The Dog Designer Ruffles Some Feathers

by Heather Horrocks

  That’s just what we want people to think so they’ll carry us.

  It’s a fine strategy, she sent to her cute little dog as she started walking again, acutely aware of the handsome guy beside her.

  They walked in silence for half a block. Then Kea said, “Your dogs are well behaved.”

  “Thanks. They’re still young, but they’re learning fast.”

  Why, Wencheng wondered, is he following you? Maybe he wants to pet me? I’m going to test that theory.

  She pranced over to him. She was so tiny that it took her a few minutes to capture his attention but then, sure enough, her cuteness worked. Kea stopped and picked her up, petting the haughty little dog. I told you. I’m always right.

  Whatever, Wencheng. Stop flirting with Kea.

  I’ll stop when you do.

  He started walking again, carrying the little dog. “Do you plan to visit Moonchuckle Bay more often now that you’ve come back for a visit?”

  Never again, she thought. “I haven’t made any plans yet, but perhaps.”

  “I’d like to see more of you.”

  She just bet he would. She was growing weary at his refusal to remember he was engaged. “You’ll be married soon. Maybe I’ll come back for the wedding.”

  He frowned at that, and set down the Shih Tzam.

  Suddenly, three people shot around the corner, startling Poppy. Her heart was racing before she realized it was just some teenagers messing around on skateboards, racing up the street.

  Holy bananas! She put her hand to her chest where her heart was hammering.

  The dogs started barking at the running teenagers. Even Wencheng put in her two cents’ worth.

  Blaze barked — and her heart sank.

  The harness had shifted on him, and a little flash of fire shot out of his mouth.

  “What the—!” Kea shouted.

  Poppy lunged for the puppy and yanked the harness back on straight, tightening one of the sides.

  When she stood, Kea stared at her through narrowed eyes. “You have a fire-breathing dog?”

  Holy bananas, indeed. She smiled sweetly. “My dogs have many magical abilities and are highly prized by supernaturals everywhere.”

  He was not going to be distracted. “You have a fire-breathing dog?” he repeated, and he sounded angry.

  “Yes. But the magical harness usually keeps it in check.”

  “Why do you have a fire-breathing dog?”

  “Because I’m trying to create magical dogs.”

  “What on earth did you cross a Dalmatian with to get a fire-breathing dog?”

  Seemingly stuck on the words fire-breathing dog, he glowered at her through a long pause, until she finally admitted, with a sigh, “A hellhound.”

  “And what, exactly, do you call this designer fire-breathing dog again?”

  She thought it might be best to use her original name. “Prestidigimatian.”

  “Surely a hellhound hybrid would have a more descriptive name than that.” He continued to stare at her. “Something that implies fire-breathing dog.”

  Finally, she caved. “Okay, okay. That was what I was going to call him until another woman gave me a more descriptive name.”

  But she couldn’t quite spit it out.

  He raised an eyebrow at her, while still glowering. How was he even able to do that? “And?” He stretched out the word into nearly two syllables.

  She closed her eyes. He wasn’t going to like this. When she opened them, he hadn’t magically disappeared, unfortunately, and neither had his glower. “A Hellfire-and-Dalmatian.”

  “You probably think that’s cute, don’t you?”

  “Kind of, yes.” She was starting to resent the tone he was taking with her. She’d worked hard to create this dog. Sure, he needed some work and training, but all dogs did.

  “As fire chief, I’m going to have to confiscate him.”

  She pulled Blaze closer to her. “You will do no such thing, Kea Pueo. You back away from the puppies and no one will get hurt.”

  She picked up Blaze.

  He’s really mad. Why do you like him, again?

  Kea motioned to Max. “And what magical abilities does this dog have?”

  “Max is a Labracadabrador and he can disappear when he’s not wearing the harness.”

  Really, really mad.

  “And Wencheng?”

  Tell him I don’t like him. At all.

  “She’s a Shih Tzam, she’s telepathic, and she wants me to tell you that she doesn’t like you.” Poppy glared right back at him. “At. All.”

  They stared at each other for five seconds, then he turned, and roared out his anger.

  “Good night, Kea. It’s been delightful. Really, it has. See you around. Or, better yet, I hope I don’t see you around. Why don’t you stop bothering me and go bother your lovely fiancée for a while?”

  Still carrying Blaze, she turned and strode off, back toward the house, anger burning in her heart.

  In the middle of the night, Kea’s phone rang. He groaned and reached for it.

  When he answered, his friend and fellow firefighter, Tyberius Thrakos, snapped out, “Fire at the Chaney Haunted House. I thought you’d want to know since your sister and her friend are renting the place next door this week.”

  Instantly awake, Kea jumped up. “Why are you working? You’re not on the schedule.”

  “They called me to do a fly-over and dump some water on it. It’s still blazing now.”

  “On my way. I’ll make sure Nalani and Poppy are safe, then come help.”

  “Flying over? Or driving?”

  “I’ll drive. I’m only five minutes away,” he responded, pulling on clothes and shoes and dashing out to his truck. The dragon was able to carry much heavier loads of water than Kea’s owl could, even as big as he was in his owl form.

  It took only minutes to reach the haunted mansion, and the sight of it in flames shot adrenaline through his veins. He screeched the truck into the driveway of the house next door — and found Poppy and Nalani on the porch.

  It took only seconds to reach them. “You’re all right?” he asked. “The dogs, too?”

  They nodded and pointed to the house next door.

  Having made sure everyone was safe, it was time for him to join the firefighting efforts.

  “Don’t leave this property,” he commanded, and raced toward the firetruck.

  “Dragon incoming!” called out a man, and everyone scrambled away from the house.

  He looked up to see Ty in his dragon form, carrying the huge net in his claws that allowed him to scoop up large amounts of water for fighting fires.

  A moment later, a huge wave of water swept over the house, and Ty flapped his wings to turn back toward the lake to reload.

  But this load of water had helped immensely. Most of the flames had been snuffed out, and the firefighters got to work putting out the rest of the blaze.

  Blaze. That was the little fire-dog’s name. He stopped in his tracks.

  Had the fire-dog set this fire?

  He couldn’t imagine Poppy doing it, nor could he imagine her being irresponsible enough to let the little dog slip. He thought about how she hadn’t even stayed to talk to him last night when he’d dropped by. So she wasn’t waiting around pining for him, and that thought depressed him.

  Which it shouldn’t. He had a fiancée. He only remembered her sporadically, but she came to his mind now, bringing a wave of confusion.

  After another thirty minutes and two more dragon loads of water, the flames were gone. Ty shifted to his human form and he and the firefighters, Kea included, worked for several more hours to make sure nothing was going to re-ignite, or at least when it did, they were there to extinguish any new flames.

  The hard work helped to burn off the emotions that threatened to overtake him. Having Poppy so close made him acutely aware of her. And his thoughts circled round and round.

  He had a fiancée, but he only seemed to think of her wh
en she was close to him.

  The rest of the time, he couldn’t get Poppy out of his mind.

  Poppy had a dog that set fires.

  A fire had just been set.

  Which means the fire-breathing dog could have set the fire.

  He hoped that wasn’t true but, once the fire was completely put out, it wasn’t his problem, because he had a fiancée. Round and round. And round.

  Finally, when they had things under control and no flames had reignited for an hour, Kea told his friend, “Let’s leave a couple of guys onsite to make sure nothing flares back up.”

  Ty passed along the orders, then found his way back to Kea. As the men rolled up the hose and climbed back into the trucks, Ty said, “I have more bad news for you.”

  Kea frowned. “What could be worse than this?”

  “You know the anonymous tipster who told us about the fire?”

  Kea nodded.

  “The guy said he saw the lady with the three dogs over in that yard last night — at about the time the fire was set. She’s our primary suspect, and it was definitely arson.”

  “Poppy?”

  Ty looked grim. “Poppy.”

  “She wouldn’t do something like that.”

  But there was that little Dalmatian and the fire he’d breathed. Could Poppy’s dog have set this bigger fire? Did she know about it? Or was the dog just more dangerous than she realized?

  He really didn’t want Poppy to be the chief suspect, but he couldn’t stop an investigation if it began.

  “What do you want to do about it?” Ty pushed.

  “The Sheriff’s Department will be investigating, so we’ll look for more evidence, enough to prove this guy is telling the truth — or is lying.”

  “That could be wishful thinking on your part. I know you’re fond of her.”

  “I’ll stay close to her. We need to prove her innocence.”

  “And if you find something that proves her guilt, you’ll report it, right?”

  Kea looked at his old friend, his face set. “What’s with you tonight, Ty? Of course I’ll report it. I won’t be happy about it, but I’ll report it.”

  When Will the Wedding Be?

  WHEN THE DOORBELL RANG, POPPY followed behind Nalani to the door. Her friend called over her shoulder, “It’s just Kea. Nobody important.” She was obviously teasing, as Kea was her favorite brother.

  Nobody important. Then why did Poppy’s heart flutter so every time she was around Kea? She stopped at the corner, her hand on the wall, watching as he grabbed his sister, giving her a combination hug and noogie. A hoogie…? A nug…?

  “Ow! Let me go, you big oaf!” Nalani pulled free.

  When Kea caught sight of Poppy, he looked at her as though she was a chocolate bunny and chocolate bunnies were his favorite treat in the entire world.

  And that did funky things to her insides. Because he happened to remind her of her favorite treat as well. Triple fudge brownies with vanilla ice cream à la mode.

  But, unfortunately, he was somebody else’s triple fudge brownie. Something niggled at the back of her mind when she thought about his looming marriage, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Something she was going to tell him, but what was it? Must not be that important, right?

  “I need to talk with you, Poppy.” He was using a serious tone and he wasn’t smiling.

  She crossed her arms. “What about?”

  “Can we go in a room where we can speak privately?”

  Nalani stormed after him. “Whatever you have to say to her, you can say to me, too, bro.”

  He looked at his sister. “This is fire department business. It’s an official visit.”

  “I was here, too. I can tell you what happened.”

  “This is something different.”

  Poppy said, “Just spit it out, Fire Chief Pueo.” She kept her voice cool.

  He glanced between the two of them. When neither one of them backed down, he shrugged. “All right.” He looked at Poppy, and she saw regret on his face. “Does my sister know about the dog?”

  “Blaze?”

  He nodded.

  “Yes,” she answered in unison with Nalani.

  “All right. You have a fire-breathing dog. And last night, at about the same time as the fire was deliberately set, a man saw you walking your fire-breathing dog onto the haunted house property — and setting the fire.”

  Was he kidding? He really thought she was capable of something like that? “And what time would that be, exactly?”

  “2:45 a.m.”

  “That's interesting, because the last time I took the dogs walking was when you followed me. I came home immediately afterward and didn’t take them out again. Your sister and I watched a movie and then went to bed. We were awakened by the dogs barking at around 2:45, and a firetruck arrived minutes later.”

  “I’m not saying that you set it on purpose, but it could have been your dog. I saw for myself that he’s out of control.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “It didn’t happen like that.”

  “I want to believe you.” He sounded like he did want to believe her, but this sounded like trouble for her.

  “Believe it,” Nalani said angrily. “That’s the way it happened.”

  “It could be and I hope it is, but because the guy called it in to the station, the sheriff’s department will have to be notified. You may have deputies coming by to question you, as well. I wanted to give you a head’s-up about that.”

  She stared at him, hurt swirling within her. This man she’d had such a crush on, and apparently still had such a crush on, thought she was the type of person who would set a fire? Intentionally? He thought so poorly of her that he would suspect her of this? “So you think I’m an arsonist?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t. But I have to disprove what’s been claimed against you.”

  “Do it quick,” she said, “because I plan on going back to my life soon.”

  “You’ll need to stay in town until the sheriff lets you know otherwise.”

  “Great.” She smiled as sweetly as she could. “Thank you for letting me know of the accusation against me, Chief. Now I’ll excuse myself.”

  “I’m sorry—” he began, but she swept past him and went to her room.

  Anger born of hurt hit her.

  How dare he?

  “Are you sure Kea won’t be here?” Poppy asked Nalani as they walked up to her parents’ home the next day. “Or should I say Fire Chief Pueo?” Her tone was more sarcastic than she’d intended.

  Nalani laughed. “I love him, but he can be a jerk. He has good qualities too, though. Try to remember those. Plus he is trying to prove that you didn’t set the fire.”

  “My hero,” she said sarcastically. She could only wish he was trying to prove her innocence. “Again I ask — will he be here?”

  “Absolutely not. My mother said he’s at work today.”

  “Good.”

  Nalani opened the door to her home, and they entered, then followed the voices coming from the back of the house.

  They found Okalani in the kitchen, which flowed naturally into the large dining area and family room. It was a gathering place for family events, and the family and friends were so numerous that often the parties continued to flow out into the spacious backyard.

  “Girls, it’s good to see you. Come in, come in.” After a warm hug, she motioned to the counter. “I need a bunch of corn shucked.”

  Poppy smiled. She’d always been like another child to Okalani and it really felt like being back home. Here, where every new person was a guest, Poppy was family.

  Ohana.

  And she didn’t need to watch Lilo and Stitch to know what that meant.

  Family.

  Being included as family after all these years felt better than she could have imagined. When her parents had moved their family away when she was fifteen, it had been hard, but she was a grown woman now. It shouldn’t affect her this strongly. But it
did.

  And, weirdly enough, it was being assigned the task of shucking corn, even more than the welcoming hug, that had touched her.

  The next thirty minutes passed with work and laughter, love and inclusion, joy and belonging.

  When they set the two large pots full of corn and water onto the stove, Okalani approved. “Thank you. The pork is already cooking, and now we just have to turn on the stove later for the corn. Let me fix you a drink and I’ll bring it to you out on the patio.”

  “No,” Poppy said gently. “I don’t want to be a guest. I like being family.”

  Okalani smiled, pleased, and touched Poppy’s cheek. “Ohana. Yes. Always.” Then she turned. “Will you girls help me pour the drinks and we’ll all go out onto the back porch?”

  There was a light breeze on the patio, which felt wonderful. Large trees shaded the house and yard, making the area inviting and enjoyable.

  When the doorbell rang, Okalani started to rise, but Nalani jumped up. “I’ll get it, Mom. You stay here.”

  “Thanks,” Okalani said, then asked Poppy, “What have you been doing with yourself since you moved away?”

  Poppy looked at her second mother and told her about her parents moving yet again and how she and her brother finally decided to settle down and let their parents go without them. “It was a hard decision, but I’m so glad we did. I was tired of moving around.”

  Okalani shrugged. “You could move back here.”

  “My business is in Colorado Springs.”

  “Your dog business?”

  Poppy nodded.

  Okalani shrugged. “There are places around here you could use, and many of your customers would be here in town. You sell to supernaturals, right?”

  Poppy smiled. “Good point.”

  When she heard the door slide open, she turned — and her heart sank. It was Kea’s fiancée. Lizzie in a skin-tight pair of jeans and a snug, low cut, ruffled blouse that highlighted her bosom. Highlighted as in take a look at these bazoombas!

  Nalani was obviously fuming, even though she said, in a much-too-cheerful voice, “Look who’s come to visit and show us pictures of her wedding dress.”

  “That was quick work,” Okalani said, also in a much-too-cheerful voice.