Bark to the Future (An Alpine Grove Romantic Comedy Book 5) Read online

  Looking back up into his eyes, she had no idea what to say. All she could think about were her last words to him ten years ago. All those terrible things she’d said to him the day before she left for college in Arizona. Didn’t he remember? Why would he even want to get near her? She tried to stand up straighter and pull herself together. She was an adult. Time to behave like one. “So…so…what…what have you been doing for the last ten years? Did you get married and have a plethora of children?”

  A corner of his mouth turned up in a half-smile. “Nope. Nothing like that. But a more complete answer might take a while.” He waved with his free hand toward the stage. “And I think that cheerleader is up to something.”

  Beth looked over at the stage, where images were flashing on a screen. The strains of “The Power of Love” by Huey Lewis and the News increased in volume, and she wished they were farther away from the speakers. A picture of Michael J. Fox and a Delorean-based time-travel machine flashed by. The next image was a baby picture, and a woman in the crowd squealed. “That’s me!”

  Beth leaned toward Drew and shouted over the music. “I think someone scanned the baby pictures from that page in the yearbook.”

  He grinned and pointed at the screen. “Look, there you are.”

  “Yes.” The photo was one Beth had seen many times. She was in a high chair, looking earnestly at the photographer. Her mother was wearing a rather ugly floral housecoat with ruffles and was smoking and reading a book. A mixed drink sat by her side. It looked like a parody of a Virginia Slims cigarette ad from the sixties. Mom had really come a long way, baby.

  Drew leaned toward her and said, “Now I’m doubly glad I managed to ‘forget’ to give the yearbook people my baby picture way back when.”

  Beth giggled. “You never know what will come back to haunt you a decade later.”

  After the crowd had been warmed up with baby pictures, Danielle waved her hands and announced with a flourish that they were having a contest to see who remembered the most about 1985.

  Drew moved his hand and Beth was overly conscious of the fact that her fingers were interlaced with his, and she didn’t want to let go. He looked at her. “Do you want to sit down?”

  She nodded and he finally released her hand. Touching the small of her back, he led her toward a table, pulled out a chair for her, and they sat down.

  Danielle was galloping around the stage getting more and more animated about the contest as people started shouting out answers. “All right! Now for some Madonna questions! What was the name of her tour in 1985?”

  A deep male voice shouted, “Like a Virgin!” and the other members of his table started hooting and slapping him on the back.

  “Okay, what about the movie she was in—who remembers the name?”

  A woman in the front yelled out, “Desperately Seeking Susan!”

  Beth glanced at Drew. “I think a few of our classmates may have partaken of the open bar earlier.”

  Drew laughed. “I think so. Dang, it’s loud. Phil Collins was overplayed so bad in 1985, I’m not sure I can take much more from the members of Genesis. I’ve exceeded my lifetime quota.”

  “He is a talented musician, but I can’t say I disagree.”

  They sat quietly and watched as various classmates showed their knowledge—or lack of knowledge—about the mid-eighties. Beth glanced at Drew. He was tilting his head, apparently trying to decipher what Cindi Lauper was doing in a particularly unflattering photograph on the screen.

  Other than her mother, Drew was the only person Beth had ever met who put her completely at ease. Something about his relaxed presence made her forget to be nervous. She hadn’t appreciated it at the time, but it had been that way almost since the moment they met in their senior year. They could be in an empty room and be silent, but it was never awkward. Countless times, they’d just be sitting somewhere enjoying each other’s company, without having to say a word. It was sort of surreal to have him sitting right next to her, with all the loud noise and people yelling around them.

  He rubbed at the back of his neck with one hand. The scar on his pinky was still there. Beth knew that his ‘adventure in road rash’ had resulted in another much larger scar on his hip. The injuries were from a particularly bad bicycle wipeout when he was ten years old. When he’d told her the story, he’d pointed out that hitting the asphalt was better than getting run over by the ice-cream truck. He said that death by creamsicle was a crummy way to go, even when you’re ten.

  Resting his elbow on the table, he leaned forward and put his chin on his palm, staring at the screen. The resigned look in his eyes indicated to Beth that he was getting bored. He had the attention span of a housefly sometimes, although in certain situations he had amazing focus and could be incredibly patient. Beth felt the heat rise to her cheeks, recalling some of those situations.

  Drew looked over at her, catching her staring at him. He raised his eyebrows. “I’m getting a headache. Do you wanna get out of here?”

  Beth grabbed her coat and purse and Drew took her hand, leading her out of the meeting room. A woman was sitting at the check-in table, and she called after them. “Drew! Are you leaving?”

  He stopped and gave the woman a dazzling smile. “We’ll be right back, Lisa. I have to go check on something.”

  The woman blushed and simply said, “Okay.”

  Beth squeezed his hand. “Lisa had a huge crush on you in high school, you know.”

  “Oh sure, now you tell me.”

  Back then, every girl had had a crush on Drew. As a transfer student, he’d been quite the novelty. The fact that he was so handsome, funny, and kind hadn’t hurt either. Beth always wondered what he saw in her, but had been too afraid to ask. As they walked down the hallway, the realization dawned on her that they were probably going to his room. She slowed her pace. “Drew, what do you have to check on?”

  “You’ll see.”

  She used to be able to read him so well, it was almost spooky. He always said it was like she knew what he was thinking before he thought it. But it had been ten years. What was he checking on? Did he mean he was checking on her? Maybe it was some type of code for ‘let’s have sex’ that she didn’t know about. He wouldn’t do that, would he? Was ‘checking on’ the same as ‘hooking up’? She’d been out of the dating scene for a long time. Changes had probably occurred in the vernacular. And she was with Graham now. What was Drew up to? He did have a tendency to be impulsive. Beth cleared her throat and tried to sound businesslike. “Perhaps your recollection is faulty, but when it comes to surprises I’m not an enthusiast.”

  He stopped in front of a door. “Bethie, relax. It’s me. Don’t go all robo-thesaurus on me here. I promise on my great-granddaddy’s dear, departed Confederate soul that I’m not up to anything unseemly. Stay right here. Oh, and you’ll want to put on your coat.”

  Beth did as instructed and waited in the hallway. She twisted the chain of her necklace in her fingers. How clueless could she be? This was totally mortifying.

  A delighted yipping noise came from within the room. Drew came back out into the hall with an extremely fuzzy brown puppy cradled in his arms. “Hold her for a second. I need to get my coat.”

  Beth held out her arms and Drew rolled the ball of fur into them. She snuggled the puppy up to her chest. The little pup was warm and squirmy, wriggling in her arms and trying to lick her face. “Oh, what a little sweetheart you are! You are absolutely adorable.”

  Drew returned with his coat and a leash, which he clipped on the puppy’s collar. “Keep holding her until we get outside. I learned the hard way, you don’t want to let her walk the hallways when she’s gotta go.” He waved his hand. “This way.”

  “Oh Drew, she’s just so cute!” Beth giggled as the puppy moved in her arms. “The Enchanted Moose personnel must really love you.”

  “Hey, they said they allow pets.” At the end of the hallway, he pushed open the glass door for Beth and they walked outside. Taking the dog from
Beth, he put the puppy on the ground, where she ran in a spastic circle before squatting. Glancing at Beth, he said. “See what I mean? When the puppy has gotta go, she’s gotta go.”

  “What is her name?”

  “Well, I’ve had her less than twenty-four hours, but how do you feel about Dixie?”

  She crouched down to stroke the pup’s head. “What do you think, Dixie?” The little dog wagged her stubby tail enthusiastically. Beth looked up at Drew. “I think she likes it.”

  They walked down a path toward the RV park as Dixie scampered off in random directions. Drew said, “She hasn’t quite figured out the whole walking-on-a-leash thing.”

  “So I noticed. How did you acquire her? Most people don’t bring a puppy to their high-school reunion.”

  “It might be more fun if they did.” He took her hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm. “Better than eighties trivia, anyway.”

  “I certainly cannot dispute that.” Beth curled her hands to her chest and huddled against the shoulder of his coat, trying to absorb any available warmth while they waited for Dixie to address the rest of her personal needs. “Ugh, it’s freezing out here. And that has to be the most cherubic little canine I have ever seen.”

  Drew smiled down at the puppy. “Yeah, she’s still in the roly-poly stage.”

  “You failed to answer my question. What possessed you to get a puppy within the last twenty-four hours?”

  He looked at her and the reflection from the street lights glinted in his eyes. “Well, I was driving down here to the reunion and I stopped at a rest stop off I-5. It was early in the morning, and there was just one other car in the lot. I get out and the first thing I hear is this guy yelling at this little dog. I guess she’d made a mess in her crate. He was screaming at her and I thought he might do something to hurt her.”

  Beth looked up at his face. “But she’s just a baby.”

  “I know. I went over to him and asked if there was a problem and if I could help. He didn’t seem to appreciate that and said I needed to mind my own business. Well, he didn’t quite use those exact words, but that was the gist of it.”

  “Apparently you didn’t.”

  “No. I pulled out my wallet. I had eighty bucks I’d withdrawn from the ATM before I left. I showed him the money and said I’d buy the puppy.” Drew shrugged. “He threw in the crate too. In case you’re wondering, trying to clean out a crate in a rest-stop men’s room while hanging onto a scared puppy on a leash is not easy.”

  Beth squeezed the thick fabric of the arm of his coat. “That’s so sweet. You’re Dixie’s hero.”

  “I’m hoping one of our classmates will take her.”

  “You’d give her up after rescuing her?”

  Drew grinned. “Hey Beth, want a puppy? She’s really cute.”

  “I am, uh, not in a particularly good position to take on the responsibilities of a puppy right now.”

  He glanced at her quickly. “I thought you said everything was perfect?”

  “I’m cold. Can we go back inside?”

  Drew looked down at Dixie, “Are you done?” The little dog launched toward the building. “I guess so.”

  They walked back to the room and Drew opened the door. Beth walked inside slowly, taking in the scene. The Enchanted Moose wasn’t exactly a luxury motel, but the room was a complete disaster. Clothes, books, and papers were strewn everywhere and a plastic sky kennel sat in one corner. Drew looked at Beth. “Sorry about the mess.”

  She smiled. “You have never been known for your tidiness.”

  “It’s worse when your roommate needs to go outside fifty times a day. I didn’t get a chance to put anything away.” He moved a stack of books from the desk chair and dumped them in a corner. “Have a seat.”

  Dixie walked over to the corner and proudly picked up a paperback in her mouth, carrying it over to Beth. She pulled the book out from Dixie’s teeth and put it on the desk. “Are you part retriever, sweetie?”

  Dixie wagged and turned away to find something else to pick up and show off. Beth looked over at Drew. “Did you get her any chew toys? You might want to pick up everything up off the floor so she can’t get to it.”

  Drew picked up the stack of books again and threw it on the bed. “Yeah, good point. I’m kinda new at this puppy-parenting thing.” He moved around the room and threw the clothes and various dog paraphernalia on the bed, creating a small mountain of debris. “At least I got a room with two beds.”

  Beth picked up a little blue plastic bone from the floor and tossed it to the dog. “Here, Dixie.” The puppy ran over, picked up the toy, and collapsed into a heap, chewing furiously.

  Beth picked up the book from the desk again. “My mom just told me about these novels by A.J. Emerson. What do you think of them?”

  Drew stood up and threw his suitcase on the bed next to the mountain. “Have you read them?”

  “No. But my mom says I’ll like them.”

  “I’d be curious to hear what you think.”

  Beth looked down at the puppy who was now snoring quietly with the chew toy clasped between her little brown paws. “Aww, this is so cute. I think Dixie has gone away down south to sleepy land.”

  Drew chuckled. “Yeah. She’ll probably be crashed for a while. Do you want to go back to the reunion party?” The humor left his eyes. “Or do you want to tell me why everything isn’t so perfect?”

  Beth nodded her head. “I’ve missed talking to you, Drew.”

  “I know, Bethie. Me too.”

  Drew sat down on the floor, leaning back on the foot of the bed with his long legs out in front of him. Dixie got up and settled herself in his lap. He stroked the puppy’s head and looked up at Beth. “So what’s happened with you over the last ten years or so?”

  Beth couldn’t talk to him, looking down from the chair, so she got up and sat on the floor next to him. This would be easier if she couldn’t see his eyes. “Well, you know I went to college in Arizona.”

  “I remember. The full scholarship. I believe you said you were going places.”

  Beth touched his arm. “I’m so sorry about the things I said, Drew. You have no idea.”

  He shrugged. “You weren’t completely wrong, Beth. It was probably for the best.”

  “I thought so at the time. But I still wish I could take back everything I said. I have thought about it so many times.”

  “Yeah, well, I know that part. What happened after that?”

  She straightened. “Okay, the synopsis is I went to college, graduated with honors, and was recruited by RTP.”

  He glanced at her. “So far, this is sounding like exactly what you wanted. What’s the problem?”

  “It was. All the things I wanted just fell into place one after another. I was always thinking about the future. When I was in high school, I was thinking ‘I’ll be happy when I graduate and get a scholarship so I can go to college and get out of Alpine Grove.’”

  “I think the words you used were ‘get out of this tedious backwater town.’”

  A corner of her mouth turned up in an ironic smile. “Yes, that sounds like something I would have said then. And I did. I left town and I thought, ‘if I can graduate from college with honors, then I’ll get a great job.’ So I studied all the time and then at the end of senior year I met Graham. I finally had a boyfriend, after an extended period of time without much, well, companionship.”

  Drew scratched his chin. “I see.”

  “And then I actually did get the dream job. I didn’t even have to apply. The campus recruiters said they wanted me. I was thrilled. When I started working at RTP I figured that if I worked really hard, I could buy a house. I studied the Tucson real-estate market and found a house I liked and could afford. Then I thought everything would be perfect once Graham and I got married and had kids.”

  “You have kids?”

  “No. I want to get married and have kids. After getting the job and the house, the rest hasn’t quite gone according to pl
an. My life has been more or less the same for the last six years or so.”

  “Well, it doesn’t sound bad. In fact, it sounds perfect for you.”

  “I thought it was. Well, mostly. And everything was the same until February fifth when I lost my job. I was laid off and it felt like my whole world was ripped out from under me. Most people don’t understand, but working at RTP is like becoming part of a special fraternity. All of my social interactions and most of the people I know revolve around the company.”

  Drew stroked Dixie’s fur slowly. “I read about the big layoffs at that place a few years ago.”

  “I know. I thought my job was secure after that. But it wasn’t. My mom had asked me to come here for a visit, but I said no because of work obligations. Then after the layoff, I changed my mind. I decided to come to Alpine Grove to think. I missed Mom and I wanted to talk to someone outside of the company who would be sympathetic. Plus, I had nothing else to do at home, except feel sorry for myself. Then after I got here, my mom hurt herself and I extended my visit, so I could help out at the store.”

  “Working there must have been a blast from the past. As I recall, you aren’t a big fan of working in retail.”

  Beth smiled. “That’s for sure. The first day at the store, I was really nervous, but I got used to it again. But then that cheerleader Danielle tricked me into coming to the reunion.”

  “You know how sneaky those cheerleaders can be.”

  Beth turned and shoved at his shoulder playfully. “Very funny. But the thing is, even though I do hate being cold all the time, being here has actually been okay. And it helped me forget that my life is a mess. Everything I worked so hard for all those years—it all fell apart practically overnight. I’d thought I was indispensable. A vital employee. RTP is doing a big product launch at the end of the month and I told them they could call or e-mail if there was a problem.”

  “Did they?”

  “No. At first, I didn’t think about it because I was worried about my mom and the store. Then I ignored it, figuring they must be really busy. Then I got kind of angry. I kept wondering how they could possibly survive without my valuable knowledge and expertise.”