Howl at the Loon (An Alpine Grove Romantic Comedy Book 6) Page 14

  There were a few negative mumbles and Darlene volunteered, “I have my blue comb. But I didn’t bring a pair of shorts here. At my church, we prefer to wear less revealing clothing.”

  Robin pulled Alec’s boxers out of her tote bag and held them up. “That’s okay. I got a pair. And I got a red t-shirt and a binder. Oh, and then the dog…um…I mean, the doggonedest thing happened and I found a piece of rope too.”

  Darlene looked appalled at the wanton display of men’s undergarments, but Emily sat up in her chair. “Hey, those are some of the tough ones!”

  “I know! Isn’t it great?” Robin said. “Let’s go outside and get the easy stuff like the branch and the pine cone and then go to the theater building. We still have enough time to gather a few more items before the deadline.”

  With renewed enthusiasm, the women put on their foul-weather gear and went back out into the rain toward the woods. They collected various soggy pieces of flora from the ground and added them to their collection. Robin looked at her watch and called everyone. “We have to get back now!”

  They all returned to the theater building, where Brett was standing at one end of the tables while the members of both of the other teams were busy counting up their items. Robin’s group settled in and began crossing their items off the list. Out of sixty items, they had found fifty. Robin said, “Even if we don’t win, I think we did really well and we should be proud of ourselves.”

  The women smiled and looked up at Brett in unison as he walked over to their group. He pointed at the pile of artifacts on the table. “That’s quite a collection you have.”

  Robin smiled. “Yes, we found some difficult ones.”

  “How many do you have?”

  “We count fifty.”

  He bent to look more closely. “Those aren’t exactly shorts.”

  Robin said, “Yes, they are. They’re boxer shorts. That’s a type of shorts.”

  Brett crossed his arms. “I’m guessing they aren’t yours. Where did you get them?”

  The heat rose on her cheeks as she said, “Alec. It’s his t-shirt too.”

  Curious about the discussion, members of the other teams started filtering over to their table. Terri pointed at Robin. “She cheated.”

  “I did not!” Robin stood up. She was uncomfortable having Brett towering over them, his dark eyes drilling into her. She stood up, although it wasn’t really much of an improvement because he was so tall, but it helped her feel more like a grown-up instead of a recalcitrant seven-year old. “Brett said that we could go any place we had permission. Alec let me into his cabin and gave these things to me.”

  “Oh reeeeally?” Terri gave her a sidelong look. “Cheater.”

  “I did not cheat.” Robin pointed at one of the piles on another table. “How many items did everyone else find?”

  Brett said, “My team found forty-one.”

  Terri said, “Thirty-nine.”

  Robin gestured in the general direction of the Pine Cone cabin. “Even if you take out the things I got from Alec, we still won.”

  Terri mumbled, “cheater” again, turned on her heel, and went back to her seat on the other side of the room.

  Brett said, “Congratulations to all of you. You all did well, but I’d like to recognize Robin’s initiative and creativity. That is part of what this exercise is all about.”

  Robin sat down again heavily. Even though her team won, it didn’t feel good. Competitions always ended this way. Like the old saying went, every time somebody wins, somebody loses.

  Darlene said quietly, “I don’t think you cheated. But I did pray for your eternal soul, just in case.”

  Robin turned to her. “Thanks Darlene. I appreciate that.”

  Chapter 8

  Slamming

  After Brett said a few final words about the importance of teamwork, he let everyone go. Robin ran over to the lodge building to see if she could get to the phone before Moira. Half the time she looked at the desk in the lobby, that woman was on the phone with her kids. But Robin was determined to get Leroy back home. The owners of that poor dog had to be beside themselves with worry by now.

  She sat in the rickety office chair, picked up the Cedar County phone book, and flapped the thin publication back and forth. This wouldn’t take long. She riffled through the pages and didn’t find anything animal-related except for one veterinarian in downtown Alpine Grove. Maybe Kat knew of some type of unofficial organization that helped homeless pets. There had to be someone she could call about Leroy. She dug Kat’s number out of her purse. If nothing else, she could get an update on Emma.

  The phone rang a few times and Kat’s voice greeted her. Robin said, “Kat, hi, it’s Robin.”

  “It’s good to hear from you. Emma is right here. She’s asleep actually. We took a long walk and she’s busy drying off now.”

  Robin giggled. “Oh, that’s sweet. I miss her so much! I’m actually calling with a question I hope you can answer. I looked in the phone book and couldn’t find anything. I want to ask you if there’s an animal shelter around here.” She glanced up to make sure no one was near the desk. “There’s a stray dog we found here at the lodge and the owner is against having dogs on the premises. We need to find this dog’s family.”

  “There’s not an animal shelter like you’d find in a city. Not exactly. There are some holding cages at the police station, where they keep strays that are picked up. But you don’t want to take a dog there.”

  “Why not?”

  “You don’t want to know. Let’s just say it’s not what you’d call an adoption facility.”

  “Well, if someone lost a dog, who would they call?”

  “Most people call Dr. Cassidy’s office. She’s the vet in town and their office tends to be in the know. A friend of mine just adopted a kitten that they saved from…well, ah…never mind. It’s a long story.”

  “What should I do? This is such a sweet dog. Someone must be looking for him.”

  After a protracted silence, Kat said, “Well, I didn’t know this until I moved here, but when it comes to animals, things are kind of different in rural areas. You met Joel, right?”

  “Yes, he carried Emma across the creek.”

  “Joel has a dog named Lady that he found when she was about eight months old. From what he told me, it’s not unusual for people to dump dogs out in the country. Five or six years later, he’s still got Lady. No one has claimed her yet.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding.”

  “I wish I were.”

  “That’s horrible. Who would do that? I don’t want anything to happen to this dog. He’s such a sweetheart.”

  “Well, if it were me, I’d call Dr. Cassidy’s office. It’s the Alpine Grove Vet Clinic. I can give you the number.”

  “That’s okay. I found it in the phone book.”

  “If they don’t know anything about the dog there, call the police station. Maybe someone called them to report a missing dog. There’s not any animal control here exactly. One guy—the low man on the totem pole I guess—sometimes drives around town. He’s supposed to pick up strays, but mostly he just sits in his car. But like I said, please don’t take the dog to the police station.”

  “Okay. I won’t.”

  “Sorry I don’t have more advice.”

  “No, you’ve been very helpful and I appreciate it. How is your driveway doing? Would it be possible to pick up Emma again?”

  “Not at the moment. Joel is out in the creek now, digging out the old culvert.”

  “In the rain?”

  “Yes. He said he wanted to spend some time using the pick axe.”

  Robin glanced out the window. “It’s such a cold rain today. He must be freezing.”

  “Well, he’s not in a good mood, and I think he wanted to get out of the house for a while. A friend is going to pick up a new culvert for us, so with any luck, we won’t be marooned for much longer.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Emma had so much fun here at the North
Fork. She and Leroy are best buddies. It’s so much fun to watch them play together.”

  “Leroy?”

  “That’s the stray dog who isn’t supposed to be here.”

  “You named him?”

  “Well, I didn’t. Alec did. We had to call the dog something.”

  Kat laughed. “It’s a good thing you like dogs. I think you’re going to have two now.”

  “No, not me. Absolutely not! Leroy loves Alec anyway. I think they’ve bonded.”

  “I see.”

  “Well, thank you for your help. I need to make some calls now. I’ll try to check in with you tomorrow and see how the road project is going.”

  Robin hung up the phone and looked up the number for the vet clinic. She gave a description of Leroy to a nice woman who unfortunately had no information about a large white dog that lived in the area. There was only one Great Pyrenees they had treated and he was an older dog with arthritis. Given his enthusiastic bounding around the beach, Leroy did not seem to be having joint pain. The only other white dog they knew about was a female Samoyed. Obviously that wasn’t Leroy either.

  Robin didn’t want to call the police station, but she knew she had to. When she talked to the officer on duty, she reported a “sighting” rather than telling the man where Leroy was staying. In the end it didn’t matter, since they had no reports of a missing white dog either. Robin stared down at her hands. She was out of ideas.

  She looked up as Moira walked up to the desk. The woman looked anxious and Robin stood up. “Don’t worry. I’m done.”

  The woman’s brows pulled together in concern. “Oh, that’s a relief. This soccer tournament is turning into a nightmare. I need to give Mrs. Johnson a call.”

  Robin waved toward the phone. “The phone is all yours. I hope everything is okay.”

  She went to the dining room and quickly made herself a sandwich from the lunch buffet. There was still enough time to go back to the Pine Cone, talk to Alec, and return his things.

  As she slowly chewed the sandwich and walked down the path to her cabin, Robin gazed out across the lake. Even though the weather was gray and stormy, something about being near water never failed to make her happy. Growing up in Spokane, she had loved the trips they took to the lakes across the border in Northern Idaho.

  Living near the ocean or a lake was one of those things she dreamed about, but it was probably never going to happen unless she won the lottery. Waterfront property anywhere was out of her price range. And to get a job, she needed to live in a big city, anyway. At least Portland had the river. Darrell was lucky to have spent so much time here with his family. Even though it was worn and broken down now, the North Fork had probably been beautiful in its heyday.

  She knocked on the door of Alec’s side of the cabin and Leroy barked. Alec opened the door, and she was relieved to note he was fully clothed. He said, “I assume you’re here to give me back my underwear.”

  Pulling the tote bag off her shoulder, she nodded. “Yes. We won!”

  He stepped aside so she could come inside. “That’s good, I guess.”

  Robin sat in the desk chair, pulled out the rope, and handed it to Leroy, who was thrilled to have his prize returned to him. He sauntered over to Alec, proudly displaying it. Alec grinned at the dog and sat down on the end of the bed. The dog shoved the rope into Alec’s lap. “That’s great Leroy, but watch it with that nose, okay?”

  Robin put the binder and clothes on the desk behind her and faced Alec. “I have some bad news about Leroy. After making some calls, no one seems to know about him. Kat says sometimes people just drop dogs in the country when they don’t want them anymore.”

  He looked up from ruffling Leroy’s ears. “There’s no animal shelter?”

  “No. Apparently, sometimes some officer of the law picks up strays, but then they throw the dog into a little cage.”

  “That’s it? Then what?”

  “I don’t know, but Kat said not to take Leroy there. What she didn’t say is more worrisome. With such a small facility, I don’t think they keep dogs long.”

  Alec raised his eyebrows, obviously understanding what Robin meant. “That’s definitely not an option then.”

  “I don’t know what to do.”

  He returned to playing with Leroy’s floppy ears. “Neither do I. I can’t take a dog back to Portland with me. My apartment isn’t a great place for a dog, and I work incredibly long hours.”

  Robin brightened. “Why not? Lots of people who have dogs also have jobs and your apartment is probably bigger than this cabin. And Leroy has done great here, right? I have a dog walker who comes in and walks Emma. It’s expensive, but Emma has been adapting since we moved. I’ll give you the card for the company.” She clasped her hands together in her lap. “Please keep him, Alec. Leroy needs a home and he loves you.”

  “He had a home. I have to teach in a few minutes, but tomorrow morning while everyone’s off team-building, I’ll drive around and look for lost dog signs. I can make some flyers of my own too. And maybe knock on some doors around here. There’s probably a local paper. Maybe I can put an ad there. I just can’t believe someone would let this guy go like you’re saying.”

  “According to Kat, it wouldn’t be the first time. I met her husband, or boyfriend, or roommate. Whoever he is, he lives there and his name is Joel. I guess that’s how he ended up with his dog.”

  Alec looked down at Leroy, who was enjoying the affection. “So are you my dog now?” Leroy wagged his tail happily.

  Robin smiled. “Unless someone speaks up, I think he is.”

  For Robin, the next two days were filled with more complaints, ghost stories, team-building activities, training, and small talk. By Thursday afternoon, everyone was winding down and even Terri had stopped voicing her dissatisfaction as loudly. They’d all managed to survive an activity called “Two Truths and a Lie.” Each person had to tell three stories and then everyone else was supposed to guess which story was a lie. Robin had been incredibly irritated that everyone thought one of her truths was a lie. Now Terri was convinced she was a cheater and a liar. Was it so impossible to believe that Robin could have been on TV? It wasn’t a lie! Okay, yes, it was a commercial for Cal’s used cars when she was six years old, but it was still true.

  The Trust Walk activity had been far worse though. Being blindfolded and led through the woods was not Robin’s idea of a good time. Then Terri accused her of purposely causing her to run into a tree, which Robin definitely did not do.

  In retaliation, Terri had directed Robin so she tripped on a log and almost killed herself. The bruise on her arm still hurt. Brett had not been particularly amused by the whole situation. A muscle in his neck was pulsing in a slightly scary way, and he obviously had been trying to restrain himself from saying something unkind. Robin was mildly worried that he might have a stroke. The only good thing was that he was unlikely to pair her up with Terri again. As the week wore on, he seemed increasingly unhappy. Should she ask him about it or was it better to just let him be?

  Fortunately, the training classes in the afternoons had been less hazardous. Robin could tell Alec was getting tired, though. They talked about the products, services, policies, procedures, and every possible Eagle River guideline for every possible scenario people might encounter. He’d gone over communication and listening skills and talked about tone of voice, and why people buy.

  True to his word, Alec had also driven throughout the area putting up posters and notifying everyone he could think of about Leroy. So far, no one had any information. He’d even brought Leroy by the vet clinic, so they could take a look at the dog to be sure no one had seen him before. While he was at the clinic, he’d made an appointment for an official veterinary check-up, since it was looking more likely that Leroy would be going home with him on Saturday.

  Robin sat and watched as Alec patiently went through a role-playing routine related to a complicated return with an angry customer. Some of the role-plays had been funny
, particularly when Alec played the clueless husband trying to buy a birthday present from the catalog for his imaginary wife. Apparently, a male caller shopping for his wife or girlfriend was a common occurrence.

  Although it had been a long week, it seemed that Darrell’s goal of bringing people together might be working out, after all. The level of animosity had dropped considerably and worrying about the ghost of Julia Lambert seemed to have brought people together. After all the shared weirdness, people were actually talking with one another a bit more.

  Alec concluded the class and started gathering up his materials. As everyone filed out, Robin went up to him. “Only one more day!”

  “It’s a good thing. I’m so tired of talking. And if somebody tells me one more strange or creepy thing that happened at night in their room I may cry like a little girl. After this is over, I think I’m going to need to take a vacation from humanity. I want to go sit on a beach somewhere by myself and listen to the waves.”

  “Well, the sun is out for the moment. You could sit by the lake. The waves aren’t very big, but it’s still beautiful.”

  He smiled. “You’re right. It is, and that’s a good idea. I’ll collect Leroy and find a quiet spot down the beach a little ways.”

  “Any word about his family?”

  “Nope. My phone number is plastered over half this town. I keep calling my answering machine and the obnoxious techno-voice tells me I have no new messages.”

  Robin looked toward the North Star cabin. Brett was heading up the path toward them, and he stopped and waved to Robin, indicating he wanted to talk to her. Alec continued on toward the Pine Cone cabin and Robin walked over to Brett. He greeted her and gestured toward the lake. “Shall we stroll and look at the water? I need to discuss something with you.”

  They walked down toward the beach and as they walked, Robin got the distinct impression that something was bothering Brett. His head was bowed and he seemed upset. They sat down at an old picnic table and Robin folded her hands in front of her. “Is everything okay?”