Without Missing a Bark

by Stella St. Claire

  Fender noisily farted in response, and Olivia jerked upright and wrinkled her nose. "Seriously? I'm trying to have a heart-to-heart here. You two are guys. Some advice would be appreciated!"

  Of course, they didn't respond. Not that it mattered. She sort of already knew the answer. Andrew had been so romantic when he’d proposed to her. Olivia knew that she also needed to speak from the heart, but unfortunately, she was more inclined to logic and less about romance.

  The dogs trotted down the sidewalk ahead of her. Goodwin had a little more energy than usual. When the puppies were around, Olivia wasn't letting him be his usually crazy self, so he really needed the time to run and work off some steam. Fender, of course, was dead set against any kind of exercise. About two minutes into the walk, he started to drag his feet. By the time they reached the dog park, he was ready for a nap.

  It was still early in the afternoon, and the fenced-in park was almost empty. Olivia released the dogs. Goodwin took off for the far corner of the park while Fender groaned and plopped himself down for a roll in the grass before snoozing in the sun. Looking around uneasily, Olivia checked to make sure that Andrew wasn't anywhere to be found. Feeling a little silly, she took a deep breath.

  "Andrew, the last time we were here, you asked me a question. We both thought that we were ready to take the next step, but there were doubts.” Her voice grew more confident as she went on. “We've come a long way since then, and I want you to know that I am ready. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Andrew, will you . . .?"

  "Olivia?"

  Gasping, she whirled around, but it wasn't Andrew standing behind her. It was Mayor Henderson, the larger-than-life figure who wanted to put Lexingburg on the map. "Ah, Mayor," Olivia smiled tightly. "I didn't hear you coming."

  Henderson glanced around, a puzzled look on his face. "Were you talking to someone? But I don’t see—It almost sounded like maybe you were practicing a proposal."

  If there was one person in this town who couldn't keep a secret, it was the mayor. "No. Not at all. Just talking to Fender, here." She pointed down at the basset hound. "You remember him? The dog you adopted, once upon a time?" Henderson had adopted the dog simply as a ploy to get closer to Lady Celeste after the psychic had announced she was starting a new pet-psychic service. However, when the scheme had fizzled, the mayor had basically passed the dog along to Olivia.

  Now he said casually, "Sure. How's he doing?"

  The mayor had no shame, and Olivia laughed softly. "He's fine. What brings you to the park?"

  "I spoke to your employee earlier. Natalie? She works for Lady Celeste as well."

  The mayor had been crushing on the psychic for years. It was finally starting to look like maybe things were going somewhere, but both of them were being very secretive about whatever their relationship was at the moment. "Yes, she does."

  "Right,” the mayor said briskly. “I was looking for you. Sheriff Limperos tells me that he's asked for your help on this case. I'd like to discuss your qualifications."

  Fender barked suddenly. Getting up, he waddled toward Goodwin, who was rolling in something in the farthest corner of the dog park. With Olivia's luck, it was probably something dead.

  “Excuse me, Mayor.” She started walking after the dogs, and Henderson followed. "What do you mean by qualifications?"

  "Have you taken your PI test yet?"

  "Uh, no. Mayor Henderson, you do know that I've helped solve cases prior to this?"

  "Yes, but this is the first time that it's been official. A request from Limperos makes it official, and I just want to make sure that everything is on the up-and-up."

  Olivia tried not to laugh. "Mayor, if I was licensed, then Nick would have to pay me. Is that in the budget?"

  The mayor's eyes widened in panic. "You know, you're right!” He backpedaled rapidly. “You have plenty of experience. I have nothing to worry about."

  "Good. I'm glad." She kept walking, but the mayor continued to follow her. The silence was awkward until Olivia looked over her shoulder at him. "Was there something else that you wanted?"

  He cleared his throat. "So, Nick said that the newspaper woman gave you a box of letters to look through.” Elaborately casual, he added, “I was just wondering how far back those letters went."

  He really wanted to talk about the case? Normally, the mayor wanted to talk about Lady Celeste. "I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I think they go back about six months. Why?"

  "Six months?' The man looked visibly relieved. "That's good. That makes sense, right? Since the murder was recent? It was probably about something recent?"

  Realization dawned, and Olivia stopped short and gasped. "You wrote to her," she accused him. "And you're worried that I'm going to figure it out!"

  "Keep your voice down!" the mayor hissed as he swiveled his head from side to side, looking to see if anyone might overhear. "I don't need the whole town to know that."

  Shaking her head, Olivia started walking again and reached the dogs. Goodwin was still rolling, but Fender had found an old tennis ball and was nosing it around.

  Olivia didn't bother throwing it. Fender wouldn't fetch it, anyway. "Look, Mayor, I'm not going to tell anyone if it isn't pertinent to the case, but you might still want to come clean with me. I assume that you wrote to her for advice about Lady Celeste?"

  "I wasn't the mayor, back then." Henderson turned a little red. "And Celeste was just so beautiful. I asked for advice, but Dear Ruby just had a scathing response—she seemed incensed that I didn't have the courage to talk to Celeste on my own."

  Olivia's heart went out to him, and she touched his arm gently. "You don't have anything to be ashamed of. Relationships are tricky. Starting them can be difficult, and you want to make sure that you don't screw it up. With someone like Lady Celeste, patience is probably key. Did you write Ruby an angry letter, afterward?"

  "Of course not!" the mayor said indignantly.

  "And did you know her true identity?"

  "No. I even asked the editor, but she refused to release the writer’s name." Henderson looked at Olivia guiltily. "Not that I was going to do anything about it. I was just curious."

  Fender abandoned the ball, and Goodwin immediately jumped on it and offered it to Olivia, tail wagging furiously. Taking it from him, Olivia frowned at the dirt covering it. She pitched the ball as hard as she could throw it, and Goodwin tore off after it.

  Turning back to the husky man, Olivia smiled. "Don't worry, Mayor. I think I can cross you off my suspect list."

  "Good." He sighed in relief. "I'm sure you already know this, but Celeste is very worried about you."

  "Really? She might have mentioned it a couple of times, but I don't think she has anything to be concerned about.” She smiled to emphasize her reassurance. “Madeline was killed in a fit of rage. I don't think anyone is going to come after me. Besides, Andrew is working with me. He's got my back."

  The mayor didn't look convinced, but before he could say anything else, Fender scooted closer to him and lifted a leg. He jumped back and cleared his throat. "I should get going. I'll let you know if I have any other questions."

  "Okay," Olivia laughed as he hurried away. She still couldn't figure out how he'd managed to take care of Fender for those few days before he’d used the dog to get Celeste's attention.

  She stood there for a minute, watching the mayor’s retreating figure, but then as she turned away, she saw Andrew heading toward her, a big smile on his face. Her heart immediately skipped a beat.

  Every time she saw him, she got butterflies. It wasn't just that he was handsome, even though he was. He was full of love and patience and kindness. He really was her better half, and she needed him by her side.

  Now was the time to tell him that.

  "Was that the mayor that I just saw talking to you?' he asked. He gave her a quick kiss before bending down to scratch Fender's head. Goodwin barked sharply, though the sound was muffled by the ball in his mouth, and he bounded back to jo
in them, dancing joyful circles around them, enticing them to try to grab the ball away.

  Olivia ignored the big dog—it was the best tactic to get him to drop the ball for another throw. "Yes, it was. He was checking up on the investigation. How was work?" Olivia immediately cringed. She didn't want to ask Andrew about work. She wanted to propose to him. How was she supposed to segue into it?

  "Good. I spent most of the day working with Brent. I think he's ready for the interview." Goodwin dropped the ball, and Andrew scooped it up and threw it a satisfying distance, absently dusting his hands as the dog leapt into hot pursuit.

  "That's good." Want to marry me? "Nope. That does not work."

  "Hmm?" Andrew frowned. "What doesn't work?"

  Crap. She'd said that out loud? "I was just thinking about Brent. His ego is already huge. I can't imagine how things are going to be when he gets your job." She laughed to show him she was joking, but she didn't want to keep lying to him. It was time to do this.

  "Andrew. I'm glad that you met me here. I actually had something I wanted to say to you." It wasn't the perfect opening, but it would have to work. Reaching into her pocket, she fingered the outline of the ring in her wallet and took a deep breath. Here went nothing.

  "That's him," Andrew suddenly said, his voice sharp.

  Olivia barely heard him. "Uh-huh. What? The mayor? Yeah. I told you that he wanted to chat with me about the investigation."

  "Not the mayor. The head of the I Hate Dear Ruby group. Charles Frederick."

  Really? The case was interrupting her proposal again? Olivia wanted to scream, but she forced herself to relax and glance around. "Who? The blond guy jogging? Do you know him?"

  "More from word of mouth. He designs websites and helps to keep them running. The question is whether he's running the website because someone paid him or because he also hates Dear Ruby." Andrew flashed her a reckless smile. "Maybe it's time to find out."

  Before she could stop him, Andrew took off toward the jogger.

  "What? Andrew, what are you doing?" she hissed, but he was already gone. Grumbling to herself, Olivia started jogging after him. Goodwin, returning with the ball, joined the parade, trailing behind them.

  This had to be karma. There was no other explanation.

  18

  Despite being clad in a suit and dress shoes, Andrew was surprisingly fast. He caught up with Charles before Olivia could warn him to be careful, and when she reached them, he and Charles were already talking.

  "You just decided to go for a run? Dressed like that?" Charles asked as he pulled his earbuds out.

  "He's meeting me," Olivia interrupted quickly before Andrew could dig himself deeper into whatever lie he was working on. "I'm Olivia. My two dogs are running around here, somewhere." Goodwin, realizing the game of fetch had ended, was now busy burying the ball some distance away, and Fender was snoozing in the sun.

  Charles gave them both a strange look. "Okay. Well, nice to meet you." He started to put his earbuds back in, but Andrew shook his head and held up a staying hand.

  "I actually have some questions for you."

  "About building websites," Olivia cut in again, giving Andrew a pointed look. "He's going freelance. App building—he had some questions about working on websites."

  Charles looked at her quizzically. "You're obviously very proud of him," he said slowly before returning his focus to Andrew. "But—yeah, I'd be happy to talk to you. Let's schedule lunch for early next week."

  "Can’t we just talk now?" Andrew pressed.

  He was coming on too strong, and if he wasn't careful, he was going to raise Charles's suspicions. "Andrew, we're running late as it is. Lunch sounds fine, right?"

  Andrew hesitated and looked at Olivia, and Charles laughed and shook his head. "Eager, aren't you, man? I tell you what. Let's grab some coffee tomorrow. Will that work for you?"

  "That sounds great," Olivia said hurriedly. "Thanks, Charles. Sorry that we interrupted your run."

  Andrew narrowed his eyes, but Charles just nodded, shoved his earbuds back in, and started jogging. "What was that?" Andrew demanded. "We need to talk to him. He knew Dear Ruby's identity."

  "Yes, he does, but you need a plan, Andrew. You can’t just run down a suspect and start grilling them. How many times have you said it? This is dangerous!"

  "You don't think I'm good enough to do this," he said softy, cocking his head.

  "I didn't say that." Swallowing hard, Olivia tried to regain control of the situation. "I think that we make a great team, but if there is one thing I learned, it's that investigating by the seat of your pants doesn't work. We need to talk these things through. What happens if Charles is the killer? He deflects your questions, goes home, and then keeps an eye on you to make sure that you aren't getting close to the truth. And when you are, that's how you end up in the dark woods with a gun-wielding crazy guy!"

  "That's what I tried to tell you," Andrew reminded her. His voice was dangerously quiet. "And you never listened."

  "I did listen, Andrew. I was careful. I need you to be careful. I love you, and I need you."

  "You know, I don't really even care about investigating," he said, staring at her intently. "I just wanted to work with you. To share something that you enjoy doing so much—but I guess you really do want to keep that side of your life to yourself."

  "That is so not true," Olivia protested, but Andrew was already walking away. Goodwin naturally ran after him and followed him all the way to the edge of the park. When Andrew shut the gate, the large dog jumped at the gate, then turned back slowly, returning to Olivia with a dejected look in his eye.

  "Don't worry, baby. I'm going to fix this," Olivia assured him as she leaned down to scratch his ears. She didn’t know how, but she was going to make this right. No matter what.

  "I'm starting to think that proposals really aren't a thing for you guys," Janelle said wearily as she toddled around the kitchen. Her nesting instincts had spread, and there were cute little baby items all over the house. Stuffed animals. Angel figurines. Poems and blessings. "You two should just wake up one morning, walk to the courthouse, and elope."

  "At this rate, I'll be lucky if I even wake up tomorrow morning next to him." Groaning, Olivia slumped into a kitchen chair and buried her head in her arms on the table. "I knew that this was going to end badly, but—he wanted to help. How could I say no?"

  "I think what really happened was that you hurt his feelings." Janelle stirred a spoon in a glass and then handed the glass to Olivia.

  Chocolate milk.

  Her older sister had just made her chocolate milk. Olivia wanted to point out that wine was usually what helped nowadays, but she just picked up the glass and drank from it. "The popular thought seems to be that me proposing to him was going to hurt his feelings."

  "I don't think that's true." Janelle rested her hand on her huge belly and closed her eyes. A sense of peace settled on her face, and Olivia found herself envious.

  "Things must be going well for you. I take it that date night was good?"

  "I'm still restless and hormonal and a little crazy, but Patrick is a patient man. We went to dinner. We talked. I cried a little. Actually, I cried a lot, and he held my hand the whole time. He told me that no matter what, he would be by my side. He told me that I was going to be a good mother, and I believed him."

  "Of course you believed him. Because it's true." Olivia took another sip and nodded her head. "I kind of forgot how good chocolate milk could be."

  "You and Andrew are going to be fine, Olivia."

  "How do you know?"

  A shadow moved in the doorway to the kitchen. The light flipped on, and Patrick joined them. Standing behind Janelle, he put his arms around his wife's belly and kissed the back of her neck. "Olivia, when you were trying to find the killer of that coffee-truck owner, Andrew went a little insane. He sat right there at our table and vented, just like you are now."

  "Is that supposed to make me feel better? We broke up shortl
y after that, remember?"

  Patrick chuckled. "And now you're back together. My point is that both of you can finally see both sides. You’re walking in each other's shoes. Andrew now knows why you like investigating. And now, you can understand his concerns. For the first time since you started on this journey, you two can maybe finally talk about it." Janelle smiled at him over her shoulder, and he kissed her cheek in response.

  "What if it doesn't go well?" Olivia whispered. "Then what do I do?"

  "I don't think you have anything to worry about. Just be honest. You both love each other. You'll both do the right thing." Patrick gestured with his head. "Are you moving in?"

  Olivia pulled the box forward. "I'm delaying going home. I was going to wallow in some Dear Ruby letters. Janelle offered to help. Want to join in?"

  "Listen to a bunch of women complain about their relationships? No, thanks," Patrick chuckled. "Just don't let any of those letters give my wife any ideas."

  "No, I think she's already too far gone." Olivia winked when Janelle shot her a dirty look, and Patrick just groaned, gave his wife a last squeeze, and headed back upstairs.

  Janelle waddled over to the table and sat heavily in a chair. "No Jackie to join in on your pity party?"

  "It's not a pity party. I just needed to see my big sister." Olivia pulled out a stack of letters and set them in front of Janelle.

  "Uh-huh. And not go home. What if Andrew is waiting for you?"

  "He's not. I asked Jackie to keep an eye out for his car. Apparently, it’s not just me avoiding him. He's avoiding me, too." With a sigh, she pulled out the special ring and set it on the table. "You know, when he first tried to propose to me, I knew that it was coming. I used that investigation to avoid it because I didn't think I was ready to commit. This has to be karma. Every time I try to pop the question, the investigation gets in the way."

  "You two are going to solve it together,” Janelle said impulsively. “Then you're going to get married, and my little baby is going to have some cousins."