Howl at the Loon (An Alpine Grove Romantic Comedy Book 6)

by Susan C. Daffron

  Darrel gave Alec a hard look. “I took one of his seminars and I liked what he had to say. Plus he gets results. That’s what we need. Do you know what the failure rate is for mergers and acquisitions?”

  Robin shook her head and stole a glance at Alec, who appeared to be equally uninformed.

  Darrell continued. “Let’s just say that it’s enough to give me heartburn. I’ve been popping Tums like candy. We need to beat the odds here, folks. I’ll get you Brett’s schedule as soon as I receive it and you’ll need to work around that. Are we clear?”

  Alec slapped the pen back onto the table. “Clear.”

  Robin moved to collect the catalogs and smiled brightly at Alec. “It was nice to meet you, and I’m looking forward to working together. Alpine Grove is supposed to be beautiful. I’ve never been there and I’m hoping to see some of the area while we’re there.”

  Alec mumbled some sort of assent that may have included the word “Pollyanna.” He got up to leave and met her gaze. “I’ve got a bunch of stuff to do right now, but I’ll send you an e-mail later today.”

  Robin thanked him and left the conference room. She knew adopting a relentlessly positive attitude could frustrate grumpy people, but she was looking forward to the trip. It would be a break from her regular job, which truth be told was generally kind of boring.

  If Alec could get over himself, the retreat might end up being a success. In the meantime, she needed to get this workday over with so she could start packing. She had a lot to do and not much time to do it.

  After two interminable days of meetings, lists, and countless phone calls, Robin finally hit the open road with Emma. The dog was set up with her travel pillow in the backseat, and behind her, the back of Robin’s Subaru station wagon was loaded down with Eagle River training materials. She and Emma had reservations at a pet-friendly hotel for the night, but it was going to be two long days of driving. After they arrived in Alpine Grove, Robin would have the weekend to get everything set up before everyone started arriving for the retreat on Sunday night. The big event was scheduled to begin Monday. At the office, she’d been like a squirrel scrambling to get everything organized and ready, and it was a relief to be away from there and on the highway far away from the rest of the company.

  A little downtime on the road with Emma would be a nice break before she had to play hostess for a whole lot of irritable call-center managers. Alec Montgomery wasn’t the only one who was annoyed about the idea of a week of training and team-building. Darrell had gathered the scheduled attendees together and tasked them with absorbing knowledge and sharing what they learned with all of their front-line call-center personnel after they returned to work. The response to his spirited speech had been less than enthusiastic. More like low-grade dissent with a dash of defiance.

  The windshield wipers whapped back and forth in an endless, monotonous rhythm. Rain was in the forecast for the entire drive from Portland to Alpine Grove. Weather reports showed a radar image that looked like a gigantic cloud was covering the entire West Coast. Robin had known when she moved to Portland, Oregon, that it rained a lot, but the gray reality was stunning in its monochromatic tedium. Growing up in Spokane, Washington, she hadn’t appreciated how much more sunny it was farther inland. Portland had received a little tease of sun in February and early March, then more rain. And more rain after that. Sure, it was the Pacific Northwest, but even long-term residents were getting cranky about the continual soggy weather.

  The brochures said Alpine Grove had a “true four-season climate,” so maybe Robin would have an opportunity to see something other than rain for a change. At this point, any season that included weather without some form of drizzle would be a welcome novelty. If it rained for the entire retreat, the attendees might need more than good food to pacify them.

  Robin made an effort not to dwell on things she couldn’t do anything about, but the knot in her stomach didn’t seem to want to go away. Although the meetings had been cordial, in subsequent terse e-mails Darrell had implied in a not-so-subtle way that her career at Eagle River was riding on this retreat. It wasn’t fair either, since she hadn’t been hired to do event planning. She gripped the steering wheel more tightly, reliving all the things she wished she could have said to him, but hadn’t. Repressing emotions was supposed to be bad for you. If she actually made it through this experience, she’d probably end up with an ulcer. Or fired. Or both.

  After two days of driving, even Emma was starting to get tired of the car. As Robin slowed the car to enter the town of Alpine Grove, the sun suddenly came out from behind a cloud, casting a brilliant glow behind the quaint brick buildings that lined the main street. The town looked like something out of a movie—like the little town in It’s a Wonderful Life, except in color.

  Robin squinted at the unaccustomed illumination and smiled. Alpine Grove was totally adorable, and it was obvious why it was such a tourist attraction. She drove by a gift store with a glittery window display, a bookstore, and a few restaurants and bars. The rest of the signs indicated small businesses like real estate and professional offices. People were walking along the sidewalk looking happy, obviously enjoying the sunshine.

  Robin glanced at the directions to the boarding kennel that she had written down when she talked to the owner. The place was north of Alpine Grove, so Robin needed to drop off Emma, then go back through town to get back to the turn-off to the North Fork Lodge, which was located on the lake.

  In town, the rain appeared to have washed most of the snow away. But as she drove farther north, small patches of snow still lingered in the shady areas alongside the road where it had obviously been pushed during a long winter of plowing activity. A few breaks in the dense forest provided stunning views of the surrounding white-capped mountains. All the natural beauty was a relief after so many hours on the interstate.

  Glancing down at the directions again, Robin turned off the road into a driveway, or what passed for one anyway. The entrance was more swamp than driveway, and the car splashed through an immense muddy puddle, the tires grinding and bogging down in the muck. Sodden dirt spewed up onto the sides of the car and the windows. Emma sat up in the backseat and Robin looked in the rearview mirror at her. The dog looked excited about all the great splattery noises and eager to see what might happen next.

  Robin was less thrilled with the off-road adventure. The long driveway wound through the forest and she attempted to slowly navigate the car around the sloppiest of the mud-filled craters. By the time she finally found this place, her car was going to be completely coated in filth. Was this even the right driveway? It seemed to go on forever.

  At last a break in the trees revealed a rough-hewn log house with an old and extraordinarily dirty truck parked beneath a tree out front. Underneath the layer of filth, the truck might have been green, but it was hard to tell. Robin pulled in next to the pickup and got out of the car. She looked up at the enormous trees and took a deep breath. The air was clean and the verdant dampness was energizing, as if everything was trying to grow as quickly as possible. The door to the house opened and a petite woman with long dark hair came down the steps. She was wearing a grubby, tired-looking winter coat and clunky hiking shoes. All of the clothes looked far too large for her. Would it be rude to give her one of the Eagle River catalogs? This woman obviously had some issues when it came to fashion.

  Robin waved. “Hi. You must be Kat.”

  “Yes, it’s nice to meet you. I guess you made good time.”

  “Emma is a great traveler. Mostly she sleeps on her pillow. After I got off the interstate, it was such a beautiful drive up here. Even though it was long, we had a great trip.”

  Kat took her hands out of the pockets of the ugly coat and pointed at the happy canine face peering out of the car. “She’s adorable. Do you want to let her out?”

  Robin turned back toward the car and stepped in a puddle, splashing murky water up on her slacks. She leaped away and looked down at her shoe, which now was the sam
e grayish-brown color as the driveway. “Oh, shitake mushrooms! I hope I remembered to pack more than one pair of shoes.”

  Kat said, “Did you say mushrooms?”

  “Yes. I try hard not to curse, but it’s a challenge sometimes.”

  “Well speaking of challenges, you’re pretty brave to wear such nice clothes around here. I never wear black because of the level of dirt and dog hair.”

  Robin opened the door and clipped the leash onto Emma’s collar. “They’re from the Eagle River catalog. I get a 40-percent employee discount. Right after I started there, they had a sale and I went a little nuts.”

  “They look great on you. What kind of fabric is that?” Kat pointed to the puddle. “I’m sorry about the mud. The driveway has turned into a soupy mess. If it would stop raining, we might be able to do something about it.”

  “The slacks are linen, which means they have to be dry cleaned. They may not have been the best choice, I guess.” She turned back to Emma and encouraged her out of the car. The dog daintily leaped down from the car and landed in another puddle, splashing Robin again. “Oh Emma, nice shot.”

  Kat said, “I’m not a big fan of dry cleaning. After I adopted this coat from the thrift store, I took it to the dry cleaner in town and they gave me the evil eye. After a long winter, I need to get it cleaned again, but I’m kind of afraid of what they’ll say.”

  Robin laughed. “You adopted the coat?”

  “It was cheap. I needed a warm coat and it needed a home. It was like an ugly junkyard dog and when I was at the thrift store, I felt sorry for it. The coat was almost brand-new, but it smelled sort of weird and was this revolting bubblegum-pink color. I thought if I got it cleaned and dyed it, the coat would be okay. Did I mention it was cheap? Unfortunately, the process only sort of worked. Let’s just say the Rit dye folks wouldn’t be impressed with my crafting abilities. I was going for blue, but I didn’t think about how it would mix with the pink.”

  “It is an, well, an unusual color. But spring is coming!” The coat was a somewhat sickening grayish-purple color, and Kat had obviously not considered the fact that the zippers wouldn’t take the dye, so they remained bright pink.

  “I sure hope you’re right. I’m ready to put this hideous coat in the closet and not look at it for a long, long time. Or maybe just burn it as a celebration of the season changing to something other than winter.”

  Robin paused. “Would you like an Eagle River catalog? I have lots here in the back of the car. We just merged with High Country, so there are some great new items too. You should check it out!”

  “Their stuff is too nice for my hairy lifestyle. I’m more an REI or L.L. Bean kind of gal. I need new hiking boots.” Kat looked down at her feet. “Obviously. These are falling apart.”

  “Well, we don’t sell that type of merchandise.” Robin turned, reached into the car, and grabbed a catalog. “But here’s one just in case. You never know.”

  “Thanks.” Kat rolled the catalog up and jammed it into her coat pocket. She crouched down next to Emma and stroked her shoulder. “Are you ready to meet a whole lot of other dogs?” Emma wagged happily and splashed a paw into the puddle for emphasis.

  Robin handed her the leash. “I know I’ll only be a few miles away, but I’m going to miss her so much. You said it’s okay if I come and visit and maybe take her for a few hikes, right? I’m hoping to have a little free time after everything is set up for the retreat.”

  “Sure. Just give me a call. We’ll be here.”

  Chapter 2

  Batman & Julia

  As Robin’s car sloshed its way back up the soggy driveway toward the road, Kat walked Emma down the hill around the house to the back door, so she could introduce the dog to the five resident canines. She opened the door, peered inside, and waved the crowd of dogs away. “Hey, Emma has arrived. Could you help me do the doggie introduction thing?”

  Joel poked his head out from his office. “Let me get my coat.”

  Kat stood outside with Emma and gazed up at the trees. Among the boughs, birds were singing and trilling to one another, obviously enjoying the break in the weather. It had been an incredibly rainy spring so far, and it seemed like forever since the sun had made an appearance.

  One by one, Joel brought out the dogs. First to greet Emma was Linus, the huge furry brown dog who was attached on a harness to Tessa, the hyperactive golden retriever. Next was Lori the border collie, then Lady, the collie mix, and finally Joel joined the parade with Chelsey, the shy Australian shepherd mix who trotted alongside him on a leash.

  Kat grinned at him. “This is great. Emma is a total sweetheart, and we have pack harmony. Want to join the expedition and go absorb some Vitamin D with me before the sun disappears again?”

  “Sure.” Joel took her hand and looked up. “Wow, what is that golden orb in the sky?”

  “Isn’t it amazing? Maybe Mr. Sun can do something about the driveway. The squish factor is getting extreme. If it gets any worse, the next time we try to drive your truck, it may get sucked down into the vortex of brownish-gray slime.”

  “I know. Jack is coming over later today to mark the trees that need to be cut down. I’m a little worried about his truck getting stuck.”

  “At least Robin’s car is small. It seemed to float on top of the yuck. You guys with your big heavy trucks are doomed.”

  “You just hate my truck.”

  “It’s well documented that your truck and I have issues with one another. At least you took the plow blade off. That must mean it’s not going to snow and it truly is spring, right?”

  “The torrential rain was another clue. April showers and all that.”

  “I’d better get some flowers out of all this crummy weather. At least I can see the garden fence again. That’s progress. We also seem to have a river flowing next to the road at the end of the driveway.”

  “I think there may be a problem with the culvert, but the idea of getting down into the ditch and checking on it during a downpour hasn’t been too appealing.”

  “I don’t suppose you have scuba gear, do you?”

  “No. But I do have hip waders.”

  Kat grinned. “Are you’re kidding? Hip waders? I didn’t think you liked fishing.”

  “I don’t. They’re for doing disgusting things like clearing out culverts.”

  “I’m warning you now that if you put on hip waders, there will be photographs.”

  “And now I have yet another reason to put off that task.”

  Kat gestured toward the forest. “I wish we didn’t have to cut down trees for the new kennel. It makes me feel a little sick. I mean Abigail loved those trees, and here I am about to chop them down.”

  Joel squeezed her hand. “You know why it’s necessary. The logging needs to be done to clear the spot for the building. Jack is also going to mark some trees that aren’t doing well. He says it will actually improve the overall health of the forest.”

  “I know. Intellectually, I get it. I really do. But the idea of cutting down trees still makes me want to cry. Some of those cedars are probably sixty or eighty years old. They survived Prohibition. Maybe even the Civil War. Who knows? All I know is that Aunt Abigail looked out at those trees from the kitchen window and so have I. And we went to all that effort to keep the trees from being logged by her creepy ex-husband.”

  “That was different. He wanted to strip the property of all the trees, not just a few.”

  “Still. I feel bad. I’m going to miss them. I know Abigail would too.”

  “Abigail has been gone for more than a year. It’s your house now.” Joel stopped and looked down into her face. “You don’t have to keep everything exactly the way it was when she was alive.”

  “Well, I did throw away the dining room rug. What that sheltie did to it was seriously gross.”

  “True.” Joel stroked her cheek. “But I’m serious. I’ve sometimes wondered if you’re trying to preserve Abigail’s memory by not changing anything here. Start
ing the business is going to shake things up. If you’re not okay with that, now would be a good time to change your mind about setting up the boarding kennel.”

  “I know. I think I’m having another entrepreneurial panic attack.” Kat wrapped her arms around Joel’s waist and hugged him. “I know things change. But sometimes I just want to stop time. It’s a beautiful day and I’m starting to believe that spring may actually arrive. You’re being incredibly patient with my arboreal meltdown, and Emma is a sweet dog. Everything is really good right now and I’m afraid to screw that up.” She leaned back to look up at his face. “I’m sorry I keep freaking out. I need to stop being such a worrywart about everything.”

  “Would you feel better if some of the trees were turned into lumber? Then they’d still be here.”

  “Maybe.”

  “I had some of the trees on my property turned into boards when I was working on The Shack. There’s a guy who has a portable sawmill that I can call. I’m not sure how much you actually save by turning them into boards, since if you sold the logs to a mill you’d get money for them. But as you know from the estimates we got, buying dimensional lumber at the building supply is expensive too.”

  “I noticed. Those numbers almost gave me a heart attack when I figured out what ‘linear feet’ meant. Once you start multiplying, all that math leads to disturbing dollar amounts.”

  “When you cut logs into boards, they have to dry for a long time, so we couldn’t use the wood on the kennel building. But I’m sure something else will fall apart or need to be built.”

  “No doubt.”

  “I’ll ask Jack about saving a few trees aside.”

  “Thanks. That’s a good idea.”

  “Still, maybe you shouldn’t be here when the loggers arrive and start cutting.”

  “I think you’re right.”

  Robin drove south through Alpine Grove and turned onto a road that went along the lake. The North Fork Lodge was off Edgewater Road on ten acres of lakefront property. She’d seen the brochure, so she knew what it looked like. A weathered sign with a faded fork indicated the turnoff for the place and Robin navigated the car down a hill toward the lodge. She knew that the North Fork could accommodate around forty people. It had ten individual cabins and fifteen guest rooms in the lodge building itself.