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

  With a sigh, she stood up and stood behind the man. Might as well get in line. His beat-up denim overalls were almost as filthy as his hat and the scent of diesel surrounded him like a cloud. Maybe he was a mechanic.

  Bud said, “Colleen, you know who I am. What is your problem?”

  Mia clasped her hands in front of her. If nothing else, she had found Colleen Fisher. Given the low population of Alpine Grove, maybe the DMV only had one employee.

  Colleen leaned over and stretched an arm across the counter to point at Mia. “You! Take a number and sit down.”

  Mia turned her head to look around the room. Where were you supposed to get a number? “I, uh, just have a little depression.”

  “What? Listen, I don’t have time to discuss your mental health. Just take a number,” Colleen said.

  “Question, I mean I have a question,” Mia said. Now Bud was staring at her too.

  “So if I have some type of medical situation, can I git my goddam registration?” Bud said.

  “I don’t have a medical problem. I have a question!” Mia said.

  Colleen shook her finger at Mia. “I told you. Take a number and sit down. Don’t make me throw you out of here.”

  “Where are the cucumbers? Numbers! I mean numbers.” Mia’s shoulders slumped. This was getting her nowhere.

  Colleen pointed toward the back of the room. “On the wall.”

  Mia looked and finally spotted the red number dispenser hiding behind a brochure stand.

  “Now go sit down.” Colleen turned back to Bud. “Bud, I need you to bring me the old registration. And proof you own the vehicle.”

  “Well, that might be a challenging proposition.” He slurped to emphasize the point. “See my truck, well, I went hunting and there was a little accident and then I had to fix it.”

  Colleen put up both palms in front of herself. “Bud, I don’t want to hear this again. You’re repeating yourself and the story was boring the first time.”

  “But the cop pulled me over because I don’t have my license plate. I need to fix this. I gotta dee-spoze of some, uh, something at the dump.” He slapped his hat on the counter. “What am I a-sposed to do?”

  “I told you, you have to pay the penalty for late registration, pay all your parking tickets, the maintenance fines, and then we’ll talk,” Colleen said.

  “It’s just a little electrical problem with my taillight. I can’t track that bugger down,” Bud said.

  “You told me that, but I need the paperwork. Go find it and get out,” Colleen said.

  Mia sat up straighter. The Bud drama might be winding down. She looked at the number in her hand. Two forty-seven. The display said Colleen was happily serving number one fifty. What? Were ninety-seven people hiding somewhere she didn’t know about?

  Bud grabbed his hat from the counter and stomped toward the door. If he spit his chaw on her car on his way out, Mia was going to be so grossed out. With any luck, the fact that Chris was sitting in the car would keep him from spewing too close to the RAV. Yuck.

  She looked at Colleen, who was hunched over, busily writing something at the counter. No one else was here. Mia raised her hand, “Excuse me?”

  Colleen looked up. “Yes.”

  “My number is two forty-seven.”

  Colleen looked over her shoulder at the number display. “Oh jeez.” She walked over and fiddled with some buttons until the display showed two forty-eight.

  Mia stood up and held out her number. “I’m two forty-seven.”

  “Close enough. I’m not pressing that button two hundred forty-seven times to get it to go around again. But make it fast before someone comes in and pulls two forty-eight.” Colleen rested her elbows on the table and glared at Mia. “What’s your question?”

  “I, uh, was wondering if you knew someone named Dan Riggins.”

  “No.”

  “Are you sure? He might have been in Alpine Grove around 1975.”

  “Why are you asking about someone who was here twenty years ago?”

  “Well, um, he’s my father and I’ve lost touch.” At the woman’s intense gaze, Mia wanted to slither under the counter and curl up into a fetal position.

  “How is this my problem? You’re sitting here wasting my time with some little personal genealogy project? Can’t you see I’m working? It’s against policy to be talking about personal business during working hours.”

  “I just thought…well, I got postcards that were signed with the initials C.A. and…um, someone told me your last name used to be Abbott.”

  “It was. Who is gossiping with you about me? They have a lot of nerve.”

  Mia shook her head. “No, it wasn’t gossip. I’m just trying to find my father and this “CA” person.”

  “Well, it’s not me.” Colleen made a shooing motion with both hands. “Get out. I have work to do.”

  “Okay. Thank you.” Mia practically ran out the door. Why did she thank that woman? She couldn’t possibly have been any less helpful.

  She got into the driver side of the RAV and looked at Chris. “That was horrible.”

  “What happened?” He stroked Lulu’s head. “Did she know your dad?”

  “Not at all. This is all completely ridiculous. I have no idea what I’m looking for. I’m wasting time and money on something I don’t even understand.” She put the car in neutral and turned the key in the ignition.

  Chris put his hand over hers on the gear shift. “Let’s go see that waterfall. That might make you feel better.”

  “All right. I should enjoy one last day here. Then I’ve got to move on. It’s way past time for me to get out of Alpine Grove.”

  Chris pointed at the street. “The map says that to get to the trailhead for Lilly Falls we need to go that way. Turn left.”

  “Thanks. Let’s get out of here.”

  Chris was quiet on the drive to the waterfall trail. Maybe he knew that Mia was annoyed and didn’t feel like talking. That was considerate of him, since she did have a strong urge to sulk for a while. She turned on the radio, which had been tuned to the one local station that came in with any reliability. The Eagles began crooning about the Hotel California. Even if you could never leave, it was still probably nicer than the H12.

  She parked the car in a small lot and they got out. No one else was around and the only sounds were squirrels scurrying about and the occasional bird calling to avian friends. Chris put Lulu on the ground and she snuffled some fallen leaves, obviously enjoying the earthy scents of fall.

  A wooden sign next to the trail said “Lilly Falls” with an arrow pointing up the hill, so they were in the right place. They began walking up the well-trodden path, and after a few minutes of wandering through the pine forest, Lulu stopped abruptly and sat down. Mia looked at Chris. “Is she okay?”

  “This is her way of letting me know she’s done, and it’s time to carry her.” He bent to pick up the dog.

  “It’s an effective technique.”

  “Yeah, it works for her.” He readjusted the dog in his arms. “Are you done being mad?”

  “I’m not mad.”

  “Yes you are. I bet you’re beating yourself up for messing up words when you talked to the DMV lady, aren’t you?”

  “No I’m not.” Yes, she was, but she wasn’t telling Chris that.

  “So what if she didn’t know your dad? I bet someone does. You said Kat knew a bunch of people who have lived in this area for ages.”

  “I suppose.” She turned her head to look at him. “Why are you even interested in this foolish pursuit of my past anyway?”

  “I don’t know. It’s interesting. Hold on for a sec.” He stopped and put Lulu back on the ground next to a patch of yellowing bracken fern. “This dog sure gets heavy after a while.”

  Above them, a gray squirrel noisily scolded, encouraging the intruders to get out of the way so he could resume his fall foraging project.

  Chris looked up. “I think Mr. Squirrel is almost as grumpy as you are.�
��

  Mia took a deep breath. “I’m not as grumpy as I was before. It smells so good here. Like leaves and pine needles. I’m glad you convinced me to go for this hike, although I wish I’d brought Gizmo. I’ve never been on a trail like this before and he’d love it. Windiberg isn’t exactly known for its scenic beauty.”

  “No kidding.”

  They hiked quietly for a while until they reached the overlook for the falls. Chris picked up Lulu again and they stood by the railing gazing down at the stone canyon. A stream of water plunged over the cliff down into the pool below. A light mist floated through the chilly air and the sound of the cascading water echoed throughout the rocky crevasse.

  Mia leaned on the railing. “This is amazing. And look, there’s a little rainbow down there over near those rocks at the bottom.”

  “I wish I had a camera.”

  “We’ll just have to remember it.” She looked up at the sky. “A picture couldn’t capture the sound of the water, the birds singing, and that whispering sound the breeze makes in the pine trees.”

  Chris bent to put down Lulu again. “I think Lulu needs a little break. And I need to rest my arms for a while. Let’s go over there.”

  They walked away from the overlook to a cleared area that was surrounded by trees. Below the pines, the ground was covered with a blanket of moss. Mia sat down and ran her hand back and forth across the green carpet.

  Chris sat down next to her. “I can’t believe we’re the only people here. Doesn’t anyone go hiking anymore?”

  “Well, they might be at work.”

  “Oh yeah. I guess I’m kind of skipping out on that.” He leaned back on his elbows. “I could get used to this. Being here seems so far away from my life in San Francisco; it’s like a different world.”

  “I know what you mean. Just a couple of weeks ago, I was living in my trailer doing the same thing that I’d been doing every day for years.” Mia rolled onto her side and stroked Lulu’s fur. “I fantasized about taking a vacation like this for so long.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “Are you kidding? I had no money. When you are operating in basic survival mode like I was, it’s really hard to dream. Vacations were just fantasies—not something that could really happen.”

  Chris rolled over to face her. “I didn’t realize it was that bad.”

  “My Spartan Queen title was hard-won.” She smiled at him. “I never could get ahead, and pinching pennies only takes you so far.”

  “I suppose that’s true.”

  “It sounds silly, but I spent so long worrying about all the things I needed to do just to keep a roof over my head, I have no idea what I actually like or want anymore. That’s what this trip is about.”

  “So you came to Alpine Grove to find yourself?”

  “Well, not Alpine Grove specifically. Now that I’ve been on the road for a while, I’m discovering that figuring out the rest of my life might take longer than I thought.” She sat up and put her hands around her knees. “I can’t float like this forever though.”

  Chris sat up. “Floating sounds good. I’d like to float for a while.”

  “Aren’t you?”

  “Hey, I’m working! Okay, maybe not right this second. But I’m supposed to be here for work.”

  “What happens after that? When you’re done with this project, are you going to go back to your job and what you were doing?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t really have much choice. I’ve been doing the site visits and working with the developer on the preliminary designs. But I need to go back to the office to do the final design development and construction documents. I’ll have to return to my regular life again.”

  “I’m sorry I suggested you make your life dreary before to pay off your debt. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “It’s okay. I think I was just annoyed that you were right. Transferring balances and lowering overhead makes sense.”

  “Getting out of debt is no fun. I had a long-standing payment plan with my veterinarian, thanks to Gizmo.” Mia sighed. “After the last episode, I ended up in the hole with the emergency clinic too.”

  “But then you got money.” He turned to look at her. “How?”

  “It’s a long story.” Mia pulled her feet under her and moved to get up. “Maybe we should get going. I need to get back to the H12, pack up my stuff, and call Kat.”

  Chris stood up and Lulu stretched deeply. She walked a few steps and looked up at the humans expectantly.

  Mia walked back to the railing and gazed down at the waterfall. It was so beautiful, she hated to leave. Chris walked up next to her, trailed by Lulu. “Are you really leaving tomorrow?”

  She turned to face him. “I need to go to the post office and pick up my mail, but after that, there’s no reason to stay. The whole thing with the postcards was a little crazy. I never do stuff like that, and I should get back to figuring out where I’m going to live and what I’m going to do.”

  Chris slid his hand up the side of her neck and cupped her chin with his palm. “Please don’t leave yet.”

  Trying to ignore the shimmery thrill from his soft fingertips on her cheek, she looked up into his eyes. “Why?”

  “I don’t want to say goodbye to you.” He met her gaze, leaned forward, and kissed her slowly and deliberately, focusing all of his attention on her.

  It was so startling to discover he wanted her, for a moment it was as if time stopped. And then every one of Mia’s nerve endings woke up after an extremely long slumber and she was bombarded with sensation. She threw her arms around Chris’s neck and returned the kiss with frenzied abandon.

  Chris wrapped his arms around her, the fist holding Lulu’s leash digging into her back. Mia’s blood roared in her ears and finally she let go of him. With a great exhale of breath, she said, “Okay, what just happened there? What are we doing?”

  “I’m not sure, but it was fantastic.” He grinned. “I think you vaporized a few of my brain cells.”

  Mia giggled, pulled him back to her, and kissed his neck. “No kidding. But this is really stupid. I’m homeless and you’re leaving in a few days.”

  “We could have a very good few days though.” He pushed a tousled lock of auburn hair behind her ear. “I meant what I said. Please don’t leave yet.”

  “I have to pick up my mail tomorrow, but maybe I could stay a little longer. It’s not like I’m on some type of rigid schedule.”

  “I’ve heard that the people who work at the Alpine Grove post office aren’t very speedy. It might take some time to get your mail.” He bent to whisper in her ear as he ran a fingertip down her neck and traced her collarbone. “Agonizingly slow, like warm honey oozing ever so slowly over your body.”

  Attempting to ignore the heat coursing through various parts of her anatomy, she leaned back to look at him. “I thought we were friends.”

  “We are.” He moved put his arm around her again. “But you never know. Maybe we could be more than friends. I could be the friend you fall hopelessly in love with. The person you finally let in and share all your secrets with. I’d like to be that kind of friend.”

  “I’ve never had a friend like that.”

  “I guess I haven’t either. But I’d like to, and I think it could happen with you. I like how I feel when we’re together. It’s like I’ve known you forever. And even though I’ve told you about my worst mistakes, instead of just writing me off as a loser, you give me ideas for fixing them.”

  Mia smiled. “Well, we mushroom girls are a rare breed, you know.”

  “So it seems.”

  Chapter 7

  Fans and Mail

  Mia was quiet on the drive back to Alpine Grove. She shouldn’t make a big deal out of just one kiss, but Chris obviously had far more feelings for her than she’d expected. And her response to him was unprecedented. She’d practically jumped on top of the guy. What was wrong with her? It had been a long time, but still.

  Chris had just broken up with t
he infamous Donna and had said more than once that he was lonely. To a guy, even the weird mushroom woman probably looks good when you haven’t gotten any action for a while. Men were sort of predictable that way.

  Mia’s history with the male of the species hadn’t been particularly satisfying, so there was no reason to believe that anything with Chris would work out well. The death of her mother and Howard had happened the day she graduated from high school, and led to what Mia thought of now as her slutty phase.

  On graduation day, before she found out what had happened, she had been furious. It was just like her mother to flake out. Her high school graduation should be a big deal, and yet her undependable mother missed it. Just like she always missed everything else. After getting her diploma, Mia had returned home, ready to read her mother the riot act for not showing again. But when she arrived at the house, flashing lights and police tape had been everywhere. All Mia remembered was being hustled off to the station to make a statement.

  After that, it was like Mia’s brain checked out for a while. She didn’t know what to do once she was completely, utterly alone. Her life had turned into some horrible country song and maybe to continue the theme, she began looking for love in all the wrong places. If you wanted to pick up a random guy in Windiberg, it wasn’t difficult. Certain bars were known to serve minors, and in the dim light no one seemed to care that the creepy mushroom girl who talked funny was mooching free drinks from the guys at the pool tables.

  In the seedy ambiance of the bars, Mia sought out any human touch to fill the void left in her life. She didn’t worry about mixing up words because usually she was too drunk to care. A string of sloppy one-night stands mostly left her depressed, and even worse, reality began to intrude. Because of her mother’s mental-health issues and Howard’s slacker, freeloading nature, they were behind on the rent on the house. Way behind. Everything they’d had was sold or taken away to pay off their debts and burial expenses.