The Treasure of the Hairy Cadre (An Alpine Grove Romantic Comedy Book 8)

by Susan C. Daffron

  Joel smiled. “Well, I think we know who the ball-obsessed individuals are…and are not.”

  Kat slowly walked through the kitchen toward the top of the stairs. She gestured toward Joel. “Could you keep the other dogs out of the way? They aren’t into this idea, but obviously Holly and Tessa think it could be great fun.”

  Joel nodded and sat at the dining room table, calling the other dogs to him.

  At the top of the stairs, Kat held the tennis ball aloft in front of the two dogs. “Okay, you two. This is going to require some brain power.” She pointed at each dog and told her to sit. They both complied, wagging expectantly.

  She held onto Tessa’s collar, said “Holly okay!” and threw the ball down the stairs. Holly launched down the stairs after the ball and Tessa tried to move, but resettled when Kat told her to sit again. “Good girl. Don’t worry, you’re next.”

  Holly proudly returned with the tennis ball and Kat told her to drop it and sit. “Good girl!”

  Kat repeated the process with Tessa. She held onto Holly’s collar, threw the ball, and gave Tessa the okay command to go after it. The golden retriever ran down the stairs, grabbed the ball, and returned.

  After about twenty trips down the stairs, both dogs were panting hard. Kat stroked Holly’s head. “So can you cope with the idea of relaxation now?” Holly wagged and she and Tessa followed Kat back into the living room. Kat settled back into her spot on the sofa and both dogs collapsed on the floor in front of her feet.

  Joel sat down next to her. “You totally wiped them out. I’m even more motivated to get the fencing set up now. Holly is a retrieving machine.”

  “I know.” She reached out to ruffle Linus’s large brown ears. “And if Linus gets sick of walking Tessa, we have another option.”

  “Sometimes he does get grumpy about having to drag her around in the rain.”

  “Don’t we all?” Kat took Joel’s hand. “And if we can get someone to stay here while we’re on our honeymoon, they won’t have to deal with the leash-and-harness arrangement. Your sister almost killed herself when she tried it.”

  Joel chuckled. “Yeah, that wasn’t good. How is the honeymoon planning going?”

  “I talked to the travel agent and I’m thinking that I want to go to Hawaii when the weather here stinks. Unfortunately, that’s when everyone else wants to go too, so it’s more expensive.”

  “The weather can stink in multiple ways. When were you thinking?”

  “Well, in the deepest darkest snow months, we might have trouble getting out to the airport if there’s a blizzard and you have to plow. So maybe spring?”

  “I’m okay with missing mud season, if you are.”

  “Very okay. We spent all that money fixing the driveway, so it should be better this year. I was thinking if we get married on the first day of spring, you won’t do the whole clichéd husband-forgetting-the-wedding-anniversary thing.”

  “You know I would never forget our anniversary.”

  “You might.”

  “Okay, the Vernal Equinox it is, then. It’s not the same every year though. Is it March twentieth or twenty-first next year?”

  “It changes? I don’t know. I’ll look it up. But that means you will forget, won’t you? When is my birthday?”

  “I will not.” He leaned over to her and whispered, his beard whiskers tickling her ear.

  Kat giggled. “Okay, I believe you. That is my birthday, but how do you know my Social Security number?”

  “I watched you fill out the forms at the doctor’s office. It was either that or read that dog-eared copy of Glamour from 1989.”

  “So you weren’t interested in reading about fast fixes for the winter beauty blahs?”

  “Not really. And how many sick people do you think have put their germy hands on that magazine in the last seven years?”

  “Yuck. And here I thought the sick-baby drool on the shopping cart was disturbing. I may never leave the house again.”

  Joel kissed her. “That’s okay. I can think of some fun things we can do inside too.”

  Sara cleaned the fish while Zack observed in silence. After chopping up the pieces, she skewered them onto branches. She was getting pretty good at fish kebab. When she was done, she rinsed her hands in the water and held them up. “All done. One fish coming up.”

  Zack took one of her hands and licked her index finger in an incredibly provocative way while gazing at her face with his intense gray eyes. He smiled and said, “Good thing, because I’m hungry.”

  Sara closed her eyes for a second to enjoy the ticklish shivery feeling. Who would have thought that little web of skin between your fingers was so sensitive? She opened her eyes again. “So, I hate to interrupt, but I need both hands to make the fire.”

  Zack put her hand down. “I wish I had a camera. You look amazing in this light.”

  “It’s a beautiful sunset.” She stood up and pointed at the sky. “Look at the colors.”

  They walked back toward the cabin and Sara built a fire within a circle of rocks nearby. “I wonder if Ira made his campfire right here when he stashed the treasure.”

  “I thought about that too. I was wandering around trying to figure out what he might have done and where he might have put the treasure. I can’t remember if he said he buried it or just hid it somewhere.” Zack gestured toward the clearing. “It’s driving me crazy. Like there’s something right at the edge of my mind, but I can’t think of it.”

  “Memory is so interesting. Ira might have said something, but it sounds like some bad things happened to you during that period of your life. Some of your memories might be buried in your subconscious.”

  “Great.” Zack peeled some bark off a branch. “That doesn’t help much now. My therapist would have such a field day with this.”

  “You never know. Sometimes when you’re ready to deal with something, you’ll have a dream or be relaxed and you’ll remember. Sometimes a sound or smell can trigger a memory. I saw that type of thing happen with dementia patients a few times at the hospital.”

  “I hate to think about the sounds and smells from that time of my life. In addition to being mean, that foster mother had to be the worst cook ever. If we ever get out of here, maybe I can set a Hungry-Man TV dinner on fire and see if that helps.”

  Sara laughed. “Burnt aluminum foil sounds delicious.”

  After cooking and eating the fish, Sara spread the Mylar blanket out on the moss in front of the campfire. As the sky darkened the temperature dropped, and she and Zack curled up together. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered, “So tell me about your childhood. I’d like to hear what it was like for you to live with a normal family. Was it full of happy smiling people and rainbows like it is on TV?”

  Sara squeezed his hand. “I doubt it, but my parents were wonderful. They might have been more protective than most, because when I was little girl I was really sick. I got pneumonia and had to be hospitalized.”

  “Huh, that’s a surprise. I thought you were the star athlete.”

  “That was later. I had complications and it took forever for my lungs to heal. I was bored and unhappy about missing school. Then when I did go back, for a long time I couldn’t do the things I used to do. I was so weak and tired I couldn’t run and play. Every day after school I went home and ate ice cream in front of the TV.”

  “Wow, ice cream. That sounds fantastic. Cold, creamy, sweet ice cream.”

  “We probably shouldn’t talk about food.”

  “Oh yeah. Sorry. Never mind. So I guess you got better, since you went on all those camping trips.”

  “Yes. Everyone was so excited about me eating again, I ate a lot. Unfortunately, all that ice cream turned me into a chubby little girl. Fifth grade was awful. My best friend had moved away while I was in the hospital and the kids started teasing me about being fat and having been gone. They made up mean stories about where I supposedly was all that time. My parents tried to cheer me up by taking us out on more fami
ly outings.”

  “That was kind of them.”

  Sara smiled. “I know. Like I said, my parents are great. I became paranoid about getting sick again and they bought me a bunch of health books. That’s part of why I became a nurse. The nurses at the hospital were so kind and caring, I wanted to be like them when I grew up.”

  Zack ran his fingertips down Sara’s neck. “You’re a much nicer person than I am.”

  “I think I had some better role models.”

  “That wouldn’t be hard. So when did you become the star athlete?”

  “I read about the importance of exercise, and I missed being active. I started taking our dog out for a walk in the morning. Eventually I got my strength and stamina back, so I started jogging. Our golden retriever Geronimo got in great shape too.”

  “So you turned into a jock?”

  “After a while. When I was in junior high and high school, I was terrified that I’d gain weight again. After being teased, I felt like no matter how good I was at school or sports, no one would like me if I was fat. I fretted about it way more than I should have.”

  “Well, you’re sure in good shape now.” He ran a hand down along her waist. “Very good.”

  “Thank you. I have to remind myself not to obsess about it. I guess the memory still lingers. One time, a girl with an eating disorder was at the hospital and I read about how the mind can play tricks on you when it comes to body image. On every chart I’m a healthy weight, but sometimes on bad days I look in the mirror and see that chubby little girl again.”

  “I was thinking about what you said about smell memory or whatever it’s called. All this smoke reminds me of my childhood. Except it wasn’t campfire smoke. It was cigarette smoke, so it was kinda different. All it needs is some stale beer stink to be complete.”

  “You said you lived with your grandmother, but what happened to your parents?”

  “My mother died of a drug overdose when I was little. Then my dad sorta disappeared after I went to live with my grandmother. She said he died, but I don’t know how.”

  “That’s so sad.”

  “I don’t remember much about them. It’s hard to feel sad about people you didn’t know and don’t remember.” Zack sighed. “I hate leaving this warmth, but I gotta go find a tree. I hope I don’t kill myself wandering around in the dark just to take a whiz.”

  “Watch out for bears.”

  “Great. Thanks.” Zack extracted himself from the blanket and disappeared into the darkness. The sound of him rustling around grew fainter as he ventured off into the forest.

  Missing his warmth, Sara curled the blanket around herself and gazed at the campfire flames. Once again, she had revealed far more personal information to Zack than she’d intended. She never, ever talked about these things with anyone. Even her parents didn’t know about some of her past insecurities and her worries about her weight. Something about the way Zack looked at her with such an intense, interested expression caused her to blurt out her most intimate and private thoughts. If his career as a business consultant didn’t work out, he could be an excellent psychiatrist.

  A crash came from the woods and Zack yelled a long expletive-filled tirade at something, then was silent. Sara sat upright. He hadn’t actually found a bear, had he? She hadn’t been serious about that. “Zack? Are you okay?”

  There was more rustling and then Zack appeared out of the darkness next to the fire. He crouched down next to her, the campfire flames casting shadows on the contours of his face. “There’s definitely something out there.”

  “Oh, come on. I was kidding about the bears. Maybe it’s Olivia. I still have hope that she’ll find us again.”

  Zack crawled in under the blanket and resettled himself, snuggling into Sara’s embrace. “It’s not a bear. And it’s definitely not the cat.”

  She looked into his eyes. “Then what?”

  “It’s a person.”

  “Is it Ozzy?” Sara jerked to move away from him, but he held her close. “Do we need to run again? That would be extremely dangerous in the dark.”

  “I’m sure it’s not him. The guy tripped over something and I heard his voice when he was running away. I think I scared the crap outta him, if you want to know the truth. Anyway, it’s definitely not Ozzy.”

  “What if it’s one of Ozzy’s friends?”

  “What friends? He’s disgusting and we both saw he was alone on that boat, so I don’t think so.”

  “Then who was it?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Are you saying there is more than one person following us?”

  “Maybe. I guess we’re kinda popular.”

  “I hate to say this, but I’m getting a little scared now.”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  Chapter 6

  Travelin’ Man

  Sara and Zack lay curled up together whispering about the situation for a while. Sleep was a lot more challenging when you thought someone lurking out in the forest might attack you. But running through the darkness had potentially catastrophic consequences as well. Whoever was out there seemed to have run far away, gone to sleep, or found something else to do. Maybe he wasn’t after them. It could be a lost hiker or some outdoorsy privacy nut who was as surprised by the encounter as Zack was. Eventually, it was so quiet for so long that the exhausting activities of the day caught up with Sara and she fell asleep.

  When Sara opened her eyes, the colors of sunrise were starting to cross the sky like long swaths of paint on a canvas. She had her head on Zack’s shoulder and he was doing the koala claw thing again, with his arms wrapped around her and his large hands splayed across her back.

  When she moved, he groaned and opened his eyes. “Ow. That moss isn’t as soft as I thought. My back hurts.”

  “The fire went out too.” Sara squirmed. “If you let me go, I’ll do something about the cold.”

  Disentangling himself from her, he rolled over. “I miss coffee.”

  “Don’t say that. It will only make it worse.” Sara kneeled in front of the fire ring. She dropped the branch she was holding. “You know, maybe I shouldn’t bother with this. We should try to get back to the beach. If we head north again, we might get closer to an area where someone might see us.”

  “I guess.”

  “When I was paddling the canoe, I went by a number of coves like the one I stopped at. The coastline is rocky, so it may be a challenging hike. It’s probably best to get an early start.”

  Zack sat up and put his arms around his knees. “All right. That’s reasonable. It’s not like we have a choice. But it kinda makes me sick that we have to leave the treasure here. I know it’s gotta be around somewhere.”

  She put her hand on his forearm. “I don’t suppose you had a dream that revealed where the treasure is, did you?”

  “No. I didn’t sleep very well.”

  “I didn’t either.” Sara stood and folded the blanket. “I was thinking about the maps I’ve seen of the lake. We may have several days of walking ahead of us.”

  Zack rested his forehead on his knees. “Oh man, that’s a lotta fish.”

  “Do you think Ozzy is still here somewhere?”

  “I doubt it.” He raised his head. “The guy is not exactly George of the Jungle. I can’t imagine him camping out like this. He’s probably sleeping in some nice, soft bed somewhere.”

  Sara held out her hand. “Well then, that means we have time to get going before he gets back over to this side of the lake.”

  Zack took her hand, gathered his feet under him, and stood up. “All right. Let’s go.”

  Sara led the way, trying to follow the path they’d taken before. She’d made an effort to pay attention to her compass on the way to the old cabin, or the home of moss, as she now thought of it. Once they returned to the creek, they could follow it down to the beach and then make their way along the edge of the lake back toward civilization. The camp was probably closest, but the walk to get back there was a daunting pros
pect, given the configuration of the shoreline. She was a bit concerned that she was going to run out of supplies in her little emergency kit. But if they stayed near shore, someone other than Ozzy had to see them eventually.

  After they had hiked through and been slapped around by many forms of vegetation for quite some time, Zack said from behind her, “Can we rest for a while?”

  Sara slowed her pace, but didn’t stop. “I think we’re almost to the creek. We can rest there.”

  Zack didn’t reply, but she could still hear him following her, so apparently she’d succeeded in convincing him to keep going.

  At last, Sara pushed through the last gigantic copse of bushy plant life and discovered the creek gurgling peacefully beyond. With a grunt, Zack sat down on a boulder and twisted his leg around so he could look at his calf.

  She turned to look at him. “Is your leg okay?”

  He scowled. “It hurts, but I’ll probably live. Some mean branch ripped the bandage off. I tried not to scream like a total baby, but I might have cried a little. It hurt like a motherf…a lot.”

  “Why didn’t you say something?”

  “We’re in the middle of a gigantic jungle here and you were in mega-motoring mode again, so I was just trying to keep up. What were you fixating on this time?”

  “Nothing.” Certainly nothing she was going to share, anyway. The rather explicit fantasies she had been having about Zack were her own business.

  She crouched down to examine his leg. A new scratch crossed the prior laceration and whatever had ripped off the bandage also appeared to have tugged at the stitches. That must have been extremely painful.

  He put his hand on her shoulder. “You’d better not tell me you need to cut my leg off or something.”

  “No, but the wound is looking a bit red and irritated.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  Sara got her first-aid kit from the dry bag. Her little cache of medical supplies was running low, along with everything else. They needed to get out of here soon. She carefully tended to the laceration and applied a new bandage. “Okay, you’re good to go again.”