by KB Winters
“Hunter, no, no!” I called out, finding him in the guest bathroom, tangled in a roll of toilet paper he’d managed to knock off the small cabinet that held extra supplies. He rolled back at the sound of my voice and wagged his tail, a piece of tissue stuck to his fur and waved like a flag. “Heavens, little mutt.” I scooped him out of the mess, bunched up the paper and tossed it in the silver trash can beside the cabinet, and took him out of the room, closing the door behind me.
“On second thought, maybe you should keep him while I go on my vacation…” I announced, walking back into the living room. “I don’t think I’m gonna get any peace or quiet with this little guy around.”
Rachel laughed as I went to the French doors and put Hunter out on the patio. He yelped at the door when I closed it and gave me a pitifully sad look before waddling away to play with his squeaky fire hydrant toy. “He’ll grow out of it.”
“God, I hope so. I swear, I don’t know what I was thinking…” I bit back a smile as Hunter tossed the toy aside in favor of chasing his own tail.
“You’re crazy about him and you know it.” Rachel got off the couch and padded into the kitchen. While we no longer shared the condo, she kept her key, and made herself at home whenever she came over to visit. We had shared the condo as roommates for two years, before she’d been offered her job in Newport Beach. Most of the time, I was convinced Rachel was half human, half mermaid. She loved the beach, and when the opportunity had come her way to get even closer, she had jumped at it. Luckily, Newport Beach was only about half an hour away, which meant that even with California’s famously terrible traffic, we still managed to see each other at least once a week.
I heard the sound of the fridge opening and I tore my eyes off Hunter to go assist Rachel in putting together something for dinner. “I brought butternut squash ravioli and marinara,” I said, digging through the canvas grocery bag on the counter.
“Mmm! And I brought…this!” I turned as she produced a chilled bottle of wine.
“Great minds,” I said, pulling out an identical bottle from the bag.
Rachel laughed and swapped it out for the cold one. “Starting your vacay off right! That’s my girl.” She poured two generous glasses while I got a pot of water boiling and worked on getting a salad together in my favorite bamboo salad bowl. “Did you get everything done at work?”
“Yeah.” I smiled, still not quite sure how I’d managed it all. “It was serious madness, but yes. I can happily say that when I closed my office door, it was with a clear conscious.”
Rachel set a glass beside my cutting board. “Come on, let’s toast.” I lifted my glass to hers. “To my best friend, and the most brilliant CPA in the biz!”
I laughed and clicked my glass with hers. We both drank and when Rachel lowered her glass to the counter, her expression changed. “Seriously, though, Holly. I’m super proud of you. I know that you don’t like schmoopy stuff, so I try to keep it to a minimum, but I want you to know I think you’re amazing and by far, one of the strongest women I know.”
The tears that I’d stuffed back at the office, rapidly came back to get me at Rachel’s kind words.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry!” Rachel erupted, as a tear slipped past my self-control. She fanned her own eyes, never one to let others cry alone.
“It’s okay, Rach. Thanks for being so sweet. Sometimes I feel like I’m still so out of my depth with everything. I’m glad that, at least on the outside, I look like I have it together,” I said, trying to lighten the mood with my joke. “After the divorce…I didn’t think I’d ever put the pieces back together again. And now, on the other side of that, three years removed, it feels pretty damn good.”
Rachel nodded in agreement, unable to stifle her tears. I smiled at her and let her wrap me into a tight embrace. Rachel’s heart-on-her-sleeve personality was always one of my favorite things about her. I never worried that she was hiding something or holding back. I didn’t even mind turning into a puddle with her from time to time.
“Thanks, Rach.” I said into her shoulder, my voice muffled by her wavy, sun bleached tresses. “Can we eat now?”
She pulled back, her signature carefree smile back in place. “Of course! It’s a happy day. No more tears.” She dabbed away the remnants of her tears with a paper napkin and went back to work.
We dished up our plates and took them outside to join Hunter at the patio table. My condo was on the top floor and while the view below was a busy street, out beyond, there was a line of palm trees and an excellent view of the sunset which made up for the noise of traffic below.
“I swear, the only time he sits still is when there’s food somewhere nearby,” I joked, looking down at Hunter, who was sitting ramrod straight at my feet, looking more like he was the head of the obedience class, instead of the flunk out.
“I might have spoiled him just a little…” Rachel confessed. She leaned down and sneaked him a bite of her ravioli and gave him an extra pat on the head. “Good boy.”
I rolled my eyes as Hunter rolled onto his back and looked up at me, waiting for his next treat. “Remind me to pack that dog training book for my trip…”
Chapter Three
Holly
“Are you seriously taking that?” Rachel asked, her face wrinkled with disapproval as I hauled out my laptop bag. And set it on the bed next to my open suitcase. She had agreed to help me pack after dinner, but her version of helping mostly involved drinking and rummaging through my shoe collection—or, at least, what was left of it after puppy patrol had torn through it over the past months.
“Rach, I can’t not have a computer with me!”
“It’s a vacation. I think, by definition that means you leave it home. For once.” She tugged the shoulder strap on the bag. “You cannot think I’ll stand by and watch you work all week!”
I smirked at her and tore it from her grasp. “Of course not, I’ll do it before you get there.”
She stuck her tongue out and sat on the edge of the bed. “You’re impossible. I hope you know.”
“Noted.” I smiled and continued rummaging through the pile of clothing I’d pulled from my closet. “Now, help me figure out what to wear.”
Rachel sipped her wine, not moving. “I’ll only help if you put the laptop away.”
I rolled my eyes and stared at her. “You’re serious?”
She nodded, unflinching.
I heaved a sigh and put the laptop bag back under my bed. “Fine. You win. Happy?”
“I am. Thank you. Now, let’s talk bikinis!”
I laughed as she launched off the bed and went to my dresser. “I swear you and Hunter have the same attention span.”
She retrieved the tangled mess of straps that my bikini collection had been reduced to after months of sitting unused in the back of my dresser. “Heavens, Holly. This is a hot mess.”
I laughed. “Shockingly, I haven’t had a ton of sun bathing time in recent days. Here,” I said, reaching for them. Rachel handed the blob of fabric over to me, and I went to work untangling the suits from one another.
“Well, I’ll be thoroughly disappointed if you don’t have a head start on a killer tan by the time I get there.”
Rachel was blessed with a permanent tan after years spent frolicking the beach, and it had only gotten deeper since her move to Newport Beach. I’d never been much of a beach bunny, but I liked to go out and walk the shore, or lay out by the pool. When Rachel and I had shared the condo, we’d gone sunbathing every other day at the rooftop pool of the luxe building. My skin usually burned first, tanned second, and as I’d been spending an obscene amount of time indoors, I knew it would take a little while to get my base tan back.
“I’ll do my best,” I replied, gritting my teeth slightly as I worked through a tough knot, cursing myself for sending them all through the washer and dryer.
“That’s all I can ask. So, let’s see,” Rachel leaned over and consulted the packing list I’d drawn up over the past few days while s
carfing down lunch in between clients at the office. “Aren’t you taking any dresses?”
I looked up, my brow arched at her suggestion. “What for?”
Rachel sighed. “All I’m seeing here is jeans, jean shorts, oh, and your white capris. What if you want to go out to a fancy dinner or something?” She got up and trudged back to my closet. “Don’t look at me like I’m a Martian, Parker. It’s a valid question.”
I rolled my eyes and went back to unknotting the mess in my lap.
“What about this one?” I looked up as Rachel emerged from my closet, a tiny black dress hanging from her fingertips. “This is hot! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear it before.”
“That’s because I haven’t,” I replied, pointing at the tags still dangling from the side.
“Why not?” Rachel held it up to her own body and spun to check her reflection in the full-length mirror.
“I think the better question would be why?”
“It would be fun! Imagine how many guys would trip over themselves if they saw you in this. It’s fun to dress up and get your sexy on from time to time.”
“You can have it if you want.”
Rachel turned back to face me. “Why did you even buy it if you don’t plan to wear it? I know you well enough to know this wasn’t some kind of little black dress, impulse buy.” She crossed the room and sat on the bed next to me, the dress discarded beside her.
I looked down at the multi-colored mess and stalled, finally freeing my bubble gum pink bikini from the others. I set it aside and went to work on the navy blue one next, ignoring the heat from Rachel’s stare.
“Hey lady, what’s wrong?”
With a sigh, I abandoned the bikinis and looked up. “I bought it when I was still married, okay? I—I wanted to do something fun and wild, and surprise Kenny.” I cringed as his name rolled off my lips. I did my best not to speak it out loud. “I bought the dress, but never got up the guts to wear it for him.”
Rachel took my hands. “Well good! That bastard didn’t deserve the effort! I think now you have to wear it! Knock the socks off some new guy. Someone who deserves it.” She picked up the dress and handed it to me, but I didn’t take it. “Well, you can think about it, at least,” she said, setting it inside the suitcase with the handful of other items that were already packed.
I didn’t argue with her, but I also knew that there was no way in hell I was wearing that dress.
“I’ll go get us some refills, and check to make sure Hunter hasn’t eaten the whole house,” Rachel said, reaching to the bedside table for our empty wine glasses.
My gaze followed her as she exited the room, and then fell back to the black dress, wondering why I’d bothered to keep it after all this time.
Rachel came back minutes later, carrying what was left of the second bottle of wine in one hand, and Hunter tucked in her other arm. “He got himself trapped in the bathroom, that’s why it was so quiet.”
She deposited the puppy into my lap and he immediately jumped up and started licking my face.
For the rest of the evening, we tag-teamed to keep tabs on Hunter as we plowed through the rest of the packing list. When the second suitcase was zipped up and ready to go, Hunter and I walked Rachel down to the street where she’d parked and exchanged hugs at the curb, knowing we wouldn’t see each other again until the following week when she’d make the trip to the beach house.
* * * *
Regardless of the fact that it was my first day of vacation, my alarm clock went off at five AM just like any other morning. After one round with the snooze button, I rolled out of bed, and went about my normal morning routine. It was the same thing every morning. Weekday, weekend, holiday. To me, structure and routine was comfortable and effective, so I stuck to it. Hunter was still snoozing when I padded across the wood floors into the bathroom, but when I stepped out a few minutes later, the bed was empty and the brown little ball of fur was nowhere to be seen.
“Hunter?” I called, unsure if he fully recognized his own name yet. He had selective hearing, at best.
I stooped down to check under the bed, and had barely peeled the bed skirt up, when a loud metal clang echoed through the house. I jumped up and ran towards the source of the sound, and growled in frustration when I found Hunter had pushed his water bowl off the shelf it sat on and had managed to splash water all over the kitchen floor.
He ran up and licked my cheek as I knelt down to mop up the mess. “Get a puppy, she said. It’ll be fun!” I cast a sidelong glare at Hunter. “Right.”
When the mess was cleared, I put him out on the patio to do his business on the artificial grass puppy pad, and went back to my bedroom to get dressed for the gym. I reluctantly let Hunter back inside before going down three flights to the condo maintained gym. I put myself through my usual routine, treadmill, free weights, and polished off with a few yoga poses. I was by no means a fitness model, but did what I could to keep myself in shape.
“Hey, Holly.” I craned my neck at the sound of my name, and saw Greg, the guy who lived in the condo next to mine, smiling at me.
I popped my earbuds out and returned his easy smile. “Morning, Greg.”
“How’s your little pup?”
I smiled, remembering that the last time I’d seen him in the hall, Hunter had tugged his leash right out of my hand as I’d been trying to open the front door. “He’s a handful. But he can also be very sweet, which is pretty much the only thing saving him right now.” Greg laughed. “Thanks for asking.”
I resisted the urge to give him a once over. Greg wasn’t movie star hot, but he was tall, had a solid build, and an easy smile. He worked in software sales and drove a very fancy sports car. We’d been neighbors for a few months, and had exchanged casual greetings here and there as we met in the hallway or parking garage. He was always polite and friendly towards me. After I’d introduced him to Rachel, she’d insisted that he was “into me,” but I refused to believe it. Greg was nice to everyone.
Truthfully, dating Greg—or anyone else—was so low on my list of priorities that I didn’t even spend much energy thinking about it. Rachel was far more interested in getting me back onto the market, but even she’d backed off her matchmaking attempts since I started my accounting business. Getting it off the ground and going through my first full year of acquiring clients, balancing the workload, and pulling off my first tax season as a solo CPA, with no support staff, had been my full focus, sixty plus hours a week for so long, I doubted I would have even taken a date with Brad Pitt.
Not that he was asking.
“Hey, I was thinking of heading out this afternoon to catch a movie. Any chance you’re free? We could get lunch or something before, if you’d like?”
Greg’s question caught me off guard, and my mouth opened before I had an answer to spit out, so I stood there like a gaping fish for a good half a minute, before my brain power kicked back on. “Oh, um, Greg, thanks for asking. I’m actually headed out of town this afternoon.”
Greg chuckled and glanced down at his watch like it was a nervous habit. “No problem. I figured you were busy.”
Before I realized what I was doing, I reached out and set a hand on his arm. His blue eyes met with mine, alight with hope. “No, really, Greg. I’m heading up the coast to Holiday Cove. I have a rental there for a couple of weeks.”
“Oh.” He nodded and his smile came back to life. “That sounds great. Do you need anyone to water your plants or get your mail? I’d be happy to help out.”
“That’s sweet, but I got it under control.”
“Right.” He nodded again. “Well, maybe when you get back then.”
I sputtered again and pulled my hand away. “Right, well, maybe…we’ll see.” My eyes drifted over Greg’s shoulder to the large clock on the far wall of the gym. “Listen, I should go, but thanks again.”
I turned and hustled out of the gym before further embarrassment could ensue.
“God, that was weird,” I mutte
red to myself as I waited for the elevator to arrive. I glanced behind me to make sure Greg hadn’t followed me out. Rachel’s sing-song voice chimed in the back of my mind, asking why I hadn’t said yes, or made a plan to meet when I got back.
The elevator arrived and I stepped aboard, leaving the self-doubt on the other side of the metal doors. I had a laundry list of tasks to complete before I could pack up Hunter and start for the beach, and my frequent conversations with myself were all the proof I needed that I needed to get to the beach as soon as my Honda CR-V could take me!
* * * *
“That’s the last of it! You ready for an adventure?” I called out to Hunter, shutting the front door behind me. I’d just finished the last run down to the car and all I needed was one mischievous puppy, before we could hit the highway.
A puppy that was nowhere to be seen.
“Damn!”
I slipped my sling-back sandals off and started down the hallway toward my bedroom—his usual hideout.
Mostly because that’s where my shoes lived.
Sure enough, as I rounded the corner into the master suite, Hunter was smack dab in the middle of the faux fur rug at the foot of the bed, his sharp puppy teeth digging into the heel of my brown suede pumps. I screamed at the sight of the impressions in the delicate fabric and launched myself at the little terror.
“Hunter! No, no, no! Bad puppy!” Hunter took off, abandoning the shoe. I snatched it off the floor and was immediately flooded with guilt at the chubby little rear end sticking out from the bed skirt. I took a deep breath and sank to my knees. I reached under the bed and pulled his warm little body into my lap. “I’m sorry little guy. I shouldn’t have yelled at you. But no more shoes! Okay bud? These things cost more than a year’s supply of your fancy kibble. All right?”
Hunter licked my hand, and I smoothed my hand over his silky fur. After a few minutes of loving him up, I stood from the floor, and went to put the shoe away in the closet. I flicked on the light to the walk in closet and went to set the shoe next to its mate on the shelf…