Molly followed. “That's right. Ask the dog. You wouldn't let a child wander in the forest alone, so why let a dog?”
He laughed. “You've once again proved that you have no clue what you're talking about. Hudson doesn't wander in the forest. He takes a trail from my cabin into town. He then walks past all the houses, stopping to visit his dog friends along the way. Everyone knows him.”
“You have everyone else looking after your dog because you aren't doing it yourself? That's splendid.”
“I don't think we are going to see eye-to-eye on this one. Hudson and I will go now. Thank you for giving him attention this morning. I expect he will be back tomorrow.”
Molly sighed as he climbed into his truck and slammed the door. The dog stared out the windshield expectantly, only turning away to kiss Rick on the cheek with his tongue.
“How odd,” Molly grumbled to herself as she watched them pull away. “Back tomorrow. Some people shouldn’t own dogs.”
She tidied up her site, then grabbed her wallet and keys. There was no point in sitting around her campsite getting frustrated over Rick and his stubbornness. She had better things to do, like walk to town where she could enjoy a good cup of coffee. She needed one after the morning she had, but first, she needed to stop by the office and let the woman at the front desk know what she thought. No one should be permitted to let their dog roam through the campground. Having a spat with a pet owner was not how she had pictured spending her vacation. Same with worrying about a dog wandering alone through the woods.
Rick was lucky his dog finds his way. One of these days, he might not make it to his destination. Her heart sank at the thought.
She stepped into the office where the host sat at her desk laughing on her phone. It was the most animated Molly had ever seen her, until the woman spotted her. The laughter disappeared.
“I will have to call you back,” she said in a monotone voice before hanging up her phone. “Can I help you?”
“Good morning,” Molly said. She cleared her throat and tried to settle her emotions. “I have a question,” she said. “There has been a dog wandering around the campground—”
“Yes, yes. That would be Hudson.” She slid her crossword puzzle off the desk and onto her lap. “Rick will be by to pick him up any time now.”
“Don't you think that's odd?”
“What? That he comes to get his dog?” The woman shook her head and raised her crossword puzzle into view.
“No. That he allows it to wander free.”
The woman held a pencil to the paper and shifted her gaze away from Molly and onto the puzzle. “It doesn't bother me any. Hudson is nice enough and is good with kids. As long as he doesn't cause any trouble, he's welcome here. The guests cause more trouble than he does.” She waved her hand to dismiss Molly.
A dog wandering free and visiting her campsite is less of a nuisance than the people who pay to stay? This town had a unique approach to caring for animals and a different view of customer service.
She backed out of the office, sensing an even greater need to get away from the campsite and distract herself with a good cup of coffee. If she were the only one concerned about the dog, she would have to let it go. Besides calling Animal Control, there was nothing more she could do. In her frustration, she was making good time stomping along the path into town. It also helped her remain warm. Molly could understand not wanting to change a dog's routine, and the old boy didn't look to be suffering. She just wanted to know he was safe, loved, and protected. Anything could happen in the big world outside one's backyard. Molly would know. She wasn’t in her own backyard anymore. She was in a small town where people let their dogs run free, and the coffee shop…
…was closed on Sundays.
Molly stood at the locked doors of the café. Now what was she going to do?
Chapter Nine
The resort guests did more damage to his fence this year than in years past, and Rick had grown tired of the repairs. It was ridiculous and costly to erect a fence in the middle of the woods, but it deterred people from entering his property with their rented off-road vehicles. In the summer, they rode dirt bikes and ATVs. In the winter, they drove snowmobiles. Signs identifying his land as private property didn’t deter them, and even if the resort marked trails for them to follow, the more adventurous guests wanted to make their own path, bringing them into Rick’s backyard.
Even with the fence in place, it didn’t matter. Guests took down the boards to make room for their vehicles to pass through. While they may have assumed they were being sneaky, it was impossible for them to hide the noise from their motors as they cut through the woods on their way to town and back.
Rick’s complaints to Robert got him nowhere. Every time, Robert gave him empty promises to mark the trails and request guests sign a waiver declaring the vehicles would remain on the path. The guests still came and from what he had observed, Robert created no additional paths on resort property. It had only grown worse, as if Robert didn’t care or encouraged it, hoping if the resort guests annoyed Rick enough, and disrupted his life, maybe Rick would be more willing to sell? Not going to happen. He would keep making repairs and, if needed, he would continue improving the fence into something indestructible.
He should have taken a break already. His hands and back ached, but Rick remained determined to fix the fence, or at least continue to distract himself from that insufferable woman at the campground, Molly. Who did she think she was, telling him how to care for Hudson? She accused him of not caring when that was far from the truth.
Rick glanced over his shoulder at the dog lying on his side next to a tree in the shade. Having already explored for the day, Hudson followed Rick into the woods to watch him work. Watching soon turned into taking a nap, and he woofed and batted his paws in the air in his sleep. She had called Rick irresponsible and said he shouldn’t make others look after Hudson. Molly did not understand. Everyone loved Hudson and would feed him treats when he visited. If she had paid any attention in the campground office, she would find a little box by the office door full of dog treats for campers to give him.
As an urbanite like his family, she had her opinions she wanted to push onto him and anyone else she met. Women like her had led him to swear off relationships for the time being. He wouldn’t have another person try to control his life like his parents, and was determined to find someone who appreciated his lifestyle. There was no place for preachy city folk in Lemon Grove.
He grumbled and slammed a nail into the fence board. There he was, thinking about her again. While the fence needed repairs, he worked for longer than intended to erase any memories of their encounter. Swinging a hammer felt good on the first twenty boards, but it grew tiresome and soon failed to achieve the effect he was hoping for. Even in the middle of the woods, hammer in hand, fence boards being mended, he still couldn’t get her beautiful petite features out of his mind.
As she was giving him a piece of her mind, he found the fire in her eyes to be even more captivating than the shy sparkle he saw the days before. He flustered her and he knew it. While angering a woman was not the way to win one over, he found some amusement in how they sparred over the care of Hudson… at least, it amused him for a short while. He even liked how her feistiness brought out a little crease above her right eyebrow.
An argument was not something to build a relationship on. She viewed him as an incompetent pet owner, but he wasn’t about to change how he cared for Hudson. He would decide how to care for him and not some visitor from the city, no matter how cute she was. All city folks were the same: loud, opinionated, and selfish. He recognized now that she was not as quiet as she appeared and, through her volume alone, shared her opinions on his pet ownership with the entire campground. The jury was still out on if she was also selfish.
He checked his watch and discovered it was almost time for lunch. The morning went by fast, as he had spent more time thinking about her than about the work being done. It was a blessing
and a curse.
Rick drilled the last screws into the new railing, securing it to the freshly dug post, and took a step back. He had come a long way from the white-collar lifestyle he had been born into. His father never got his hands dirty and had never mentored Rick in the ways of home repair. Rick learned by watching the repairmen his family hired, being the annoying child peppering them with his constant line of questions. Over the years, Rick had discovered personal satisfaction in physical labor, especially when it involved swinging a hammer. Were he born into any other family, someone would have nurtured his skills and interests. Luckily, the community of Lemon Grove assisted him with any knowledge gaps he had.
The cabin needed work when he bought it, but that never bothered Rick. At the time, his father understood Rick was flipping the house to resell it and didn’t raise too much of a fuss. When Rick announced he intended to move in long-term, his father could no longer hold on to the belief that Rick had been fixing up the cabin for profit. Spinning the conversation to invite the family to stay there as a vacation home softened the blow, but it took time for them to comprehend he would not be coming back to the city.
They tried everything to bring him back home, and their plans almost worked… until they didn’t. Setting him up had almost worked, but his parents would never forgive him for calling off his engagement to Valerie. If he had married her, he would have committed himself to a doomed marriage and a city life. For a time, Valerie feigned interest in his outdoorsy lifestyle by participating in the occasional adventure. She even posted the odd picture to social media of her experience… although he assumed the role of photographer and followed her direction to frame the photo to her liking. At first, he laughed at her poses, which looked unnatural in an outdoor setting, and how she deleted anything she didn’t like. He never understood the need for the multiple filters she applied, adding a whimsical, otherworldly twist to the mountain backdrop. Soon, he found the role of social media photojournalist tiresome.
After a year and a few months, Rick realized they both were trying too hard to make the relationship work and staying together would have made them both miserable. His family viewed their breakup as a mistake. Their marriage would have created a business empire, as her parents ran an equally successful company, and if the two families worked together, they might have merged the two companies. His parents saw dollar signs, but Rick saw potential family drama.
The longer the relationship dragged on, the more he sought refuge at his home in the woods and avoided commutes back. Wanting to limit his travel became the deal breaker for Valerie. She all but demanded he change his mind and return full-time to the city. His parents’ plan of encouraging his relationship with Valerie as a tool to convince him to return home failed, and the experience left him wondering if the next girl he met knew his parents or not. If steering clear of relationships helped him avoid drama, Rick would make the sacrifice… at least until he knew for sure.
Rick sighed and gave the post a shake. After the work he did to secure it, the post wouldn’t be going anywhere unless someone tampered with it. A laugh erupted from within. How foolish had he been to think running to a small town would help him avoid drama? It followed him here. Robert Fletcher with his plot to purchase his cabin, and his parents’ constant badgering to convince him to move home. Now, Molly the opinionated girl from the city with the cute but predictable outfit. There was no escaping the drama with the latest caused by his dog.
He turned and slapped the side of his leg. Hudson stretched and rose to his feet.
“Hey, buddy.” Holding out his hand, Rick knelt and waited for Hudson to wander over for attention. “Are you hungry?”
Hudson lifted his ears and opened his mouth, panting as Rick scratched the top of the dog’s head.
“Let’s go inside and look for something to eat.”
Hudson’s front paws lifted in a hop before trotting alongside Rick in the cabin's direction. Rick could trust Hudson. This dog was loyal and would never try to push Rick toward a relationship for his own gain, unless that someone had treats.
* * *
The instant coffee wasn’t at all the same level of quality as what she might have enjoyed if she bought a freshly brewed cup at the coffee shop, but it hit the spot. If only the coffee did more to soothe the lingering burn of anger she experienced from that morning. Molly would be lucky to get her mind off of the arrogance Rick had shown when he argued with her over the obvious. How could he believe he was doing right by the dog, by letting it roam through the woods unattended? Where she came from, pet owners faced fines from Animal Control for far less, yet in Lemon Grove no one seemed to care. Even the campground host was unconcerned when Molly attempted to talk to her about the issue. The host was clearly among those women blinded by Rick’s handsome looks. Looks would only get Rick so far, especially with such an obviously flawed character.
Molly took another sip of coffee and spat it back into her cup. Instant granules had settled into the bottom of the cup, giving her a mouthful of ground bean powder. “Ugh. Gross.”
Nothing about this day was going well. While the trip had started out promising, it was falling apart like she knew it would. First, it was the rain that dampened her site, then Rick who wouldn’t even consider her concerns, and now she couldn’t even enjoy a cup of coffee. What would be next? A hole in her tent? Stepping on a beehive? Molly intended this to be a relaxing trip with opportunities for her to clear her head, but it was turning into nothing like the vacation Carla had painted in her mind when she insisted Molly get away for a few days. This vacation was full of stressful situations, and while they might have taken her mind off her previous concerns, the situations were not bringing her peace or relaxation.
It was Carla’s fault Molly shivered in a campsite with an inadequate cup of coffee. Carla would be at the coffee shop breathing in the smell of fresh beans, thinking Molly was having a great time away when it was far from the truth. She needed an update.
Molly pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed. Carla had to know what was happening, so it wouldn’t surprise her when Molly walked into work several days earlier than planned.
“How is paradise?” Carla chirped exactly as expected.
Molly laughed and swirled the coffee grounds in a circle at the bottom of her cup. “I need to get my money back due to false advertising.”
The background noise of the busy coffee shop subsided as Carla moved to the back of the store. “What’s wrong? You’re not enjoying yourself? I heard the weather was good out that way.”
“There was some rain, but it cleared up.”
“Then why are you being so gloomy?”
“It’s the people here. They’re… different.”
Carla let out a loud laugh. “You’re different.”
“Shut up.” Carla knew how to break her out of her negative mood. A little gentle teasing always made her laugh.
“So, what’s the deal? Where are you at?”
“I’m at Lemon Grove Campground, which is nice when I don’t have to pay a fortune for the showers. The host has no personality unless Rick comes by.”
“Who is Rick?”
Molly glanced over her shoulder at the half-empty campground. Given the number of times she had bumped into him, the odds were good he’d be standing behind her as she gave Carla her report. “He’s this guy who lives in the area that all the women love.”
“Oh?” Carla’s tone communicated her curiosity and flirtatious spirit. A man the women loved must have sounded to her like an opportunity.
“You wouldn’t like him. I don’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because he is a jerk.” Molly paused and shook her head. “Maybe that’s too harsh. He’s not a jerk, but he doesn’t take care of his dog.”
“How do you know he doesn’t take care of it?”
The campground was still empty, with no sign of the dog. Where the dog was, Rick would soon be.
“His dog is old, and he lets it wa
nder from his house all the way to the campground every day, and then he comes by to pick it up. He claims everyone in town is fine with it and doesn’t see the problem with allowing an old dog to walk alone through the woods where it could get injured or lost. I thought he was a nice guy until he showed me how stubborn he was.”
“Have you seen him more than once?”
It had been comical the number of times she had bumped into him around town, and now she wanted to avoid him. Had this been the city, she would only see someone this often if they were a frequent customer at the coffee shop or if they took the same bus. So far, she had seen him in three different locations: the campground, coffee shop, and the general store. Hopefully that would be the end of their encounters.
“We keep running into each other. The town isn’t that big, so you always see the same people.”
“But he was nice?”
“Yes. He was polite whenever I saw him, until this morning.”
“What happened this morning?”
Molly stared down at her feet and the bare patch of gravel where the dog had earlier settled to rest. She could see where the dog’s body had pushed away stones, forming an outline of the dog’s back and legs.
“His dog came to my campsite like it had done a couple of times before. I thought it was lost and was getting concerned that someone had abandoned it. Then Rick showed up asking if I had seen his dog, so when he told me it was his and how old the poor thing was…” Molly paused as she felt her breathing increase, along with her volume.
“What did you do?” Carla asked. Her question wasn’t backed by curiosity. Carla and Molly had locked heads before over the direction of their business, and Carla had witnessed Molly’s stubbornness firsthand. It was why Molly felt defensive the moment she heard her friend ask what happened next.
“I didn’t do anything,” Molly shot back. “All I did was point out how his dog was old and he shouldn’t allow it to walk through the woods alone.”
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