Howl at the Loon (An Alpine Grove Romantic Comedy Book 6) Read online

  Maria put her hands under her armpits and flapped. “Chicken!”

  “Okay, fine. What if I do call and I find out I really am married? What am I supposed to do then? I have no clue where Ned even is. And I never, ever want to see that creep again.”

  Maria took a sip of her soup and waved her spoon at Kat. “I just thought of another thing. When you inherited the house, did anyone ask if you were married?”

  “No. And I’m not.”

  “But technically, if you are married, Ned might have a claim on your house. I don’t suppose you ever mentioned Ned to Larry, did you?”

  “Larry, the lawyer? No. I have made it a personal mission to try to think about Ned as little as possible.”

  Maria splashed her spoon down into the soup. “This is bad. Really bad. You need to talk to Larry, girlfriend. I know we broke up, but he’s a decent guy.”

  “Yeah, he was great about everything that happened when I inherited the house.”

  Maria pointed her spoon at Kat. “You have to talk to the engineer too. That’s not optional.”

  Kat closed her eyes and covered her face with her palm. “I know. But I really don’t want to. I was so incredibly stupid. That’s a story I’d rather leave in the past.”

  Maria put her hand on Kat’s forearm. “Sorry girlfriend, I know you’ve spent a lot of time trying to forget about Ned, but I think it’s about time you fessed up.”

  Chapter 6

  Do You Feel Rosy?

  Robin drove back down the driveway to the North Fork. The rain had stopped, although heavy gray clouds still glowered over the lake. She looked at Emma’s eager face in the rearview mirror. “We’re going to have a great walk today, Em. You’ll love it!”

  As she drove through the lodge complex to her cabin, Robin looked around for any evidence that Ernie had made an appearance. Everything seemed quiet and peaceful, so maybe she could run into her cabin for a minute to change her shoes without the elusive dog-hating proprietor discovering Emma sitting in the car.

  Robin sat on the end of the bed and yanked her boots off her feet. Good thing she hadn’t bothered dressing up. Kat certainly hadn’t. It looked like the woman had just crawled out of bed. Maybe Robin shouldn’t have stopped by so early. But at least she and Emma still had a little time to squeeze in a walk before Robin had to attend the retreat. The fact she had to attend the training was so irritating. She and Emma needed to make the most of any recreation time they could get.

  Even though the lake was not perhaps at its most picturesque, Emma was able to engage in some frolicsome, fun off-leash time splashing along the water’s edge. Robin looked at her watch and called Emma back. She clipped on the leash and they stopped by her cabin so Robin could switch footwear again, then they walked across to the theater building where Brett was scheduled to do a few ice-breaker exercises.

  After the whine fest at dinner, Robin was somewhat concerned about breaking ice with her co-workers. It was entirely possible that in this case, honesty might not be the best policy. The call-center employees could easily transition from not being able to work together to more actively hating each other. But Brett didn’t seem phased by Terri’s litany last night, so maybe Robin’s concerns were unfounded.

  She opened the large wooden door and found that many of the women had gathered around the square of tables. Terri was sitting next to Brett and leaning so close she was almost touching him. Maybe overnight she had thought up some exciting new complaints to share with him.

  Robin had grabbed a towel from her cabin and she laid it out on the floor in the corner for Emma. She explained to the dog that this was now her bed and she needed to stay on the towel. Emma wagged her tail, spun in a circle, laid down in her new spot, and began a complex cleaning operation on her paws. Robin stroked her head. “Good girl. I’ll be right here.”

  Pulling out a chair, she sat down next to a woman with close-cropped gray hair who was wearing a lavender jumper and oversized glasses with purple frames. The woman was scowling and looked like she’d commit a murder if anyone even considered taking her coffee mug away from her. Robin turned to her and said, “My name is Robin. You’re Claire, right?”

  The woman frowned more emphatically and took a sip of coffee. “Yes. I remember you. You’re the one I need to talk to about my room.”

  Robin tried not to roll her eyes. Everyone had problems they wanted to share and she couldn’t do anything about most of them. Where on earth was Ernie? She needed to talk to the man. With her most conciliatory polite smile, she replied, “Perhaps we can discuss the situation after this session.” She gestured toward the woman’s necklace “I love your necklace. Is it from the catalog?”

  “Yes.”

  Given the look on her face, it was clear Claire was done talking. Robin folded her hands in front of her and glanced across the table at Brett, who was still attempting to look interested in whatever Terri was telling him. Robin scratched her ear and wiggled her pinkie finger slightly to catch his attention. She quickly pointed to her wristwatch and raised her eyebrows. A corner of his mouth turned up and he put his hand on Terri’s for a moment. She leaned back, away from him, and he stood up.

  With a wave toward the table, Brett said in an authoritarian tone, “Let’s get started, everyone. First, as you can see, there is a well-behaved dog here in the corner. Is anyone allergic or does anyone have any issue with this dog being here?”

  Everyone in the room shook their heads in unison.

  “Okay, that’s good. Now then, I’d like to say that it has been a pleasure getting to know some of you at the mealtimes last night and this morning, but as of now, my focus needs to move from small talk to more serious topics. Darrell has given me a formidable task, which is to transform the anger and resentments that I have seen into a new reality.”

  He leaned forward and put his palms flat on the table. “I want all of you to close your eyes and place your hands in front of you with your palms on the table like I have. Then listen to your breath as you inhale and exhale.”

  There was some grumbling, and someone said, “What is this, a yoga class?” Robin opened one eye to peek. It looked like despite the grousing, everyone was following his instructions. Undoubtedly, it helped that he had such a compelling voice. She closed her eyes again. Brett said, “Now, I am going to walk around the room and when I touch your shoulder, I want you to give us your name and one word that describes you now or who you aspire to be in the future. That word must begin with the same letter as the first letter of your name. So for example, my name is Brett and my word is bold. If you want, you can even call me Bold Brett if it helps you remember my name and embrace the transformative experience we are trying to have here.”

  Robin frantically searched her mind for words beginning with R that wouldn’t sound stupid. The other people were probably thinking of a few choice words to describe her right about now, but at least they couldn’t call her rude. She’d made a supreme effort to be unfailingly nice and polite to everyone. Right now, she was dreading the touch on her shoulder and couldn’t think of anything beyond, Don’t pick me first! Finally, a word popped into her head: rosy. People always said she was an optimist. Close enough. It was all she could think of, so it would have to do.

  Brett said, “I’ll give you a few minutes to ponder your choice. The reason I’ve had you close your eyes is because I want you to listen and meet the people in this room with no judgments about what they look like, what clothes they are wearing, or what company they worked for in the past.”

  Robin had to admit that it wasn’t a bad idea. Too bad Alec had ditched this session. He could use some perspective.

  Brett continued in a soothing voice. “I want you to be creative about this. And please don’t be shy. Once you have thought of a word, raise your hand and we’ll begin.”

  Even though she had a word, Robin kept her hand down. She so didn’t want to go first. Please don’t pick me. She peeked and noticed that everyone else still had their hands fla
t on the table too. Fudge! If no one was going to say anything, she was going to have to put on her big-girl panties and be first. She slowly raised her hand toward the ceiling, and the sound of Brett’s footsteps indicated he was coming toward her. His warm hand settled on her shoulder and he squeezed gently as an unspoken thank you.

  Robin cleared her throat. “I’m Robin. And my word is rosy.”

  “Why did you select that word?” Brett asked.

  “Well, my mother always said I wear rose-colored glasses.”

  Brett chuckled and said, “After spending time with you Robin, I think rosy is an ideal word to describe you. Thank you for being the first one to participate. Who’s next?”

  Robin let out a sigh of relief. Even though she wasn’t exactly shy per se, she didn’t like being singled out in front of people she didn’t know. She would give anything to be sitting around chatting and laughing with her girlfriends in Spokane instead of doing this right now.

  The woman with the desperate need to use the phone the other day was next. She said her name was Moira and her word was motherly. Robin nodded her head. That was a good word. Moira did seem to be extremely involved with her children’s lives. When Terri the complainer said her word was tough, Robin had to admit that the exercise was surprisingly illuminating.

  A few other people recited their words, some of which required more detailed explanations. Claire the cranky woman with the room problem said her word was capable. Robin had no idea if that was accurate or not. After a few more people had their turns, Robin was desperate to open her eyes because her curiosity about which voice went with which human was starting to get to her. A woman named Darlene had started with drab and Brett had gently suggested that she go with a more positive word. After agonizing about it, she opted for decent because her pastor had told her that “bragging is a sin.” After a small hissy-fit about how difficult vowels were to deal with, a woman named Angela settled on ambitious.

  A heavy object settled on her thigh, startling Robin so badly that she almost fell off her chair. She looked down and Emma’s dark brown soulful eyes were gazing up at her. Robin stroked the smooth fur on Emma’s head, tracing the outline of the white blaze on the dog’s nose. She whispered, “Go lie down, Em.”

  Emma indicated her lack of interest in returning to her towel by thumping her muzzle down on Robin’s thigh again more forcefully. Robin looked up at Brent and mimed, “Sorry.” He just nodded and gestured toward the door.

  Robin got up as quietly as she could and clipped on Emma’s leash. As she tiptoed out the door, the soggy spring air hit her face. The breeze was refreshing, even though it was cold and damp. Getting away from the intensity of the ice-breaker exercise and being outside again was a welcome relief. It was almost break time anyway, so she needed to check on the food. She walked with Emma over to the lodge and went around the side to the entrance to the kitchen. As she attached Emma’s leash to a little tree near the door, she told her to stay. The dog looked pouty, but sat resolutely in her spot.

  Robin peeked in the door where Chuck was busy setting up sandwich platters for the buffet lunch. “Hi Chuck. Everything okay here?”

  “Yup, I’m good. Alec just stopped by and grabbed some food. Do you want something?”

  “That would be great.” She walked over and made up a sandwich. “My dog is here for the day and she’s outside, so I have to run. It looks like you’ve got everything under control. I’ll see you tonight.”

  “Yup. The roadies and I have it handled.”

  She exited the kitchen and untied Emma, who yanked on the leash. Robin turned to see what the dog was so excited about. Leroy the big white dog came bounding over to say hello. Alec was walking behind him and waved at Robin.

  The two dogs circled one another, sniffing and wagging furiously, thrilled to have found another canine wandering the area. Emma stared up at Robin with an imploring wide-eyed look. Robin smiled. “You want to play, don’t you?” Leroy wagged to show his support for the idea.

  Alec grinned at her as he walked up. “That’s a happy pair of dogs.”

  “Do you think it’s okay if they play together?”

  “Fine with me. I don’t have to teach anything for another hour, so I can keep an eye on them if you want.”

  Robin unclipped Emma’s leash and looked at him more closely as she stood up. Something was different about him. He was just standing there with his hands in his pockets, but the drawn look on his face was gone and the lines around his eyes seemed less pronounced. He also was actually standing perfectly still. That was new. She gestured toward Emma. “Look at them go! That’s going to be one tired dog by the time she returns to the kennel tonight.”

  “Yeah, it’s a lot of fun to watch dogs play.”

  Robin wasn’t sure what to make of him. That had to be the most cheerful thing she had ever heard Alec say, and a far cry from his typical surly attitude. “You seem, uh, more relaxed. I guess that means you’re ready to talk about answering the phone?”

  “I’m ready to roll.”

  “I guess something good happened between yesterday and today.”

  “Well, I finally got a decent night’s sleep. And I gave Leroy a bath, so he doesn’t stink.”

  “I thought he was a lighter color today.”

  “Yeah, check it out. He’s a white dog, after all.”

  Robin stopped walking and jammed her sandwich into her pocket. “Oh swizzle sticks! I forgot to look up the number for an animal shelter. I’m sorry. I left so early this morning, I couldn’t call around. And then by the time I got out to the kennel, I was thinking about picking up Emma and I didn’t ask Kat either.”

  “It’s okay. I kind of like having him around. Doing all that reading was pretty tedious, and he kept me company.”

  “I guess reading about selling women’s clothes isn’t the most interesting thing, is it?”

  He pulled his keys out of his pocket, twirled them around his index finger idly a few times, and put them back. “Not really. But I’ve always had this problem. When I am tired, I have more trouble reading. It’s like my eyes and brain are jumping around all over the place, so it takes me forever to get through stuff. Leroy was sympathetic.”

  Robin laughed as the two dogs chased each other in a circle around them on the path down toward the lake. “Dogs often are. Emma has been incredibly supportive since I moved so far away from all my friends. I don’t know what I would have done without her. My long-distance phone bills would be even worse than they are.”

  “When did you move?”

  “About three months ago. I hate to admit it, but moving has been more of an adjustment than I thought it would be. I wanted to get out of Spokane forever, so I was thrilled to get a job in Portland.” She flopped her arms in a gesture of dismay. “But be careful what you wish for, right?”

  “I thought you liked your job. You’re always so happy and cheerful. Darrell is certainly impressed.”

  “Well, nobody likes a Gloomy Gus. I’m just trying to fit in. And this job is better than what I was doing before. But it’s still just a paycheck. I don’t know what else I would do, either. In college, I couldn’t even figure out a major. My friend Sara majored in business so I did too, for lack of anything better. It was fun being in the same classes together, so we had a good time.”

  He smiled. “At least you got a degree.”

  “You didn’t?”

  “No. I dropped out before I graduated. Maybe if I’d had a dog I would have made it through the reading. The only good thing was that before I bailed, my roommate broke my typewriter, so I had to learn how to use a computer to do my papers. My handwriting is so bad no one can read it.”

  Robin turned to look at him. “It can’t be that bad. Well, unless you’re a doctor.”

  “I’m definitely not a doctor, but I had to do essay tests on a typewriter or computer because my professors couldn’t read what I wrote in blue books.”

  “Now I’m curious. You need to write something s
o I can see it.”

  “No you don’t. You won’t be able to read it, anyway. Sometimes I even write letters backwards.” He chuckled. “My profs said it was like I was writing in code.”

  “Wait! I’ve heard of this before. Are you dyslexic?”

  “Probably. Or just weird. When I was a kid, no one could figure me out. They tested me every which way and my reading comprehension scores were off the charts. I may read slowly, but I remember what I read. So no one knew what to do with me. I hated school, and most of the time I was bored out of my mind. I definitely don’t miss that.”

  “Well, I can see why you weren’t happy about reading that whole gigantic binder of tedious stuff then.”

  “Exactly. I hate being bored” He looked at his watch. “We should round these guys up because I have to get my stuff and get ready to teach now. It’s been nice talking to you.”

  “You too.”

  Robin called Emma and the two dogs rushed over. After clipping the leash on her dog, Robin and Alec walked with the canines away from the beach and back up toward the lodge buildings. As they strolled slowly down the pathway, Robin nibbled on her sandwich and pondered all the things Alec had told her.

  You never knew about people. He had good reasons to be grumpy about doing the training. Maybe he wasn’t such a bad guy after all. But she wasn’t going to argue with him about the weird part. He was definitely an unusual character.

  Alec paused at the turn toward the Pine Cone cabin. “Leroy has decided he likes the indoor life. Now that he’s all tired out, I’m going to leave him here at the cabin.”

  Robin shook her head. “But you’re not supposed to have dogs in there.”

  “Have you seen the owner anywhere? I’ll clean it before I go. If Ernie is out hunting or fishing or whatever he does, I don’t want him shooting at Leroy.”

  “I think you’re becoming attached to this dog.”

  Alec stroked the dog’s head. “Maybe. I just don’t want him to get shot on my watch. Why don’t you leave Emma in your cabin? She’d probably be a lot more comfortable.”