All Bark and No White Knight (Happy Tails Dog Walking Mysteries Book 4)

by Stella St. Claire

  Unable to help herself, she snorted. “You forget that I now own the dog that you adopted just so you could talk to Lady Celeste when she set up her dog-psychic show. Also, you made me invite her to prom so you could try to dance with her.”

  “I simply wanted to use her unique talents to make sure that the kids were safe,” he protested.

  “Right,” she said dryly, and then she relented and got down to business. “How can I help you, Mayor?”

  “Lady Celeste has taken an interest in you. I thought that perhaps you might spend some time with her and see if she might be interested in pursuing a friendship with me.” His voice shook a bit, but then he pushed his shoulders back and puffed out his chest.

  Olivia tried not to laugh. “No offense, Mayor, but if it’s friendship that you want, I’d remind you that you just had breakfast with her. I’d say that you’re holding your own.”

  An impatient look crossed his face, and she wasn’t sure if he knew that she was pushing his buttons on purpose or not. “Perhaps friendship wasn’t the right word. I’m looking for a deeper and more meaningful relationship.”

  He looked absolutely miserable, and she took pity on him. “I’m a dog walker, Mayor. I’m not a matchmaker. You’re a grown man. If you want to date Lady Celeste, then take her some flowers and ask her out on a date. But make your intentions very clear because, for some reason, she seems to be the only one in town who doesn’t realize how much you like her.”

  “Flowers?”

  “Yes, women like flowers.” When was the last time that Andrew had given her flowers? He obviously had time to stop and get flowers for other women.

  Focus, Olivia.

  “Flowers.” He nodded his head seriously. “Thank you for the advice, Olivia. It’s been a long time since I tried to woo a woman, and Lady Celeste is a unique woman. I must get her some unique flowers.”

  “Sure. Sure. Unique flowers.” Suddenly Olivia’s stomach rumbled, and she remembered that she hadn’t gotten any food yet. “I’ve got to run, Mayor Henderson. Good luck with the flowers!”

  He mumbled to himself and shuffled his feet some more. She watched him for a second with concern before moving to open the driver’s door of the car. When she looked back after settling into her seat and fastening her seatbelt, he was still there.

  Poor Mayor Henderson. He was already a mess. What would happen if Lady Celeste turned him down?

  Or, even worse, what would happen if the woman said yes?

  The text came an hour before their dinner date. Can we do brunch tomorrow instead? Something just came up.

  Her heart plummeted. A delayed reconciliation meal. That did not bode well for their relationship.

  Excited yapping noises drew her attention away from her phone and to the three Goldendoodle puppies straining at their leashes as they attempted to climb all over an annoyed Goodwin.

  “You’re being such a good boy,” she praised him as she used her other hand to pull the puppies back. They were the cutest things, with their wiggly bodies and teddy bear faces, but she knew that her own dog was not appreciating today’s walk.

  Holding Goodwin’s leash in her mouth, she quickly texted back to Andrew to let him know that brunch would be fine. (Even though it wasn’t.) They’d discuss the details later. She wanted to seem like the patient girlfriend. Not the girlfriend who was following him around places.

  “Think this is his version of ghosting?” she asked the pups as she pocketed the phone and crossed the street. “I mean, it’s not like he can really ghost me because he lives across the hall, but maybe he’s slowly pulling away. Changing the date of a dinner is one thing, but changing dinner to brunch? That’s not good. Brunch isn’t romantic. It’s that meal you eat because you were too lazy to get up on time. Although, don’t get me wrong, I love brunch. I just don’t love it for such an important date, you know?”

  The pups yipped excitedly and attacked Goodwin, who growled and jerked away.

  “Right. Need to pay attention and stop obsessing. Sorry, Goodwin.”

  They passed a row of shops, and she repeatedly had to stop to untangle the leashes. The puppies were doing well—for puppies—as they walked, but they were having a hard time remembering to stick to one side. Every five feet or so, Olivia had to stop and untangle the mess.

  It was the longest walk in the world, and next time, she was not bringing Goodwin with her. The poor guy looked like he’d had about all he could take.

  “Wait, hold on,” she grumbled as she stopped again to pull one of the leashes out from around Goodwin’s legs. He gave her an irritated look, and she straightened with a sigh.

  “I know we haven’t quite made it to the dog park, but if we head back now, maybe we’ll be home before dinner,” she grumbled. Turning her head, she glanced in the window they were passing and froze.

  She’d stopped right outside the diner where Hannah had worked, and who did she see sitting at the table on the other side of the restaurant with a rose on the table?

  Andrew.

  And Larry?

  “No,” Olivia grumbled. “There is no way.”

  It was not possible that Andrew was on a date with Larry. Olivia’d had some pretty bad break-ups, but as far as she knew, none of her exes had changed their sexual orientation to get away from her.

  There was NO way that Andrew was on a date with Larry.

  Right?

  Suddenly, Goodwin jumped up against the window and barked sharply. The puppies had decided to start nipping at his legs. Immediately, she pulled them away, but when she glanced at the window again, she realized that everyone inside had heard them.

  Including Andrew.

  He was staring right at her.

  She felt like throwing up.

  10

  Huddled under a pile of sleeping puppies while Goodwin and Snowball wrestled in the other room, Olivia tried to figure out what to do next. She could point out that she hadn’t followed him intentionally, but since she had been following him, it seemed like a moot point. And now, they would absolutely have to have the conversation.

  Where was he getting his roses from?

  The squirming fur-balls had awakened, and now they started nipping and pawing at her, so Olivia reluctantly got up and picked them up to put them in the playpen. Personally, she felt that the owner was nuts to adopt three puppies, but as they piled up on each other for a free-for-all, eyes bright and little tails wagging wildly, she could feel her heart melting. They would probably wrestle for a few minutes before falling into another nap. As growing puppies, they needed a lot of sleep.

  Checking in on Goodwin and Snowball, she found that they were also winding down. It was time for her to steal a quick cup of coffee downstairs and do some thinking.

  There were a few stragglers enjoying the free Wi-Fi and munching on baked goods despite the late hour. One couple was clearly on a date. They clasped hands across the table as they giggled at each other.

  Swallowing the lump in her throat, Olivia ducked into the kitchen to pour herself a cup of coffee. Janelle was on cleanup duty in the back. She took one look at Olivia and immediately widened her eyes. “What happened? I’ll kill him.”

  Relieved to have her big sister back, even if just for a moment, Olivia let Janelle envelop her in a hug. “Andrew canceled our dinner date. I swear I wasn’t watching him. I was walking the puppies, and I stopped to untangle them, and when I looked up, there he was, having dinner with someone else, and a pretty red rose was on the table between them.” She took a shuddering breath. “He was having dinner with Larry.”

  “Larry?” Janelle frowned. “I get gender-neutral names, but I’m having a hard time believing that anyone named their daughter Larry.”

  “Larry Silverman. He’s a man,” Olivia said impatiently. “The bed-and-breakfast owner?”

  Leaning back, Janelle studied her younger sister long and hard before bursting out laughing. “Oh, sweetheart. You think that Andrew is gay?”

  “No. Maybe? S
tranger things have happened to me.” Olivia bit her lower lip before shaking her head. “No. Andrew isn’t gay.”

  “No. Andrew isn’t gay,” Janelle agreed. “This is good news. Obviously, there is something else going on. If Andrew isn’t on a date with Larry, then chances are good that he wasn’t on a date with any of those other women, either.”

  “He saw me.”

  Janelle grimaced. “That’s bad. Okay, but you just said that you weren’t out following him. So that’s a good thing!”

  “Yes, it would be an excellent thing, except that I’m not exactly innocent, either. I have been following Andrew. I followed him just last night. SO just because I wasn’t following him today doesn’t mean that our next conversation is going to go well.” Olivia pressed her hands to the pit of her stomach. “Oh, God. We’re finally going to talk about it. He’s going to admit that he wants more in a relationship that I can give him. What am I going to do?”

  “You sound like me,” Janelle grumbled. “I should smack you. What is going on in that head of yours? You’re normally so logical and strong. Now is not the time to fall apart in hysterics.”

  “Maybe. Coffee. Can I have some coffee? I can’t really think right now.”

  “Sure.” Janelle’s face changed as her eyes focused on something beyond Olivia. She added under her breath, “Oh, crap.”

  Olivia turned her head to see the man who had been with Larry and Jenny at End Game, the night Hannah had died, now standing outside the bakery as he rearranged a box he was holding. Rafe.

  “What’s he doing here?”

  “That’s Rafe Maclin. He keeps trying to peddle products from his future farm. Yesterday he was in here with milk—but the farm isn’t even up and running yet.”

  “Maclin?” Olivia frowned. “He’s related to Hannah?”

  “Cousins, or something like that. Even though their family owns a huge acreage at the southern tip of the county, he has no concept of farming for business.” Janelle sighed as Rafe entered the bakery. “Here we go again.”

  Now studying him, Olivia could see traces of Hannah when she looked at him. Rafe had those soft feminine traits that made him boyishly attractive.

  He gave them a charming smile. “Good evening, ladies! I was wondering if I could have a minute of your time?”

  “If you’re here about the milk . . .” Janelle warned.

  “No. I got your message loud and clear, which is why I brought samples this time. The Maclin Farm will raise cage-free chickens with only the healthiest diets to produce only the best eggs. I’ve got a brochure here outlining our organic diet. No pesticides on the grounds or in the feed.”

  As Rafe fumbled with the paperwork, the box slipped from his hands. With a gasp, Olivia lunged forward and snatched it before it could fall to the ground. Nestled in a nest of hay were six eggs.

  “Nice catch!” he praised her.

  “These eggs are for Janelle?”

  “Yup. She’s very picky about her ingredients—as she should be. Only the best for her, especially with her expansion.” He winked at Janelle, and Olivia’s jaw dropped slightly when she saw Janelle blush.

  “Only the best for her—period,” Olivia pointed out.

  That snapped Janelle out of her strange mood, and she peered into the box. “How did you get these? Just last week, the land was slated to be a bed and breakfast, and now you have chickens?”

  Olivia stared at Janelle. How had she known that? Normally, Janelle was in her own little world.

  Her sister caught her look and shrugged. “Maybe you’re not the only detective in the family. Okay, I heard Kristy talking about it the other day. She was disappointed because she thought she might be handling the sale of the property.”

  Rafe frowned. “My grandmother hadn’t planned on selling the property so I don’t know why she should be disappointed. And to answer your previous question, my grandmother still kept the chickens even though she’d sold the rest of the animals. These chickens were like her babies.”

  “A lot of people keep chickens as pets. Okay, I’ll give these a try and get back to you, but I have to warn you. I use a lot of eggs, and I’m just not sure if your small farm is going to be able to handle my business’s demand,” Janelle warned. Her tone softened, and she seemed to look into the middle distance. “But it would be nice to buy locally.”

  Rafe puffed out his chest. “I have no plans to run just a small farm.”

  Olivia narrowed her eyes as she studied him. “I’m sorry about your cousin. Were you two close?”

  “Olivia,” Janelle hissed. “Don’t be rude.”

  “What? I’m just passing along my sympathies.” Olivia continued to study Rafe. She found it strange that he would be promoting his business less than a week after his cousin had been murdered. Shouldn’t he be planning her funeral, or at the very least, mourning her?

  “It’s okay,” he assured them. “Actually, Hannah and I weren’t all that close. Our mothers didn’t really get along very well, so the only time I really saw her was when we were kids and used to play together at the farm.” He blinked a little, sobering. “Her death is tragic, though. I hope they find the killer. I think . . .” he hesitated and shook his head.

  “You think what?” Olivia prompted.

  “I probably should have told the sheriff, but you don’t want to make bad assumptions, you know? But I know that Hannah was excited the day before she died. She was about to launch her marketing plan for the B&B that she wanted to own. I know that some people weren’t happy about that.”

  “Why didn’t you stick with the plans she had?” Janelle pushed.

  “It’s just not my thing. My grandmother always mourned the loss of her animals, and I really loved the farm as a kid, and I guess I just wanted to restore it back to its natural glory. I’m not really into hotel management.” He looked at the floor. “I do still want to honor Hannah’s memory, so I’ll have to think of something. Anyway, I have to run, ladies. Thanks for your time, and I’ll be in touch.”

  As he walked out, Janelle rounded on Olivia. “That sounded an awful lot like someone who was interrogating a suspect. Olivia, you promised Nick and Andrew that you would stay out of this.”

  “And I will pass along the information. You heard Rafe—he didn’t tell Nick, and you know why he probably didn’t? He and Larry are friends.”

  “Larry? What does he have to do with it? Are you targeting Larry now because he’s your boyfriend’s new boyfriend?”

  Olivia rolled her eyes. “No, I’m targeting Larry because of the question—who’s the one person who would take a huge hit from Hannah’s new business idea?”

  “The guy who owns a bed and breakfast?” Janelle asked tentatively.

  “Bingo.”

  11

  Stupid, stupid, stupid. Wynona slipped from the bed and padded quietly to the bathroom. Two weeks of searching for the dogs together, and she’d fallen for Christopher’s charms.

  Right into his bed.

  His bed, where the sheets probably cost more money that she made in a month.

  What was she thinking? It was like when two people got together after sharing a terrifying experience, only it was worse because they were sharing pain.

  It was never going to last.

  Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she winced. Both dogs were micro-chipped. Both dogs were friendly. So why hadn’t someone found them by now? Why hadn’t someone called?

  She needed her baby back.

  And she needed not to fall for Christopher.

  Andrew was blowing up her phone with text messages and phone calls, all of which Olivia ignored. She just wasn’t quite ready to face the brutal truth. Instead, as soon as the daycare pups were returned to their owners, she headed Larry’s bed and breakfast just to see if he might have had anything to fear from Hannah.

  Larry’s own establishment was a few miles farther out of town, meaning that tourists coming through Lexingburg would likely drive by Hannah’s establishme
nt before reaching his. That in itself was bad, but when she reached Haven Whispers, she shook her head as she killed the engine and pulled the key out of the ignition. Cute name, but the building itself was in desperate need of some TLC. The white paint on the plantation-style house was peeling, and the weeds were running rampant in the beds. On the plus side, the grass was cut, and there was a small creek that ran down a bed of rocks, but the charming appeal fell just a little short of its pictures on the internet.

  Stepping out of her Wrangler, Olivia silently rehearsed her cover story as she walked up the sidewalk. There was a newly painted welcome sign, but when she entered the building, the inside looked just as rundown as the outside.

  Outdated paisley wallpaper was faded and torn in places. Several chairs surrounded a wonderful-looking fireplace, but dust had settled on all the surfaces, and the upholstery was ripping at the seams.

  Casually approaching the desk, Olivia tapped on the bell.

  To her surprise, rather than Larry, a doddering old woman slowly limped out with the help of a cane. “I’m coming,” she snapped. “Hold your horses. You young people are always in such a hurry these days.”

  Blinking in surprise, Olivia cleared her throat. “I’m not in a hurry. Please take your time.”

  “They why are you ringing that bell so hard? You’re going to break it!”

  “I just barely tapped—never mind. Are you the owner of the establishment?”

  “Bah.” The woman reached the desk with laboring breath. Her skin was sallow and wrinkled, and her dull grey hair was sticking out like she’d just stuck her finger in an electric socket. “I’m the mother of the man who owns this establishment, but my son would rather be out drinking and chasing hussies than caring about this place. Do you want a room—or not?”

  “After such a warm welcome?” Olivia muttered under her breath. “Actually, Mrs. Silverman, I was wondering if I could get some information. I’m looking to plan a romantic getaway with my boyfriend, and I’d heard that there was a new bed and breakfast opening up, but I must have gotten my messages mixed up. This place isn’t new.”