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Baily's Irish Dream/Czech Mate

Harlequin Enterprises Limited

Chapter One

"So what you're saying is that you're leaving."

"Yep." Baily looked up from her task of trying to fit too many articles of clothing into a too small suitcase. Her friend Janice looked utterly confused.

"You could always tell your parents no. You are an adult, after all."

That was questionable. Regardless, Baily had given her word. And if her parents' persistence wasn't enough to make her return home then her own honor was.

"Don't you think I've tried to reason with them? Don't you think I've explained that I'm a real, live grown-up? It simply doesn't work. Besides, Harry is a really nice guy." Any anger that Baily had over the situation quickly melted away. No one could ever be angry with Harry. Baily dropped the lid on the overpacked suitcase and threw, as she would term it, her nicely rounded bottom on top to give it extra incentive to close.

Janice sat atop the second suitcase and sighed with frustration. "It's barbaric, I tell you. Forcing you to come home to marry the chosen suitor. Why did you ever agree to that kind of deal in the first place?"

"I wanted adventure, and it was the only way they would let me come to Seattle." Snap. Baily felt the locks catch under her weight. She didn't know whether to be glad that the suitcase shut or mournful that it shut so easily.

Janice debated that last point. "They couldn't have stopped you."

"Obviously you've never seen the size of my brothers. Trust me, they could have stopped me." Baily glanced around the empty apartment, checking to see that the movers had gotten everything. All that was left were her two suitcases and Miss Roosevelt.

"Barbaric," Janice muttered as she shifted her weight on the second suitcase, trying to close it.

"You said that already," Baily returned, smiling at her friend's irritation and knowing how illogical it must seem to a person who wasn't raised a Monohan.

"Medieval! Did I say that yet? What about your job? The school is really going to miss you."

"I'll get another teaching job when I get back to New Jersey. There is always a job for a teacher who doesn't mind middle school kids."

"It's still wrong."

With a sigh, Baily moved to sit on the suitcase with Janice, both of their nicely rounded rumps filling the tiny space and then some. Snap. Apparently, it was diet time again. "Listen, my parents only wanted to secure my future. They gave me seven years to explore the west. And I had a glorious time. But the more I think about it, the more I agree with them. I miss my family."

"You're going to marry a man just because you miss your family?" Janice was incredulous.

No, of course not! Okay, maybe a little. How did Baily explain all that to Janice? Janice would tell her to hold out for true love and other such ridiculous romantic notions. Baily, once a devoted romantic, had simply given up on the idea that true love existed for her in the cosmos. She had met too many men, had dated several of them, and not once had Cupid struck a blow.

"Harry will make an excellent husband. He'll be loyal, faithful, loving ..."

"And he'll come on command, sit when you tell him, and he won't make puddles on the rug," Janice said sarcastically, moving off the suitcase to stand in the middle of the empty room.

"Hey. Don't knock it. Housebreaking a man is harder than it looks." Okay, so Harry had all the qualities of a fine dog. There were worse things in life. Harry would give Baily children. Something a dog certainly couldn't do. Just think of the children, Baily reminded herself. Unfortunately, that meant that she had to think about how she was going to get those children with Harry. Ugh-hh.

"You're not taking this seriously. This is your life, Baily Monohan. You're about to throw it all away," Janice fairly shrieked.

"Not throw it all away. More like start it all over ... again."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Baily announced with a firmness that surprised her. She was making the right choice. In her mind she knew that. It was just her heart that was doing little anxious flip-flops every time she thought about spending the rest of her life with Harry.

With a determination she knew she was faking, Baily stood and lifted her two suitcases.

"Theodora! Let's go, Miss Roosevelt. We're leaving!"

"Miss Roosevelt" peeked out from her perch on one of the kitchen shelves. "Meow."

"Now, Theodora," Baily coaxed, "we talked about this. You agreed. So stop being so stubborn and move your tail."

Reluctantly the cat joined her. An indignant mew at Baily's feet let her know it wasn't without complaint. It was obvious Theodora wasn't at all happy about moving, but she apparently knew she wasn't going to have any say in the matter.

Janice shook her head in wonder. "You treat that animal like a human. It's not natural, you know."

"Shh. Do you want her to hear you? You know how she gets when someone reminds her that she wasn't the president of the United States. I know I'm encouraging her delusions, but it's less crying this way." Baily gazed down upon the black ball of fluff with loving adoration. "Are you ready, Madam President?"

"Meow." Theodora practically sighed, as if she realized she had no choice.

"Tell me again which of you is the delusional one?" Janice asked under her breath, not exactly sure she wanted an answer.

The two friends made their way out of the apartment with the President in tow. Baily popped the trunk of her antique yellow Volkswagen Bug and shoved the suitcases in place. There was a litter box already set up in the back seat and a six-pack of Diet Pepsi on ice in the passenger's seat. Baily was ready.

"Are you sure you are okay driving across the country by yourself? What about the maniacs that prey on helpless women?" Janice wondered out loud.

"Way to put me at ease." Baily had driven out to Seattle with her brother, Nick, the first time. At the time, Seattle had seemed as far away from New Jersey as she could get. Nick, a Philadelphia police officer, had insisted that she be accompanied. Currently he was rebounding from a nasty divorce and was unfit company for fish. No way Baily wanted to put up with his ex-wife bashing for three thousand miles. Which meant that this was a solo trip. She wasn't exactly thrilled about that, but she also had to be practical. Besides, how dangerous could it be?

Okay, so maybe she was a little nervous. But she was tough. One had to be to be a Monohan. Just in case, she'd packed a can of Mace.

"Be careful. And whatever you do, don't pick up hitchhikers." Janice threw her arms around Baily and clung tight. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too." Baily situated herself in her car and drove off. Through semi-watery eyes, she watched as Janice became smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror. The next time Baily looked up, Janice was gone.

"Well, Theodora, it's just you and me. Are you ready to go home?"

"Meow."

"Me, too."

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from Baily's Irish Dream/Czech Mate by Stephanie Doyle Copyright © 2002 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited
Excerpted by permission. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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