And if Stella couldn't be around to look after Jackie, she at least wanted to have someone who could. A smart, loving German Shepherd who was trained as a watchdog and bodyguard would be the perfect companion.
The raven-haired beauty looked again into the dark intelligent eyes of the sleek two year old named Kaiser. A low grumbling vibration shook the large dog's chest, and Stella hugged his strong-muscled body close to hers, so she could feel the rumble through her ribs. Something told her that this puppy would be the one – Kaiser was exactly the dog she and Jackie needed to have around.
She raised her eyes to the proudly watching young dog breeder. Matt was a veterinary student at Davis, the university campus near Sacramento, and he sincerely enjoyed the way his carefully-raised dogs seemed to charm their way into his customers' hearts. He'd been raising dogs for five years, since he was only sixteen, and he knew that dog breeding was exactly the right career for him.
"Yup," he said heartily. "I think Kaiser here is yours, Mrs. Burnside… I can tell he already adores you!" Not that any man alive wouldn't adore her, he thought to himself. A guy'd have to be blind or stupid to be unaware of what Stella Burnside has to offer!
Stella stood up and ran her hands down over the front of her lime green jacket, to smooth out the wrinkles. Her vivacious green eyes twinkled suggestively and she subconsciously lowered her eyelids as she slowly approached the young, t-shirt clad dog breeder. "How much will it be, Mr. Fields?" she asked, her voice a low, husky purr. "And how can I pay you?"
Matt Fields was flustered. Considering all the time and expense that it had taken to raise and train Kaiser from a puppy, his normal charge would have been $250, but something about the way the older woman was talking made him think she was making an alternate suggestion. But surely she's not… I mean… she looks too refined to be a… a… He couldn't bring himself to complete the thought, not in her striking overpowering presence. But what did she mean "How can I pay you?" if she wasn't thinking of an alternative to money? His young, finely sculpted face flushed slightly, and he felt his penis stirring in his cutoffs when he finally replied. "Kaiser is $250, ma'am… but… but…"
Stella's face fell. Two hundred and fifty dollars! That's two weeks' take-home pay! When she'd come out this morning with the intention of buying a good watch dog, she'd withdrawn all her money from the bank, thinking that it would surely cover the price of a dog. But all her money was just over $80, and she wouldn't even get paid again until Friday. "I-I'm sorry, Mr. Fields," she stammered, but her eyes were still glinting speculatively, "I didn't realize a dog would cost quite so much."
"He's purebred, Mrs. Burnside," Matt explained sheepishly, as if he was embarrassed about his asking price. But he knew that professional kennels could ask up to $500 for a trained German Shepherd puppy, and he only sold dogs as a hobby. "I have his papers in the house, and you get a week's supply of food, a regulation leash, and a free book on pet care…"
Stella nodded as he spoke. "Maybe I could pay on time…?" she suggested, almost as if it was a question. She was afraid that this young man was too innocent and inexperienced to realize what she was hinting at, and rather than take the direct approach and proposition him outright, she decided to be subtle, and let him suggest whatever he had in mind.
"Yes, yes, we could do that," Matt said quickly, pulling from his back pocket a squashed pack of cigarettes. It was the first time he had smoked since Stella had been here, and she was a little surprised to see a man so young lighting up a cigarette. Of course, he was a few years older than Jackie, the older woman reminded herself, and she had seen Jackie smoke on occasion, particularly when the blonde teenager was nervous. Maybe Matt Fields was nervous now, she reflected, and took advantage of the situation.
"Perhaps, Mr. Fields, I could get you tickets to the theater where I work – the Double-X…"
The dark-haired student looked at her suspiciously. This check works in a porno theater? Christ! She really needs a dog, if she's not a fucking whore! His cock leaped up in his cut-offs, and he was sure that by now his erection was completely obvious to the older woman. Maybe she IS a whore! He looked at her scrutinizingly, his dark brown eyes examining her whole lithe body for some kind of subconscious clue as to her occupation. But to his surprise, the young student found none of the mannerisms that he associated with the prostitutes he and his college buddies had visited, not too far from where the Double-X Theater was located. Stella Burnside just stared back at him languidly, her green eyes flickering provocatively. Christ, what does she want? the dog breeder wondered. He didn't want to offend her… but at the same time, he wanted to make the sale.
"I… um, it's okay, Mrs. Burnside, about the tickets to the theater… I'll tell you what… Could you give me a down payment now, and then $25 a week until it's paid off? That way, well… you can take Kaiser with you now, and… and…" He didn't know what else to say; she had put him under some kind of spell. Just last week a man had been over trying to knock the price down on one of his Afghans, and Matt had refused. But something about Mrs. Burnside seemed to put him on the defensive, while at the same time, making him want to go all out to please her.
Wow! Some chicks really have what it takes… he thought as he went inside for Kaiser's papers and a bill of sale. He found himself wondering about Mrs. Burnside's daughter. Hadn't she said she lived alone with her daughter? Hell, she must be about thirty-five or forty, he mused, even though she's built like eighteen! So her daughter could be anywhere from ten to twenty, roughly… His brown eyes sparkled when he handed her the paper to sign. Stella Burnside would be coming to see him once a week to make the payments, and sometime, she might even bring this daughter she talked about. Hell, any girl with Stella Burnside for a mother would have to be built!
Matt grinned inwardly as he handed Stella Kaiser's leash, and helped her carry the food to the car. He'd be looking forward to next Friday all right – that was for sure!
It was nearly three in the afternoon when the voluptuous divorcee led the eagerly exploring puppy up to the second floor of the apartment building that was to be his new home. At least the owners of the building permitted pets… They had to, because Stella had heard it rumored that they had four dogs of their own, even though they lived out in the suburbs and not in one of the apartments they operated. Now that the Burnsides had a dog, four out of the five families on the second floor had pets of some kind, and so far, the animals had caused no problems.
Jackie wasn't home from school yet, so Stella fixed herself a Scotch over and sat down to watch an afternoon game show. She took Kaiser off his leash, and let him wander around the one-bedroom apartment and small sun-deck that overlooked the swimming pool. Before she'd gone out this morning, Stella had bunched up some old blankets in one corner of the deck, intending to make a sort of bed for the dog, but Kaiser merely sniffed at the blankets and came inside to curl up on one end of the day-bed, which served as Jackie's bed at night.
Oh, well, Stella thought, he'll get used to sleeping in his own bed eventually…
She left the television set going, noiselessly, and went into the bedroom to take a nap. She'd slept only four hours last night as it was, and Jackie would surely be home soon, so she wouldn't sleep too long. She left a note on the refrigerator for her daughter, explaining Kaiser's presence, so Jackie wouldn't be alarmed at seeing a strange dog in the apartment.
But Stella must have been emotionally exhausted, because when her lovely blonde daughter did arrive, the older woman didn't even wake up to Kaiser's growls.
"Oh! Eeeee!" Jackie squealed upon opening the door. "Wh-what are you doing here?" She was addressing the dog, forgetting, for a moment, that it was her mother's day off and that she should be home somewhere. The tall, well-proportioned blonde shivered into the corner of the tiny kitchenette, bumping backwards into the refrigerator in her fright. Kaiser came toward her, wagging his tail happily as soon as he recognized the same scent he had picked up from the day-bed. Whoever this jittery female was, he knew that she belonged here just as much as the older woman did who had so recently bought him from his former master.