“Can I make one other suggestion?”
“Sure.”
“Rent a car with four-wheel drive. Just in case.”
Becca smiled. “You know, that’s not a bad idea.”
Becca steered the shiny blue Ford Explorer down the long driveway toward Kat’s house. The guy at the rental place had gotten all animated about the new “Control Trac” automatic four-wheel drive system in the 1995 model year. As far as Becca could tell, this nifty new feature mostly just meant that the thing cost a small fortune to rent. On the other hand, the money would be well spent if the weather turned and it decided to snow again. The Explorer even had all-season radials on it. Jack would be so pleased. Given his comments about her driving, he’d probably be even more excited about the fact that it had air bags. Safety first.
Mona was running back and forth across the backseat, wagging excitedly and pressing her nose at the small window opening Becca had given her. The dog was sniffing so hard that it seemed like she was trying to inhale the forest. Becca turned and looked behind her. “Calm down, Mona. We’re almost there.”
The snow on the driveway had melted enough that the holes had reappeared. The Explorer clunked heavily down into an especially deep crater and Becca patted the steering wheel. “Welcome to exploring some off-road driveway driving. You’re supposed to be designed for this, right?” The rental company wouldn’t be amused if she broke the SUV on its maiden voyage.
Becca parked beside Joel’s green pickup and got out. The packed snow crunched under her boots and a light breeze was wafting the scent of wood smoke and pine trees through the clearing. Becca looked up at the brilliant blue sky. The only sound was the light whap-whap of a bird’s wings as it flew overhead.
The door of the house opened and Kat walked down the front steps with the gigantic dog following behind her. She was bundled up in an over-sized coat, which along with the big dog made her seem especially tiny. Becca waved, “Hi Kat.”
Kat walked over to the Explorer and said something unintelligible.
Becca inclined her head. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”
Kat moved closer to Becca and said in a hoarse voice, “New car?” She turned to the dog. “Linus, stop that. Not everyone wants to be leaned on.”
“It’s okay.” Becca stroked the large dog’s head. “After my last driving experience here, I decided to rent something a little more suitable.”
Mona was leaping around the inside of the Explorer, and Kat pointed at the vehicle. “I think Mona really wants out.”
Becca collected Mona from the back and the dog ran over to Linus. The two dogs wagged and looked delighted to see one another again. Becca smiled at the reunion. “I think Mona really enjoys it here. It was like she could tell when we were getting closer.”
“I didn’t see much of her toward the end of her last stay, but she seemed to settle in with everyone really easily.”
Becca reached out to touch Kat’s arm. “Joel said you were sick. Are you feeling better? I’m sorry to dump Mona on you so soon.”
“It’s okay. Mostly I just sound terrible. I talked to a friend of mine on the phone last night and she said I sound like Kathleen Turner.”
Becca laughed. “Hey, that’s kind of sexy, right? What does Joel think?”
“He said it’s fine, as long as I don’t go all Romancing the Stone on him and hatch a plot to capture Columbian drug lords.”
“I was so glad I got to talk to Joel the other day. After wearing his clothes for so long, I felt like I was meeting an old friend.”
Amusement flickered in Kat’s blue eyes. “I’ll bet. He really appreciated the fact that Jack spent so much time cleaning up The Shack. From what Joel said, Jack sounds like a great guy.”
“Yes. Even after being trapped with Jack for days, I still like him. At first I thought we might kill each other, but it all worked out.”
“Oh really?” Kat looked down at Linus, who sat down next to her, leaning on her thigh.
“It’s not like that.” Becca gestured dismissively. “Note to self: don’t get trapped in a snowstorm with a married guy.”
“Jack is married?”
Becca nodded. “Technically. For eight more days.”
“Eight days. How, um, specific.”
“I’m all about details. I probably shouldn’t be saying anything about it, although Jack made it sound like everyone in Alpine Grove already knew.”
“This is not an easy place to keep secrets.” Kat ruffled the large dog’s ears. “So have you met his wife?”
“No.” Becca glanced down at Mona. Meeting the legendary Annie was definitely not on her to-do list. “I hope I never do. From his description, she sounds gorgeous.”
Kat stroked Linus’s head, looking thoughtful. “Sometimes men surprise you. It’s not always all about looks.”
Becca smirked. “Yeah, right.” She twisted Mona’s leash in her hand. The dog was quietly sitting at her side. It was as if she enjoyed being back here, happily looking up at the humans and listening to their conversation. “I should really get going. I have so much work to do for this appraisal. They’re going to get really tired of seeing me at the offices I have to go to in town. I have to go to the assessor’s office, talk to real estate people, stare at records at the county courthouse, and dig up a bunch of other stuff. It’s going to take a while.”
“Wow, you go, girl.” Kat took the leash from Becca. “Let me know if you need anything. We’ll be here.”
Becca reached out and gave Kat a hug. “Thank you.”
As Becca drove the Explorer back toward town, she was feeling a little bad that her dog seemed to like being here a whole lot better than being at home. Maybe Becca just wasn’t cut out to be a dog mom. She did work a lot, after all.
Poor Mona. When you’re a refugee from an animal shelter, you don’t get to pick your new family. They pick you. And in the great spin of the adoption roulette wheel, unlucky little Mona got her.
Kat took Mona and Linus into the house. Joel was in the kitchen making a sandwich. As Linus trotted by, Joel glanced at Kat. “Mona looks pleased to be back.”
Kat unclipped the leash and Mona ran off to the living room to join the other dogs. “Yeah, she definitely likes it here. I thought she was going to try to break out of the Explorer Becca was driving.”
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay. Tired, which seems impossible, given how much I’ve slept lately.” She pointed at the sandwich. “That looks good. Now that we have clean silverware again, would you be willing to make me one of those?”
“Sure.”
Kat sat down at the table, and a few minutes later Joel joined her, handing her a plate with a sandwich on it. He settled into a chair. “I have to talk to you about something.”
Kat paused before taking a bite of her sandwich. “Please don’t tell me your sister is coming back. I’m still not up to full strength yet.”
“No. I think I need a break from family for a while.”
“Thank you.” Relieved, she took a bite. Food actually tasted normal again.
“It’s about The Shack.”
Kat put down her sandwich. “What about it? I thought everything was okay. And you were going to meet Jack again after he got the glass to fix the door.”
Joel shoved his plate forward and put his elbows on the table. “Yes. It’s all fine. I wondered what you would think about me renting it.”
Kat leaned toward him. This was new. “Well, I’m not sure. It’s your house. You can do what you want. But if you rent it, you can’t…uh…escape there if you want to.”
“I know.” Joel arched an eyebrow. “And neither can you.”
A flush rose on her cheeks. “That was just one time. There were extenuating circumstances. I was stressed.”
He gave her a sympathetic smile. “I know. I remember.”
“Who would you rent it to? No one wants to go way out there in the winter do they? Your sister doesn’t even want to come ou
t here, and The Shack is farther out than this place is.”
Joel looked down at the plate. “I was thinking of asking Jack if he wants to rent it.”
“Jack? That’s a surprise. You’d think he and Becca would never want to see that place ever again.”
“He’s working on a property right near there.”
Kat waved the sandwich in her hand at him. “There’s nothing over there. What does Jack do?”
“He’s a forester. I guess he’s doing some work for the people that own the old commune property.”
Kat took Joel’s hand. “Doesn’t Jack already have a place to live? Becca told me he’s married. Or he was, I guess. He must have a house or apartment or something.”
“He lives in that old brick apartment complex near town.” Joel shrugged. “It wasn’t like he said he hated it. More like he loves the trees out at The Shack. He told me all kinds of stuff about them. It was really interesting. I guess a lot of logging was done here in the twenties. And he said that it’s an unusual habitat. I can’t remember everything he said, but I have to say, he really knows his trees.”
“Hey, as you know, I like the trees too. I can relate to that.”
“I wanted to see what you think before I say anything to him. He might not be interested, so it may not even be an issue. But it would be kind of nice to have someone keeping an eye on the place.”
Kat raised her eyebrows. “So people like Jack don’t break in?”
Joel laughed. “Yes.”
“But what if we got into a huge fight?” She squeezed his hand. “You’ve always had a place to go if you needed to get away from me. Which I understand. Sometimes I’d like to get away from me too.”
“Are you planning on having a huge fight? We haven’t had one so far.”
“Not huge. More like limited-time disagreements. I suppose there were some adjustments to living together. And maybe some minor snarling.” She shrugged. “But you seem to limit your major fighting activity to altercations with your sister.”
“True. It’s not like I’m incapable of getting into an argument.”
“Me neither. I think that’s well-documented. Sometimes I speak when I should shut up.”
Joel grinned. “Sometimes I shut up when I should speak.”
Kat got up out of her chair and moved to sit in Joel’s lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. “I know I’ve said this before, but I don’t want you to go anywhere. If you’re asking me if I am planning to throw you out, the answer is no. If you want to rent your house, you won’t get any argument from me.” She gave him a kiss. “And thanks for talking to me about it.”
“I’ve been told that I should communicate more.” He tickled her ribs playfully. “There was this mute woman waving a notepad at me.”
“That mute woman is feeling much better.”
He raised his eyebrows suggestively. “How much better? I thought you were tired.”
“Maybe not that tired. Don’t you have geeky engineering stuff you’re supposed to be working on down in your office?”
“I suppose. But you have this sexy, low sultry voice. I don’t really have to work right now. Do you have something else in mind?”
Kat nibbled on his earlobe and whispered exactly what she had in mind.
After a long day of attempting to sweet-talk information out of numerous Alpine Grove office workers, Becca was looking forward to meeting Jack for dinner. She sat at the Italian restaurant enjoying the aroma of spicy tomato sauce and the warm glow of the candlelight. Jack walked in the door and she waved.
He was wearing a long, dark-colored wool coat that made him look like some type of exotic foreign spy. It was a far cry from the Eskimo garb. After hanging the coat on a hook, he sat down across from her. “You look nice. That dress is exactly the same color as your afghan.”
Becca looked down at the teal dress, which in addition to being extremely comfortable and impervious to wrinkles, also had a form-fitting design that showed off her figure. “Thank you.” She pointed at the coat. “So where are you supposed to keep your duct tape in that?”
“I’ll never tell. How was your day?”
Becca leaned forward. “Great! I got tons of information today. My nagging skills were in top form. It’s much more difficult to avoid someone when she is standing right in front of you. Not fighting with voicemail makes a big difference as far as efficiently getting what you need.”
“I’m impressed.”
“While I was busy harassing county employees, what were you doing today?”
He leaned his elbows on the table. “Same thing I usually do. I was out boring trees.”
“Honestly, Jack, you need to get over this being boring thing. I don’t think you’re boring and I’m sure the trees think you’re utterly fascinating.”
“What? No.” He shook his head. “I mean I was boring trees, as in drilling holes in them. To check the age and quality of the wood. You use a tool called an increment borer. You poke it into the tree and then twist it and pull out a little strip of wood, which gives you a cross-section of the rings of the tree.” As he spoke, he indicated the poking and twisting action with his hands.
Becca’s eyes widened. “Well, now you really have my attention.”
Jack paused in his explanation, and at the expression on her face, he burst out laughing. “Becca!”
He had the most wonderful laugh. Warm, rich, and infectious. Becca wanted to say something funny just to hear him laugh again. She put her fingertip on her cheek and said in a phony high-pitched voice. “Sir, I do not know what you think I am thinking, but I am not the kind of girl who would think such impure thoughts.”
Jack exchanged a knowing look with her. “I think we both know…” Glancing toward the front door, he stopped in mid-sentence, a horrified expression on his face.
Becca turned to see what he was looking at. A tall woman with long blonde hair, wearing a ruby red cashmere coat, was striding toward them. Jack struggled to get up. The woman waved him back down into the chair and stood alongside the table. She glanced briefly at Becca and then said to Jack, “Don’t bother. How are you Jack?”
Jack said evenly, “I’m fine. I thought you were down at your parents’ place.”
“I couldn’t stand any more of that wholesome family time. Plus, I needed to get back and take care of some things at the house here.”
Becca cleared her throat loudly. “Hello. I’m Rebecca Mackenzie.”
Jack said, “I’m sorry. Becca, this is my, uh, wife, Annie.”
“Well, not exactly,” Becca said.
The woman glanced at Becca quickly. “Anne Sheridan. Nice to meet you.” She turned back to Jack and reached to touch his cheek, which still sported a fading yellow bruise. “What happened to you?” She ran her fingertip along the side of his face and traced the outline of the bruise with a long red fingernail.
He jerked his head away. “Just an accident.”
Becca said perhaps a bit too loudly. “Things might have gotten a little out of hand when we were out at that cabin in the woods.”
Annie looked down at her. “Oh really?” She carefully placed a little white box she was holding on the table.
Becca proffered her sweetest smile and raised her eyebrows suggestively. “Oh yes.”
Annie turned her head to look at Jack again. “I guess you got over that whole idea of being by yourself for a while.”
Ignoring the statement, Jack asked, “Why are you here?”
Annie pointed at the box. “I’m just picking up some tiramisu. You know how I love the tiramisu here.” She licked her lips. “I doubt you’d forget that.”
Jack shook his head, but didn’t say anything.
“Well, I should be going.” Annie picked up the box. “Jack, I need to talk to you. I’ll call you later tonight.”
He nodded. “That’s fine.”
Jack and Becca both watched in silence as Annie left the restaurant. Becca turned to him. “Well, that was awkward.”
>
He sighed. “Sometimes this town is just way too small.”
“I’m thinking I want to try some of this tiramisu. Apparently, it’s not to be missed.”
Jack chuckled and the tense expression on his face relaxed. “It really is good.”
Becca gestured expansively toward the room. “So tell me more about how you spend your time having your way with unsuspecting trees.”
He grinned. “Dendrology is a lot sexier than people think.”
As it turned out, the lasagna was almost as good as the tiramisu. Becca had a great time eating, drinking, and laughing. Jack seemed to forget about the whole uncomfortable conversation with Annie and teased Becca about how her afghan was probably the size of New Jersey by now. After a long day of having to be polite to people, it was great to just sit and talk to someone who already knew all her most terrible secrets.
They got up to leave and Becca watched as Jack put on his coat. “So you must have something in your coat pockets. You always do.”
He reached into his pocket and opened his palm to show her a small Swiss army knife. “Don’t leave home without it.”
Becca laughed and tucked her arm into his. “Never.”
They walked outside and stood on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant. The wind had kicked up, blowing Becca’s hair every which way. “I should get back to the lovely H12 now.”
“It’s dark. I’ll walk you there.”
“It’s three blocks away. I think I can make it. This is not exactly like walking around in the mean streets of LA.”
Jack locked his gaze with hers. “Humor me.”
“Fine.” They began walking down the street toward the motel. Becca said, “Have you ever actually stayed at the H12?”
“No.”
“It’s kind of a dump. But the owners are nice. And when you check in, they give you a condom with your room key.”
Jack slowed his pace and turned to look at her. “What?”
“Apparently, it’s a progressive type of no-tell motel.” Becca huddled against Jack’s coat as they walked into the wind. “I told them I was staying by myself, but the lady at the desk just nodded and handed me one anyway. Then she told me to take more from a basket on the counter if I needed them.”
Snow Furries (An Alpine Grove Romantic Comedy Book 4) Page 16