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

by Susan C. Daffron

  Kat bent to kiss his neck. She whispered in his ear. “This may come as a shock, but I have no interest in seeing or hearing anything about Ned ever again. I love you.”

  He sat up straight and put his arms around her, pulling her into his lap. “I know. And I love you back. I just hate unanswered questions.”

  “I wish I’d never told you about this, not only because it’s completely humiliating, but because you can’t seem to forget about it and let it go.”

  He arched an eyebrow. “It took you a while to get over the supermodel thing.”

  “Touché.”

  “I was wondering why you decided to tell me about this now.”

  “What do you mean? I said I’m sorry it took me so long to muster up the courage. I was scared of what you’d think.”

  “I understand. But why now?”

  Kat rested her head on his chest. “Well, Maria and I were talking about the invitation I got to Beth and Drew’s wedding, so the topic of marriage came up.”

  “Like whether you were or not?”

  “Not exactly. We’ve already hashed over that question many, many times. I’ve been lectured to about Ned the Loser more times than I care to think about. But in this case, Maria wanted to know if you were for or against the institution.”

  “Me? You mean the institution of marriage?”

  “Yes. I told her I didn’t know because we’ve never talked about it.”

  “Oh.”

  “So would you care to share your thoughts on the matter? Are you for or against?”

  Joel squirmed in the chair and looked into her eyes. “Well, for I guess, if I were marrying the right person.”

  “Okay. That’s good to know.”

  He tickled her waist. “So what are your thoughts on the institution?”

  “Cut that out!” She kissed his neck. “Definitely against if it’s someone like Ned. But I agree that I’m for the idea if you’re marrying the right person for the right reasons.”

  “What do you regard as the right reasons?”

  She faced him again. “Well, the typical reasons. Loving the other person, for one. And wanting to spend the rest of your life with that person.”

  “Those are good reasons. Romantic reasons.” He kissed her. “But marriage also has legal and social implications. Combining finances. And potentially owning property, doing taxes, and having children together.”

  Kat’s eyes widened. “Well, uh, you and I talked about kids before. I’m definitely not ready for that yet. At this point, you’re pretty much living with everything that’s mine.”

  He grinned. “So what you’re saying is that your dowry includes lots of dog and cat hair.”

  “Yes. Sorry about that.”

  “My dog has contributed to the dog hair.”

  “So we haven’t combined finances, but we have combined dog hair.”

  “Something like that.” Joel splayed his hands across her back and started kneading her muscles. Kat collapsed like an overcooked noodle across his chest and wrapped her arms around him so she could massage his back in exchange. She gasped as he found a particularly sore spot and pressed his knuckle into it. She pressed her fingertips into his back, “I never ever want to move that many rocks again. Every muscle in my entire body aches.”

  Joel moaned and leaned his head forward. “Yes. Right there.”

  “I still owe you for the culvert. I’ll write you a check later.”

  “Consider it a gift. Just keep doing whatever it is you’re doing. I think moving that last boulder did me in.”

  “And you say I’m a romantic. No one has ever given me a culvert before.”

  He kissed her and smiled. “Nothing says ‘I love you’ like shiny, new corrugated steel pipe.”

  Bright and early Monday morning, Robin settled into her cubicle. Everything looked exactly the same. The same gray fabric walls. The same irritating low hum of conversation. And some literal humming from a peculiar little man named Barney who hummed to himself all the time for no apparent reason. And with no apparent tune. A few cubicles down, the woman with the perpetual allergies snuffled and coughed loudly. Although her name was Alice, in her head Robin referred to her as The Sniffler. More than once, she’d considered buying a case of Kleenex and placing it in Alice’s cubby as a little hint.

  Flipping the power switch on her computer, Robin waited while it went through its whole aggravating start-up parade. She opened her email program and started the laborious process of sorting through her email. It appeared that she had been copied on a whole lot of email that didn’t have anything to do with her. Somebody needed a few lessons in the right way to use the “cc” and “reply to all” features.

  Robin rested her elbow on the desk and scanned the list. Inventory problems. A screwed-up shipment that was supposed to have gone to the distribution center in West Virginia. A new project led by a manager who was desperately trying to make it sound more interesting than it was. Purchase orders. There were even a few missives from the guy who invariably included the words MY RESPONSE in all caps in the subject line. No one actually knew why he felt compelled to proclaim this fact on every single email. What the heck? Everyone knew it was his response. Duh.

  She sighed at the sight of an invitation to a meeting with Darrell and Alec later in the day. Maybe they were going to fire her. Great. Would unemployment be enough to cover her rent? Probably not.

  With a click on the icon to open her spreadsheet software, she tried to jump-start her brain and get back into the swing of things. Maybe she needed more coffee. Yes. Coffee. That might help.

  Consuming several cups of coffee made it possible for Robin to slog through the rest of her morning. She picked up a notebook and grabbed the business card for her dog-walker out of her Rolodex for Alec. Leroy probably was working on adjusting to his new life. Maybe he’d even met Alec’s dad by now. Robin smiled at the idea of Alec’s little surprise for his father. Who wouldn’t love a big goofy white dog like Leroy?

  She walked over to the executive building and peered through the glass wall at Alec and Darrell. Alec was facing the glass and Darrell’s back was to her, so she couldn’t see his face. Alec was wearing a suit and tie, although it looked like he’d yanked the knot of the tie down away from his neck. His head was bowed and his hands were fisted in his hair. It looked like he was literally tearing his hair out. Ouch. That had to hurt.

  He raised his head and his eyes widened slightly as he noticed Robin. Darrell turned and waved, encouraging her to come into the room. She opened the door, placed her notebook on the table, and sat down. After seeing Alec in his beat-up old jeans and Trailblazers t-shirt at the retreat, it was odd to see him dressed this way. That suit probably cost more than her car. She’d have to check the label to be sure, but she guessed it was Armani. It had to be custom made because it fit him perfectly. Wow.

  Darrell glared at Alec before saying, “Okay, new topic. Robin, what were your impressions of the retreat?”

  She glanced quickly at Alec, who was tapping his fingers on the table. The expression on his face didn’t reveal much beyond the fact that he wasn’t happy about something. “Well, I think progress was made as far as bringing people together.” She gestured toward Alec. “And the training was well received. I know I learned a lot.”

  At her comment, the corner of Alec’s mouth twitched, although the scowl didn’t leave his face. He turned to Darrell. “I’m telling you, I think there might be something wrong. You need to talk to your uncle. He was never there—I saw him maybe twice. And the place is falling apart.”

  Darrell waved off the comment. “I went over to the call-center building this morning, and the difference was shocking. A woman from High Country was laughing with someone who has worked here for ages. I can’t remember her name, but she’s a big woman. Double chin, shoulder-length straight brown hair?”

  Robin said, “Oh, that’s Loretta. She was probably talking to Trudy. I think they’re friends now.”

 
“That’s incredible.” Darrell said. “Robin, the evaluations will give me the whole story, but so far, it seems like you have done a great job in pulling this off in a short time frame. I don’t know what you did, but it worked. Make sure you get your expenses into accounting.”

  The dismissive tone in Darrell’s voice indicated that Robin’s part of the meeting had concluded. She stood up and picked up her notebook. “I will. Thank you.”

  Glancing at Alec, she stopped. “Oops, I almost forgot.” She pulled the business card out of the notebook and handed it to him. “This is my dog-walker’s card. The company is great.”

  Alec flipped the card around in his fingertips. “Thanks.”

  She hurriedly left the room, but peeked over her shoulder. Whatever Darrell was telling Alec definitely was not going over well. At least life in her ugly gray cubicle wasn’t particularly stressful, but it appeared the same was not true of Alec’s work life. Although he might be dressed better than he was at the retreat, he looked much worse. By the end of the week in Alpine Grove, Robin had forgotten how twitchy and jittery he’d been when they first met.

  Here at work, Alec behaved like a nervous animal in a cage. Maybe going home and spending time with Leroy would help. Taking Emma for walks definitely helped Robin deal with the tedious monotony of her job every day. Maybe having Leroy around would help Alec too. She hoped so.

  Even though she was still annoyed at the way he’d rejected her after shooting her hormones into overdrive, he’d also been really sweet after she’d had all those tequila slammers. He wasn’t a bad person and she missed their walks around the lodge with Leroy, just hanging out and talking. It was distressing to see him so obviously unhappy.

  Chapter 10

  Performance Art

  A few days later, Robin was staring at a spreadsheet wondering what she had done to make the formula in cell F135 stop working. It looked like it should work. She didn’t think she’d changed anything and nothing else looked different. But the number it had calculated was impossible unless she was planning to ship something to outer space.

  Barney the humming dude made a little squeaky noise and stopped humming. Someone shuffled some papers, the Sniffler snuffled extra loudly, and another woman whispered something. Robin turned to look behind her and discovered Alec standing in her cubicle. He looked like he should be on the cover of Hot Young Executive magazine. No wonder there had been a stirring amid her fellow cubicle dwellers. She looked up at his face. “Are you lost?”

  His hands were in his pockets and he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet. “No. I need to talk to you. Could you come with me, please?”

  Robin clicked the mouse a few times to save the dysfunctional spreadsheet. Maybe Darrell had read the reviews and sent Alec here to fire her. “Do we have another meeting? I didn’t get an invitation. I hope my email isn’t acting up again. I’m pretty sure the people in IT are sick of me.”

  He turned and started walking down the corridor. She scurried to catch up with him. “Hey, slow down. What’s the big rush?”

  Slowing his pace, he turned his head to glance at her. “Let’s go outside.”

  Robin looked around her. “Why? What do you need to talk about?” Although she had a pretty good idea she knew, she wanted to hear him say it. Everyone had agreed to say the retreat was fine. She was going to be so angry if they all went back on their word.

  He pressed open the glass door for her. “Look, natural light.”

  “Are you sure that’s allowed at Eagle River? How can I possibly work without a fluorescent tube buzzing above my head?”

  “I think you’ll manage.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “To my car.”

  He was walking fast again and Robin increased her pace. Who fired someone in a car? That was too weird. Maybe she wasn’t losing her job, after all. “Are you kidnapping me from work? I’m not an expert in human resources, but I’m pretty sure company policy discourages playing hooky.”

  “Then I’m taking you to lunch.”

  As they walked across the parking lot, she waggled her fingertips at him. “Oooh, my first executive luncheon.”

  He stopped at a deep-blue two-door convertible Mercedes, unlocked it, and opened the door for her. “Hop in.”

  “Holy snapping turtles! This is your car?” Robin stroked the soft tan leather seat. “Mmmm.” Alec must want to talk about something other than her job. No one could possibly get fired in a car this pretty.

  He started the car and let it purr for a moment. “Is it okay if we leave the top down? It’s nice out for a change.”

  Robin grinned. “Definitely.”

  “You might want to do something with your hair or it will get tangled.”

  “Good point.” She rummaged around in her purse, found an elastic band, and put her hair in a ponytail. “Okay, I’m ready. Where are we going?”

  “Away from here.”

  As they drove, Robin relaxed and enjoyed the ride, marveling at the flowers that were blooming everywhere. Everyone had told her that she would love Portland in the spring. It was true—every plant in the city seemed to have awakened and it was truly gorgeous with vibrant color exploding everywhere she looked. Almost everyone who lived here seemed to have a garden, and the plants were bursting with springtime joy. At some point, she wanted to go see the International Rose Test Garden. It was supposed to be spectacular.

  Alec drove toward the northwest side of the city, navigating through a bunch of swanky neighborhoods filled with lots of adorable upscale restaurants and shops. It was so pretty over here in the hills. Everything was so tidy, leafy, and opulent.

  Alec slowed the car to turn into a driveway and stopped in front of a tall wrought-iron gate. Robin said, “Did you take a wrong turn? Do we need to go the other way?”

  Reaching from the driver’s seat, Alec pressed some buttons on a panel in front of the gate. “No. I want to check on Leroy.”

  “Is he okay? Nothing is wrong with him, is there?”

  “He’s probably fine. I wanted to get out of the office, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to give him another walk.” He looked at her. “Is that okay?”

  Robin looked around. “Good gravy, I can’t believe you live in Nob Hill. It must be nice to be close enough that you can zip home like this. I live way over on the other side of the city. If there’s any traffic at all, it’s kind of a pain to get to my place.”

  They got out of the car and Robin looked around at the green lushness that wound through the condo complex. The gardens were beautifully maintained and it was so peaceful, it was as if she’d left the city entirely. Having worked for Eagle River for so long, Alec probably had money. Given his car and the swanky neighborhood, maybe he had a whole lot of money. Why hadn’t she ever thought about that before? She knew the company had gone public at some point. Maybe he was a stockholder? It was so far outside of Robin’s realm of experience that she had no clue how any of that even worked. She lived in a crumbly old house that had been converted into four rental apartments. It was a cute space, but the neighborhood was often loud. People were always walking by on their way to the funky thrift stores and a popular Indian restaurant that was located nearby.

  Alec opened the door and Leroy barked a greeting as he skittered to the door, the clatter of his claws on the shiny hardwood floors breaking the stillness of the cool room. Alec and Robin walked into a large foyer with a mirrored wall. The living room had a fireplace and huge windows that looked out onto a deck and hillside view beyond. Although the space was utterly gorgeous, with the exception of some tufts of white dog hair on the floor, it looked like no one lived here. The place was like a model home. Given what a slob Alec was, he must have one heck of a cleaning service. Robin bent to pet Leroy. “Hey, it’s so good to see you! Emma says hi.”

  Alec grabbed a leash off a hook in the kitchen and clicked it onto Leroy’s collar. “All right, let’s go.”

  “Where are we going?”

/>   “We can walk over to a cafe that has outside seating. I’m trying to give Leroy more experience in behaving himself around people. He tends to get a little overly excited.”

  Robin giggled. “That’s easy to imagine.”

  As they walked, Alec seemed to relax again. The pinched, perpetually annoyed look he had at work left his face as they strolled along the crowded sidewalks. Leroy was extremely enthusiastic about the impromptu neighborhood excursion, so Alec was mostly focused on keeping the large dog under control.

  They walked in companionable silence for a while. Finally, Robin was too curious not to ask. “So, you brought me all the way out here and now you’re going to feed me lunch. What did you want to talk to me about so badly?”

  He stopped at the edge of the sidewalk, next to a gray stone wall, and told Leroy to sit. Turning to face Robin, he said, “I was wrong.”

  She moved off to the side next to Alec to let people pass. “About what? Did I say something I shouldn’t have in the meeting the other day? I tried to remain professional. Maybe I should have waited to give you that business card until Darrell wasn’t around, but I work in another building, so I never see you. I didn’t want to forget, since I know you need a dog walker.”

  He looked into her eyes. “No. The meeting was fine. I thought it would be a problem to see you at work.”

  “I don’t think you have to worry about seeing me. I hardly ever leave my cubicle.”

  “I know. I can’t stand it.” He reached out to take her hand. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”

  She squeezed his hand. “What are you saying? I still work for you. Or somebody. I never looked at the stupid org chart.”

  Alec pulled her closer to him. “I don’t care.”

  Her proximity to the warmth of Alec’s body awakened the memory of the last time they had been standing close like this and Robin smiled, “Really?”

  Inclining his head to kiss her, he whispered, “I missed you.”

  Although he probably only intended to give her a peck on the lips, Robin eagerly returned the kiss, throwing her arms around him and melding her body to his as she reveled in the sensations. His fist holding the leash pressed into her back as he pulled her closer.