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

by Susan C. Daffron

  Sara scribbled notes on a note pad. “Okay, I’m writing this down. But one thing is that I’m still at my parents’ place because the cleaners are working on my house. I don’t think they’d mind if you stay here, but you’d probably have to meet them. We haven’t known each other long. Would meeting them be too uncomfortable for you?”

  “It’s cool. Don’t worry. I’ll be nice. They’ll love me.”

  “We’ll have to take my dog Holly too. I don’t think Kat will be willing to board her for a while.”

  “A dog would be easier than carrying that cat. I need to tell you about Mary Lou the dog too.”

  “How does the dog fit in?”

  “It’s a long story and I gotta go to a phone meeting with the guys in Chicago and give them the bad news that I’m not showing up next week. But this is gonna be great. Give me the directions to your parents’ house. I need to get going.”

  Sara relayed the directions and they hashed over a few more details. “I can’t wait to see you.”

  “You too, Sparky. Now go forth and find camping gear.”

  “Aye-aye, Captain.” Sara hung up the phone and grinned. This trip could be a whole lot of fun. Not to mention the promise of fantastic sex.

  The next day Sara’s parents returned home and Sara got the hug from her mother that she’d been wanting. While her father was outside cleaning the RV, she helped her mother unpack and broke the news that she had acquired a cat and Zack during her days of being MIA on the other side of the lake.

  Her mother folded a sweater and placed it in her dresser drawer. “Sara, I don’t understand. You met this man and now you’re going back to where you got lost?”

  “Zack thinks he knows where the treasure is now.”

  “You know I always try to support your decisions honey, but running off on a spur-of-the-moment camping trip isn’t like you. It took you six months to plan your last vacation, which was only a weekend at a bed and breakfast.”

  “I know. Zack is a bit more, well, impulsive than I am.”

  “It sounds like it. So he’s coming here?”

  “Tomorrow, I think. He’s renting a boat so we can go to the other side of the lake again.”

  “We were worried sick about you. Are you sure this is a good idea?”

  Sara approached her mother and put her hand on her arm to stop her frenetic folding. “It will be fine, Mom. This time we’ll have proper supplies. But like I told Dad, all those camping trips and his lectures about being prepared paid off.”

  “How much do you know about Zack?”

  Sara sat down on the bed. “More than you might think. We spent a lot of time talking because we had nothing else to do. He told me about his childhood and his business—just a lot about his life. And I can’t believe all the things I told him. It was dark and I kept blabbing. I don’t know what came over me. Maybe he’s a good listener. I don’t know.”

  “Hmm, that’s interesting. You don’t tend to open up with people you haven’t known for a long time. What is he like?”

  “He’s…uh…I don’t know, sort of difficult to explain. I believe he’s a good person. I know he had some bad things happen when he was little, but he seems philosophical about it. Oh, and he makes me laugh.”

  “That’s good, I suppose. It sounds like I’ll find out for myself soon enough. Let’s go see what your father is up to with the RV.”

  Sara gave her mother another hug. “I’m sorry to dump all this on you. I know it’s a little strange. Thanks, Mom.”

  “Don’t try to butter me up, Sara. I know what you’re up to. You’re going to try to convince me to keep that cat.”

  “Her name is Olivia, and she already likes you. Didn’t you see how she curled up in your lap and started purring? It was adorable.”

  “Stop it. The cat does not like me.”

  Sara smiled to herself as she followed her mother out of the bedroom. With some more time and dedicated persuasion, Olivia might have a new home after all.

  The rest of the day was filled with enjoyable conversations with her parents about their trip and what was going on with various friends and relatives. Retreating back into the comfortable routines of home, Sara was setting the table for dinner before she even realized what she was doing. The only thing missing was the sound of her brother and sister bickering about whose turn it was to load the dishwasher.

  By the next day, both her mother and father had grilled her about Zack enough that Sara was starting to be increasingly anxious about the meeting. Zack was so unlike Josh, it would be a bit of an adjustment for them.

  Sara and Josh had been a couple for so long that he’d almost seemed like a member of the family in some ways. He was like the serious, stand-offish relative who did all the things he was supposed to do, competently and efficiently. Well, except remaining faithful and showing up for the wedding, of course. After that fateful event, her parents had never said much about him unless Sara mentioned his name first. Although it was kind of them to respect her feelings, sometimes the obvious omission made it feel like Josh had never existed at all.

  At the sound of a knock on the door, Sara jumped up off the couch followed by Holly, who galloped up alongside her, barking furiously. When Sara opened the door, Zack was standing on the doorstep with a bag slung over his shoulder. He was perfectly clean-shaven, which made his gray eyes stand out in a striking way. Because he looked like such a consummate business professional, she almost didn’t recognize him.

  Who would have thought Zack would clean up so nicely? He was so surprisingly handsome, Sara just stood there looking at him for a moment. He flashed her his typical huge boyish grin, which transformed his expression and revealed his slightly crooked teeth. Then he was just Zack again, and she couldn’t help but grin in response. He reached out and hugged her, then leaned her back into a dip for a mind-blowing kiss.

  Sara’s mind went completely blank as she enjoyed the sensations. The sound of her father clearing his throat abruptly ended the thrills and Zack pulled her upright and released her. Sara turned around and smoothed her blouse. “Hi Dad. Um, this is Zack…um…Zack.”

  Zack leaned around Sara and held out his hand, “I’m Zack Flanagan. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  “Brian Winston.” He shook Zack’s hand then gestured toward Sara’s mother. “This is my wife Amy.”

  They shook hands and Amy said, “Welcome to our home. Please come in.”

  Zack readjusted his bag on his shoulder and bent to pet Holly, who was leaping around him. “You must be the dog I’ve heard so much about.”

  Her brain more or less restored to normal, Sara said, “Yes, that’s Holly.” She snapped her fingers and pointed at the dog’s rear end. “Holly, that’s enough. Sit.”

  Holly sat politely and wagged as Zack stroked her head. He stood up. “Thank you for letting me stay here while we get organized for our trip. I appreciate it.”

  Amy shooed Holly away. “Come in and sit down. Would you like something to drink?”

  Sara followed everyone into the living room and settled onto the sofa next to Zack, trying not to think about the fact that she felt like she was reliving some type of awful high-school dating disaster. This was ridiculous. She was an adult and her parents had to know that she and Zack were more than just friends. Or if they didn’t know before, it was certainly obvious now. How embarrassing. Did meetings with parents ever get any easier?

  To his credit, Zack wasn’t nervous or even slightly disturbed about having been caught in the act of wildly groping her in the doorway. In fact, he was getting along famously with her father.

  Brian pointed at Zack, “I know why you look so familiar! I read about you in Entrepreneur magazine!”

  Zack put his glass down on the coffee table. “Yeah, that was a cool article, although that’s probably not the greatest picture of me.”

  “You saved that company’s bacon! That idea you had about changing their marketing approach—it was brilliant.” Brian glanced at Sara. �
��Did you read it?”

  “I don’t read that magazine Dad.” Sara shrugged. “I’ve never even heard of it.” But now she was going to scour the house to find that issue.

  Amy said, “Your father devours it every month.”

  “I’ve always wanted to start a business,” Brian said. “But we had kids and responsibilities, so I needed the steady paycheck. And now that we’re retired, my wife wants to travel.”

  “Why don’t you do both?” Zack gestured toward the house. “You said you loved the trips in the RV. You could do it full-time. Sell the house and hit the open road. A lot of retirees work at campgrounds. There are all kinds of short-term jobs you can do.”

  Sara glared at Zack. “That’s ridiculous. They can’t sell this house.”

  “Why not?” Zack raised his eyebrows. “People downsize all the time after they retire.”

  Brian leaned back in his chair, looking thoughtful. “We could do that, couldn’t we? The kids are gone, the mortgage is paid off. We don’t need all this space for just the two of us…so why not?”

  “If you ever want to start a business, cash is king. Having money to live on while you figure out what to do next is crucial. I suspect there are going to be huge opportunities on the Internet too.” Zack picked up his glass and gestured toward the windows. “Then it won’t matter where you live. All you need is access to a phone line.”

  Brian looked at Amy who pressed her palms together and smiled at him. “Oh honey, that sounds so exciting. I have chills. We could do it!”

  Sara gestured in exasperation. “What are you talking about? You can’t sell this house. You just can’t! It’s where we all grew up.”

  Brian sat up again, “It’s not like we’re going to do anything right this second.”

  “I know you have issues with change, honey. Don’t worry. Everything will be fine,” Amy said as she stood up. “I’m going to get started on dinner.”

  Sara followed her mother. “I don’t have issues with change, Mom.”

  Zack picked up his glass and went into the kitchen after them. “Do you need help with anything?”

  Amy reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a head of lettuce. “If you could wash and chop this for the salad, that would be wonderful.”

  Sara snatched the bag of lettuce. “Mom, you know I always do the lettuce.”

  Amy shrugged, grabbed some carrots from the crisper drawer, and handed them to Zack. “How about carrots?”

  He nodded and pulled a chef’s knife out of the wooden block on the counter. “I can do that.”

  Brian leaned on the counter and discussed a few of his business ideas with Zack while he washed and chopped the carrots. Sara got a knife and whacked the head of lettuce in half with vigor. Not only was Zack chopping the carrots the wrong way, but she had heard a number of her father’s business ideas before. They were utterly impractical. Dad was a grown man with responsibilities. He couldn’t go off and start a flaky business, much less work at a campground!

  Over the years, her father’s hair-brained schemes had become a bit of an inside joke between Sara and her mother. But Zack was taking this insanity seriously and even suggesting other ideas. Now her mother was buying into this foolishness. What was going on here?

  Sara finished chopping the lettuce, threw it into the big wooden salad bowl, and turned to Zack. “I’ll do that. The pieces need to be smaller.”

  “All right.” He narrowed his eyes slightly and put down the knife. “Have fun.”

  Brian put his hand on Zack’s shoulder. “Let me show you some of my notes.”

  Zack smiled. “Sure.”

  Sara was quiet during dinner, listening to her parents chitchat with Zack about their trip to Wyoming. Since she’d heard about the trip already, she tuned most of it out. She couldn’t wrap her mind around the idea of her parents selling the house. What about holidays? Sara had always assumed she’d be bringing her kids to the big family Thanksgiving dinners here every year. How was that going to work? You couldn’t cook a thirty-pound turkey in an RV. But her mother’s comment about issues with change was completely unfair. Sara didn’t have any problems making changes. Over the last few years, she’d changed her entire career, for heaven’s sake.

  Maybe she’d overreacted a little. Zack had seemed irritated when she took over the salad too. If they had been alone, he probably would have said something snotty. It was sweet that he was trying to be polite to her parents.

  Amy said, “Sara, are you listening? I said, please pass the salad. Good heavens, what are you brooding about?”

  Sara looked up from her plate and handed her mother the bowl. “Sorry, Mom.”

  “She’s freaking out about the idea of you selling the house and that you might not live here forever,” Zack said.

  Sara pointed her fork across the table at him. “What are you talking about? I am not.”

  “Sure you are. It messes up your plans.” Zack tilted his head slightly. “Doesn’t it?”

  “Of course it does!” Sara put her fork down with a thump. Why did she blurt that out? She always did that when Zack was around. What was wrong with her? She stood up. “Please excuse me. I’m finished. I can take your plate and get dessert.”

  Zack stood up and gathered her parents’ plates. “Thank you for dinner. That was great.”

  He followed Sara into the kitchen and put the plates on the counter. She turned around and hissed, “What is wrong with you?”

  “Me? I’m not the one being a jerk to your parents. What gives?”

  Sara shook her head and whispered. “You don’t know all the history. My father has had all these nutty businesses he’s wanted to start for years.”

  “They’re not bad ideas.” Zack opened the dishwasher and started loading dishes. “I think it’s cool he’s thinking about doing something new in his retirement.”

  Sara grabbed a dish from him and rammed it into the right place on the rack. “It doesn’t go there.”

  “I think I can handle loading a dishwasher, Sparky.”

  “You’re doing it wrong. I’ll do it.”

  “Hey, I can’t read your mind.” Zack put his hand on her arm. “I don’t know what’s eating you, but stop treating me like one of the kids in your class, okay?”

  Sara stood up and looked into his eyes. “I’m not doing that.”

  “Yes you are. Cut it out.”

  Sara looked around the kitchen. “Something about being here in this house turns me into the bratty teenager I was in high school. It’s strange.”

  “In that case, I’m glad I didn’t know you then. And that we’re leaving tomorrow.”

  Sara got the pie out of the refrigerator, cut it into slices, and handed two plates to Zack. “Please take these out.”

  “No problem. But only because you said the magic word.”

  Sara rolled her eyes and followed him back out to the dining room. She couldn’t wait for this evening to be over. She handed a plate to her mother and sat down. “The pie looks great, Mom.”

  “I got it at that little place where you had the temper tantrum when they wouldn’t let you peel the apples. Berta still remembers you as the serious dark-haired girl who was obsessed with the apple-peeling machine.”

  Sara glanced at Zack, who was looking down at his pie and smirking. She sighed. “Let’s not talk about that, Mom.”

  “You were so cute when you stomped your little foot and demanded to peel an apple,” Amy said.

  “Mom!”

  “The pie is still good too. They do have the most wonderful apples there.” Amy took a bite of pie and paused for a few moments before adding, “Zack, the guest bedroom is all made up. It’s the one next to Sara’s.”

  Zack looked up from his pie at Amy. “Thanks, but Sara said she wanted me to sleep with her, so I can bunk there.”

  Sara’s jaw dropped for a moment and then she hissed, “Boundaries!” across the table at him as the heat rose on her cheeks.

  Zack turned his head to glan
ce at Sara and then Amy. “Oops, sorry. Guess I shouldn’t have said that. But I didn’t want you to have to wash extra sheets.”

  Amy laughed. “No, that’s fine. I didn’t think you were a monk.”

  “Not likely,” Zack said. “That career path has some drawbacks I can’t get past.”

  Sara glanced at her father, who was quietly poking at his pie and studying it as if the answers to the universe were written in the crust. She looked across the table at Zack. “I can’t quite imagine you living an ascetic life of quiet contemplation.”

  “Yeah, that’s not really my style,” Zack said.

  After dinner was over, Sara and Zack gathered his things from his car and they retired to her room. Zack lay sprawled out on the bed, one hand behind his head and the other stroking Olivia’s fur.

  Sara held up a backpack. “These are old, but we can pack quite a bit in them. I also have a lot of freeze-dried food, which is light.”

  “Freeze-dried? That doesn’t sound better than fish.”

  “It is definitely better and much easier too. All we have to do is heat up water on the campfire and add it to the stuff in the package. We’ve got curry, stroganoff, and chili. Some other things too.” She threw a packet at him. “Check it out.”

  “The campers in the picture look happy.”

  “That’s because they didn’t have to carry heavy food all day.”

  “Cool. It’s not like I suddenly became Joe Jock since you last saw me. Carrying that thing on my back uphill through all those trees and combative bushes is gonna wipe me out.”

  “We’ll go more slowly this time.”

  “Speaking of which, why don’t you relax? I’ve barely had a chance to get near you.”

  Sara sat down on the edge of the bed and he took her hand. She gave it a squeeze. “I know. It feels funny having you here.”