Red Collar by Clarissa Cartharn Page B

and shook her head. “I don’t think so. They’re most likely not gonna work. Why bother?”
    “You live on the third floor,” he insisted.
    Her eyes brightened. “Wanna make a race for it? You - the elevator and me- the stairs?”
    He grinned and then rushed towards the elev ator, pressing onto its button to usher it down.
    She was on the first floor landing when she heard the elevator doors open with its familiar croaky ding. She sped up, thinking amusedly that he would be there anyway despite all her efforts to win this frivolous race.
    She reached her floor almost out of breath and managed to catch Lorenzo climb out through its rustic metallic doors, a cloud of displeasure intermixed with disappointment in his face.
    She burst into a series of chuckles . “What happened?” she blurted, when she could.
    “Mrs Patterson from the fourth floor and her dogs happened. I let them in like the good gentleman I am and then I regretted it when she decided to not walk, but crawl into it.”
    “Come on, now, Lorenzo. Don’t be such a poor loser. You wouldn’t have minded it if you had won.”
    He grinned. “Next time, we race the stairs together. I’ll beat you in no time. These abs…,” he started, pointing at it.
    “No, not the abs again,” she cut him off, rolling up her eyes.
    “I haven’t finished what I wanted to say,” he said in a hurtful voice.
    “Save it Lorenzo. Don’t want to hear it.”
    “But…”
    She shook her head despairingly and then opened her apartment door with a smile. The children were sporadically spread over the carpet watching television. They instantly looked up at her as she entered the room. Libby was sprawled on her stomach, reading a book with her legs pendulously bobbing in the air. She turned and glowered at her. Lily ran up to her to hug her, her face beaming with glee.
    “Hi,” she said, tousling Lily’s sliver blonde locks. “ Everyone, this is Lorenzo,” she pointed behind her.
    Lorenzo didn’t say much other than nod his head. His eyes had darkened, his jaw-line stiffened. With Kate’s shopping in his arms, he followed her quietly into the kitchen.
    “Just leave them on the table,” Kate directed. “I’ll sort them out later. Do you want a cup of coffee or tea?”
    He shook his head as he put down the shopping.
    “Hi, I’m Rudy,” Rudy introduced himself as he stepped into the kitchen. “Thanks for helping Kate with the shopping.”
    Kate smiled to herself. Rudy had suddenly metamorphosed into an ideally protective brother during her absence, electing himself as man of the house.
    “No problem,” said Lorenzo, shaking Rudy’s out-stretched palm.
    “Do you live in the building?”
    “First floor, number three.”
    “Rudy,” Kate said. “I need to go away for a few days for work reasons. Lorenzo, here, will keep an eye on things while I’m away. Is that okay?”
    “How many days?” Rudy asked, his eyebrow in an arch.
    “Six days.”
    “Yeah, okay,” Rudy shrugged and turned to the other man in the room. “Thanks, Lorenzo. But we will be fine on our own. Kate bothers needlessly about us.”
    “She’s your sister. She’s meant to. I think it’s nice having someone worry about our whereabouts like that. It makes life worth living.”
    “I think people should reserve their opinion when they’re not asked for it. It makes life less stressful,” Libby interfered. “Particularly if they’re standing in someone else’s kitchen and talking about someone else’s family.”
    Lorenzo turned at her, his face taut. A muscle moved in his jaw.
    Kate intervened quickly. “Libby,” she scolded. “Hold your tongue. Lorenzo is a guest in this house. And my friend.”
    “I can see that,” Libby mocked. “You keep wearing his shirts.”
    Kate re ddened, her face burning with rage.
    Lorenzo stepped up to her angrily, glaring down at her.
    Libby glared equally back.
    “That’s enough, Libby!” Rudy growled.
    Libby stepped away, taken aback by