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

by Susan C. Daffron

  Mia shook her head. She was a lot of things, but one thing she was not was a sappy romantic. It was time to get over her little-girl fantasies and accept the fact that the time she’d spent with Chris was just a fling. Time to move on. In fact, right now she needed to call Gwen and get things moving. If she ended up getting the answering machine again, she was going to leave a message. No chickening out this time.

  She sat up, straightened her shoulders, and picked up the handset again. The phone rang a few times and when the machine picked up, she took a deep breath and said, “Gwen, hi, it’s Mia. Kat said you might be interested in renting out your place and I’m interested.” She gave her number at the H12 and didn’t manage to mix up any words or numbers.

  After hanging up, she leaned back on the bed and let out a deep breath. Thank heavens that was over. Now that Gwen had an incentive to return the phone call, maybe she could get some answers about her father and possible half-sister. In the meantime, there was a big stack of novels sitting here waiting to be read. She might as well enjoy her last gasp of leisure time before she joined the ranks of the employed.

  The phone rang, jolting Mia from her drowsy half-asleep efforts to read. Perhaps she was a little more tired than she’d thought. She was greeted by Gwen’s stern voice on the other end of the line.

  “Hi, Gwen. I was hoping I could talk to you about renting.”

  “I want to sell the place, not rent it.”

  “Do you have a buyer already?” Mia twisted the phone cord. Maybe she was too late.

  “No, I don’t.”

  “I’m guessing that winter is not a great time to sell real estate in Alpine Grove.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?”

  “Well, if I rented your place for the winter, you could visit your daughter. And then you could list it for sale again in the spring if you wanted. But I’d like to take a leak…I mean look…look at your home again first. I only saw the kitchen and living room.”

  Gwen paused for a moment before continuing in a softer tone. “I probably shouldn’t ask, but why do you want to rent it? So far, the only people who are interested want the land. They tried to convince me to pay to have the trailer removed, which is ridiculous. If they want this mobile home gone, they can move the stupid thing themselves. The other calls have been from loggers and Abigail would roll over in her grave if I sold out to a logging company.”

  “Kat offered me a job at her kennel and living next door would be convenient. Your house is far larger than where I was living before or the motel rooms I’ve been staying in.”

  “You don’t care that it’s an old mobile home?”

  “The last place I rented was an Airstream. I don’t need much space and your place is gigantic by comparison.”

  “You’re really serious about this?”

  “I promise I’d take good care of the place for you.”

  “It’s pretty isolated out here, you know.”

  “I know. But Kat and Joel are next door if I need anything. I’m a quiet person, but as you know, I do have a dog.” Mia wasn’t going to volunteer that Gizmo had an unfortunate habit of eating his way through his accommodations. “You could put your valuables in storage. Or rent the place to me unfurnished. It’s up to you. I can be flexible.”

  “It certainly sounds like it. Okay, I think you talked me into it. This could work, and the idea of being in San Diego this winter makes me practically giddy. Let me talk to my daughter. Could you stop by tomorrow afternoon after work, so I can show you everything? You should know what you’re getting into.”

  “That would be great. I’m looking forward to it.”

  After they worked out the details of her visit, Mia hung up the phone and clasped her hands together. Everything was starting to work out. She could have a job doing something she loved and an incredibly short commute if she lived right next door. Gizmo could even come to work with her. Maybe they could walk to work. He’d love that!

  She looked back at the phone. Now she wanted to tell Chris. But he’d sounded so upset when they hung up that he probably wouldn’t want to hear more about her plans for staying here.

  Nothing was really settled, so she didn’t really have anything new to tell him yet anyway. She just wanted to hear his voice. Depending on what happened with Gwen tomorrow, maybe she could talk to him afterward. Smiling at the idea, she curled up with her book again in an effort to settle her racing thoughts. Setting up an entirely new life required a lot of mental energy.

  The next day, Mia got up and began making an effort to pack up her room. It was incredibly premature, since it wasn’t like she could move into Gwen’s house immediately. There could be some tragic flaw with the place. Or Gwen would be angry about Mia’s suspicions that Heather was her half-sister and summarily throw her out of the trailer into the rain. And yet Mia kept puttering around folding clothes, trying to get organized.

  At this point, Mia was a little desperate to stay some place that had a kitchen. The cafe food was okay, but eating out all the time was exhausting, and eating by herself at restaurants was depressing. She felt like everyone was watching her. The thought of sitting in her own space with Gizmo begging at her feet was incredibly appealing.

  Mia peeked out the window and found the rain was starting to let up at last. If she went out to the kennel a little early, she could spend some extra time playing with Gizmo. Kat had said that they needed to go over start dates, times, and procedures. Mia was eager to get going with her new job, so getting there early would show initiative. Lenore at Round House Distributing would be stunned by Mia’s work ethic.

  Chapter 11

  Secrets

  Mia had an enjoyable afternoon tending to dogs with Kat and discussing what she’d be doing every day once she started working at the kennel. She also learned from Joel that an old trail ran through the woods from Gwen’s house to Kat’s. If she were able to rent Gwen’s place, Joel promised he’d hack back the vegetation so she and Gizmo could walk through the forest to the kennel. But first Mia had to convince Gwen that she’d be the perfect tenant.

  At the agreed-upon time, Mia drove over to Gwen’s house. As she made her way down the driveway, she viewed the scene differently than she had before. What would it be like to live here? If she rented the trailer, this would be her route home. How would that feel? What would the area look like covered with snow?

  She parked in front of the mobile home and walked to the door, casting her eyes over the dingy exterior. It certainly wasn’t the prettiest abode, but that could work to her advantage when it came to negotiating.

  Gwen opened the door and gave Mia a smile as she motioned for her to come inside.

  Mia walked up the steps and turned her head to look around at the interior. Although it wasn’t like she was walking into full-color Oz from a black-and-white Kansas, the difference between the interior and the exterior of the mobile home was striking.

  Gwen walked to the stove and reached into a cabinet for a box. “Would you like some tea?”

  “Yes, that would be nice.”

  After setting up the tea, Gwen turned around. “So are you ready for the grand tour? We can get through it before the water boils. As you can see, the living room is over there. The bedrooms and bath are down the hall.”

  “Okay, lead the way.”

  Gwen walked down the hallway and gestured as she passed each room, “Second bedroom, bathroom, master bedroom.”

  Mia walked into the rooms and peered into closets. There was a fair amount of storage space, which would be a novelty. “It looks fine to me. Did you find the squirrel hole in the bathroom?”

  “I nailed an old board over it. Potty Mouth should be an outdoor-only varmint from now on.”

  Mia smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. So, what type of rent are you expecting?”

  The whistle of the teakettle interrupted Gwen’s answer and they hustled back to the kitchen area. Gwen handed her a mug and they sipped tea as they negotiated rent and deposits.


  Gwen set down the mug. “I can be out of here pretty quick. I’d love to miss the first snowstorm.”

  “I’m staying at the H12, so I can move in whenever you’re ready. When does it usually snow?”

  “The first storm could be any time now. I called that mini-storage place and they have men and a truck. I’ll pack up my personal stuff and put it in storage. My furniture, like the couch, is mostly crap, so I’ll just leave it here if you don’t mind.”

  “That sounds great. Thanks.”

  “All right, it sounds like we have a deal.” Gwen grinned widely, which transformed her appearance. She was actually an extremely pretty woman when she wasn’t wearing her typical frown.

  Mia took a deep breath. Time to move to less pleasant topics. “I know we talked about it before, but if you have a few minutes, I was wondering if I could ask you a couple of questions about my father. His number has been disconnected and I can’t reach him.”

  Gwen’s frown returned. “I suppose.”

  “I’m not sure how to ark, asp…ugh, I mean ask this, but I saw a photograph of Heather, and well, she looks a lot like my father. And you said she was in fourth grade in 1975.”

  Gwen crossed her arms. “Yes. She turned thirty this year.”

  “So did I. I’m wondering if she’s my half-sister.”

  “You’re quite the little Nancy Drew, aren’t you?”

  “I liked Harriet the Spy better and I’m sure she could have figured it out. The math wasn’t very hard.” Mia raised her palms toward the ceiling. “Does my father know this? Does Heather?”

  “No, and I’d rather they didn’t.”

  “Didn’t Heather ever ask about her father?”

  “Yes, for a while. I just said he was dead. For all I knew, he could have been. If you must know, it was a shock to have him turn up here in 1975.”

  “Why didn’t you tell him?”

  “Because he told me about his wife and you. The whole story about how you were mad at him because of the dog. The man was distraught and had enough problems—and so did I.” Gwen stood up and got some more tea. “It was just one night. He was nothing more than a sperm donor.”

  “But don’t they both deserve to know?”

  “I thought about that and came close to telling Dan about Heather once, but what purpose would it serve to tell them now? I can’t think of any reason to rock the boat. Heather is happy. And when I talked to Dan recently, he seemed fine too.”

  “He didn’t sound fine in the letter I got from him. In fact, I’m afraid he’s about to die or something.”

  Gwen turned back toward the table. “Why do you say that?”

  “It’s just the way it was worded. Like a final goodbye to me. And now that I know he really didn’t take my dog away, well, I really want to talk to him. I feel like I need to apologize. I’ve been so angry and spent so much time blaming him. I need to let it go and tell him I forgive him.”

  Gwen shook her head. “Heather is doing great. Her life is on track and she and her husband are thinking of finally having kids. I could be a grandma! I don’t want to screw things up for her right when everything is going so well. And what will it do to our relationship with each other? She’ll know I lied to her for years.”

  “I know she’s a complete stranger, but I’d like to meet her. Now I know she shares my blood, and the whole idea of having a sister is amazing to me. Maybe we have similar interests. Maybe we even look a little like each other.”

  Gwen sat down with a sigh. “I can tell you that you do. The similarity is sort of hard for me to deal with, if you want to know the truth.”

  “Don’t you think Heather would be just as curious about me as I am about her? Doesn’t she deserve the chance to meet me and maybe her dad, assuming I can ever find him again?”

  “I suppose.”

  “Will you talk to her? Please?”

  “I’ll think about it.” Gwen put her forehead on her palms. “It was all such a long time ago. I can’t believe this is really happening.”

  Mia placed her palm on Gwen’s back. “I know. I can’t either.”

  After the emotionally draining conversation with Gwen, Mia went back to the H12 and sprawled out on the bed. She needed some decompression time so she could think. How was she going to find her father, given that she had so little to go on? Almost nothing, in fact. Gwen didn’t have any more information than she’d already provided. Dan Riggins had been in Santa Barbara, and now he wasn’t. In a situation like this, people hired a detective, didn’t they? Where was she supposed to find her own Sherlock Holmes in Alpine Grove?

  Tired of her whirling thoughts, Mia rolled over and grabbed her novel from the nightstand. Maybe after a good night’s sleep she’d have some idea what to do. Holding the book in front of her, she smiled. Whenever she’d had questions in her life before, the library always had answers. Why should this be any different? Tomorrow, her first stop would be the Alpine Grove library.

  After breakfast, Mia set out to find the library. Two sets of steps led up to the imposing brick building, which sported arched doorways and windows. Mia wondered if Chris had seen this place. Architecturally speaking, it was a beautiful structure. He’d probably know exactly what style it was and if it was historic in some way. All Mia could say about it was, “it’s old.”

  Because her thoughts had turned to Chris yet again, she frowned as she opened the door to go inside. She needed to stop thinking about him. Chris probably had figured out the same thing she had, which was that there was no way anything between them would ever work. It was a good thing she hadn’t been more insistent on a visit. At least he hadn’t leaped at the chance to freeload off her. That scored a few points. Maybe she was focusing too much on Kat’s gold-digger comment. Obviously, the woman didn’t think Joel was a gold-digger, or she wouldn’t be marrying him.

  Shaking off her scattered thoughts, Mia walked up to the counter, where a woman with curly reddish-blonde hair sat behind a computer monitor surrounded by piles of papers and books. She looked up and smiled. “May I help you?”

  Mia said, “Um, I ah, am not sure this is the right plate…place to ask. But I need to find someone.”

  “What do you mean find?” The woman stood up and walked around the desk. “Are you doing genealogy research? If so, I can help with that. I love helping people find their roots. It’s fascinating what you can uncover.”

  “No, not exactly. The person I’m looking for is still alive. Or I hope he is. I’m trying to find my father. I guess I might need to hire a detective. But I’m not sure how to do that or where to start.”

  The librarian looked thoughtful for a moment. “Interesting. Last year, the FBI’s National Crime Information Center reported that there were more than nine-hundred-sixty-nine-thousand missing persons.”

  Mia raised her eyebrows. “That’s, uh, detailed.”

  “You’re right. That’s not helpful. My name is Jan, by the way.” The librarian put out her hand. “Don’t mind me. I tend to remember facts like that. It’s an occupational hazard. Do you have any information about your father at all?”

  “His name is Dan or Daniel Riggins and he was in Santa Barbara recently. All I have is a post office box number and a phone number that’s disconnected.”

  “Well, that’s a good start. I could do an Internet search for you, but most records aren’t available online. And even though some information might be publicly available from a legal standpoint, certain records can be accessed only by law-enforcement personnel or a licensed private investigator.”

  “How would I go about finding a private investigator?”

  “Well, there is a state association for licensed investigators. I can contact them and see if there is anyone local. Also, lawyers often use investigators. There’s a lawyer here in town that I could call and ask for a referral.”

  Mia’s eyes widened. “Would you really be willing to do that?”

  “Certainly. Research is what I do.” Jan gestured to
ward the rows of shelving. “Do you want to browse while I do a couple of searches and make those calls?”

  “I don’t have a library card yet. I just decided to move here.”

  “I can help with that problem. Everyone should have a library card.” Jan grinned. “Welcome to Alpine Grove.”

  Mia had a thoroughly enjoyable time roaming through the stacks and pulling out books. She’d spent so much time at the Windiberg library that visiting a different one was like going to a chocolate-truffle factory versus a candy store. Although the Alpine Grove library wasn’t huge, it was full of books she hadn’t read yet.

  She returned to the desk with a big pile of books. “I might have gotten carried away.”

  “That happens to me sometimes and I work here.” Jan handed her a piece of paper. “Please fill this out.”

  Mia filled out the form and handed it back.

  Jan looked it over and began typing on the computer keyboard. “So I got a name from Larry Lowell, the lawyer here in town, and verified that the person is still a member in good standing with the association.”

  “Thank you.” Mia took her new library card from Jan and tucked it into her wallet.

  Jan handed her a slip of paper with a phone number. “Her name is Edith Moffitt and according to Larry, she’s a bulldog who does it all—in addition to being a private investigator, she does skip-tracing, process-serving, and even bond enforcement.”

  “She’s a bounty hunter?”

  “According to Larry, she’s extremely tenacious and works cases throughout the state. He also mentioned that she can be a bit gruff, so when you talk to her, don’t be surprised if she doesn’t seem particularly friendly at first.”

  Mia tried to ignore the twinge of anxiety in her chest. “I guess it’s worth a try.”

  Jan pushed the stack of book toward her. “These are due in three weeks.”

  Mia carried the books back out to her car, got in, and set the pile down on the passenger seat. The idea of talking to Edith, the bulldog bounty hunter, was daunting. Gruff was one of those words that often was used as a euphemism for irritable, unpleasant, or downright nasty. People like that often had zero patience for Mia’s tendency to mangle the English language.