Janet Evanovich - Love in a Nutshell

“Which is why he should be here,” Jack said. “We could use a donkey.”

Bart poured everyone a shot. “We still have you.” For a second, Jack looked as sharp-edged as his red brush cut, but then he joined in on the laughter. After that, the ceremonial opening whiskey was downed, some bull was shot, and stacks of quarters were lined up.

Matt slid the dealer button in front of himself on the table and shuffled the deck.

“Texas Hold ’Em,” he announced to the players.

Kate wandered back into the room. “Is Stella still here?”

Matt grinned. “Right next to me. Jealous?”

“Possibly.”

Matt chose to take that as a sign that she wanted his company, and not the poodle’s.

“Have you ever played poker?”

She paused. “Once.” Maybe no one else in the room could read her, but Matt knew she was messing with the truth. Kate’s tell was a subtle widening of her eyes.

“So, Kate, want to join in?” Jack asked in a casual voice.

“I guess I could. I mean, if it wouldn’t slow you guys down too much?”

“Never!” Jack said.

He clearly thought he’d landed his donkey, but Matt bet Jack was going to keep the tail and big ears.

“Sure, then,” Kate said. “I’d love to.”

Matt gave Kate his chair and half his quarters. After he’d brought another chair from er yothe kitchen and settled in next to her, a low growl sounded from beneath the table. Matt grabbed a couple of chips. He popped one into his mouth and subtly let the other one drop to an overly possessive poodle.

“Since we have a new player, how about we go with a little straight poker, aces high, sevens wild? And I’ll sit out on the first couple of hands and help Kate get started,” Matt said.

The table agreed, and Matt dealt.

Once Kate had her hand, he moved his chair closer to coach her. Stella wasn’t square with the new arrangement and let everyone know by barking.

Matt edged the potato chip bowl closer. He was going to need it.

A couple more chips and many hands later, everyone was played out. Jack, Travis, and Bart had rounded up their remaining change, razzed Kate about her big win, and headed home.

Kate now sat at the kitchen table as Matt worked his way through the last of the night’s mess. Stella was flopped at her owner’s feet, zoned out on carbs.

“So how many times have you really played poker?” Matt asked, hoping to keep Kate’s attention from the chip-enriched poodle.

“Lots,” Kate said.

Matt smiled. “As I thought.”

He finished packing away the guys’ unsmoked cigars. While they’d played, he’d silently nixed any attempt to light one. Matt had wanted Kate next to him too much to risk her leaving the game over a stogie.

She rose and reached for the nearly empty potato chip bag. “I started playing a while back. Casino night fund-raisers were a fad downstate a couple of years ago. Any time one of Richard’s clients’ pet charities had one, we’d go.” Kate moved on to put glasses into the dishwasher, and Stella followed. “Anyway, after a couple of events, Richard stopped playing at my table,” Kate said. “It irked him to see me kick butt. It was luck, mostly.”

“Luck and being able to read others,” Matt said.

He was done hiding what he wanted from Kate. It was time to be read, loud and clear. He tucked a couple of chips into his right hand while she was closing the dishwasher.

“I liked having you next to me tonight,” he said. “And Stella didn’t seem to mind us being close.”

She held so still that Matt wondered for an instant whether she was going to bolt from the kitchen. But he knew she wanted him, too.

“In fact, I’ll bet my winnings we could get even closer,” Matt said.

As he moved in to kiss her, he dropped a chip for Stella. Then he wished like hell that dogs chewed with their mouths closed.

Kate glanced down. “Did you just give her a treat?”

Matt kept it short and sweet. “Yes.”

“Now I know why you two are making friends. Smart move. But I didn’t see you get anything from the treat jar. The last thing I saw you near was that bag of potato chips. Did you give her a chip?”

“No.”

She stepped back, looked him up and down, and smiled. “You are the worst bluffer, ever .”

Which was bull. Except when it came to Kate.

“Open your hand,” she said.

Matt shifted his feet, stalling. “Which one?”

She wrapped her fingers around his right hand and squeezed. Matt’s lone chip died an ugly death.

“Now open it,” she said.

Matt did as directed. A few crumbs slipped from his hand, and Stella dove for them.

“Stella, no!” Kate said.

Too late. Stella snapped up the bits before they hit the floor.

Kate gave Matt a stern look. “You know I don’t feed her from the table.”

Matt dumped the remaining crumbs into the wastebasket. “We aren’t at the table. We’re in the kitchen.”

Stella trotted up to Matt and braced her front feet on his shin as she begged for more.

Kate sighed. “You’ve created a monster. Down, Stella.”

The dog grudgingly obeyed, but stayed close to Matt.

For about the tenth time since Wednesday poker night, Kate tripped over a pair of Matt’s shoes… and it was only Friday. Why would a guy think it was smart to drop his shoes exactly where he’d taken them off? He had big feet, too. And many, many pairs of shoes.

Kate picked up the latest pair and chucked them just to the left of his closed bedroom door, where they joined a bunch of their kin.

“If you want to develop a shoe-eating habit, I promise I won’t say a word,” she told Stella. “It would be a good payback for Matt getting you hooked on potato chips.”

The dog was now a serious chip junkie. Even though she’d gotten sick on them, she still sat longingly in front of the pantry cabinet, where Matt always kept his stash.

Kate’s poodle had food issues on another front, too. Stella had been raised with an open supply of food. Kate would put kibble in her bowl in the morning and the poodle would graze at will. But now, the second Kate filled Stellaȁ”0el a had9;s bowl, glutton Chuck appeared, excited as if Thanksgiving had come around yet again. The instant Kate looked away, the chow was gone in one gulp. Chuck did not believe in chewing.

As though he knew Kate was thinking about him, a bark rolled into the hallway from the living room. And then another. These weren’t excited sounds, more expository statements.

“Woof.”

Kate joined Chuck in front of the fireplace.

“Woof.”

He had barely lifted his head from his napping position.

“What?” she asked him.

“Woof.”

Kate looked at Stella, who had followed in her tracks. “You speak dog. Tell him to stop.”

But Stella couldn’t be persuaded to negotiate, and Chuck had no intention of stopping.

“Okay, Lassie. Did Timmy fall down the well again?”

“Woof.”

“Am I the prettiest princess in the land?”

“Woof.”

Kate could have played her game awhile longer, but Chuck’s hound bark was beginning to make her teeth rattle. She walked through the kitchen and on to the basement door, which was by the house’s back entry. Stella stood at the back door and stared expectantly at her.

“Okay, you first, then I’ll deal with the big dog.” She stuck Stella on the outdoor lead that had been brought over from The Nutshell, and headed back inside.

“Matt?” she called.

He was downstairs working out, a daily event. She heard the whine of a treadmill going at warp speed, but no word from Matt.

“Hey, Culhane!” she yelled, cupping her hands to either side of her mouth.