Bark to the Future (An Alpine Grove Romantic Comedy Book 5)

by Susan C. Daffron

  Beth unlocked the back door, entered the storage room, and locked the door behind her. She turned her head to look around the room. Wow. Mom wasn’t kidding. Stacks of boxes filled with books were everywhere. A narrow pathway meandered through the boxes toward the front of the store. There was no way Mom could fit even one-tenth of these books into the shelves. Sorting through this mess could take most of the rest of her life.

  Beth bent to open a box and peek inside. She sighed at the contents. Mom, why do you always do this? The box was filled with old textbooks and reference materials no one would ever want again. A complete set of the 1953 Encyclopedia Britannica suffering from water damage not only smelled bad, but the information was so out of date that no one would consider opening the pages ever again. Ugh.

  Beth continued to the front of the store and turned to look at the clock on the wall. Five minutes until the store opened. Taking a deep breath, she pressed the power button on the computer and typed the password. The icons on the desktop included an inventory program that Beth had never seen before and spreadsheets with names that indicated they probably contained accounting information. There also was a point-of-sale program. Was Mom really using that? She had always preferred writing out receipts by hand and using the old-fashioned cash register that still sat on the writing desk. Beth pulled a notepad out of the desk drawer and began listing questions to ask her mother that evening.

  Beth unlocked the front door and settled in behind the writing desk with the Michael Connolly novel she’d been eyeing the day before. She reluctantly looked away from the pages as the front-door bells jingled. She gripped the cover more tightly as a somewhat portly man with gray hair and a long overcoat walked in. Beth smiled as politely as she could. “May I help you?”

  The man looked startled. “Who are you? Where is Margaret?”

  Beth stood up and tried to look attentive and friendly instead of uncomfortable and panicky. “I’m Elizabeth Connolly, Margaret’s daughter.”

  His expression was downcast. “Oh, I was hoping to see Margaret. I guess I’ll just be going then.”

  “Did you want to look at any of our books?”

  “No. ‘Bye.”

  Beth sat back down in the chair with a thump. Even when she tried to be friendly and not behave like a mutant geek, she still seemed to repel people. You would think that after years of working on her shyness, it wouldn’t still be so hard. Why couldn’t she just be a normal person?

  Later, the bells jangled again and Beth looked up from her reading. She had been absently spinning a pencil around in her hand and she stopped and put it down on the desk. “May I help you?”

  The woman walked across the store to Beth and pointed at her. “I know you!”

  Beth shook her head. “I’m sorry, have we met?”

  “Beth! It’s me! Danielle! We were in history class together. I’m back for the reunion.”

  The short woman had blonde curly hair and a face that resembled no one Beth had ever seen before. Who was this person? Beth managed a feeble smile. “Hi Danielle. It’s great to see you again.”

  “How have you been? Do you still live here? Wasn’t this your mom’s store? Did you take it over?”

  “Uh, no. I live in Tucson…Tucson, Arizona. I’m just visiting for my mother’s birthday. It’s coming up soon.”

  Danielle flipped back a curl from her face. “Aren’t you going to come to the reunion? You have to come! It’s this weekend, and I’m on the committee. We’re going to have such a good time. There is going to be an eighties trivia contest and an open bar!”

  “I don’t think so.” Beth looked down at her hands in her lap. They weren’t shaking too badly. “My mother is incapacitated at the moment, so I need to help out here at the store.”

  “The reunion is at night.” Danielle turned her head to look out the plate glass window. “Unless things have radically changed, nothing in Alpine Grove is open past five, except the dive bars.”

  “Oh. Well, that’s true. But I should assist her at home too.”

  Danielle’s eyes widened. “Wow, is your mom really sick? Like, is she going to die? It’s fatal isn’t it? Oh Beth, I’m so sorry! I’ll tell everyone on the reunion committee. We’ll send her flowers!”

  Beth’s jaw dropped. “No! Puh…please, please don’t do that.” In twenty minutes, word would spread throughout town and all of Alpine Grove was going to think her mother was at death’s door. “My mother is okay. Really! She just slipped on the ice and bruised her…I mean…she bruised a bone in her back. And pulled some muscles. She just needs to rest for a few days.”

  Danielle gave Beth a knowing look. “Well then, that means you can come to the reunion, doesn’t it?”

  “I suppose so.” Her shoulders slumped. Noooo!

  “Great! I’ll tell everybody. And remember, you promised. I’ll make up a name badge for you today. We’re putting everyone’s yearbook picture on the badges so we can tell who is who.”

  Beth tried not to cringe. “That sounds like a good idea.” Maybe she’d figure out who Danielle actually was at this execrable event. She cleared her throat, hoping it would indicate a change of subject. “So are you interested in finding a particular book?”

  “No, I’m just going to look around. I sort of forgot that there’s nothing to do here and my husband ditched me for the afternoon.”

  Beth pointed at the display of mysteries. “The new Michael Connelly novel is out. It’s one of the ones with the character of Harry Bosch. I’m reading it and it’s quite good.”

  Danielle’s curls bobbed back and forth. “Never heard of him. Oh, but here’s one from A.J. Emerson. His stuff is totally awesome!” She picked up a book and handed it to Beth. “Check out the photo on the back cover too. Isn’t he a hottie?”

  Beth flipped the book over. “Well, that’s certainly an artificial-looking studio shot. It’s clearly a spurious representation of an idealized novelist.”

  “What?”

  Beth held the photo up in front of her. “Don’t you think that photo looks fake?”

  “No!” Danielle shook her head vigorously. “I know A.J. Emerson is totally real. That’s him. I’m positive! I read an interview in People magazine with him, and he even sounds hot. There’s sexy stuff in the books too, so he’s just got to be scorching. I’m sure of it.”

  “Would you like a receipt?” Beth held up the little book, flapping the carbonless pages back and forth.

  “No. I don’t need a bag either. I’m just going to walk back to the hotel and start reading. My husband is watching the game at the 311. Ten minutes in town and he’s already at the scuzziest bar with the cheapest beer.”

  “I guess you don’t like sports?”

  “Beth! I was a cheerleader, remember? Of course, I like sports. But I don’t like the 311. It’s still disgusting. Even more disgusting than the H12 motel. I can’t believe Glenn wouldn’t spring for a room at the Enchanted Moose. That’s where the reunion is and I’m on the committee! Now I have to drive all the way out there, back and forth.”

  “I’m sorry.” The drive had to be at least fifteen whole minutes with all that bumper-to-bumper Alpine Grove rush-hour traffic. Sheesh.

  Danielle looked up at the clock on the wall. “It’s getting late—I should go! I am not going to have time to read Mr. Dreamy’s book, after all. I need to go drag Glenn out of the bar and get to The Moose. There’s a meeting of the decorating committee.”

  A flash of memory hit Beth. “Wait, you’re married to Glenn Eisenhower?”

  “Of course. Don’t you remember? He was my high school sweetheart. We have three kids now, but fortunately they’re back in Tulsa with their grandma. So we’re gonna par-teee! I can’t wait! I’ll see you on Saturday.”

  Beth sat back down heavily. This was unbelievable. That manipulative cheerleader had actually talked her into going to the reunion. Mom had better appreciate the fact that she’d agreed to go to this idiotic event for her, because if she hadn’t, Danielle would
have busied herself planning Margaret’s funeral.

  At the end of the day, Beth gleefully locked the door of the bookstore and walked back home. One day over with! After the skittish man and the cheerleader, a few of Beth’s retail coping mechanisms returned and she had sold some books without feeling like an awkward, deviant refugee from high-tech Corporate America. Mom would be pleased.

  Beth opened the door and Arlo came rushing over, barking himself into a frenzy of furry sheltie madness. “Stop it Arlo! It’s just me.”

  Margaret called from the sofa, “Did you sell lots of books today, dear?”

  After completing the removal of her copious quantities of outerwear, Beth walked into the living room. “Yes, I did. It was hard at first, but it got better. And the new display you set up is great. Everyone seems drawn to it. You might need to order some more of those Sue Grafton books.”

  “That’s wonderful, Beth. Good for you! Please call the distributor tomorrow about those mysteries. The number is in the Rolodex.”

  “I will.” Beth moved a book and sat on the edge of the sofa. “There was a sort of odd guy who came in right after I opened the store though. He wanted to see you. An older man with gray hair?”

  Margaret nodded. “That’s Ralph.”

  “Ralph?”

  “I don’t know his last name.”

  “Oh, do you mean he’s from a meeting?”

  “Yes. If he needs to talk, he sometimes stops by right after I open because usually no one is there yet.”

  “Oops.” Beth gripped her necklace and made a face. “No wonder he was so disenchanted with me.”

  “It’s not a big deal, Beth. He can go to a meeting. There’s lots of support out there for him.”

  Beth gave her mother a half-smile. “So, does he have the hots for you or something?”

  “Oh please, Beth. It’s supposed to be anonymous. I prefer not to get involved with people in the program. I know people do, but it just feels too incestuous to me.”

  “I don’t even understand how AA works in a place like Alpine Grove. Nothing is anonymous here.”

  “I suppose there are a few challenges. But I have a wonderful community of friends. Jill came over today and we had a great talk. She’s feeling much better about the other librarian there now. They had a bit of a spat I think, but it’s all blown over.”

  Arlo put his paws on Beth’s knees, indicating he wanted to get into her lap. Beth hoisted him up. “Oh, and one more thing. I have to go to this horrid reunion after all. A cheerleader named Danielle came in and twisted my words around. I promised her I’d go.”

  Margaret clapped her hands together. “Oh that’s wonderful! You can take the daffodils over for them too.”

  “You mean plants? Really?” Mom knew better than to trust her with plants.

  “Yes, dear. The daffodil bulbs I forced are so pretty. Didn’t you see them in the sunroom? I told Jill that I can’t see them from here and those lovely blooms were just going to waste. We were talking and she said one of your classmates went to the library and was complaining about how they weren’t going to have any pretty flowers because the cost of arrangements from the florist was beyond their budget.”

  “So I have to take plants to the reunion?”

  “No, silly. Beforehand.” Margaret pushed herself up so she could reach over and pet Arlo. “On Friday. Just drive out to the Enchanted Moose after you close the store. You’ll get to meet everyone on the decorating committee.”

  “Great.” As if the reunion itself weren’t bad enough.

  “Oh and honey, we have a little problem with Arlo. Cindy came by to walk him, but she said she is going to have to go out of town and she needs a day or so to get everything organized with her son too. She suggested that I board Arlo for a few days at some boarding kennel north of town. I guess she spent Thanksgiving there with her brother. It was a somewhat confusing story and I had just taken some painkillers.” Margaret ruffled the dog’s ear playfully. “Anyway, the story doesn’t matter. You need to work at the store and I just can’t take care of him here until I feel better. This afternoon I called the woman who owns the place—Kat Stevens—and she’s delightful.”

  “So you want me to take Arlo out to this kennel?” Beth stroked the dog’s head. “Sorry, buddy.”

  “Well you know what will happen if he doesn’t get his walk. As it was, he had a little accident today. I think he’s stressed because he knows I’m not feeling well. Cindy helped me clean it up, but you might want to look around for other spots.”

  “When do you want me to take him there?”

  “Well, Cindy said she can walk him tomorrow, but it was obviously a problem. I think she’s only doing it because I begged. If you could take him out there tomorrow after you close the store that would be wonderful. Kat will be expecting you.”

  Beth sighed. Driving Arlo out to the sticks was not how she’d envisioned spending her Valentine’s Day. Graham was undoubtedly going to be having far more fun than she was. She held up her hand, counting off the tasks. “So I need to take Arlo on Wednesday and the daffodils on Friday. Is there anything else?”

  “Well, I think I might be well enough to go to a meeting on Thursday. I’d really like to go.”

  “Are they still out at the nondenominational church on the highway?”

  “Yes. The Thursday meetings are at seven thirty.”

  “Okay.” Arlo bumped into Beth as he turned around on the sofa trying to curl his head around toward his tail. Beth knew what the butt sniff meant. She inhaled and wrinkled her nose. “Eww, Arlo, gross!”

  Margaret waved toward the dining room. “I know. He’s a little gassy. And I’m not sure if that’s all it is. The smell, well, it’s consistent.”

  Beth put Arlo back on the floor, got up, and began walking around looking for Arlo deposits. She stopped in the dining room. “Um Mom, I hope you’re stocked up on that enzymatic cleaner. I’m going to need the big bottle in here.”

  Margaret sighed and slumped down on the sofa. “Oh dear. That poor rug.”

  As Beth crawled around on her hands and knees scrubbing at the dining room rug, she started to feel better about boarding Arlo for a while. Maybe all that fresh country air would help his digestion.

  The next day at the bookstore was easier as Beth returned to the old routines of helping customers and sorting books. She had gone through only two boxes so far. The slow pace was particularly discouraging because most of the books she’d examined were essentially trash like the old damaged encyclopedias. Inevitably, she was going to have to make a run out to the recycling bins at the dump. Throwing away books—even damaged books—made her feel a little sick inside.

  Clearly, Mom had been going to estate auctions again and being a little too liberal in her bidding activities. Just because there was a lot of three hundred books at the sale didn’t mean those three hundred books were ones anyone would actually want to read. Beth suspected that Mom viewed the whole auction scene like a game show. When it came to books, Mom just wanted to know what was behind door number one. Sadly, the answer was often more fodder for the recycle bins.

  At five, Beth locked the door and walked back to the house, so she could collect Arlo for his journey to doggie camp, as her mother was now calling it. Beth had a feeling that no matter how positively her mother tried to spin it, Arlo was going to be less than enthusiastic about being away from the cushy comforts of home.

  Beth gathered Arlo’s things and loaded the dog into the backseat of the Explorer. She turned to look at him. “Okay buddy, are you ready for doggie camp?” Arlo glared back at her in stony silence. Margaret had warned Beth that the dog was not a fan of car travel, since rides in automobiles usually meant a trip to the vet or worse.

  Beth wound her way out of town and headed north on the back roads. It had been years since she’d been in this area. One of her elementary school friends had lived north of town out in the boonies somewhere and Beth had attended a big birthday bash in second or third grad
e. The whole class had been invited. Amy had moved away though, and Beth had been crushed. Making friends had always been difficult for her, even in elementary school.

  Beth held the note with the directions up against the steering wheel as she bumped down the driveway. The place certainly didn’t lack for privacy. Given the number on the mailbox out on the road, she’d found the right driveway, but it seemed to go on forever. The right front wheel of the Explorer slammed into a hole, jarring Arlo off the backseat. He barked in protest, clambered back up and glared at Beth in the rearview mirror. It was like he knew she could see him. “Sorry Arlo. I’ll be more careful.”

  Finally, a log house came into view. There was an old green truck outside, parked under a huge tree near a tired-looking wooden outbuilding. Beth pulled in next to the truck in a space that had been cleared of snow. She got out and hugged herself against the cold. Looking up at the huge cedar trees that surrounded the clearing, she had to admit it was beautiful. The whole place looked like it should be on a Christmas card. Beth turned as the front door opened and a short woman bundled up in a large coat started down the front steps. Beth waved in greeting.

  The woman walked up to the Explorer. “Hi, I’m Kat. You must be Beth?”

  “Yes, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

  Kat bent to peer into the Explorer. “Hi Arlo.” She turned to Beth. “He looks pissed-off.”

  “He fell off the backseat when I hit a hole. Now he’s a bit annoyed, I think. Let me get him out.” Beth opened the door and snapped on Arlo’s leash. “Hey buddy, time to go.”

  Arlo stood on the seat and Beth wrapped her arms around his stout body, lifting him out and placing him on the ground next to her. “He’s not much of an athlete.”

  Kat looked down at the stocky sheltie. “I can see that.”

  The front door opened and a man with sandy blonde hair looked out. “Kat, are you out here?”