Family Man

sleep.
    Katy hesitated, wondering if she should try to tie the dog up outside before she left for work at the mansion. Zeke did not appear inclined to move, so she abandoned the notion.
    She cleared the table and filled Zeke's bowl with dog food. Then she checked herself in the mirror. The long-sleeved green dress she was wearing fell softly to midcalf. The wide belt accented her narrow waist. She ran a brush through her hair one more time, hitched the strap of her leather bag up over one shoulder, and went out the front door of the cottage.
    A brisk breeze made Katy's hair snap as she walked along the cliffs toward Justine's big house. She watched the morning light on the calm sea, aware once again of just how fortunate she was that Justine had offered her the job of personal assistant all those years ago. Not only had it provided financial security, it had also given Katy the opportunity to raise Matt in a small, quiet, safe town rather than the city.
    Dragon Bay was only an hour out of Seattle, but it might as well have been on a different planet. The town was large enough and trendy enough to provide the amenities of life, such as supermarkets that carried fresh basil. But it was small enough to have a low crime rate, good schools, and a sense of security. It had been a good place to raise Matt.
    One more reason why she was indebted to Justine, Katy thought.
    It was a short trip to the mansion, no more than a ten-minute walk. The route took her past the cottage she knew Luke would be renting. She realized that when he was home he would be able to see her kitchen window from his kitchen window. She would have to remember to pull the blinds in the morning.
    Katy spent most of the ten minutes between her cottage and the mansion mulling over what Luke had told her. The possibility that someone she knew and trusted might have been deliberately sabotaging Gilchrist, Inc. was hard to swallow.
    She recalled Liz talking about the basic paranoid personality profile. Katy wondered now if paranoia might be Luke's problem. Surely only a paranoid person would look for suspects among the members of his own family.
    That's all she needed, Katy thought with a grimace. The notion of spending the next six months working for a paranoid boss was not pleasant to contemplate.
    But the most unsettling thing of all was the fact that she had been kissed by a sorcerer.

    Katy heard her own car in the drive at five minutes to ten that night. With a small sigh of relief she turned off the food processor. Matt was home. Regardless of his tactics, she felt a wave of gratitude toward Luke. This was one night when she would not have to worry about where Matt was or whom he was with.
    She spooned the batch of parsley and green olive pesto she had just made into a plastic jar. She stuck it in the refrigerator and went to stand in the kitchen doorway. She realized she was tense as she waited for Matt to come into the cottage. He would probably be in a surly mood because of what Luke had done that morning.
    Zeke had carried his bowl into the living room earlier and was stretched out beside it. The dog rolled leisurely to his feet as the door opened and Matt ambled into the room.
    “I'm home,” Matt called, sounding surprisingly cheerful. “Hey, how you doin', Zeke, old buddy?” He leaned down to pat the dog. Then he glanced at Katy. “Maybe I'd better take him outside for a few minutes.”
    “That would probably be a good idea,” Katy said cautiously. “How was the film?”
    “It was okay. Nothing special. Come on, Zeke. Let's go, pal.” Matt opened the door again. Zeke scooped up his dish and bounded out into the chilly night.
    “Matt?”
    “Yeah?”
    “I appreciate the fact that you got home on time tonight.”
    Matt shrugged. “It's not like I had a lot of choice. Your new boss is one tough son of a—”
    “ Matt .”
    Matt grinned. “Well, he is. I think you're right. If anyone can save the Gilchrists, it's probably him. See you in a few minutes.”
    Dog and boy vanished into the night.
    It occurred to Katy as she went back into the kitchen that Matt's voice had held genuine respect, not sullenness or anger. She relaxed and told herself the incident was merely an example of one of those mysterious male bonding rituals she had heard about.
    She went over to where her notebook lay open on the counter and made a few entries. This latest pesto recipe showed genuine promise. The thick, zesty sauce would be especially good over