The Lodge at Whispering Pines
Page 34
“Okay, well, if we’ve got mice, we need to have that taken care of.”
“Hi Doreen, are you ready?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’m just getting my boots on,” she grunted, as she pulled hard to get her foot inside of one.
“Trix, Chip, let’s go,” called Miles.
Chip stood and trotted to retrieve his leash.
“Trix, you coming? I don’t want you walking yourself,” Miles called again.
Trixie trotted in too, and grabbing her leash, we braved the cold almost-before-dawn world.
“Can I walk them again? Please?” begged Doreen, as we headed down one of our hiking paths.
“Sure,” said Miles, handing her the leashes.
Doreen walked ahead of us with the dogs, and Miles and I lagged behind a bit.
“You know I’m really sorry my Grandma had to have surgery, but it gave me a chance to get to know my sister,” I said.
“It probably feels funny realizing you didn’t before,” said Miles.
“Yeah, it does! I’m so glad we got a chance to reconnect.”
“I am too. I’m happy for both of you. She was a big help in putting Violet back together again, too.”
“Yeah. She’s going to want in on it every time we have a case now!” I said.
“Yes, she will,” smiled Miles.
I looked up to see Doreen and the dogs headed back towards us.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, they turned around. I think they want to go back in.”
Miles looked at Trixie.
“You’re right,” he said, mildly surprised. “Maybe they’re tired from our late night last night, also.”
“It’ll give us more time for breakfast, anyway,” I said. “We’ll be having to get you to school, before we know it.”
“Don’t remind me!” groaned my sister.
“Look on the bright side,” I said. “You’ll have all afternoon and evening here. And don’t you kind of miss Mom and Dad and Tryon, at least a little?”
She looked grumpy.
“Well there’s room, why can’t they live here too? Oh my gosh, that would be so cool!”
She’s way more fidgety than me.
“Okay, tone down the enthusiasm there,” I said, not liking that idea at all! “I can’t imagine trying to spare our mother the details of our crazy life if we were all living together in a building this size! Maybe in the House of Bannerman, it’s practically as big as some countries.”
“You don’t have to be a stranger,” said Miles. “You can live with your family, and visit us too. We don’t live that far apart, when you think about it.”
“Not like when we’re at the estate,” I said.
“Okay fine,” she said. “So can I come stay next weekend?”
I just laughed.
We rode the elevator back to our floor, and Miles ordered our breakfast to be delivered.
“So you’ve got all your school stuff ready?” I asked Doreen.
“Backpack,” she said, her eyes focused on her phone.
“Okay, good.”
I walked around our suite picking up and putting away a few out of place items. Now that Violet was no longer residing in our sitting room, housekeeping would be able to pay us a visit! I was glad of that.
“Anika!” Miles called from the direction of our bedroom. He sounded—funny.
“What?” I called back, on my way to see what was the matter.
He met me at the doorway. He looked stunned.
“Well, three things…” he said. “First, we’ll need to have our retreat from the world, here in our suite. Second, we do not have mice. Third, one of our years is seven to a dog, so I suppose when Trix said a month…”
“What?” I exclaimed. “Where!”
“My closet,” he said, following after me as Doreen leaped out of her chair, forgetting all about the texts that held her engrossed just moments before, and ran to catch up.
The door to Miles’ closet was open, and the light was on. There in the back, behind the suitcases, on top of a pile of clothes, lay Trixie, looking very proud. Spread around her, were…
“Oh my goodness,” I breathed, as I knelt slowly. “Can I touch them?” I asked her, and she nodded.
Miles moved the suitcases and he and Doreen knelt too, and we pet the tiny little things.
“Twelve,” Miles said softly, as he picked up one of the puppies and cradled it against his chest.
“Oh my goodness,” I said again, ready to cry they were so cute, in a newborn puppy kind of way.
Doreen did have tears in her eyes, and on her cheeks.
“Oh my gosh, they’re so perfect,” she said.
Trixie was obviously pleased to hear it, and gave Doreen an approving look. Then she looked at Miles.
He laughed softly.
“Thank you Trix, you do me a great honor. But you see, we’re planning to name our firstborn son Miles.”
I choked back a laugh, and hoped she wouldn’t do me the honor of naming one Anika!
“They look just like you Trixie,” I said. Their father, whoever he was, had to be another golden.
Trixie looked pleased again.
“I love them all, but especially this one,” said Doreen, more tears on her cheeks as she cuddled the puppy.
Trixie watched her and looked satisfied. She nosed Miles’ arm, and they looked at each other a long time. I was pretty sure I understood what Trixie was telling him. Finally he nodded, then she nodded back.
“Have you named them all yet?” asked Doreen, laughing softly as the puppy she held shoved its little nose into the crook of her arm and fell asleep.
Trixie looked at Miles again. He hesitated, then answered.
“She said there are too many for her to name, so you should name that one.”
“Really?” she asked, looking from the sleeping puppy to Trixie, who nodded. “Then… she’s so cute, and soft, and how about Lacey?”
Trixie nodded and pushed at Miles again.
“Alright, Trix,” he said. He lay down the puppy he held and stood, carefully stepping around me. “Our breakfast is on its way, and I’ve got a call I need to make.”
I gently lay the puppy I held next to Trixie, then followed him.
“Is this call to my parents?”
“Yes. What do you think they’ll say? She’s not offering, she’s decided.”
“Well, I think they’re crazy if they say no. Of course they don’t know just how amazing she is, or—oh my goodness, how amazing her puppies may turn out to be! What a terrifying thought. I’ll be shocked if they say no, though.”
There was a knock at the door, and Miles answered.
“Good morning Troy,” he said, holding the door wide. “Go ahead and set it on the table.”
“Good morning, sir, ma’am,” Troy said, and he glanced quickly at the empty chair that once held Violet.
“She went home,” I told him. “She’s where she belongs now.”
“How—how’d you do that?” he stammered.
“Well, we talked to her, did a lot of research, found out why she was here and what she needed to be at peace, and helped her to achieve that,” I said.
Troy set the tray on the table, then returned to the door.
“So is this what you guys do? Help spirits, and stuff?”
“That’s not our specific calling in life, no,” said Miles. “But she needed help, so we found a way to help her.”
“That’s so cool,” he said, with a look of awe in his eyes.
“Let the rest of the staff know that she’s gone home, and the Lodge is haunt-free,” said Miles. “When we have an opportunity, we’ll have another meeting to make certain everyone knows. That won’t be for a few days, though.”
“Yes sir,” said Troy.
Miles tipped him and sent him on his way, while I took a sip of my latte. Miles joined me and took out his phone, while I fixed a cup of coffee for him.
“Hi, Mom. I
t’s Miles. Yes, everything’s great. Well, we woke up to a surprise this morning. No, it wasn’t more snow. It was twelve newborn puppies. No, I’m not kidding. Yes, that is a lot. They’re Trixie’s, and… Doreen’s fallen in love with one, and when the puppy is old enough, Trix wants Doreen to take the puppy home to live with her. I hope that’s all right with you and Dad. Anika and I haven’t said anything to Doreen about it.”
Miles listened for a minute.
“I hope you’re also thrilled to know Trix doesn’t want Tryon to be left out.”
More listening.
“Yeah, Doreen named her pup Lacey. Tryon’s is named Ed. It’ll be a couple of months at least before they’re ready to leave their mom, but the kids can come visit frequently.”
Miles talked a few more minutes, then said goodbye.
“Well?” I asked.
“Your Mom and Dad said that’s fine. They’re pretty excited about it, actually.”
“Aren’t you glad we never suggested before that they get the kids a dog. Aren’t you glad we never got them one!”
“No kidding.”
“I’m surprised though, she just had them… and she’s already picking out homes,” I said.
“Me too, but she pointed out to me that twelve newborn puppies don’t take up much space. But twelve dogs plus her and Chip, won’t fit comfortably anywhere but the estate. She wants them to have good homes where they’ll be loved and get lots of attention, like she and Chip do. So… she’s already picked out homes for several of them.”
“Wow, I’m just—amazed,” I said. “And a little sad! Don’t we get to keep any?”
“She hasn’t said, and I don’t want to push. Maybe she’ll let us keep the one she named after you.”
“She didn’t!” I exclaimed.
“She did,” he smiled. “She named her Fidget.”
I laughed.
“Did she name any others?”
“Yes. There’s Spaz, he’s going to live with Jenny and Xander. Linux, he’s John and Annette’s dog.”
“Linux?” I asked.
“She’s heard John talk about it enough times, so… yes.”
“Wow, just… wow.”
We drank our caffeinated beverages in silence for a few minutes.
“Your Mom said to keep Doreen home from school today,” Miles remembered to say.
“Really?” I was surprised. “Well, that’s good. I don’t think we could pry her out of that closet, even with your abilities.”
Miles laughed.
“You’re probably right. Speaking of my closet, I need to order some new suits.”
“She made a nice thick bed out of them, didn’t she!” I said. “You need some new sweaters too, I notice she got some of those.”
Miles remembered breakfast which was sitting right in front of us, and removing the cover from my plate, set it in front of me and then reached for his own.
“Is there any point in calling your sister to breakfast?”
“No, we might as well eat first, and then take it to her. Having to leave the puppies would be considered cruel and unusual punishment.”
“Good thing we can tell her that in a couple of months, Lacey will go home with her. It might make going home tonight and leaving them for a little while, almost tolerable.”
We ate breakfast and I enjoyed my latte. Now and then we heard Doreen laugh softly, and we both smiled.
“She may be over here every day,” I remarked.
“She may be. Your brother, too. Thank goodness we got Violet squared away before your parents got back. If he went home talking about superpowers and gunfights and his hundred and sixty-five year old big brother… I’m not sure your Mom would still be laughing.”
“No kidding! So if any apparitions show up in the future, let’s find a better place of storage for them than our sitting room.”
“Agreed!” he laughed.
“How long have we been here?” I suddenly asked.
“At the Lodge? We got here last Tuesday morning. A week ago tomorrow.”
“Good grief. I’ve never had a week go by so fast, and encompass this much. Is there any chance life is going to slow down a little, now?”
“Honey… there’s always a chance. But with twelve puppies in our suite, a Lodge to run, and your sister fully aware of just how unusual our life is and determined to be involved in future investigations as we encounter them… it’s not a very good one.”
I couldn’t help laughing.
“You’re telling the truth.”
“I know,” he said. I laughed again, and he smiled, then kissed me. “Are you through eating?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Then let’s go hold some puppies.”
He smiled and held out his hand. I smiled back as I put my hand in his, and that’s exactly what we did.
About the Author
Melissa R. L. Simonin writes the books she wants to read: good clean rated G romance, mystery, suspense, fantasy, paranormal, supernatural, historical, and Christian fiction, with main characters that inspire, who have senses of humor and are good at heart, and which leave one feeling encouraged and better for having read the book. Her characters have stories to tell, so she gets up early and stays up late, because she doesn’t want to miss a thing. Unless she feels like writing two or more novels simultaneously and giving up sleep entirely, she’s learned not to name characters until she’s ready to write, because once they have their names their stories begin, and there is no “pause” option.
In addition to racing to keep up with her characters, Melissa currently resides in Katy, Texas with Brad, her husband of twenty-six years; fifteen-year-old daughter Emily; cats Pandora and Star; Golden retriever and retired Diabetic Alert Dog, Independence; Arctic the White German Shepherd; and Squinty the teddy bear hamster.
While famous for burning cheese sandwiches when her characters are in the middle of a conversation, due to popular demand she usually serves the rest of the household un-burnt offerings, grocery shops on occasion, cleans when absolutely necessary, studies the Bible daily, relies on Jesus completely, listens to Citizen Way and Hawk Nelson frequently, and carries her laptop and immersive headphones with her wherever she goes.
Melissa’s current and ongoing series include The House of Bannerman, Mystery Lane, The Investigations of Jack Ryland, and Terms of Engagement.
Get the latest news on upcoming books and behind the scenes info you won’t find anywhere else, by visiting https://melissasimonin.com
also by Melissa R. L. Simonin
The House of Bannerman
Miles, House of Bannerman book 1
House of Shadows, House of Bannerman book 2
Darkness Falls, House of Bannerman book 3
The Lodge at Whispering Pines, House of Bannerman book 4
Depart the Darkness, House of Bannerman book 5
Mystery Lane
715 Mystery Lane, Mystery Lane book 1
601 Suspense Street, Mystery Lane book 2
423 Apprehensive Avenue, Mystery Lane book 3
The Investigations of Jack Ryland
Last Chance Inn, The Investigations of Jack Ryland book 1
Cottonwood Hotel, The Investigations of Jack Ryland book 2
Terms of Engagement
Terms of Engagement, Terms of Engagement book 1
Failure to Engage, Terms of Engagement book 2
Disengaged, Terms of Engagement book 3
Stand-Alone Novels
Camp Emmaus
Stonecastle Inn
Isle of the Crescent Moon
Hiding Treasure
Lochlan Museum
Uncertainly Yours, a Bannerman Foundation Mystery
Coming soon…
Ashes of Roses, House of Bannerman book 6
Gone in a Flash, the Investigations of Jack Ryland book 3