Lady And The Scamp. Dianne Drake

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СКАЧАТЬ barely grunted when the station manager strolled into his office with a silly grin plastered across his fleshy cheeks. Ignoring Nick’s cool regard, the man perched a hip on the corner of the desk, looking like the Cheshire cat who followed Alice around in Wonderland.

      “I’m not kidding, Nick,” his boss said when Nick still failed to respond. “The damn phone’s been ringing off the hook all morning, and the e-mail’s piling up faster than a bar tab at a Shriners convention. Everybody in town seems to have an opinion about this lawsuit of yours, and so far, those for you outnumber the nay-sayers ten to one.”

      “I’m flattered,” Nick mumbled, though he really couldn’t care less.

      Sure, he’d been fired up when he went on the air that morning, especially on the heels of receiving that lawsuit. But by the end of the day Nick’s rage had evaporated around him like the lifting of an early morning fog. And what settled in its place was much worse than anger.

      Like a multimega amplifier, the same name kept reverberating through Nick’s mind in an endless chant: Cassie. Cassie. Cassie.

      “Are you listening to me, Nick?”

      “Sure, I’m listening,” Nick said as he reluctantly met the man’s gaze.

      “I’m serious about this, boy. I want you to milk this story for all it’s worth. I mean, I want this story broadcast right down to the minute when the judge bangs his gavel and ends the courtroom proceedings.”

      “I’m hoping the judge will throw the damn case out of court,” Nick grumbled.

      “Even better,” the station manager assured him. “Think about it, boy. You’ll be an instant hero to all those little people out there who have their doubts about their ability to fight city hall and win.”

      Deciding his boss had evidently lost a few shingles since the last storm, Nick shook his head. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves on this, Bob. I talked to my attorney yesterday and he said there’s a good chance I’ll lose this case.” Pointing to the legal document on his desk, Nick added, “Those papers charge me with being in flagrant violation of the City of Asheville’s leash law. And whether I like it or not, my dog was running loose.”

      The manager frowned for a moment, but the frown quickly faded. “Hell, who cares whether you win this case or not? The way our ratings are going up, I’ll pay your damn court costs myself. We’re on a roll, son. Don’t drop the ball now.”

      Nick should have felt comforted by the friendly slap on the back before his boss left the room, but he didn’t. Leaving his chair, he walked to the window at the end of the room and stared out at the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains that surrounded Asheville like a protective barricade. He’d fallen in love with the sleepy town several years earlier when he’d attended a radio convention as the guest speaker. Though his friends in Atlanta declared him insane when he turned his back on the big-city lights and headed for a town with a population of less than 100,000, Nick hadn’t regretted his decision once since his arrival.

      In fact, it was almost as if some outside force like an imaginary magnet had drawn him to the mountains.

      Of course, he hadn’t exactly been welcomed with open arms. His neighbors didn’t care for his unconventional ways. But despite the fact that he would never conform to their ridiculous social protocol, he secretly admired the old families who held their traditions sacred, and who were determined to preserve a heritage for upcoming generations. Nick had been bounced back and forth over the entire nation by the time he turned sixteen. Now, for a reason he still couldn’t explain, it seemed as if he’d finally come home.

      Deciding a long ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway might lift his spirits, Nick walked back to his desk and glanced at the outline he’d drawn up for the next day’s early morning program. Despite his foul mood, he had to admit the material was extremely funny. He intended to thoroughly explore what he’d called “Earl’s Day in Court,” complete with a scenario where Earl would have to raise his right paw when he took the witness stand in his own defense.

      After stapling the papers together, Nick motioned to one of his co-workers who was passing by his door. “Make sure Bob sees this outline for tomorrow’s program,” he instructed, then grabbed his jacket and headed for the door.

      A long ride through the mountains had never failed him in the past. And with any luck, the mountains would come to his rescue again this time and permanently erase Cassie Collins’s name from his memory.

      “DEE BISHOP ON LINE ONE for you, Miss Collins.”

      “Dee?” Cassie asked the second she punched the appropriate number on the phone pad.

      “Yes, it’s me. But before you say anything else, if you’re making plans to string the jerk up, I’ll go out and buy the rope myself.”

      “Who are you talking about?”

      “Who do you think I’m talking about? Nick Hardin, of course. I thought that was why you called me.”

      “I called you because Duchess still won’t eat anything.”

      “I thought you were calling about Nick’s talk show this morning?” Dee replied. “Everyone else in Asheville is sure talking about it. I’ve heard it’s even going to make the evening news tonight.”

      Cassie lowered her coffee cup from her mouth to her desk, suddenly feeling sick to her stomach. “I only listened to the first part of his monologue, and then I turned the stupid thing off,” she admitted.

      “Then you mean you don’t know?”

      “Know what?” Cassie demanded.

      “Oh, Cassie,” Dee whined. “Nick Hardin didn’t use your name, but he left no doubt about who filed the lawsuit against him. He said things like, and I quote ‘I really can’t blame old Earl. After all, his new lady love did just win Best-in-Show at the Westminster Dog Show in New York City.”’

      Cassie gasped.

      “It gets worse,” Dee assured her. “He also said, ‘I know I should find some comfort that the lady suing me looks more like a model than an attorney, but even so, I admit I was a little shocked that she expected me to pay seventy-eight dollars a day for someone to sit with her prissy pooch….”’

      “I’ll kill him,” Cassie screeched.

      “Not if I get to him first,” Dee vowed. “He took a cheap shot at me, too. During the last part of his program the jerk had the nerve to say that ‘the only highlight of this whole episode might be uncovering yet another predator who is greedily feasting on Asheville’s unsuspecting citizens.’ And then he went on to ask everyone if they’d checked their veterinarian bills lately and pointed out that ‘the vet who takes care of Earl’s girlfriend drives a red Porsche.”’

      Cassie glanced at the waste can sitting beside her desk, deciding she may to use it if the wave of nausea plaguing her stomach washed over her again. After several seconds of silence, she blew out a deep breath and dabbed at her clammy forehead with a tissue she’d taken from her purse.

      “I’m really sorry I’ve dragged you into this, Dee,” she finally managed to say. “I should have known better than to go up against a crazed militant like Nick Hardin. Especially since he’s willing to use the media as his weapon.”

      Dee СКАЧАТЬ