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

by Susan C. Daffron

  Hand-in-hand, Mia and Chris slowly strolled along, discovered the famous Route 66 sign that proclaimed it was the “End of the Trail,” and stopped to watch a fisherman reel in his catch.

  At the entrance to an arcade, Mia pointed to the far wall. “Skee ball! We have to play skee ball.”

  After several games, Mia cashed in her tickets for a cheesy prize. She held up the plastic frog. “I think I’ll name her Thelma.”

  Chris examined his plastic dinosaur and pointed it toward her. “Obviously, this must be Louise.”

  Near the arcade entrance was a photo booth. Mia dragged Chris behind the curtain and kissed him before putting money into the slot. Holding up their plastic animals aloft proudly, they pressed the button and made faces until the red light began blinking and a bright flash meant the picture had been taken.

  They stood and waited outside the booth for the strip of photos to emerge from the slot. Mia grabbed it and held it up to Chris with a giggle. “I’m pretty sure we can’t show these to anyone, ever.”

  “That’s an intriguing new look for the mushroom girl.”

  She gave him a playful hug and they went back out onto the pier to watch the sunset. After the sun sank into the ocean, they walked off the pier to the Third Street Promenade and found a restaurant for dinner.

  As they sat down at a table, Mia grinned. “This is a little nicer than the diner at the Enchanted Moose.”

  “But there aren’t any crayons.”

  Mia rummaged around in her bag and pulled out a pencil and pad. “I came prepared.”

  “Not only did you offer to pay for dinner, you’re providing art supplies.” Chris pressed his hands to his heart in a mock swoon. “I’m overwhelmed.”

  Mia laughed. “I’ve missed having conversations that include illustrations. I saved every single placemat.”

  “Even the one I spilled ketchup on?”

  “The way you incorporated the splat into the drawing was extremely creative.”

  “That was the X-rated placemat wasn’t it?” He grinned. “I was inspired.”

  “Is your sister expecting you back tonight?”

  He shook his head. “I sure hope not.”

  “Good.” Mia reached her hand across the table and Chris took it in his. She smiled. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  “Did I mention how much I’ve missed you?”

  “Maybe a couple of times. I’ve had so much fun today.”

  “It’s not over yet.

  During dinner Mia shared the highlights of her lunch with her father with Chris. He asked a few questions but mostly just listened.

  Mia pointed her fork at him. “Now that you know every little thing about my whole family drama, I want to know what’s up with you. How are things going with the job search?”

  “Okay, I guess. I’ve been sending out resumes, but I feel like I’m throwing paper down a garbage chute. No one has called me for an interview, except for a sort of crummy drafting job that I don’t want.” He set his fork down on the plate. “I did get a call from Ben this week though.”

  “As in Ben, the developer building the opulent house in Alpine Grove? That Ben?”

  “The very one. Before I moved, I sent him a thank-you card and gave him the number at my sister’s place in case there were any questions that came up after they transitioned the project to the new architect.”

  “Wouldn’t the architect call you?”

  “Unlikely. Jonah would never stoop to talking to the likes of me.”

  “You’re being a little hard on yourself, aren’t you?”

  “This guy thinks he’s God’s gift to architecture. He fancies himself an artiste.” Chris sketched a somewhat exaggerated likeness of Pepé Le Pew, sporting a black beret and a cloud representing skunk stink. “It turns out, Ben can’t stand Jonah.”

  “There’s an oddly circular element to a caricature of a cartoon character.”

  “Don’t show it to Warner Brothers. They’ll probably sue me too.”

  “Who is suing you?”

  “No one. But when I talked to Ben, he tried to talk me into working for him directly. But I can’t because I signed a contract that says I can’t work for clients of Gilbert, Tingler, Halberstam, and Associates Architecture for a year or they’ll sue me. That’s the last thing I need.”

  “Can’t you make a deal?”

  “You might recall I didn’t leave on the greatest of terms. And it’s not like I can afford a lawyer. I told Ben—nicely—that I appreciate the thought, but it wasn’t going to happen. And that I have the interview next week, so I might have a new job here in LA.”

  “You mean working at the job you don’t want?”

  “Well, I didn’t tell Ben that. It’s an entry-level job, which is a pretty major step down, but if I get it, I could start paying off my debt. And move out of my sister’s second bedroom.”

  Mia leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. “We’re never going to see each other, are we?”

  “We’re seeing each other now.”

  “I know, but with the holidays coming up, I won’t be able to get away for at least a couple of months. Kat has a book she’s writing, which is why she hired me. I felt bad leaving this weekend and it’s just for two days.”

  “Well, you had to see your father before he left.” Chris drew a stick-figure family holding hands next to a boxy, childlike rendering of a house.

  “True, but I wanted to see you too.” Mia pulled the pencil from his hand and he looked at her. “I think, I mean, I don’t know. Um, okay, I’m mangling this, even for me. What I’m trying to say is that whenever I’m with you, I never want to leave. I think I love you.”

  His eyes widened. “I love you too. But to be honest, I was afraid to say anything because I didn’t think you felt the same way.”

  “I do. So what are we going to do about it?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Later at the hotel, Mia was dozing next to Chris, listening to the sound of his breathing. It was so peaceful, she wanted to lie there forever and never return to real life. The phone rang, disturbing the serenity, and Mia jerked her head up off the pillow. “Ow, get off my hair!”

  Chris leaped away and Mia reached for the phone on the nightstand and said hello as he curled back around her and stroked the hair along her temple in silent apology.

  “Hi Mia, it’s Dad.”

  “Hi, I um, didn’t expect to hear from you tonight.” Mia glanced at Chris, who raised his eyebrows in query. She shrugged and he moved over, reaching for a book that was sitting on the nightstand.

  Dan said, “I talked to Gwen. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “It wasn’t my secret to tell.”

  “Have you met Heather?”

  “No, but I’d like to.”

  “Okay, that’s what I wanted to know. I’m going to see if I can push my start date back a couple of weeks. I want to spend Thanksgiving with you and Heather.”

  “I can’t really get away. The kennel is booked solid.”

  “What if we came to Alpine Grove? Maybe I can work something out with them.”

  “Okay, Dad. You have my number. Let me know.”

  Mia hung up the phone and snuggled up to Chris again. “Dad wants to come to Alpine Grove for Thanksgiving. Do you think you can visit too?”

  “Maybe. It depends on if I have a job and if I can figure out a way to get there. My sister is doing a big Thanksgiving thing with a bunch of her friends. I’m not sure I can ditch that either.”

  She hugged him. “I understand. But I’m feeling thankful I met you.”

  “I’m thankful for that too.” He pointed at the book. “So, what are you reading here?”

  “Just some trashy romance novel I picked up.”

  “This romance is a lot more…explicit than the one I read to you before. Check this out: they’re doing it on a llama. Is that even possible? I didn’t know couples rode llamas. Is that a thing? Are there llama saddles? And if there are, how
would two people fit? Wouldn’t that be uncomfortable?”

  “I don’t know.” Mia sat up and looked at the text of the book. “Hey, I missed you. I was lonely and needed a distraction.”

  “Sex on llamas is definitely distracting. So is this.” He pointed at a paragraph. “I mean, come on, that’s gotta hurt. And what does lave mean?”

  “Wash, I think.”

  “Isn’t that’s kind of gross? I mean what is this guy doing? Laundering her? Ick. I’ve got images of a drooling Saint Bernard stuck in my head now. That’s not sexy.”

  Mia started to laugh. “I think you might be getting a little too literal with all that purple prose. It’s just a book.”

  “What about this?” He flipped to the next page and pointed at a paragraph. “I know it’s been a long time since I took biology class, but I’m not sure it’s anatomically possible to do that.”

  “Well, maybe he’s got an extra prosthetic-limb kind of a sex aid or something.”

  Chris grinned. “Well, that would sure help a lot of guys out.”

  “You’re having a little too much fun with this.”

  “I’m just saying there are a whole lot of unusual flower parts and shafts and clenching and shattering. It all sounds pretty dangerous. I’m amazed anyone is willing to ever have sex again after reading this. I’m a little scared now.”

  “Don’t be afraid.” She put her arms around him and gave him a kiss. “I promise I’ll be gentle with all my throbbing ecstasy.”

  “Cool.” He tossed the book aside and pulled her closer to him. “That sounds promising.”

  The next morning, Mia came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around her chest and sat down on the bed next to Chris. “Have you seen my shirt?”

  “No. When you took it off last night, I wasn’t paying attention to where you put it. My mind was elsewhere.”

  “No doubt. What did I do with it? I’ve looked everywhere.” She stood up, and then crouched in front of the dresser, peering underneath. “I can’t believe this. I liked that shirt.”

  Chris stood up, walked over to her, and kissed her bare shoulder. “It couldn’t have gotten far.”

  Mia moved away from him. “I need to get back to Alpine Grape…Grove. Kat is going to kill me. I’ll probably get conned…canned.”

  “Hey, it’s no big deal. It’s just a shirt, and it has to be here somewhere.”

  Mia sat down on the end of the bed and pulled her towel around her more tightly. “I know. It’s just everything was going so well all of a sudden, and now I have to leave you. But I don’t want to. Then I’ll probably screw up this job. Because that’s what always happens. Just when I think everything is fine for a change, the other shoe drops and I’m back to being the mutant mushroom girl again.”

  Chris took her hand and pulled her up into a hug. He slowly unwrapped the towel from around her, dropped it onto the floor, and turned her to face the mirror. “Look in the mirror. What do you see?”

  “A flabby, kind of weird-looking woman who, in addition to losing her blouse, also really needs to find her comb. And jeez, I think my cellulite is expanding its horizons. That’s just fantastic.”

  Chris ran his fingers through the hair at the nape of her neck and bent to kiss her earlobe. “You are an amazing woman. The only one who doesn’t believe that is you.”

  “I’m working on it.” She smiled at his reflection in the mirror. “So what do you see when you look at yourself in the mirror?”

  “A kind of goofy guy who is hopelessly in love with the mushroom girl. But it’s all a little blurry because I’m not wearing my glasses.”

  “Well, that’s not so bad. That means you can’t see my cellulite either.”

  Chris wrapped his arms around her in a hug. “I’m going to miss you.”

  Mia rested her head on his shoulder. “Me too. I hate goodbyes.”

  “Call me when you get back home, okay?”

  After finally locating her shirt under the bed, packing, and saying a lingering farewell to Chris, Mia got in the RAV and drove back to Alpine Grove. Although she tried not to cry, leaving was even worse than before. They’d had such a good time together, picking up right where they’d left off like no time had passed at all. Was it so wrong to want that every day?

  The ugly reality was that there were no architectural firms in Alpine Grove. It wasn’t that Chris couldn’t get a job; it was that there were no jobs to be had. And she didn’t want to give up the situation she had with Kat. To his credit, Chris didn’t want her to either. He was thrilled that at last she’d finally found something she enjoyed doing.

  They’d gone back and forth a zillion times on possible options, and Mia somewhat guiltily realized that Chris had never once suggested freeloading off her lottery winnings in any way.

  At least for the short term, she’d just have to be satisfied seeing Chris for the occasional long weekend or holiday. Everyone said patience was a virtue. Maybe they’d work out something over time, but for right now, she had to accept the fact that they wouldn’t be able to spend much time together. But she didn’t have to like it.

  Chapter 13

  Karma

  Mia returned to her daily dog-walking routine and looked forward to her after-dinner conversations with Chris. Although it sounded like the interview for the entry-level drafting job had gone well, they’d turned him down. Mia was well aware of how demoralizing the job-hunting process could be and she tried to help Chris keep his spirits up, even in the face of rejection and a lot of silence from prospective employers.

  Two days before Thanksgiving, Mia was putting away groceries before she had to go back to the kennel for the afternoon dog walks and feeding. Somehow her father had been successful in talking the Peace Corps into letting him leave after the holiday and in convincing Gwen and Heather to meet Mia in Alpine Grove on Thanksgiving.

  Mia was extremely nervous about the whole situation, even though it was basically all her fault that it was happening. The night before, while she was trying to convince Chris not to give up and get a job at the local 7-Eleven, he was trying to convince her that meeting her half-sister wouldn’t be a complete disaster. She smiled at the memory of what he’d said. “I love you, so why wouldn’t they?” A corner of her cynical little heart probably melted into sloppy, sappy goo right then and there.

  The phone rang and Mia slammed the refrigerator door shut. She reached to grab the phone, picked up the receiver, and was surprised to find it was Chris. “How come you’re calling so early?”

  “I was thinking you might be at lunch. Do you have to go back to work right this second?”

  “I’m just putting away groceries. My refrigerator is officially stocked now. I went to the grocery store to avoid the major rush tomorrow. Is something wrong?”

  “No, but I need to talk to you. It could be really good, but I need a favor.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Could I crash at your place?”

  “When?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  Mia grinned widely, “Are you kidding? Yes! Does this mean you’re visiting for Thanksgiving?”

  “Maybe longer. Ben called and he wants me to finish the house on the lake. He fired the firm because he wants to work with me.”

  “I thought you couldn’t do that, or they’ll sic their lawyers on you.”

  “He talked to our good friends at Gilbert, Tingler, Halberstam, and Associates Architecture and got me out of my employment contract.”

  “How?”

  “I’m not sure. But he says he has a signed piece of paper that asserts they have no claim on me in any way. The bottom line is that they won’t sue me.”

  “That’s fantastic. So you get to finish the house?”

  “I do, but the best thing is that I’ll be in Alpine Grove near you. That’s what makes me happiest. Talking on the phone has been great, but I miss you all the time. I want to touch you and just be around you.”

  “I think it would be easy to do that
if you moved in here.”

  “You mean for more than just a visit?”

  Mia smiled. “I don’t want you to leave again. But you can call it a really long visit if it makes you feel better.”

  “No way. I’ll fill out change-of-address cards tomorrow. I can’t wait to see you.”

  “How are you going to get here?”

  “I’ll rent a car. I still have the one credit card and I haven’t hit my limit yet. It’s just a one-day rental, so it shouldn’t cost too much. And soon I’ll actually be earning money again.”

  “That’s great.” Mia glanced at the clock. “I’ve got to go, but you know where the place is—it’s right next door to the kennel. I’ll leave the key under a white rock next to the door. Just come in and make yourself at home. Architecturally speaking, it’s an ugly box, so try not to be offended.”

  “I don’t care what the place looks like. It’s what’s inside that matters. If you’re in the box, that’s where I want to be.”

  “Drive carefully. I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  Mia walked back to the kennel in a daze. Was it possible? She was really going to get to work at a job she loved, live with a man she loved, and even have a family again?

  If someone had told her three months ago that any of this would happen, she never would have believed it. Talk about winning the lottery! Maybe there really was something to karma after all.

  All those times she failed and picked herself up and started over again, she’d survived loss, humiliation, and countless hurts and never given up. Yes, she had flaws. Countless flaws. But when karma had circled around and finally given her a break at last, she’d taken the opportunity to change her life and run with it. She’d taken risks, had difficult conversations, and moved forward.

  Even Gizmo eating the letter had been a lucky break. If he hadn’t, she might never have found out about Heather. Maybe she’d give Giz an extra treat on the walk today.