by Renee George
Abby nodded. “I miss her, too.”
“How long ago did she die?” I asked.
“Eight years now,” Abby said. “Still feels like yesterday sometimes.”
A knock at the door drew our attention. Paula Jackson was standing just outside the room. “Abby, you have a phone call at the desk.”
“Thanks,” she said. “I guess that’s my cue.”
“I’m Lily, by the way.”
“Abby.”
I gestured at her badge and smiled. “I figured. I’m glad Opal’s in such good hands.”
Abby nodded. “I better go. Could be a doctor or a family member. Neither of them likes to be kept waiting.”
“I bet,” I said. After she left, I turned back to Opal. “Did you choose this place because of her?”
“You’re quite the detective, Lily Mason.”
“She seems really nice.”
“Abby’s a good girl. Terrible taste in men. But a good girl all the same. After Ella died, we stayed close.”
I looked around the small, crowded room. “What does Pearl think about all this?”
“She’s ready for me to come home. She hates coming here. I think she’s worried I’m going to die or something. I try to tell her it’s temporary. The doctor said I only need about two weeks of rehab, and I can already walk the length of the hall and back before it starts hurting too much, but you know Pearl.”
“I’ll check on her, and I’ll get Buzz and Parker to do it as well.” Uncle Buzz had gotten back from California a week ago, where he and Nadine Booth, one of my best friends and a sheriff’s deputy, had gone to see a therianthrope fertility specialist who had been making strides in cross-species mating. In other words, he had figured out how to make human-shifter babies. Buzz had gone the requisite four months without shifting and suffered all the ups and downs that came with ignoring our second nature—lack of control and severe mood swings being the biggies—in order for them to have a child together.
They hadn’t said much about the trip since their return, and I didn’t press them. Whatever they’d learned, Buzz had started shifting on the full moon again. I really hoped that the fertility clinic hadn’t been a complete failure, but I can’t say I was sorry he’d started shifting into cougar form again.
Regardless of anything else going on in his life, Buzz would still want to help the Dixon sisters. Of that, I was certain.
I could see relief soften the lines around Opal’s eyes. “It sure would be a load off my mind.”
I put my hand on her shoulder and was surprised at how fragile and bony it felt. “I’ll be sure to come and visit you, too, until you’re back at home. I better get back to Hannah and Smiley in the rec room. You should come down.”
“Another time,” Opal said.
I walked down the hall toward the activity room. A dark-haired woman I recognized stood in front of a rolling cart, reading a flip chart as she popped pills out of a bubble card into small cups.
“Lacy?”
Lacy Evans startled at the sound of her name. She looked up at me, not exactly friendly, but not with any real animosity. We would never be close, but the young single mother had done a lot of growing up since I’d first arrived in Moonrise. Her mother, Freda, worked for Buzz at the diner, and she’d told me that Lacy had passed the entrance exams for the LPN (licensed practical nursing) program at Two Hills Community College. I knew she’d been taking some classes since we’d both passed our GED, but I hadn’t run into her in months.
“Hi, Lily,” she said, then immediately turned her attention back to the chart.
Silly girl. I wasn't so easily deterred. “Your mom says you got into the nursing program. Congratulations.”
She smiled. “I did. I just started the program. Moonrise Manor is going to help me pay for the classes. All I have to do is give them a two-year commitment to work as a charge nurse. I got my CMT, certified medication technician, a few weeks ago.” She beamed with pride.
“That’s great, Lacy. I’m so glad to hear you’re doing well.” After she’d been fired as Jock Simmons’ secretary, money had been tight, according to Freda. Lacy had had to move out of her house and into a small apartment in town.
“Thanks.”
“How’s Paulie doing?” Paulie was her son, a child born out of an affair Lacy’d had with a married man. A man who turned out to be a murderer.
“Paulie’s great. He’s starting to talk in full sentences now. He’s really smart.”
“Just like his mom,” I said. Lacy was intelligent, even if she didn’t always act it, and the kindness cost me nothing.
She smiled at the compliment then put her hand on the chart. “Well, I best get back to work.”
I nodded. “Don’t let me hold you up. It’s nice to see you.”
When I arrived at the activity room door, Hannah and Smiley were putting smiles on everyone’s faces. It never ceased to amaze me what the unconditional acceptance and love of a dog could do for people of all ages. I swear some of the folks in the room looked younger and more vital than when I’d left.
Abby sat at the nurses’ station desk, still on the phone. She looked distressed.
“I understand,” she said, her face red and pinched. “Yes. Yes, I understand. The doctor thinks it’s necessary. I’m sorry.” Pause. “She won’t even have to leave. We will do it on site. I’m…I’m sorry you feel that way.”
She must have caught me watching from the corner of her eye because she glanced in my direction with an apologetic smile. I nodded and headed into the activity room, gladder than ever that I chose a veterinarian path and not a nurse’s life.
Chapter 2
The next afternoon, Parker Knowles, my part-time boss and full-time boyfriend, poured me a glass of iced tea while Smooshie, my all-of-the-time furbaby, rammed her giant head between my knees and demanded butt scratches. I had Saturday off, for once, and we’d spent most of the morning in bed. When my stomach growled louder than the dog’s, we decided we’d better get up before my body started eating itself.
“Poor Opal,” Parker said. “Must be hard for her to give up her independence, even if only for a short time.” He laid out eight pieces of bread and began to liberally smear mayonnaise on them.
“I’d say two weeks is more than a short time.” I lifted the glass out of the way and set it on the dining room table when Smooshie brought her head up into my lap.
“You almost wore it,” Parker said. The corner of his mouth quirked up. “She adores you.” He stacked ham on four of the eight pieces, added some bacon he’d fried up first, and then covered them with thick tomato slices.
I placed my hands on either side of Smooshie’s jowls and kissed the top of her nose. “I adore her.”
He completed the sandwiches and cut them diagonally, then put six halves on my plate and two on his own.
“You got any more of those kisses for me?” He put the plate in front of me then sat on the chair next to mine and leaned in for a smooch. I obliged him, pressing my lips against his with a sweet kiss that promised more heat later. His half smile turned into a full-blown grin. “It’s nice. The two of us like this.”
“I agree,” I said. Parker and I spent most days and nights together, enough that he had a drawer in my trailer, and I had two at his place.
“I have more ham if you want another sandwich.”
I took a bite, my stomach protesting when I didn’t immediately gobble the rest down. “I may need more.” I giggled. “I worked off a lot of calories last night.”
“We sure did.” He took my hands in his. “And we should really think about making our situation more permanent.”
We’d had this conversation before. As much as I wouldn’t have minded living with Parker, I liked having my own space out in the country. My fixer-upper house was nearly livable, and the ten acres it sat on was wooded enough for me to shift into my cougar form whenever I wanted. I lived for that freedom, especially since I worked two jobs, carried a full load of c
lasses, and was trying to have a life on top of all of it. “You know I can’t move to town.”
He tucked one of my loose curls behind my ears. His touch, as always, raised a longing in me.
“I like how nervous you get when I talk about us living together. It’s cute.” He said it in a way that was meant to be teasing, but I could see how much I hurt him every time I said no.
“I’m sorry.”
He stood, and Elvis, his Great Dane-pit bull mix, got up from a mat near the back door and walked over to stand next to him. Smooshie took the opportunity to flank the mammoth dog and sniff his butt. Elvis whacked her across the face with his lethal tail. She jumped back and looked at me.
I shrugged. “That’s what happens when you stick your big nose where it doesn’t belong.”
Parker chuckled.
“What?”
“I think sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong runs in the family.”
I laughed. “Touché.” Not minding my own business had gotten me into plenty of trouble since I’d moved to Moonrise. “But I’ve turned over a new leaf.” If I never had another mystery to solve it would be too soon. “I’m just an average college student trying to earn her way through academia.”
“Who changes into a cougar and occasionally gets to hang out with witches.” His face lit up when he said it.
“That too,” I agreed. A few months back, I’d taken Parker to my best friend Hazel’s wedding. To say things got explosive was putting it mildly. Parker had put himself in the thick of the action, and we’d taken down a homicidal warlock together. I worried the episode would trigger his PTSD, but he’d taken the whole fight in stride. “But I’m avoiding violence and dead bodies from now on.”
He dipped down and kissed my forehead. “I love you.”
He said it often, but still, my heart did a little backflip every time I heard the words. “I love you, too.” I smiled. “Hey, do you want to go with me to visit Opal? Buzz is going to see Pearl today and take her some reheatable dinners. I want to let Opal know so she won’t worry about her sister.”
Opal Dixon—a last name I was certain didn’t belong to her or Pearl—had left Vegas under murky circumstances. Opal had shot Pearl’s husband for beating her sister, and then they’d absconded with all the money in his safe. Unfortunately, that money had belonged to the mob. Moonrise had become the sisters’ version of witness protection. Pearl didn’t seem frail at all, but Opal worried about her. I couldn’t blame her. I knew what it was like to feel responsible for a younger sibling. I only wished I could have saved Danny the way Opal had saved Pearl.
“I’d like to, but I can’t. I’m meeting a couple looking to adopt at the shelter in an hour.”
"I thought you were taking the day off."
"I am." He smiled. "Mostly."
"Besides, you want to check on Dave, right?"
"You know me so well."
Dave was a new pup we'd taken on, and his progress had been slower than either of us liked. “I can go with you. We can go see Opal after,” I said hopefully.
Parker nodded. “That works for me.” He hesitated. “Theresa is working today.”
I sighed. “I know. We can be in the same room together. We’re still friends. Just taking a small break, is all.” Although, by my estimation, four months was a pretty big break.
When her husband was killed back in May, Theresa Simmons’ father, the ex-sheriff of Moonrise, had tried to railroad my uncle Buzz on a bogus murder charge, all to protect his daughter and cover up his wife’s shady business deals that involved illegal gambling and local government corruption. And because of my investigation, Sheriff Avery had lost his job, and he and his wife had barely escaped a prison sentence.
“It’s not your fault,” Parker said. “Sheriff Avery got off lucky.” Anger flared in his eyes. “As far as I’m concerned, he should be rotting in a jail cell.”
Did I mention that Avery pulled a gun on me? And because of his bungling of the case, the real killer almost turned me into another victim.
I didn’t blame Theresa for wanting distance from me. When my parents were killed, through no fault of their own, I couldn’t stand the way the townsfolk in Paradise Falls looked at me. Like I was an animal to be pitied. The people in Moonrise viewed Theresa much the same. Since her dad had been an elected official, there wasn’t a single place in the community where Theresa could escape his notoriety. On top of that, she was a six-month-pregnant widow, and the father of the baby wasn’t her dead ex, but a younger man she’d been having an affair with for the past two or three years.
The events surrounding the Averys and the Simmonses would give gossipmongers something to talk about for years to come.
“I’ll take the dogs out if you want to jump in the shower.” I’d showered when Parker had gone to the kitchen to get lunch started.
He sniffed his arms. “Do I smell bad?”
“Never,” I told him. Honestly, he smelled of honey and mint all the time, thanks to our mate bond. “You could roll around in pig poop and you’d still smell delicious.”
“I’ll bear that in mind the next time I hang out with pigs.” He kissed me. “You could join me if you were of a mind to.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist. “I am totally of a mind to.”
The new rescue shelter was finally complete, but the place still needed monthly donations for utilities, food, medical procedures and medicines, toys, and hygiene stuff like shampoo, laundry detergent, and so on. We’d also had a lot of storms lately, and Theresa had put thunder vests at the top of our want-list on the website. Some of the dogs we saved reacted badly to loud noises and the vests help to soothe their nerves. I’d read somewhere that CBD oil could help with extreme stress, but I wanted to study it some more before I brought it up to Parker. He’d made me a partner at the rescue since I’d donated a big portion of the money for construction, but I didn’t feel comfortable making big decisions about new treatments for the dogs without running it by him first.
After we pulled in, I took Smooshie around back to one of the fenced-in play areas. She was a lovable ball of energy who liked to be the center of attention. In other words, she would try to steal the spotlight from the dogs up for adoption, and she was so cute, she would probably succeed. I’m biased when it comes to Smooshie, though, so maybe not, but there was no sense in taking chances.
Parker had gone inside without me. Elvis, his pupper, knew how to behave with company. PTSD service dogs, like all service dogs, go through extensive training for more than a year, and it had cost Parker a pretty penny. Elvis and the comfort he brought Parker made him worth every last cent.
I’d been trying to train Smooshie on basic commands, and she had gotten pretty good at sit and stay, as long as I was looking at her. The moment I’d turn my back is the moment she stopped sitting and staying.
I walked into the shelter after putting Smooshie out to play, the hall smelling faintly of bleach. I peeked into the open office door before entering. Theresa sat at the desk, diligently working on the website. She had inherited all of her husband’s property, money, investments, and she’d even benefited from a generous life insurance payout, so she didn’t have to work. She had given up her paid position, and she’d made a sizeable donation to the center from the sale of Jock’s house.
Even so, she’d insisted on staying as long as Parker wanted her there. He’d been grateful for her generous donation and offer, and he accepted it, as long as Theresa agreed to stay a board member. She had. Thanks to her money and efforts, we could pay the basic bills without any more money coming in if times got hard.
I was just glad we had enough money to take on some of the tougher rescues, where a lot of expensive medical care was necessary. Our latest rescue, Dave, a brindle pit bull, tall like a mastiff, had been found tied to a tree in the woods two counties north of us, severely emaciated, a horrible infection in his right eye, and both ears had been damaged, most likely from fights. Ryan Petry, my other boss,
and the local veterinarian, had given us antibiotics and drops for Dave’s eye, but he didn’t have a lot of hope it would heal on its own. Chances were, Dave was going to need to have his eye removed.
It was stories like Dave’s that made me question humanity. However, watching the valiant efforts of the volunteers and foster families reminded me that most people were good at their core, and that, like apples, one rotten person didn’t spoil the bunch.
I had only seen Theresa a handful of times over the past few months, so I was surprised to see how far her belly stuck out while she was seated. She pivoted her chair toward me and caught me looking.
She put her hand on top of the curve. “Getting big,” she said.
“You look great,” I said and wasn’t lying or embellishing the truth. Her skin was luminescent. It would be cliché to say she had a pregnancy glow, because I’d seen some pregnant women whose skin looked like it had been hammered by a meat tenderizer, but in Theresa’s case it was true. “Being pregnant suits you.”
Her smile warmed. “Thanks, Lily. Where’s Smoosh?”
“I put her in the north play area.
She looked past me as Parker entered the room. “The Meyers will be here soon. Keith has got Dot, Bean Blossom, Sweet Pea, and Carly ready to show them,” she said to him.
I gave her a curious look after she’d listed off the names.
“They want to adopt a female,” Theresa said.
“Is Dot ready for adoption?” Dot had been struggling with her training classes.
“She passed her good citizen’s test yesterday,” Parker said. He draped his arm across my shoulder. “I meant to tell you last night, but after you finished telling me about Opal, I forgot.”
“Opal?” Theresa asked. “What’s going on with her?”
I didn’t see any harm in sharing Opal’s situation. “She broke her hip. She’s at the Moonrise Manor nursing home to get the rehab she needs to get back on her feet. I’ve organized some people to check in on Pearl and visit Opal so neither of them gets lonely.”