Pick and Chews Page 4

His expression appeared so full of sympathy that I had to ask, “But what?”

  “Janelle heard some stuff about the vet clinic today and told me. I didn’t follow it all, but … well, has Reed’s former girlfriend moved here?”

  I closed my eyes and shook my head—not in denial, but because word was apparently getting around about Raela and how she’d happened to choose Knobcone Heights to visit. And the gossip included stuff about Reed, supposedly a prior relationship between them.

  Which only made me worry all the more about what Reed and I would really talk about tomorrow night at dinner.

  “Several former coworkers of his from his previous employer, a veterinary hospital in San Diego, are interviewing at the clinic,” I said. “Two of them are vets Reed recommended. They had their interviews with Arvie today. But there’s also a third, and—”

  “And I gather she’s a she. And that she’s planning on staying here even if she doesn’t get the position.”

  “Janelle knew that?” I wondered how she’d heard it. She hadn’t been working at my shops today. Even if she had been, all I’d mentioned was that my shift at the vet clinic was stressful. Had either Vicky or Dinah been concerned enough to follow through somehow, learning the situation from someone—who?—and also letting Janelle know?

  “Yes, she did. And if you’re going to ask how, I haven’t the foggiest idea. I can ask her, if you’d like.”

  “Yes, I would like.”

  Neal immediately pulled his phone from his jeans pocket and pushed a few buttons. He talked briefly to Janelle, then said to me, “Dinah apparently told her.”

  Dinah. But how would she know?

  “I don’t suppose Janelle knows how Dinah found out, does she?”

  More conversation over the phone, and then Neal said what I anticipated. “No, she doesn’t.”

  “That’s okay,” I lied. “I’ll check with Dinah tomorrow. But for now … well, I’m tired. Biscuit and I are heading for bed.”

  Which I knew was a bad idea. How would I sleep with all this on my mind?

  On the other hand, it had apparently exhausted me. I fell asleep fairly quickly and didn’t awaken till morning.

  The next day at the shops was fairly uneventful—except that I managed to take Dinah aside and ask how she’d learned what went on at the vet clinic, as well as why she’d passed along that info to Janelle.

  We were alone in the kitchen at the time—with me working on Barkery treats and Dinah baking some Icing delights—and I could only call the expression on her face pleased and smug. “You know I like to do research,” she said.

  “Yes, but—”

  “I’m always making contacts at various places and functions, in case something comes up. I’m not about to tell you who told me, ’cause you may get mad and confront the person, but I’m now buddies with someone at your clinic who told me about the strange things the lady vet who showed up there did. I knew you must not like it, and that your brother should probably know about it, so I told Janelle. It was as simple as that.”

  It probably was simple to Dinah, who really liked doing such things. But … “I assume you’ve made notes and might use the idea in something you’re writing,” I told her.

  “Of course, but the names will be changed to protect the innocent.” Her smile widened, and she looked back down at the Icing counter where she’d assembled the ingredients for our red velvet cupcakes.

  I knew that Dinah had a tendency to talk to people randomly, especially if she thought they were involved with something that could lead to a new plot for her novels. For example, I’d seen her having a drink with Jack Loroco when the VimPets executive was considered a murder suspect.

  But who was her undercover contact at my vet clinic? And why had that person told her about the Raela situation?

  I’d have to find this out … somehow. Dinah clearly wasn’t going to tell me at the moment. I’d have to ponder how to get her to reveal all—and then how to handle the situation with whoever it was at the clinic. Raela’s arrival wasn’t exactly classified information, but even so, gossiping about problems where we worked wasn’t the wisest thing.

  Especially when it involved people I cared about, like Reed and Arvie and possibly others, too.

  And speaking of Reed … as planned, I had a dinner date with him that night. With his Belgian Malinois, Hugo, in his car, he picked Biscuit and me up at our house a short while after I returned home after closing the shops.

  I’m always glad to have the dogs along, but that evening I was especially pleased. Since it was a chilly evening, there weren’t a lot of people willing to sit outside on the Arrowhead Diner’s patio, notwithstanding the heaters on poles that kept the table area relatively warm. That meant we had some privacy, despite the place being nearly as crowded as it usually was. I felt fairly certain we would be able to remove our heavy jackets as we sat there for our meal. Of the few other diners seated at tables not far from ours beneath the heaters, some were dressed warmly while others weren’t.

  The diner was a popular, family-style restaurant that had long ago been built to resemble a train’s dining car. It was outside of Knobcone Heights, off a major road on the way to the town of Lake Arrowhead. It was one of my favorite places to eat, partially because I nearly always went there with Reed.

  Since the menu was family style, I got to choose my dinner—from healthy salads to not-so-healthy but definitely delicious regular American entrees. I often did the right thing and stuck with salads, and they were quite tasty here with their variety of veggies and dressings. But tonight I wasn’t thinking health … except mental health. I needed something to calm my nervousness over the pending conversation—and what I might learn. So I chose a double-decker burger, though I did ask for a salad on the side. I easily justified the second burger: it was for the dogs.

  Reed’s order was similar, and we both ordered glasses of beer on tap.

  Then, with the dogs lying on the patio beside us, each with a small bowl of water, I finally had an opportunity to look into Reed’s very good-looking face.

  No scowls tonight. In fact, I once again saw what I believed to be regret for how he’d behaved at the clinic when I’d first met Raela. Or not. I decided to ask—more tactfully than that.

  “So how were things at the clinic today?” I asked. In other words, though I didn’t say it, was Raela there? If so, did she cause havoc with her threats about opening her own clinic? Or—

  “Things were fine. Both Oliver and Jon stopped in, for one thing. I talked to Arvie again about both of them, and though he remained fairly tactful I think he’s leaning toward making an offer to Oliver to join us.”

  “And you’d be happy with that?”

  “I’d be happy with either of them. And I’d enjoy having one of them around. We were all good friends back in San Diego.”

  Ah, my opportunity. I was about to edge my way into the topic of Raela … but Reed beat me to it.

  “In case you’re wondering, yes, there were a few other vets at that clinic who were buddies with us, too. But I didn’t recommend them as possible candidates for the opening here because I knew they had roots in San Diego—mostly family. A couple of them also helped build the clinic there into something outstanding and I doubted they’d want to leave it. Both Oliver and Jon have been happy there, but I always had a sense of their ambition and interest in trying out other possibilities, so I figured either might be a good fit here. And then there was dear Raela.”

  Dear? His tone had sounded sarcastic, but what if it wasn’t? Not a good time … but our server happened to show up then with our beers. Maybe it was a good time. After he left, saying our meals would be out soon, I was happy to take a swig.

  “So what about dear Raela?” I prompted in a similarly sarcastic tone—I hoped—once I’d swallowed. “Was she a good vet? Did she love the place or have ambition to leave, or—”

  That awful scowl I’d seen on Reed’s face when he’d talked about Raela before reappeared as h
e interrupted me. “She was mostly an okay vet, though I didn’t like her attitude a lot of the time, with both our patients and their owners. She acted as if she liked our clinic, at least to our supervisors, but every once in a while, when we went out for a drink after the clinic closed for the night, she indicated her dissatisfaction with how things were managed there, and hinted she could do it all a lot better.”

  So they had gone out for drinks. And more?

  “Did the more senior vets like her?” I tried to sound casual. I didn’t really care what the senior vets thought of her—but I did care what Reed had though of her.

  “I never really asked, but I thought she received fewer, or easier, assignments than the rest of us.”

  “That suggests they didn’t like or trust her work.”

  “Maybe not, but they didn’t fire her, so they must have liked other things about her.”

  He raised his dark eyebrows as he looked straight at me and took another swig of beer. I thought about asking what he meant, but when I opened my mouth, he waved his hand.

  “I didn’t consider her the best vet, though she mostly was okay. But one thing she was particularly good at was getting a guy all hot and bothered by suggestive comments or even touches. Nothing completely wrong, but, like I said, suggestive.”

  “With you, too?” I burst out, then felt my own eyes widen in embarrassment. My glass of beer immediately drew my attention once more. Heck, we were dating. It shouldn’t be too inappropriate for me to want to know this.

  “Actually, yes. She joined the staff after I did, and I admit I found her attractive. She came on to me—well, we came on to each other. I realized I wasn’t the only one who was interested in her, though, so I kept things suggestive but cool. And for a while that worked out just fine. In fact, I found her rather amusing, the way so many of the guys there did. Even our patients’ owners were attracted to her.”

  “But you indicated that she was a reason you decided to leave.” Right?

  Our server returned with our meals. Sometimes I wished I could choose the timing for such things. Would Reed use this as an excuse to change the subject, or at least drive it in a different direction?

  Fortunately, he didn’t. We both spent a few minutes removing the extra burgers and giving them, piece by piece, to the obviously delighted dogs who sat up beside us. Then we turned back, regarding each other over the table, both of us holding our own burgers in our hands. I took a bite, my gaze latching onto Reed’s deep brown eyes.

  He really was great looking. He was sexy. How could I blame any woman, even Raela, for coming on to him? But his attitude toward her was what was in question.

  “Okay, back to what we were talking about,” he said. I almost stood up and cheered, but waited to hear if he would actually start up where we’d left off. “Yes, Raela was one reason I decided I’d been working there long enough. I flirted with her a bit, yeah, but she flirted with everyone, and she wasn’t the kind of woman I wanted to start a relationship with. I also didn’t care for the way she seemed to be respected by the vets in charge whether or not she deserved it. I was with her when she almost made a mistake during some dental work on a dog. I caught it and fixed it, but when I started to tell one of our senior vets about it, he just sloughed it off. It wasn’t major, but even so, I didn’t like his attitude. Of course, she’d been flirting with him, too. Anyway, the upshot of it all is that I started looking for something better, and damned if I didn’t find it—right here in Knobcone Heights.” Reed’s grin was loaded with suggestiveness.

  I decided I’d heard all I needed to. “So you’re happy here?” I asked, taking a bite of my salad.

  “Well, I could be a little happier if we happened to get a nightcap at my place after dinner.”

  “Me too,” I said. I felt certain our nightcap would involve more than additional drinks.

  Five

  Unsurprisingly, I thought about Reed later when I was home in bed—and mostly smiled. He’d faced a difficult situation where he once worked and used it as a foundation to catapult his life in a new direction. A better direction. One that had brought him to Knobcone Heights and a veterinary job he clearly loved.

  One that had resulted in my meeting him …

  And in my having some really delightful dreams that night.

  The next morning when I awakened, I rehashed our enjoyable evening in my mind—and felt glad that I didn’t have another shift scheduled at the vet clinic until Monday, and this was Friday. As much as I loved my part-time job there, I really didn’t want to wind up seeing “dear Raela” again. Maybe Arvie would make up his mind soon about who to offer the veterinary position to, and the others who’d expressed interest in it would head back to San Diego. Although Raela had made it clear she might not leave any time soon …

  But I was thinking too much about something I couldn’t control. The only thing I could control was my own reaction. “Let’s go to the Barkery, Biscuit,” I told my little dog after I’d gotten dressed and taken her outside. I stayed quiet so as not to wake Neal—first so I wouldn’t bother him, and second so I wouldn’t have to talk to him about this subject that I wanted to put behind me.

  And, in fact, my day at my shops went fabulously well—even though only two of my assistants, Dinah and Frida, were working, partly because I needed all of my employees there the next day for the adoption event.

  I did take a little time that day to visit Mountaintop Rescue, to help choose which of Billi’s wonderful and needy dogs and cats would visit my shop in the hopes of finding a new forever home. I also contacted Silas Perring, the head anchor for the KnobTV news, as well as Francine Metz, the senior editor of the local small weekly newspaper, the Knobcone News. As in the past, both seemed pet-friendly and willing to help publicize Mountaintop Rescue and its adoption events—including those held at my Barkery.

  So now word was out, not just in Knobcone Heights but also in some of the surrounding communities, like Lake Arrowhead. Would a huge stream of animal lovers converge on my shop to fall in love and adopt a new pet?

  We’d had some darned good luck at the past events, so I dared to hope for a wonderful result.

  That day at the shops passed quickly, and so did that evening, which I spent at home alone—or at least alone until midnight, when I heard Neal return. Even so, I was already in bed and didn’t get up to say good night.

  Then it was Saturday. The day started as it usually did, with me baking in the kitchen along with the first of my assistants to arrive—that day, it was Janelle. She was a pretty woman, with her long, wavy light brown hair pulled back into a clip, and as usual she was wearing her purple athletic shoes. The others got there soon, too, and split up to help in both shops. Our business was good although not overly busy, which was fine with me.

  At about ten in the morning, I got all my assistants together in the kitchen to discuss the event that would begin in an hour. They all appeared to feel as excited as I did. Maybe this was because I only hired people who were also pet lovers.

  “When will all the animals get here?” Vicky asked. Of course my chief scheduler would have a question about timing.

  “Billi said they’d start arriving around ten, so we should see them any minute now.”

  Sure enough, I heard the bell over the door ring, followed by a chorus of barks—some of which sounded like Biscuit’s. I shot a smile at my staff before hurriedly heading into the Barkery.

  Billi was there, along with her assistant Mimi, who today again wore her white shirt that said Adopt today. Love forever. So was Shea Alderson, apparently taking a day off from his legal work to volunteer at the adoption event. Each of them held the ends of dog leashes—Billi’s a small terrier mix, Mimi’s a pit bull, and Shea’s a medium-sized dog whose heritage I could only guess at, though it seemed to include Lab and boxer. I’d met them all when visiting Mountaintop Rescue the day before, and I’d also seen some of the other pets before, including a few of the longer-time shelter residents.

&
nbsp; I hoped every one of these dogs would find new homes that day. As excited as Biscuit was to have visitors, I figured she also wished the best for them. Janelle’s dog, Go, did too, most likely. Go and Biscuit both leaped around woofing, Biscuit in her large open crate and Go leashed to it.

  “Hi, Carrie,” Billi called, a huge smile on her face. Her sense of humor was on display, since she was clad that day in a dark suit that made her appear like the City Councilwoman she was rather than the head of a wonderful no-kill shelter. I figured it would wind up covered with dog hair, but that was a good thing, not a bad one. “We’ve got about seven more dogs out there and three cat crates. Is it okay to bring them all in?”

  “Of course,” I said, returning her smile. I glanced toward the counter, where Dinah and Frida stood with three Barkery customers, who also were looking at the dogs. “Can you help out?” I asked my assistants.

  “I heard there was going to be an adoption event here today,” said one of the customers, a middle-aged lady with short, orange hair. “That’s one reason I came.”

  “Good,” I told her. “Are you looking for a new family member?”

  “I’m thinking about it,” she responded.

  “Then think away—and meet some of our town’s orphans who are looking for new homes.” I gestured toward Mimi and Shea and the three dogs, who were standing on the bone decoration in the middle of the tile floor. We’d removed the tables for today to make more room. Billi was already outside with the other volunteers, preparing to bring the rest of the adoptable pets inside.

  I glanced out the front window and saw not only a van parked along the street, but quite a few people converging on the Barkery from the sidewalk. Potential adopters? I hoped so, but even if they were just curious animal lovers, that could still help to get our orphans into new homes.

  The other pets were soon inside the Barkery, ready to meet humans. We kept customers outside for a short while as we got things organized, but were still able to open the doors again before the scheduled start time of eleven o’clock.

  Even so, I put organizer Vicky in charge of letting people in a few at a time so we didn’t get unsafely crowded. I was thrilled, though, that we had such a turnout. And almost immediately I was even more thrilled that a cheer went up from Billi, Mimi, Shea, and the other Mountaintop Rescue volunteers. The pit bull that Mimi had on her leash had already found a new home.