“Everything will be fine. We’ll take good care of her. Have a good time out on the water today.”
“I will.” Sara got into the car and Kat led Holly toward the outbuilding. Sara backed the car out, turned, and slowly made her way down the driveway. She hated leaving Holly for any reason. And Kat was a bit of an odd duck. How could she be so vague about her wedding plans? It made no sense. A wedding took months to plan and it was supposed to be a romantic, beautiful event that led to wonderful memories you’d cherish forever. How could Kat be so cavalier about the whole thing?
Sara had been plotting the details of her wedding since she was in sixth grade. What if Kat couldn’t find a venue? Or a minister? Or the right flowers? What would they do? As Sara slowly drove back toward town, she mentally cataloged the pages in her wedding scrapbook. She’d certainly been ready when the time came for her marriage.
Of course, there had been that little detail of the man cooperating with her plans. Given her dismal failure in that area and the number of frogs she’d dated lately, it was obvious that even with all her detailed planning, finding her prince wasn’t going to happen overnight.
As the sound of Sara’s car receded down the driveway, Kat walked into the Tessa Hut with Holly. She opened the gate to the chain-link kennel inside and led the dog into it. After closing the gate behind her, she stroked the soft fur on Holly’s head. “I need to go get some water for you from the house. Then we’ll go for a nice walk, okay?” The dog wagged a few times and sat looking hopefully at her while Kat unclipped the leash. “I’ll be right back.”
Kat walked up the steps to the front door and went inside the house. Joel was in the kitchen eating one of his snack sandwiches. He raised a hand in greeting and put the sandwich down on the plate. “So I guess the day-care dog is here?”
“Yes, her owner has gone off to the lake and I’m getting a jug of water to fill Holly’s water dish. I don’t think Sara likes me too much though.”
Joel bent to kiss Kat’s cheek as she stood at the sink filling the container with water. “I like you. In fact, it’s more than like. I love you.”
“I love you back. You’re sure in a good mood.” Kat turned to face him. “It’s also a relief to me that you more easygoing than Sara. I think she’s appalled that I’m not changing my surname to yours, poring over issues of Modern Bride to plot our massive wedding, or picking out the right preschool for the children we don’t have.”
“I see. So is the dog nice?”
“She seems fine. Holly doesn’t care about my blatant disregard for matrimonial traditions.” Kat set the water jug down on the counter and put her arms around Joel’s waist. “We probably should figure out when we’re getting married though. I’m tired of people asking. Even if we make up something or pull a date out of a hat, it would be better.”
“I don’t really care when. But if you need a lot of time to study Modern Bride, we probably should set a date reasonably far into the future.”
“I’m not into bridal magazines and I don’t particularly want a large wedding, but waiting a while would give my mother more time to adjust to the idea.”
“Not to mention my sister.”
“True. Cindy was certainly less than enthusiastic about the news. I thought the comment about fifty percent of marriages ending in divorce was tacky though.”
Annoyance flickered in Joel’s green eyes. “Cindy and I still aren’t on the best of terms.”
“I know you got angry when she lost your dog, but were you ever on the best of terms? I think I missed that window.”
“Our terms rival those you have with your mother.”
“Touché.” Kat leaned back to look at his face. “Are you sure we have to invite them?”
“Pretty sure.”
“Okay, but the first thing my mother asked is if she should make arrangements at her church. I am not going to get married in the city and definitely not at her church. Has the woman even met me? Church? What’s that about? She knows I haven’t set foot inside a religious establishment since I was seven. I was so shocked at her suggestion, I didn’t know what to say. If my mother wants to see me in wedded bliss, she’s going to have to deal with coming here to Alpine Grove.”
“Maybe she’ll decide you’re a heathen and stay home.”
“We can only hope.” Kat gave Joel a final squeeze before releasing him from the hug. “I guess we should figure some of this stuff out. But first I have an energetic Australian shepherd to walk.”
“Have fun. I’ll be painting. I’d like to get the doors done before it gets too hot.”
“I’ll join you when I’m done with Holly. Sara said this dog needs a lot of exercise. I’m not sure what I’m going to do. Sara is about six feet tall and a serious athlete. She’s obviously in amazing shape and jogs with Holly. Ugh. Since I don’t do jogging, I guess I might be taking a lot of walks today. Hopefully that will be enough.”
“Sorry I can’t help you with the whole jogging thing.”
“I know all the metal pins and things in your leg don’t appreciate that type of activity. Sara also mentioned that Holly likes playing Frisbee, but we don’t have any fenced areas yet, so that’s not going to happen either.”
“I’m sure you’ll find a way to tire her out. You did with Tessa, and she’s a hyperactive nutball.”
“I’ll try and think of something. Holly is the last dog who will be staying in the Tessa Hut, so I should revel in the simplicity.” Kat stopped at the doorway as Joel opened the door for her. “The other thing we need to think about is who will watch this place when we’re on our honeymoon. Even if we close the kennel during that time, we still need a house and pet sitter in a bad way.”
“You haven’t even planned the wedding yet.”
“I know.” Kat looked over her shoulder at him as she walked down the front steps. “Getting to go on the honeymoon is the only reason I’m willing to deal with the social and familial angst of a wedding at all. Otherwise I’d say let’s elope and be done with it. But if I get to go on a cool trip, I’m willing to get dressed up and fraternize with others.”
Joel took her hand, pulling her to a stop. “Where do you want to go?”
“Someplace tropical with gorgeous beaches.”
Joel raised an eyebrow. “I’m getting the impression you’ve been thinking about this for a while.”
“Maybe a little.”
“Hawaii?”
Kat flashed a quick grin. “That works for me.”
“Which island?”
“I want to see the garden island. Let’s go to Kauai.”
“Okay. Twist my arm. What if we work backward? Talk to a travel agent and figure out when and how we can make the honeymoon work, and then we’ll base the timing of the wedding on that.”
“I like how your mind works.” She squeezed his hand. “I can get way more excited about honeymoon planning than wedding planning.”
He bent to give her a kiss. “Me too. See you later.”
Kat let go of Joel’s hand and he turned to go down the driveway toward the new kennel buildings. Finding a house sitter was definitely a problem. They needed a house sitter willing to hang out with five dogs and five cats. That was a lot more fur than most people were willing to accept. However, Kat was motivated now. The idea of spending a long relaxing vacation on a tropical beach with Joel was beyond enticing.
She walked into the building and found Holly still sitting up looking attentive. The dog had a way of watching you that was eerie. Kat had heard that part of how herding dogs did their job was by giving livestock “the eye.” The intense stare apparently caused sheep to hustle up and get a move on, but to a human, the eye could be unnerving. Having a dog that was always watching you that closely could make you feel a little self-conscious.
Given their appearance, two of Kat’s own dogs probably had herding breed heritage somewhere in their genetic makeup, but they didn’t have the focused intensity that Holly did. Chelsey looked somewhat like a
brown Australian shepherd, but she was too shy to care about herding. And Lori was a black-and-white dog that probably had border collie in her, but she far preferred play to anything that might resemble work.
Kat opened the gate and clipped the leash on Holly’s collar. “I’m sure glad your mom already took you for a jog. Otherwise, I have a feeling that you’d be pacing around looking for something to herd. And we’re fresh out of sheep here.”
Kat took Holly around to the back of the house and out to the trails that wound through the forested property. Since the dog was only going to be there for a few hours, it wasn’t worth going through the whole introduction routine with the resident dogs.
After a few walks throughout the day, Holly would be headed home again. And by the time Holly returned for her stay while Sara was at summer camp, the kennels and fencing would be done, and they could establish a more intensive exercise routine.
Kat returned to daydreaming about tropical breezes and sexy evenings with Joel while Holly toddled along through the woods. Suddenly, the leash jerked and Kat stumbled, almost falling on her face. A grouse flapped its wings frantically and ascended to a branch that strained under the weight, swaying back and forth alongside the trail. Holly leaped into the air, barking sharply as the ungainly bird fell off the branch and scuttled underneath a nearby shrub. Kat gathered the leash in her hands more tightly. “Holly, stop that! It’s a grouse. They live here.”
Holly crouched and stared at the shrub as if she could hypnotize the grouse and convince it to come back out and play. Kat sighed. “Let’s go. I’m quite sure that grouse doesn’t like you.”
Reluctantly, Holly resumed walking, jerking her head back and forth, watching for any other wayward birds that might leap out of the vegetation. Kat also kept a close eye out for more wildlife. It would be wise to spot any other avian residents of the forest before Holly did.
After dropping off Holly, Sara drove south through Alpine Grove toward the lake. She was ready to focus on training her muscles not to freak out every time the canoe rocked. Just like any other sport, canoeing was a matter of practice. There was no way she’d be defeated by watercraft that had been in use for thousands of years.
The fact that she was having so much trouble with this activity was completely mortifying. Her fellow counselors-in-training probably thought something was seriously wrong with her. Being good at sports had always come naturally to Sara, but now she had a new insight into how all those kids who were always picked last for dodge ball and kick ball must have felt when she was growing up. Every year, Jenny Enfield had always suddenly come down with some terrible illness during the Presidential physical fitness tests. Maybe she hadn’t really been sick.
Sara arrived at the campground and parked her car. Bob waved to her as he descended a ladder that was leaning on the Maypole cabin. They’d agreed to meet at the boathouse, and Sara had brought a dry bag with all her picnic and outdoor supplies. All she needed was the canoe and her life jacket and she’d be ready to go. The water looked cool and inviting with the sun glinting off the tiny ripples in the smooth surface of the lake.
Bob pulled the canoe around and held it for her as she got in. Sara turned her head to smile at him. “Thank you for letting me borrow the canoe. I’ll be back in a few hours.”
“I’ll be here. Don’t you dare take off that PFD.”
“I promise. This life jacket and I are staying together. Cross my heart.”
“Okay, enjoy your picnic.”
Sara put her paddle in the water and took a few strokes. “I will. Look at how flat and lovely the water is. This is going to be so much fun.”
Bob gave her a backward wave as he walked away from the shore and back to the cabin he had been working on. Sara paddled close to land, experimenting with turning and practicing the various strokes she was supposed to know before camp began. She couldn’t practice her J stroke, since she was alone, but she could play around with the draw stroke a bit. Even though it involved reaching out away from the canoe, she found that she could now do it without even a tiny bit of panic. That was progress.
She paddled for a while toward the part of the lake that was completely undeveloped. The land on this side of the lake was owned by the state, forest service, or some other government entity, so it was completely uninhabited. The steep cliffs that rose up from the water made any type of construction problematic, and the single dirt track that went around this side of the lake was difficult at best. In the winter, spring, and fall, the road was virtually impassible, so most people accessed the beaches and coves by boat during the summer months.
Sara had always wanted to see this area and it truly was as beautiful as everyone said it was. At the cry of a bald eagle flying overhead, she looked up. The massive bird was headed toward a tall tree snag near the shore that had a huge nest at the top. It was so quiet that Sara could hear the whooshing sound of the eagle’s wings above her.
Being surrounded by the scents and sounds of nature brought back memories of the many family camping trips Sara’s parents had endured over the years. They must have had the patience of saints to put up with three extremely athletic and often obnoxious children out in the wilderness. Her parents had been into hiking, not boating though. As her mother was fond of pointing out, boats were expensive and feet were free.
The one thing Sara missed about living in Gleasonville was not being located near her parents anymore. She still saw everyone for holidays and big family get-togethers, but it wasn’t the same. Now she couldn’t just pick up the phone and say, “Hey Mom, want to go grab some lunch?” But her mother had been incredibly supportive about her switch from nursing to teaching, and then moving to Alpine Grove.
Being able to teach at the elementary school was an amazing and rare opportunity that Sara couldn’t pass up. Now that she was getting to know more people in the little town, she was beginning to feel more comfortable and was looking forward to the start of school again in the fall.
Sara alternated paddling with floating for a while so she could rest her arms and enjoy the views. The shoreline meandered into coves and the different angles offered different vistas, depending on which way the canoe was pointed. It was so relaxing and beautiful out on the water that Sara lost track of time. Her paddling skills must have improved, because she had gone much farther than she’d expected to. Although she hated to turn back, according to the position of the sun, it was time to eat her sandwich and turn around.
As she changed direction, Sara gasped at the sight of the sky in front of her. An enormous dark-gray cloud glowered over the lake, darkening the water below it so it was almost black. The first whisper of a breeze caused the hair that had fallen out of her ponytail to tickle her ear. Pushing it aside, her eyes widened at a lightning flash and subsequent crack of thunder.
The storm was heading right for her and she certainly wasn’t going to be able to return to the camp by paddling through it. One of the first rules of water safety was to get off the water during a storm. She glanced at the shoreline, and started paddling furiously, looking for a decent spot to pull in. Hadn’t she passed a small beach a ways back? As a glimpse of white sand peppered with rocks came into view around a curve, Sara exhaled deeply. Thank goodness. Her arm muscles were burning from the exertion.
A thunderclap echoed across the lake and Sara cringed involuntarily toward the floor of the canoe. Where had this storm come from? It had been completely clear when she left and the weather report made it sound like it was going to be sunny for the rest of the week. What was wrong with those weather people? Couldn’t they read a radar screen?
Sara paddled up to the beach, grabbed her dry bag, and made an extremely ungraceful, splashy exit out of the canoe. She grabbed the rope from the bow and yanked the craft up onto the sand. Turning her head, she looked for some type of shelter. This storm was moving so fast that with any luck, she’d be able to wait it out and then get back to the camp before dark. But Bob was going to kill her. He had made time for he
r to practice and she was going to be really late. Oh well, she couldn’t do anything about it now.
She turned the canoe over on the beach so it wouldn’t fill with rain water. The next task was to find someplace where she wouldn’t get completely soaked. Even though it was warm outside now, getting wet and cold could be dangerous. Another bolt of lighting flashed across the sky and the rumble of the thunder ricocheted through the trees. One thing was certain—Sara needed to find cover and fast.
Chapter 2
Stormy Weather
A few fat droplets of rain fell on Sara’s head as she ran up the beach toward the thick vegetation and trees that lay beyond the sand and rocks. Getting away from the lake was important. When they’d gone camping, her mother had always reminded them that if there was a storm they needed to avoid large bodies of water, tall trees, open fields, and hilltops. Since there were no buildings around, the best thing she could do was find some heavy shrub or cave where she could hide until the storm passed.
As she entered the thick forest, she glanced up at the tree canopy. There weren’t any dead or extra-tall trees that might act as a lighting rod or Roman candle. Ducking under a huge bush that was growing out of a rocky crag, she took a moment to catch her breath and looked out toward the lake. A bolt of lightning flashed and she counted the seconds before the inevitable thunderclap.
The theory was that every five seconds between the light and sound was supposed to correspond to a mile. But how were you supposed to know if you were counting too fast or too slow? Sara could tell that the storm was well within the 30-30 rule though. The rule was that you should take shelter if the time from seeing a flash to the time you hear thunder is 30 seconds or less. The other half of the 30-30 rule meant she’d have to wait until 30 minutes had elapsed from the last lightning-and-thunder event before she could return to camp. She groaned at the idea. Waiting out the storm was going to take a while. Bob was going be beside himself with worry when she didn’t show up as scheduled. She was never late.
The Treasure of the Hairy Cadre (An Alpine Grove Romantic Comedy Book 8) Page 2