The Luck of the Paw (An Alpine Grove Romantic Comedy Book 9)

by Susan C. Daffron

  By the time Mia turned on V Bar H Ranch Road, she had worked herself into a state of considerable agitation. What was she doing coming out here, subjecting herself to even more people she didn’t know? Why was she willingly entering situations that would just lead to humiliation? It couldn’t possibly end well. She took a deep breath as the road crossed through expansive pastures. The drive was beautiful, with the last of the fall aspen leaves quaking and putting on a pretty show.

  The road entered a heavily wooded area and then opened out into a clearing that had a cedar-sided house with a wrap-around porch in the center of it. In front of the house, a few horses were grazing in the pasture, which was bordered by white wooden fencing.

  A number of outbuildings surrounded the house, and two red barns sat along the driveway. One had white lettering that said V - H on the front, above the sliding doors.

  A man, presumably Clay, given that he was wearing a cowboy hat, was leaning on the fence. If Mia didn’t know better, she’d think he was giving the horse a lecture. The horse even looked a little bit chastised, shaking his head a few times before he turned and trotted off into the pasture to graze.

  At the sound of the car turning into the driveway, Clay turned and began strolling toward the barns while Mia parked and got out of the car. He took off his battered leather hat and ran his fingers through his light brown wavy hair before replacing the hat on his head.

  Mia smiled politely and tried to think of something to say. “I’m Mia. Last night Brigid said I could come out here to tank.”

  His brown eyes widened slightly, but he didn’t say anything.

  “Talk. I mean talk. Just for a minute. I know you must be bleary. Busy!” The way he looked at her so calmly was unnerving. “I’m sorry.”

  “Nothing to be sorry about.” He held out his hand. “Welcome to the V Bar H Ranch.”

  She shook his hand, which was somewhat rough and chapped. “Thank you.”

  Clay started walking toward the smaller barn. “I’m not real busy right now, but I do have some horses that could stand some brushing. Maybe we can talk while I do that.”

  “I guess.” Mia followed him, unsure what else to do.

  In the barn, he grabbed some halters from a hook and turned to her. “Brigid tells me you’re looking for someone.”

  “I am, but I’m not sure who it is.” Yeesh, could she be any less eloquent? This guy was going to think she was some sort of nitwit. “I got some old postcards. They might be from my father.”

  Five horses strolled over to the fence as Clay walked up. He went inside the gate and put a halter on one horse that was a pretty light tan color and another smaller horse that had big brown-and-white patches. He pointed at the gate. “Could you get that?”

  Mia opened it for him and he strolled through with the horses in tow. Never in her life had she been so close to a horse. They were absolutely beautiful.

  After she closed the gate behind them, Clay handed her a lead rope for the brown-and-white horse. “This is Willy. He’s been rolling in the dirt and he’s going out on a trail ride later, so he needs a good brushing. The buckskin is Hank.”

  “I’ve never brushed a horse before.”

  “It’s kinda relaxing, particularly for the horse. Don’t be surprised if Willy looks like he’s falling asleep. He’s just enjoying it.”

  “Kind of like when people get a massage?”

  “Yeah. Horses are more sensitive than a lot of people realize. They can feel a little tiny fly sitting on their butt.”

  They led the horses toward the barn and Clay went through some safety information while he tied up the horses. He was obviously used to dealing with people with zero experience around horses, which was a relief to Mia.

  She stroked Willy’s warm neck and took the curry comb Clay handed her. “Willy seems nice.”

  “He’s an old cow-horse enjoying his retirement.” Clay peered around Willy’s neck at Mia. “Now tell me about this person you’re wanting to find.”

  While she brushed Willy, Mia explained about her father and the mysterious “CA,” attempting to give Clay as much detail as she knew. Somehow having Willy standing there in between her and Clay made it much easier to discuss this whole thing without feeling like a fool.

  Clay patted Hank’s neck and walked around Willy. He gave the horse’s withers a pass with the brush. “I can’t remember ever meeting anyone named Dan Riggins, offhand. But I also left Alpine Grove around that time, so we coulda missed each other.”

  “He may not have been here long. It might have been a visit. I have no idea. But the postcards were addressed to him before he moved out of the house where I grew up. Can you think of someone with the initials CA who lived here in Alpine Grove then?”

  Clay scratched a scar on his chin with his index finger. “Well. I’m not sure. Clara, uh, somebody or other used to own the diner, but I’m pretty sure she’s dead now. And there’s a girl named Colleen who was in my sister’s class. She woulda been maybe twenty or twenty-one then. Her maiden name was Abbott. She married a guy named Brandon Fisher right after high school. He drives a truck, so he’s never around, but she works at the DMV. Sometimes I see her when I renew my driver’s license or deal with car registrations and stuff like that.”

  “Does she have kids? The postcards mention babies.”

  “I think so. To be honest, she’s kind of a grouch, so I usually just do whatever car business I have to do and run away.”

  Mia laughed. “I guess working at the DMV could make people cranky. Going to official offices like that makes me really nervous. I always say something wrong, and then I worry that they won’t give me my license or something.”

  “Maybe you’re worrying more than you need to.”

  Mia suddenly felt self-conscious. Why were people here so nice? Instead of looking at her like she was insane, they seemed to accept her speech problems without question. Chris, Kat, the women at the meeting, and now Clay. It was strange. “I should let you get to work. I really appreciate your time and thoughts on this...situation. I know it’s a little odd to be asking you about stuff from twenty years ago.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to know about your family, I don’t think.”

  “I guess that’s true.” Mia stroked Willy’s neck. Clay had a low, soft way of speaking that was oddly comforting. Like the older brother she never had. “Most of my family stuff has been worth forgetting, so this is new for me.”

  “Everyone has stuff they want to forget, but it sounds like you’re moving forward.”

  “For a change, I think I actually might be.”

  After thanking Clay again, Mia left him to his newly brushed horses and drove north to Kat’s place to walk Gizmo. When she arrived, Kat looked sort of wrung out. It was possible she was hung over, given the amount of wine that had been flowing the night before.

  Whatever was wrong with her, she certainly wasn’t chatty. But it was okay. Mia was used to people not wanting to talk to her. The weather was still nice and the walk through the forest was beautiful. Gizmo was thriving in the environment and Mia felt a little bad that soon she was going to subject him to countless hours cooped up in the RAV4 and tiny Motel 6 rooms again.

  She bent to hug him goodbye and gave the leash back to Kat. “I hope you feel better.”

  Kat nodded. “I’m okay. After the last person quit, I still haven’t found a dog walker, and today I have to go to the bank to talk about money. I’m really bad with numbers, so it will be stressful. But it will be over soon and then I can return to words again.”

  Mia paused and stretched out her arms. “You look like you could use a hug.”

  Kat hugged her. “Thanks.”

  After they said their goodbyes, Mia drove to the Enchanted Moose to meet Chris. She couldn’t wait to tell him what she’d learned. When she was parking the car, her stomach growled loudly. Before they did anything else, she wanted lunch. She walked to room one fifty-six and knocked on the door. Small-dog yappin
g came from within, voicing the alarm.

  Chris opened the door with Lulu cradled in his arms. “Come on in.”

  Although the room was less of a soggy disaster than it had been during the Great Poodle Washing Event, Chris was definitely not a neatnik. Papers were strewn everywhere and a laptop sat on the desk. Mia shoved some papers away from the edge of the bed and sat down. “Are you ready to go? I’m starving.”

  “Do you want to grab some food at the diner here before we head out?” He nodded at the dog in his arms. “If so, I need to put her in her bed for a lunchtime snooze. Then she’ll be ready for the afternoon’s activities.”

  “While we eat I can tell you what I learned at the ranch.” She rummaged around in her bag and pulled out a postcard.

  After stowing Lulu, Chris turned around and took the card Mia held out to him. “That’s a pretty waterfall.”

  “I was thinking of going there later today. But then I thought maybe I should save it for another day. Gizmo would really love that kind of hike. I think Kat would be okay with me taking him for the afternoon, but today she didn’t seem to be in a good mood, so I didn’t ask.”

  “Maybe some other time then?”

  “We’ll see.” She took his hand, dragging him toward the door. “Right now, the first thing I need is food.”

  They walked across the parking lot to the diner and settled into the same booth where they’d eaten before.

  The same surly waitress was also there, but Mia ordered without mixing up any words, so she felt less uncomfortable this time.

  Chris leaned toward her, across the table. “So what did you learn from the guy who supposedly looks like Indiana Jones? Does he really look like Harrison Ford? I’m not sure I’m buying it.”

  “Kind of, I guess. He’s definitely got the same hat. Actually, Clay was really nice to me and let me brush one of his horses, which I’ve never done before. It might be fun to learn to ride someday.”

  “Did he know your dad?” Chris plucked a green crayon out of the mug and began drawing a horse with a flowing mane and tail.

  “No. But he did know someone named Colleen Abbott. She works at the DMV. I guess she’s married now, so her last name is Fisher, but back then she was CA.”

  “Does she have kids?”

  “Clay seemed to think so. But assuming she had kids after she got married, wouldn’t her initials be CF?”

  “Maybe she has more than one kid.” Chris paused in his sketching and pointed the crayon at her. “You were thinking they might be your dad’s kids.”

  “I guess so. The only way to find out would be to ask. I hate that idea. I mean, walking up to someone at the DMV? Even Clay said she was grouchy, and he’s pretty mellow.”

  “You sound like you’re into this guy.” Chris grabbed a red crayon and drew an elaborate heart on the placemat.

  “He’s Brigid’s boyfriend, remember? Speaking of which, how’s Donna?”

  “Actually, I decided to call her again.” Chris made a slash through the heart. “That was an even bigger mistake than the first call. But I do know we broke up for sure now.”

  “What happened? Yesterday you were talking about design.”

  “Well, I kept thinking about the fact that I told you I didn’t even want to talk to my own girlfriend. That seemed unfair to her.”

  Mia held up her thumb and index finger an inch apart. “And maybe an indicator of an itty-bitty problem.”

  “Yeah, that too. But I thought maybe because I was so ashamed of being an idiot, I wasn’t as truthful as I could have been. I didn’t give her the chance to listen or offer suggestions like I did with you. So I decided to call her and see what she said when I laid everything out and was totally honest and up-front about everything. She’s an incredibly smart woman, after all.”

  “No doubt. But I’m guessing that if you say you broke up, it didn’t go well.” Mia took a crayon and drew a skull and crossbones. “What on earth did you say to her?”

  “Pretty much the same stuff I told you. I’ve got a credit card problem that’s out of control to the point that I’m dodging calls from the Visa and MasterCard people.”

  “What did she say?”

  “I guess she knew I was having financial problems because I wouldn’t…or really couldn’t…pay for our dinners out or much of anything else for a long time. But when I laid out the whole story, she started calling me a bunch of names. It all boiled down to the fact that I am even more of a loser than she thought I was and she never wants to see me again.”

  “Wow.” Mia drew a bomb exploding into fiery oblivion. “That’s rough.”

  “At least she didn’t cry this time.”

  “Still, that must have been hard to deal with. You seem remarkably okay, considering what happened. Better than yesterday, that’s for sure. You don’t smell like an ashtray, either.”

  “Okay, while I’m being all honest, get ready, because this will sound really awful.” Chris added a rider to his horse drawing. “I’m so incredibly relieved! It’s like this great weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I don’t have to feel guilty for never calling her again.”

  “I guess when she was calling you names, she didn’t have any suggestions for getting out of debt, huh?”

  “She was way too busy being mad. I don’t suppose you have any ideas, do you?”

  Mia grabbed the green crayon from him. “Actually yes, I do. Last night, meeting all those people made me anxious. It was too many humans for me to handle at once. After I got back to the H12, I had trouble winding down. While I was trying to sleep I thought about your debt situation.”

  He wiggled his eyebrows. “So you were lying in bed thinking about me?”

  “Give me a break. You’re on the rebound.” Mia rolled her eyes melodramatically. “Returning to the point, the big problem with credit card debt is getting out from under all the interest. If you don’t pay down the principal, you end up paying interest to the credit card companies until you die.”

  “That’s true. I’ve been paying minimums for a long time.”

  “Sometimes credit cards offer zero-percent balance transfers to get you on board. Once they hook you, then they jack up the rates.”

  “That’s the last thing I need.”

  “Before your credit rating goes completely into the toilet, find a card with a promo offering that lasts a really long time at zero percent. Go for one that gives you zero percent for more than a year or something.” Mia drew a dollar sign and an arrow. “Then transfer your debt balances to it. Once you’ve done that, lower your overhead as much as possible, so you can pay off the balance during the zero-percent period.”

  “How would I lower overhead?”

  “Ditch the car, move to a cheaper place, stop eating out, don’t buy anything other than basic necessities like food, and dump anything that has a monthly fee like cable TV. Put every cent you make into paying off the debt.”

  “Ouch.”

  “Hey, you’re the one who wanted to know.” Mia raised her palms toward the ceiling. “I told you, I’m the Queen of Spartan Living over here.”

  “My life would be completely dreary. I would have no fun at all. That’s way too bleak.” Chris drew a frowning person with shoulders slumped.

  The waitress brought their sandwiches and Mia dug in. People hated ideas that involved any type of personal austerity. To her, it was obvious that paying off debt wasn’t as much fun as accruing debt. She’d done it many times herself, even with a meager income.

  Chris was obviously annoyed now. Mia finally had a friend and she’d managed to piss him off after only a couple of days. Apparently, she was way out of practice on the whole friendship thing. Why hadn’t she just kept her mouth shut?

  He looked up from his sandwich. “So do you want to talk to the grumpy lady at the DMV today?”

  “Are you crazy? For one thing, it’s the DMV. Have you ever been to any department of motor vehicles that did not have a line out the door? And assuming I actually ever
get to the front of the line, she’ll think I’m a moron.”

  “Why? You’re just asking if she knows your dad. Or knew him way back when.”

  “I’ll probably say it in some bizarre way and she’ll bite my head off. I don’t need that.”

  “You worry way too much about that.” He shook his head. “Honestly, I keep telling you, it’s no big deal.”

  Mia frowned. “That’s almost exactly what Clay said.”

  “Listen to Indiana Jones then. Maybe he’s right.”

  Mia parked the RAV in front of a brick building that had Department of Motor Vehicles emblazoned in gold letters across the large plate-glass window. There was no one else around, although she could see an older man was standing and waving his arms at the woman on the other side of the counter.

  Mia turned to Chris, “I’m not sure I want to do this.”

  “Oh come on, there’s hardly anyone here. All your worries about lines out the door were for nothing.”

  “I suppose.”

  “The last time I had to go to the DMV I waited for three hours. At least you know that won’t happen here. Score one for small-town living. I’ll hang out here with Lulu.”

  “All right. I’m going.” Mia got out of the RAV and went inside. The man was clutching a grubby baseball hat in his hands. The hat had probably been blaze orange once, but it had obviously spent too much time on his bald head in between cleanings, so it was mostly brown.

  He made a slurping noise and said, “Listen here Miz Fisher, I need to get my truck registered.”

  The woman had short brown hair that had been pulled back severely from her face with two barrettes, one on either side of her head. The hairstyle looked painful. She leaned forward across the counter. “Bud, if you spit that on my floor, I’m going to get my forty-five out from under this counter and blow your sorry head off.”

  “I know you’re lying.”

  “But you can’t be sure now, can you?”

  Mia slunk over to the row of chairs in front of the window and looked over her shoulder at Chris, who gave her an encouraging smile and held up Lulu’s paw as a show of support. She silently mouthed, “Help me!” He waved both his hands in a sweeping gesture to indicate she should go up to the counter.