Death by Equine by Annette Dashofy (read this if txt) 📗

look pretty good yourself.” His usually tousled sun-bleached hair was styled to perfection, and in a black suit, white dress shirt, and rich red tie, he looked more elegant than any man she’d ever seen, except maybe in movies. Maybe even including the movies.

“May I come in?”

She realized she’d been staring. “Sorry. Yes, please.” She stepped aside and let him enter, then closed the door. The darned thing came open when she tested it and forced her to slam it to get the latch to hold.

Daniel cast a quizzical look at her.

“I need to get someone out here to fix that.” Jessie slipped past him and led the way through the kitchen into the dining room.

He surveyed the space. “Nice. I remember this house before you and Greg bought it. It was a shame to see it falling apart. You’ve done a hell of a job restoring it.”

A flush of pride warmed her face. “Thanks.”

He spotted the plastic crate on the floor. “What do we have here?” He dropped to one knee in front of the box.

“The little guy got stepped on by one of the horses. I had to do surgery, so he’s spending the night here.”

Daniel scratched the tabby’s chin through the wire and grinned up at Jessie. “Just tonight?”

She knew what he was getting at. “That’s the plan. But he’ll need some special attention until he heals.”

Molly announced her presence with an earsplitting meow.

“Well, hello.” Daniel turned toward the black and white cat and reached out to stroke her head.

“She’s deaf,” Jessie said.

“She’s loud,” he replied.

“She has to talk loud enough that she can hear herself. That’s Molly, by the way.”

Daniel stood and turned to face her. “We should be going. We have reservations for eight o’clock. But a few ground rules first.”

“Ground rules?”

“No phones.”

“What?”

“And no shop talk. We’re not going to discuss anything that’s going on at the track including what happened to Doc.”

“It could prove to be a very quiet night. But okay.”

Daniel rubbed his palms together. “Ready?”

No, she thought. “Let me grab my purse.” She crossed the room to pick up her handbag from one of the dining room chairs and cringed. The ragged black fabric sack didn’t match her dress or her shoes or anything remotely involved with Lorenzo’s. With no alternative, she hid the bag behind her as she turned to him. “Let’s go.”

She followed him out and slammed the back door twice before it latched. Then she double-checked to make sure it was locked before wobbling up the path behind him.

BY THE TIME PITTSBURGH traffic forced Daniel’s speed into the reasonable category and the narrow, but aptly named, Grandview Avenue brought the Corvette’s forward progress to little more than a crawl, Jessie’s fingernails had pressed grooves into the black leather passenger seat. She peeked at the speedometer once during the trip and decided to keep her eyes closed for most of the drive.

Below them, at the bottom of Mount Washington, the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers merged, giving birth to the Ohio. At their confluence, the fountain in Point State Park formed the centerpiece of the city. From their vantage point high above downtown, Pittsburgh looked like a child’s elaborate toy village.

“Wow,” Jessie said as she took in the view.

“Haven’t you been up here before?”

“Once a long time ago. I’d forgotten how beautiful it was.”

Jessie’s view vanished behind Lorenzo’s stone and cedar façade. A young man in black pants and vest and white shirt opened the car door for her.

“Wait.” Daniel stopped her with a hand on her wrist. “Hand over your phone.”

“You’re serious?”

“Absolutely.” He held up his own as proof. “If we leave them in the car, we can’t break the ‘no phone’ pledge.”

With a sigh, she dug hers from her purse. He reached in front of her, opened the glovebox, and deposited his inside. She did likewise.

“Good,” he said.

She stepped out into the evening air, which had begun to redevelop a sultry tinge. The valet headed to the driver’s side. Daniel accepted a claim ticket from the young man before rounding the car and placing a hand at the small of Jessie’s back.

“Shall we?”

Jessie braced herself. Tucking her ugly black purse under her arm, she let Daniel guide her through the elaborately carved mahogany front doors.

She stifled a gasp. High-backed gold upholstered chairs surrounded square tables draped in white linen and set with sparkling silverware. Crystal goblets embraced perfectly folded linen napkins. Two walls of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked Pittsburgh and the Point. Crystalline chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Jessie tried unsuccessfully not to gawk.

“Mr. Shumway, how divine to see you again.” A tuxedoed maitre d’ greeted them.

“Mario.” Daniel tipped his head in polite acknowledgement.

“And your dinner companion is lovely this evening.” The maitre d’ nodded in Jessie’s direction.

“Indeed, she is.” Daniel smiled at her.

Her cheeks warmed again. She wondered if he was simply saying whatever Daniel wanted to hear.

“Your table is ready,” Mario announced after Daniel formally introduced them. “If you’ll follow me...” He ushered them to a table in front of the bank of windows with what had to be the best view in the house. Mario assisted her with her chair, then handed her a menu, which contained no prices.

Once they were settled, and Mario left them to attend to his duties, Daniel leaned across the table toward her. “What do you think?”

She tried to take everything in with only moderate success. Aromatic fragrances of roast meat and poultry, butter, onions, and garlic drifted on the air currents of the room. A small band made up of a pianist, a bass player, a violinist, and a drummer played Rodgers and Hart while elegantly attired couples swayed in each other’s arms on the parquet dance floor. “Wow.” Embarrassed, she laughed softly. “I’m really good with the English language, huh? Honestly, I do know other words.”

“No. ‘Wow’ is a pretty good word for the place. And you haven’t even had their food yet.” Daniel picked up his menu. “What are you hungry for?”

She opened hers and scanned the