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

  She drove extra slowly back to the H12, trying to muster up her confidence and courage. For someone who had spent most of her life avoiding confrontation, she certainly had been given a lot of opportunities to engage in awkward and uncomfortable conversations lately. Even more annoying was that what she really wanted to do was call Chris and talk to him about it. And how sappy was that?

  When she returned to the H12, Mia called Edith before she could dwell on it any longer and lose her nerve.

  The phone rang several times and then a husky voice greeted her. Mia cleared her throat, “Yes, may I please speak to Edith Moffitt?”

  “You found her.”

  Mia’s jaw hung open for a moment. That was a woman’s voice? “Well, um, yes, I got your name from a lawyer here in Alpine Grope…Alpine Grove.”

  “Yeah, Larry. How’s that randy old boy doing?”

  “Fine.” Mia hoped he was fine, since she’d never met him. “I was told that you can find beagles.”

  “I’m not the dog catcher, lady. Call the SPCA.”

  “I’m sorry, I meant people. I’m hoping you can find my father.”

  “Maybe. You got a budget for this? Because I’m not cheap.”

  “Yes, I know it will cost money. I’m afraid he might be sick or dying and I really need to talk to him.”

  “All right. What’s his name?”

  “Dan Riggins.”

  “What else do you know?”

  Mia went through the story of the postcards, Gwen, and anything else she could think of that might help. “Do you think you can find him?”

  “Piece of cake. Wire me the money, and I’ll get started tomorrow.”

  Mia thanked Edith and hung up the phone. She flopped back against the pillows on the bed. If the interrogation she’d just been through were any indication, there was no doubt that Edith would find her father. Jan’s bulldog description was apt. Edith Moffitt was no demure shrinking violet.

  Now she needed to go find a bank and wire her deposit to Edith. She grabbed her bag when the phone rang. Maybe Edith had forgotten something.

  Mia stopped short when Chris greeted her. She sat down on the edge of the bed. “How are you?”

  “I’m doing okay. Mostly, I wanted to let you know that I’m moving to LA. We promised not to lose touch, remember?”

  “I do.” Mia didn’t want to say how much she missed him. “I’m still here, obviously. But I’ll be moving into Gwen’s house. I still almost can’t believe it, but she agreed to let me spend the winter there.”

  “It sounds like everything is working out for you.”

  “I know! It really is for a change. I’m hiring a private investigator to find my father.”

  “That’s a big step.”

  “It is, and I agonized over the decision because this woman, Edith, costs a fortune.”

  “Well, as I recall, you have a fortune.”

  Mia traced the ugly plaid design on the bedspread, skirting around a hole in the fabric. Why was Chris bringing that up? “I don’t have a fortune, but yes, I do have enough money to pay her.”

  “Is something bothering you?”

  “No, everything is fine.” Except that she missed him. Why was she getting weird about money again? He hadn’t asked her for a cent. “I’m sorry if I sounded…funny.”

  “It’s okay. I miss you and I’m trying to get my act together so I can come visit. I’ll be staying with my sister for a while. You have the number, if you want to call.”

  “What about your apartment?”

  “I’m giving it up, selling my furniture, and getting out of here. Being unemployed gives you a lot of time to think. I decided it’s time for me to start over somewhere else.”

  “You’re lucky you have your sister. And you even get to see Lulu again.”

  “I know. My sister has been great about everything.” Chris chuckled. “Although she says I spoiled Lulu so badly while I was taking care of her that in exchange for a room at her place, I have to take the uppity little poodle princess to obedience classes.”

  “Aww, but she’s so cute. She’ll probably win them over.”

  “We’ll see. I’ll give you a call once I’ve moved. I’m shutting off the phone here tomorrow.”

  “So soon?”

  “Along with every other creditor in Northern California, the phone company isn’t too happy with me.”

  “Oh.” Mia’s stomach started to ache. Now she wouldn’t even be able to call Chris. “When will you be at your sister’s house?”

  “As soon as I can. I’m rounding up people in the building to have a group yard sale. We’re hoping to do it this weekend, if it doesn’t rain.”

  “I’m so impressed you’re making all these changes. It’s got to be hard.”

  “It’s not as hard as I thought it would be. Like I said, I’ve had a lot of time to think. After beating myself up about getting myself into debt, I started wondering why.”

  “What do you mean why?”

  “Why did I spend so much? Even while I was buying stuff, I felt guilty and anxious about it. Part of me kept thinking that buying whatever that next shiny thing was would make me feel better. But it never did.”

  “It sounds like you were unhappy about a lot of things.”

  “I think I was trying to use shopping as some kind of escape. But it didn’t solve anything and made matters worse. Getting rid of all that stuff feels good. It probably doesn’t make any sense, but I feel lighter.”

  “That makes perfect sense. I get it.”

  “You always do.”

  “I know.” Mia tried not to sigh in his ear. “I really do miss you, you know.”

  “I’m glad. I was starting to worry.”

  “Don’t. Call me as soon as you can, okay?”

  “I will. Promise.”

  They said their goodbyes and after Mia hung up the phone, she flopped back on the bed again. Who was she kidding? No matter how she tried to fight it, just hearing the sound of Chris’s voice made her insanely happy. Was it possible that she was falling in love with Chris? Really? The thought was so outside of her realm of experience, she wasn’t quite sure what to do with it.

  It reminded her of the old Christmas TV special with the Grinch whose heart was two sizes too small, and once he discovered the spirit of Christmas his heart grew. Maybe Mia’s battered, shriveled little heart just needed a little love and encouragement for a change.

  She propped herself up on her elbows and stared at the ugly curtains. By the time Chris had settled himself in Los Angeles, maybe she’d have sorted through her feelings enough to talk to him about it. If he felt the same way, it would be amazing. And if not, well, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time she’d made a fool of herself. You’d think with all the practice she’d had, she’d be good at it by now.

  But at the moment, she had other things to do. Like go send an obscene amount of money to the grumpy new private investigator she’d just hired.

  Over the next two weeks, Mia learned more about dogs and dog behavior than she ever thought possible. Kat hadn’t been kidding when she’d said that more dogs would be staying at the kennel. When Mia had brought Gizmo to stay, the kennels had been quiet, but the peaceful interlude was definitely over. With sixteen boarding dogs in residence, suddenly the dog walks became a much more complicated multi-excursion process.

  Kat took her own five dogs out at lunchtime with a few boarding dogs, but Mia was in charge of walking the rest of the boarding dogs multiple times each day. She quickly learned which dogs walked well with each other and which did not. She also figured out how to walk multiple dogs on leashes without tying herself or the dogs into a gigantic knot.

  During her first week, Mia thought her feet were going to fall off. Her whole body ached, but her feet were the worst. By the time she went back to the H12, all she could do was collapse in a heap and fall asleep. Years of sitting in a cubicle typing information about carrots and then sitting in her car driving around the state hadn’t p
repared her for such a physically demanding job.

  The Saturday after her first week at work, she’d helped Gwen move and was finally able to check out of the H12. The first snow flurries had fluttered around, which seemed to fire up Gwen’s enthusiasm for getting out of town as quickly as possible.

  After giving Gwen a goodbye hug, Mia took her meager belongings to the trailer and enjoyed a trip to the grocery store. Gizmo seemed pleased with his new home and Mia acquired a large sky kennel for him to sleep in at night. The last thing she needed was for Gizmo to chow down on the house while her eyes were closed.

  True to his word, Joel had cut back the vegetation on the trail and once she was staying at Gwen’s house, it was an easy walk with Gizmo to the kennel. Because Gizmo went with her to work and on many of the walks, he was getting as much exercise as she was. Convincing him to curl up in his new crate at night was not a problem.

  Having such a relaxed and well-behaved dog was a new experience for Mia. Now she knew that poor Gizmo had undoubtedly been such a problem child before because he wasn’t getting enough exercise. She’d done the best she could, but life in Windiberg hadn’t been particularly good for either of them.

  Mia talked to Betty, the groomer in downtown Alpine Grove, and asked her about an internship or apprenticeship. The woman had been amenable to the idea, but not until after Thanksgiving. She was taking a trip to see her grandchildren then, but she admitted that after the holiday she was going to be swamped with people wanting to have clean dogs for Christmas.

  Edith, the bulldog private investigator, had called with a status report. She hadn’t tracked down Mia’s father, but she was hot on the trail, so it was only a matter of time. Mia found she was impatient to talk to her dad, which was absurd. She hadn’t spoken to her father in more than a decade. A few more days wouldn’t make any difference.

  Mia also was impatient to talk to Chris, even though she knew he was still working on his own move. He had the number at Gwen’s house, but moving four hundred miles from San Francisco to Los Angeles was certainly more complicated than Mia’s move into the trailer from the H12.

  Because she had lots of time to think while she was walking dogs, Mia imagined sharing stories with Chris about silly dog antics and the cartoons he might draw to accompany the stories. She missed his sense of humor and especially his kindness. Few people had ever been as supportive and compassionate toward her as he had. Even though they hadn’t known each other long, she missed him and the connection they had more than she ever would have expected. If she weren’t so exhausted by the end of each day, she’d probably lie awake dreaming of him like some lovesick teenager. But as it was, she was just too tired, so she restricted her girly mooning to daylight hours.

  After a long day of walking and tending to dogs, Mia was reclining on the sofa reading while Gizmo snored on the throw rug in front of her. The phone rang, causing both of them to jolt upright. Mia ran to the wall phone in the kitchen to answer it. “Hello?”

  “Hi, it’s Chris.”

  “I’m so glad to hear from you! It feels like forever and so much has happened. Are you in LA yet?”

  “I made it, although it was way more complicated than I thought it would be to sell everything. But it’s done and I paid off practically all my creditors, so I only have two bills: one credit card and my newly consolidated student loan. Now I can finally focus on finding a job.”

  “Do you think you might be able to visit?”

  “There’s the little problem that I don’t have a car anymore, remember? I gave it back to the leasing company.”

  “Can’t you get another one?”

  “Not until I find a job. My sister is going to let me borrow her car to get to interviews, but with my credit and no job, I’m going to be spending a lot of time on the bus.”

  Mia nodded in sympathy. “Been there. I ended up buying an old junker I named Dottie.”

  “That sounds like the name for a horse.”

  “She wouldn’t go much faster than a horse. It was unpleasant trying to get her on the freeway. Anything more than forty-five miles an hour was rough on her, but mostly we just puttered around town, so it wasn’t that bad.”

  Chris chuckled, “You have a way of taking things in stride.”

  “I didn’t have much choice.”

  “I suppose. I’m trying hard to accept my fate gracefully, but a lot of the time I find myself furious about everything that has happened. Losing my job has been demoralizing.”

  “You quit for good reason and you hated the job anyway.”

  “I suppose.” He sighed. “Living with my sister is the next-best thing to moving back in with my parents. I feel like such a failure.”

  “At least you have a sister. Oh, wait, I guess I do too. Somewhere.”

  “Did you find your father? What happened?”

  After Mia described her conversations with Edith, the bulldog PI, Chris asked, “So what are you going to say to your father once she finds him?”

  “I have no idea. Mostly, that I’m sorry. I’m worried he’s going to die thinking that I still hate him.”

  “Are you going to tell him about Heather?”

  “Gwen doesn’t want me to.”

  “Does Heather know about your father?”

  “Gwen said she’d talk to her, but I don’t know if she really will. I’m not sure what to do. If he’s dying, shouldn’t he know he has more than one daughter? Particularly, one who is actually successful?”

  “You’re successful.”

  “No, I’m not. I’m walking dogs in a little town in the middle of nowhere.”

  “But you like it. You just finished telling me how much you’re enjoying learning more about dogs. And weren’t you the one who told me I was lucky to have found something that I love to do? Now you have, so by your own definition you’re successful.”

  “I didn’t think about it that way.”

  “Maybe you should. You struggled for a long time doing work you hated. Enjoy the fact that you don’t have to anymore.”

  Mia smiled. “You might want to take your own advice.”

  “Okay, yeah, point taken.”

  The next evening after work, Mia got the call that she’d been both anticipating and dreading. Edith said she’d found Dan Riggins at a hotel in Los Angeles. She passed along the phone number and the amount of her final invoice.

  Mia sat on the old wooden kitchen chair staring at the notes she’d written on the notepad. After everything she’d been through to find him, finally talking to her father was inducing a little panic attack. Her stomach was churning, and Gizmo put his muzzle on her thigh, clearly aware that she was upset. She stroked the dog’s soft ears. What was she going to say to her father?

  Petting Gizmo made her feel better, but didn’t give her any ideas. She was just going to have to suck it up and have yet another uncomfortable conversation.

  She dialed the number and asked to be put through to the room. Hearing her father’s voice for the first time in years was so surreal, Mia could barely manage to squeak, “Dad? It’s me, Mia—Amelia.”

  “Is it really you, Mimi?”

  “Yes, it’s me. I’ve been looking for you for a while.”

  “I told you where I was. I thought when you didn’t get in touch that you were still angry—that you still hadn’t forgiven me.”

  “It’s a long sorry…I mean story. But I’m sorry too.” Mia tried not to burst into tears as memories flooded over her. “I said so many terrible things, and I’m sorry.”

  “I’m glad you said something. It’s been so long. And I’m about to go.”

  “That’s what you said in the letter. Are you sick? Is there anything I can do?”

  “I’m not sick. What gave you that idea?”

  “Your letter.”

  “I told you when I sent the postcards that I was joining the Crisis Corps.”

  “I didn’t get that letter. I only got the postcards and lottery tickets. My dog ate whatever else was in
there.”

  “I suppose that explains why I didn’t hear from you.”

  “What’s the Crisis Corps?”

  “The Peace Corps just formed it. Returning volunteers can go help out in other countries on short-term assignments.”

  “You’re a returning volunteer? Since when?” Mia put her palm over her eyes. “So you’re really okay. You’re not dying?”

  “Not immediately, as far as I know. I had to get a physical exam and the folks at the Peace Corps seemed to think I’m in good enough health to travel.”

  “When do you leave?”

  “In a few days.”

  “Is there any way you could come to Alpine Grove?”

  “I don’t have a car. I sold it after I found out I was accepted into the program and going overseas.”

  Mia sighed. “I really would like to see you in person. I, um, well, have a lot of questions about what happened with Mom and other stuff too.”

  “How is your mother?”

  Mia couldn’t believe what he was asking. He still had the same laconic, slow way of speaking that her mother used to say was what turtles would sound like if they could speak. “Dad…um, Mom died. She’s been dead for years.”

  “What? No one told me. What happened? When?”

  “Howard shot her and himself the day of my high school graduation. It was in all the papers. It was probably the biggest scandal in Windiberg in the last hundred years.”

  “I was in the Peace Corps then, and never heard anything about it. Didn’t your mother tell you I was in Paraguay?”

  “No. She never said anything about you after you left. Howard had a tendency to lose it if she talked about the past.”

  “Is there any way you can get to LA? I’d like to see you and discuss everything that’s happened in person.” He paused and added softly, “I really want to catch up on the last twenty years before I go back to Central America.”

  “I’ll see if I can get a day or two off work.”

  After gathering a few details about the location of the hotel where her father was staying, Mia hung up the phone. The amount of things they didn’t know about each other’s lives was bizarre and upsetting. He really hadn’t known his ex-wife was murdered more than a decade ago.