’d brought with her were getting tight, but her