The Good, the Bad, and the Pugly (An Alpine Grove Romantic Comedy Book 7)

by Susan C. Daffron

  After calling her answering machine and listening to many messages, Brigid decided it would be easier to take Gypsy home and deal with all the volunteer issues first, and then come back to the ranch and pick up Judge for his trip to the vet clinic.

  Once she got home, she methodically returned all the calls, leaving messages and answering questions. Sonia wanted to change the time for their coffee meeting the next day. She’d also said the librarian had found a book with a lot of fundraising ideas and that she’d bring it with her.

  After getting caught up with the phone calls, she reluctantly walked over to the police station. She was dreading hearing what Jake had to say. It would be even worse if he’d shared his complaints with the chief.

  She walked into the building and peered into Jake’s office. Since he wasn’t around at the moment, Brigid figured she’d take the opportunity to meet the new beagle. Continuing out toward the back, she exited the building. The beagle started baying at the sight of Brigid. He certainly didn’t seem aggressive, just loud.

  She crouched down in front of the cage, which seemed to confuse the dog. They evaluated each other for a moment and then Brigid went to get a leash, figuring that since she was here, she could at least give him a walk around the yard. He seemed friendly enough and Brigid walked around the area, letting him sniff happily. She sat down on a stack of cinder blocks that had been dropped off for some municipal project. The dog sat in front of her wagging his tail in the dust, and she bent to pet the smooth fur on his head. “You don’t seem like much of a killer, Lewis. If your family doesn’t come pick you up, you might get to go out and visit the ranch and meet Judge. What do you think?” He panted and looked pleased with the idea and Brigid stood up again. “Okay, that sounds like a plan. Let me get this all sorted out for you.”

  After putting Lewis back in his kennel, Brigid looked around for Jake again. She peeked into Chief Russell’s office and he looked up from a pile of papers. Before she could get away, he said, “Brigid! I need to talk to you.”

  “Okay.” Drat. The chief was the last person she wanted to see. Slowly walking into his office, she smiled and held out her hand as he stood up. “It’s good to see you again.”

  After shaking her hand, he gestured to the chair. “We need to talk about those people that are walking dogs now.”

  “I know. I spoke with Jake briefly this morning and that’s why I’m here. I stopped by to talk to him.”

  “He’s out getting lunch. He wanted to have me talk to you anyway.”

  “Oh. Okay, I was afraid of that.”

  “This is a police station and we can’t have people constantly crying in the hallways. It can be stressful enough here as it is without that.”

  “I know. I talked to Maren. I’d really like to have more than just me walking dogs.”

  “While I agree that finding help can be difficult, you need to do something about that woman before Jake throttles her. There’s an old saying in management: ‘hire slowly and fire quickly.’ That goes double for volunteers.”

  Brigid shook her head. “But she loves dogs and seems so dedicated—she hasn’t missed a shift. I’m asking people to do this out of the goodness of their heart. What if I never find anyone else?”

  “There are plenty of dog-lovers in this community. You’ve just gotten started. Once you meet more people, they’ll step up.”

  “I wish I shared your optimism.” Brigid stood up. “But I’ll tell her not to come back and I’ll walk dogs myself if I have to until I get more people signed up. I appreciate your patience and apologize for the trouble she’s caused. I’ll try to do a better job of screening people in the future.”

  The chief stood up and put out his hand. “I’m sure you will.”

  Brigid looked at the dog-walking schedule hanging on the wall. It was a copy of the one she had at home. Maren was signed up for multiple slots. With a sigh, she grabbed a pen off the desk and crossed out Maren’s name. Cindy was still doing some of the walks, but Maddie didn’t seem to come here on her own, only with Maren.

  Maybe Maddie was too shy. Brigid made a mental note to call and explain the situation to her too. Maybe Maddie would be willing to take some of Maren’s shifts herself. Otherwise, Brigid was going to be spending a whole lot of time here again.

  She walked home slowly, enjoying the sights and smells of the flowers blooming in the gardens throughout the residential neighborhoods. Spring in Alpine Grove certainly had been pretty and now it was practically summer. Something buzzed by her ear and she smacked at her neck with her palm. She pulled her hand away and saw a small smear of blood. Score one for Mr. Mosquito.

  When she arrived at the ranch to collect Judge, Clay was riding Hank back from the arena. He waved and dismounted, leading the horse toward her. Brigid stopped and waited. Sometimes he looked like such a quintessential cowboy. No wonder they loved him in Hollywood.

  He removed his hat and held it with the reins while he ran his fingers through his hair. “Hey there. What happened?”

  “I’m picking up Judge, remember?”

  “I know that. But you look a whole lot more pissed-off than you did when you left.”

  “I was in such a good mood this morning. I should have just stayed here.”

  Clay smiled as he put his hat back on. “You’ll get no argument from me.”

  “I have to walk dogs again. The chief basically said to keep the nutty M away from the station.”

  “Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don’t.”

  Brigid laughed. “That’s the wrong candy and you know it.”

  He took her hand. “I’m just checking to see if you’ve lost your sense of humor.”

  “No.” Brigid interlaced her fingers with his. “But I have to walk dogs at the station again, so I probably can’t spend as much time out here with you as I was hoping.”

  “We’ll figure it out. I’m not going anywhere.”

  She turned and stood on her toes to kiss Clay and Hank snorted loudly in her ear. Clay grinned. “Not in front of the horse, honey.”

  As usual, Judge was thrilled to see Brigid and he happily jumped into the car for the trip back to town. In addition to smelling like aging dog barf, the Honda also was starting to make an odd noise from somewhere deep underneath the car. Brigid was determined to ignore it, although if the car died, then she’d really need to get a job. She couldn’t live off her credit cards forever. Companies had a tendency to get persnickety about the credit limits on their cards.

  At the clinic, a woman Brigid had never met introduced herself as Gail and said Tracy was waiting for them in the back. By now, Brigid knew the way and she found Tracy at the big sink surrounded by the various soaps and concoctions they needed for the dip.

  Tracy waved a gloved hand. “Are you ready to kill some mites?”

  Brigid picked up a pair of gloves off the counter. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  The two women got down to the task of washing and dipping Judge who once again took the process with a remarkable degree of calm. Maybe it was his partial water-dog heritage, but he didn’t seem to mind the many baths much at all.

  Tracy rubbed some soap on the dog’s back and said, “So I know it’s been a while, but belated thanks for the fantastic munchies at the meeting. It was memorable. I think that’s the best food I’ve eaten since I went to Napa last fall.”

  “You’re welcome. I’m glad you came.”

  “I didn’t do much except eat. And talk about puppies.”

  “Well, it was great having you there. I was on cloud nine afterward with everyone volunteering. And since then, we’ve gotten some more dogs into foster homes and even one adopted! It was fantastic.”

  Tracy glanced at her. “I get the impression things aren’t so fantastic now?”

  “Well they were. But I think Judith is going to bankrupt me with her expensive tastes. And I’m afraid Maren needs professional psychiatric help.”

  “I don’t know Maren well. I’m not sure
how long she’s lived here, but she hasn’t been to the vet. Judith is just, well, pleased with her status in the community. In my head, I imagine her as a peacock strutting around.”

  Brigid giggled, “That’s a nice way of putting it.”

  “She’s like me in that she grew up here, so she knows everyone. But she married a guy who made a lot of money in construction, building fancy houses on the lake. That kind of changed her, I guess.”

  “Interesting. I will say, she certainly has a nice new car. I was jealous. Thanks to Nugget, my car smells like well-aged dog vomit. I can’t get the smell out of it.”

  Tracy laughed, “Don’t get me started on cars. I hate mine. My boyfriend keeps fixing the stupid thing, even though I keep asking him to drive it off a cliff to put it out of its misery.”

  “Well, that’s nice he can fix it. In addition to smelling awful, I think my Honda may have a death rattle now. And even though I don’t think Judith likes me, I know she’s taking good care of Nugget. She was very upset that he was at the ranch.”

  “Well, I don’t think she likes the Hadleys much.”

  Brigid turned to Tracy and raised a soapy glove in exasperation. “Yes! What’s with that? I keep getting all these odd snide comments about Clay.”

  “The Hadleys had some problems in the past I guess. I don’t really know much about it, since I was a little kid and living out at a commune. I’ve just heard second-hand stuff. Just rumors really.”

  “I’ve been spending a lot of time at the ranch and Clay has been nothing but kind to me.”

  “Oh, really?”

  Brigid looked down at Judge and scrubbed more assiduously, avoiding Tracy’s inquisitive gaze. “I just don’t see what everyone’s problem is with him.”

  “I don’t know. When he’s brought in Scout, I’ve found him kind of hard to relate to. He’s so quiet and it’s like he’s watching you all the time, which makes me nervous. Then I try to be funny and he never laughs. Not even a smile. Everything is always so serious with him.”

  Brigid paused in her scrubbing. “That’s interesting. When I’m around him, he makes me laugh all the time.”

  “Well, that’s a good thing then. I wouldn’t worry about other people. This town is chock full of rumors.” Tracy poured the last of the dip on Judge’s hind leg. “And this guy is just about ready to roll.”

  Brigid helped Tracy towel off Judge, considering the conversation. Maybe her own impressions of Clay were skewed. History had shown that she wasn’t good at character assessment when her heart was involved. She’d thought John was perfect in every way back when she met him. What if her impressions of Clay were wrong too?

  Brigid drove back to the ranch with Judge. The dog was standing up in the back seat, enjoying all the scents on the breezes flowing through the window. She glanced at his reflection in the mirror and smiled. All the baths and dips were working. New soft brown fur was growing in and he was actually starting to become a rather handsome young dog.

  She parked in front of the house and walked Judge around the ranch before putting him back in his enclosure. As she stood waiting for him, she evaluated the best way to fire Maren. Should she call her, or try to intercept her at the station the next morning and do it in person? But there other people could be around and that might feel more public and make it even worse.

  She gave Judge his dinner and he settled in on his dog bed to rest. The trip to the vet had worn them both out and Brigid walked slowly up to the house. Firing someone was not on the list of life experiences she wanted to have. All those self-help books didn’t cover stuff like this.

  Clay was in the kitchen snacking again. He waved a chip at her and stood up. “Hey, how was the vet?”

  “Tiring. Judge is resting on his bed. Dr. C wasn’t around this time, so Tracy and I did it.”

  “Half the time I see her, I have to do a double-take. Sometimes I forget she’s an adult now. I still think of her as one of the little kids from the commune.”

  “She mentioned she grew up here. I think she’s half scared of you.”

  “Yeah, right. I’m real scary.” He popped the chip in his mouth and made a face.

  Brigid laughed as she put her arms around his waist. “I know! I told her you make me laugh all the time. She said you never even crack a smile.”

  “When you’re missing some teeth, you kind of get out of the habit. It tends to be a turn-off. Definitely not so good for your social life, particularly in Hollywood, where people are concerned about appearances.”

  “I suppose so. But you smile all the time now.”

  He put his hand on her cheek and bent to kiss her. “Being happier helps quite a bit too.”

  Brigid released him, walked to the table, and picked up a chip. “While I was driving out here, I was trying to figure out how to fire Maren. I know she’s going to cry again and it makes me feel sick. I hate crying. I hardly ever cry.”

  “Some people cry more than others. Maybe for her it’s like frowning.”

  “Or breathing.” Brigid smiled. “Apparently, I need to be on horseback to cry.”

  “I prefer yoga, but to each her own.”

  After discussing the pros and cons of firing in person versus over the phone with Clay, Brigid helped him do dishes and got ready to leave. He put his palms on her shoulders. “I sure hope you find some more volunteers soon.”

  She stood on her tip toes and kissed him. “After last night, I’m motivated. I’d far rather spend the night with you than in my cold bed all alone. I’ll see you tomorrow and let you know how it goes.”

  The next morning, Brigid got up early, fed Gypsy, and went to the station. She’d decided that the best thing to do would be to attend the morning dog walk and talk to Maren in person. Maybe she could reason with her and they could work something out. Brigid didn’t want to lose Maren as a volunteer if she didn’t have to. The yard where the kennels were located wasn’t particularly public, so they could walk the dogs, then talk. That was the hope anyway.

  When Brigid went out to the yard, Lewis bayed his joyous greeting. She went into the kennel, asked him to sit, and put a leash on him. Someone had taught the dog the sit command and he seemed proud of his ability to follow the instruction. She bent to ruffle his ears. “You’re a good boy, aren’t you?”

  Maren and Maddie came out the door from the station, and Maren ran across the yard to the beagle. The dog looked somewhat taken aback at the woman’s galumphing approach. She stood in front of the dog, slapping her knees. “It’s me, it’s meeee!” in a high-pitched screechy voice that made Brigid cringe. Maren bent down so her face was close to the beagle’s. “Don’t you want to give me a kiss?”

  Brigid said, “What are you doing? I asked him to sit. He’s being good. Don’t encourage him to jump on you.”

  She straightened. “Dogs love me and they always want to say hi with hugs and kisses. It’s so cute!”

  “Could you lower your voice?” Brigid crouched down next to Lewis and rubbed his chest. “I think you’re scaring him a little.”

  “No, dogs always love me! He’s just shy. Probably he was abused.”

  Brigid turned to Maddie. “Hi Maddie, how are you?”

  The woman’s dark eyes widened and she bowed her head, her long stringy clumps of mahogany hair falling in front of her face. She mumbled, “Fine.”

  Brigid said, “I’d like to go on the walk with you today with Lewis. Then I need to talk to you.”

  “We like to walk by ourselves. I have to get to work, you know. I’ve told them that I’m coming in a half-hour late so I can volunteer here,” Maren said.

  “All right. If you don’t have time, I’ll walk Lewis after we talk. Maybe we could sit down over there?”

  A tear slid out of Maren’s eye. “Is something wrong? Lewis is going to be sent away isn’t he? I knew it! I just knew it!”

  Brigid put her hand on Maren’s arm. “No, he’s fine. Kat made flyers and Sonia is hanging more up today. If no one claims him, he’ll
stay at the ranch with Judge until he finds a new home. It’s all fine and going according to plan.”

  “Noooo!” Maren sobbed. “He can’t go out there. He can’t! I’ll take him home. I’ll foster him.”

  Brigid took a deep breath. Clearly, there was no reasoning with this woman. “Maren, I think we need to find something else for you to do. This isn’t working out. Taking care of these dogs can be an emotional roller coaster, and I understand that.”

  Maren gulped back a sob. “What are you saying?”

  “I don’t think you should come back here to the police station. It seems to be a little too much for you to handle,” Brigid said evenly. “I’ll take over here, but maybe there’s something else you can help with.”

  “No. I like walking dogs. I knew it! You’re just some type of control freak, aren’t you?” Maren shook her index finger. “You don’t even care about these dogs…taking them out to that horrible ranch and locking them in cages. It’s cruel!”

  “You haven’t seen it, but there’s a nice set-up out there. Judge is happy and he’s looking so healthy now. His fur is coming in beautifully. I think we’ll be able to put him up for adoption soon,” Brigid said.

  “That guy—what’s his name who lives there—I heard he’s a creep!” Maren waved her arms frantically. “You shouldn’t have dogs there. Everyone knows he was arrested. And then there are stories about what he did when he was working on those movies too. I heard he even stole a horse once!”

  Brigid’s patience had officially come to an end. “Listen Maren, I’m sorry, but please don’t come back tomorrow. I’ll take over the dog walking from now on.”

  Maddie pushed her hair behind her ear. “You mean you’re firing her?”

  “Yes, I am, if you want to put it that way.” Brigid gave Maddie an encouraging smile. “If you’d like to walk dogs alone, we can try that and see how it goes. But I think I’d like to go on a few walks with you first. We should work on doing a little training with these guys to help improve their chances for adoption.”

  Maddie stared at the ground and shook her head.