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  Bark Up And Smell The Coffee

  Paws Fur Play Mysteries Book Two

  Stella St Claire

  Paws Fur Play Mysteries

  Home is Where the Bark Is

  Bark Up and Smell the Coffee

  The Bark of the Town

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  RELAY PUBLISHING EDITION, SEPTEMBER 2018

  Copyright © 2018 Relay Publishing Ltd.

  All rights reserved. Published in the United Kingdom by Relay Publishing. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  www.relaypub.com

  Contents

  Blurb

  Thank you!

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  End of “Bark Up And Smell The Coffee”

  About Stella

  Meet Doogle!

  Sneak Peek: The Bark Of The Town

  More Books By This Author

  Blurb

  Willow Wells is officially an entrepreneur. With the first phase of her dog gym’s renovation complete, and a success, Willow is ready for more. A doggie spa to be exact. The plan is to win an upcoming dog show, not only giving her the funds for the expansion but a national advertising campaign with the winning dog, Lady Valkyrie. Everything is going according to plan—and Willow can see the future in all its gold medal and dog grooming glory—until Terry Gib, Lady Valkyrie’s owner, is accused of murder.

  Willow thought that Terry had come to Pineview just for training, but it turns out Terry has ties to the town; a painful past that links her to a local bed and breakfast owner. And now that owner is dead. As Willow races to clear Terry and save their chance at victory with Lady Valkyrie, the rest of her life begins to fall apart too. Wednesday is distracted, her father is anxious, and Griffin, the man she’s coming to depend on, is threatening to leave her—so he can woo her.

  Now Willow is forced to make some big decisions: about who she trusts, who she should believe, and who she should date, before she loses it all forever.

  Thank you!

  Thank you for purchasing

  “Bark Up And Smell The Coffee”

  (Paws Fur Play Mysteries Book 2)

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  Prologue

  Kaitlin Janes stared at the ceiling, willing herself to get out of bed. This was more than fatigue. It might be time to admit that she was getting sick. Maybe it was the flu? Was this the right season for it? She had several of the symptoms. She was exhausted, she had been feeling dizzy, and there was a ringing in her ears.

  No. That was her alarm clock that was still ringing. She had been too tired to reach over the turn the buzzing off. She took a deep breath and moved her arm to hit the proper button. She hated feeling so sluggish and was dreading getting out from under her covers.

  She promised herself a cup of nice warm coffee if she could force herself to get up. Though her body agreed reluctantly, she made her way to the kitchen. She looked around for a clean mug to pour the beverage she so desperately needed. Many of her mugs had been left around her apartment with the dregs of her past drinks still inside. So sue her, it wasn’t the cleanest home in the world. She was a busy woman. She had a business to run and dogs to care for. She wasn’t going to waste her time cleaning the part of her bed-and-breakfast that the guests didn’t see. Besides, when even getting out of bed was a challenge, why would she waste the energy washing dishes?

  She couldn’t find a clean mug but opted to re-use a dirty one that had been hiding behind a pile of newspapers, a few cans of dog food, and a collection of corkscrews. She only ever used the mugs for coffee anyway, so it wasn’t like it was really dirty, right?

  She happily took a big swig of the drink, trying to wake herself up. It was funny that she felt so tired. She thought that she would have felt incredible today. She’d finally faced her past, and she should have felt a weight lifted from her shoulders. But, instead, her whole body felt heavy.

  All right, she told herself, if you still feel this tired in the afternoon, you should call a doctor.

  She had a few things she needed to do before she could afford to take a sick day though. Her morning routine always began with enjoying her coffee on the porch and walking her dog. Today would be no exception.

  When they came back inside, she would make sure that the “breakfast” part of her bed-and-breakfast promise was fulfilled for both her human and canine visitors. But first, she would find the dog’s leash. She had purposely chosen a fluorescent purple leash, so she would be able to find it if it got lost in the stacks of stuff in her apartment. Where was it hiding today? And why was this search so tiring?

  She tried to think about the night before to see if she could dredge up the happy thoughts for strength but ended up bumping into a table and knocking over a pile of magazines and some jelly jars.

  “Great,” she muttered. “Another bruise.”

  She pushed the magazines to the side with her foot and was rewarded with finding the dog’s leash. Then, she changed her clothes and topped her coffee off again before heading out of her apartment and towards the guest portion of the house.

  Ordinarily, she would tidy the one or two items that were out of place in this section of the house. She liked for this to appear pristine and picture perfect, but she just didn’t have the energy to care today.

  “Polly,” she called as she reached the front door.

  She was glad the small Pekingese was used to the morning routine now and met her there. She didn’t want to have to chase anything that morning.

  They walked onto the front porch together, the fluffy dog staying near her feet. Usually, she would sit down and sip her coffee, waving at passersbys while her dog took care of business behind the rose bushes. Then, they would walk together.

  However, today she remained standing. She wasn’t confident that she would be willing to rise to her feet again if she sat down. She did wave to a few of the people who passed her.

  She smiled as she always did when she thought about the prime location of her establishment. It was on Main Street and always had good foot traffic. This early in the morning, there were joggers and dog walkers who used the scenic road as their route. Many of them were like clockwork, always there at the same time.

  Polly returned to Kaitlin, and she set her coffee down on the porch. At least this portion of the morning was the same as usual. She grabbed Polly’s leash and clipped it onto her collar.

  They began walking down the street, but as they reached the end of the block, Kaitlin wavered. She had a terrible cramping feeling inside her. It was a pain she had never experienced before.

  Polly began whining. Kaitlin felt e
yes upon her, but she couldn’t be worried about them. Her knees were starting to give out, and she fell over.

  A jogger with a birthmark on his face caught her. She wanted to thank him, but the words wouldn’t come out.

  “Is that Kaitlin?” a female voice asked. It sounded familiar. She knew that voice, but she was having trouble keeping track of her thoughts.

  She could hear other voices asking what was wrong with her. Kaitlin was dimly aware that the answer was something very, very bad.

  1

  Willow Wells raised the coffee mug emblazoned with “Man’s Best Friend’s Bestie” to her mouth and took a sip of the steaming beverage that always brought her such joy in the morning. There was a light breezing blowing, and the chair on her porch was covered with comfy cushions.

  “This is the life, isn’t it?” she asked her dog.

  Telescope yipped in agreement and jumped onto her lap. Her chihuahua-mix only had three legs, but he still made these leaps look easy. She rubbed his ears and savored her hot drink, smiling and enjoying the peace. She knew it might not last long because she had a big decision to make, but that could wait until after she finished her coffee.

  She decided to sit back, which was easy in this soft chair, and enjoy the view. She could see the tall trees in the distant forest that gave Pineview its name. Closer by was a sight she enjoyed even more.

  Her backyard housed her business, Paws Fur Play. It was a doggie gym where dogs could run and socialize, learn basic obedience, or train for competitions. It was also an area where Telescope could show off his moves on the obstacle course.

  For a while, it seemed as if the business would never open – thanks to the complication of finding a dead body buried in her backyard. However, after clearing her contractor and friend’s name and finding the real killer, construction was able to commence, and after just a few busy months, the gym was finished.

  Willow shook her head. She didn’t want to think about murders anymore. That was the past. She needed to focus on the future.

  She looked through the large windows into the enclosed area of her training facility and watched the pups enjoying their free play time. Tails were wagging, and they looked content.

  She wanted to keep an eye on the new trainers that she’d hired to assist her with dogs but was trying not to hover. She was confident that she had chosen good people to work with her. However, she had never needed to hire employees before and couldn’t help being a bit nervous about it. She kept reminding herself that they were qualified trainers and that they had all been approved by Telescope. And besides, after facing a murderer, making sure employees followed her instructions should be easy.

  She drained the last of the coffee in her cup and let out a little sigh.

  “Well, I had the trainers come in so that I could do boss stuff,” she said. “I guess I should get down to it, huh?”

  Telescope barked in agreement. It was crazy how much of conversations he seemed to understand. Willow often asked him for advice on what to make for dinner or what movie to watch that night. She smiled at the memory of the time that she had spoken to the dog about what color to paint the kitchen and had even shown him swatches. He just stared at her as if reminding her that dogs saw color differently.

  She adjusted in her seat so that she could analyze the financial documents that she had left on the porch table. She had to come to a decision that afternoon. She frowned.

  “I guess this is the problem that most people and businesses have,” she grumbled. “I want to do this, but I’m not sure I can afford it.”

  Telescope gave her a reassuring lick on the face.

  “Thanks, Tele.”

  He did make her feel less grumpy, but it didn’t make her decision any easier. She grabbed a blank piece of paper and began making a list of pros and cons. The groomer that most people brought their pets to in town was retiring, and this was providing an opportunity for her to expand her business. If she offered grooming services, then her place could become a “one-stop shop” for all your canine needs. She added these thoughts to the “pro” portion of her list and then wrote that it could attract customers that were both regular pet owners and breeders of the next Best in Show.

  However, there was one major “con” on her list: “the price.”

  She had always considered adding a doggie spa section to her business but wasn’t planning on doing it right away. After hiring her employees, which she admitted she needed, to help with the business she already had, it didn’t leave much room for any additional renovations. However, if she wanted to capitalize on the groomer’s retirement, she would have to act fast, and she’d need to begin the renovations ASAP.

  “I guess it comes down to this,” she said, tapping her pencil on her list. “In order to build the spa, I need money to do it.”

  Telescope just blinked as if what she said was too obvious to react to. Willow chuckled. She supposed it did sound as if she had suggested a dog dig up his bone before he had a chance to chew on it.

  “What I mean is that I’d need to find a source for this money. But I do have an idea about that.”

  She sat pondering for a few more moments and then shrugged. She wasn’t accomplishing much just sitting there. Her thoughts were running in circles, like a dog chasing his tail.

  “What do you think?” she asked her furry friend.

  Telescope jumped off the chair. He lay down on the ground and then rolled from side to side. He sat up and made a little yip.

  “I’m sorry you have to play charades for me to understand while I get to ramble aloud.”

  He started running around the porch.

  “Do you want to go through the obstacle course? Is that it?”

  By way of an answer, he bounded towards the doggie gym. Willow collected her papers into a pile and placed her mug on them so they wouldn’t blow away while she was gone. She followed after the dog, figuring enough time had passed that it wouldn’t seem like she was checking up on the trainers needlessly.

  Telescope ran past the outdoor obstacle course and doghouses and headed to the door that led to the indoor area. Willow was glad. Even though the day had ended up being beautiful, there had been a chance of rain in the forecast. The other owners and trainers had opted to play indoors because no one wanted to cause the “wet dog smell” if it could be helped. Willow wanted to see how the other canines were enjoying their playtime as well as allowing Telescope to have some fun too.

  As soon as she entered, one of her trainers ran up to her. Willow didn’t know how Shelly had so much energy, but she always seemed to be as excitable as a border collie. That could also be an apt description because Willow had seen her round up the dogs before.

  “How was free play?” Willow asked.

  Telescope appeared by her feet, and Shelly greeted him by petting his chin before addressing her boss.

  “A small scuffle between a confused lab and a miniature pinscher that didn’t know he was mini, but we took care of it quickly,” she said. “Also, we’ve almost convinced Mr. Wenderson that you’ll be able to handle training his Great Dane how to heel. He was concerned because he thinks the dog is bigger than you are.”

  “Ha. Ha,” Willow said. Her short stature always seemed to be a joke with people who had larger breeds. “I’ll talk to him and remind him how important early training is with the larger breeds.”

  She looked around the room to see who was still there. A woman who was wearing pearls even though she was at the dog gym was trying to convince her Yorkshire terrier to walk through a tube and meet her on the other end.

  “Any news on Linda?” Willow asked, trying to be subtle as she gestured towards the woman with the stationary Yorkshire.

  Linda was a new customer, but Willow was suspicious that she was actually there as a secret shopper. Willow knew that Linda had a reputation as a whistleblower at city hall as well as being a member of city council. Willow couldn’t help wondering if she was investigating whether a gym for dogs w
as a scam.

  Willow admitted that it was possible that Linda really did want to train her dog but based on how she rewarded the small pooch for sitting still even when she asked her to run, Willow thought it was unlikely. Either way, she would offer Linda the best services that her gym had to offer, just like she did every other customer.

  Shelly shrugged. “She said that she wanted to work with her dog alone. That could be because she’s overprotective or because she wants to do some snooping.”

  “I’ll go talk to her.”

  Willow headed over to Linda and greeted her with a wave. Telescope followed and wagged his tail.

  “I hope you’re both enjoying your time here today,” Willow said politely.

  “I suppose so,” Linda responded with a bit of disdain.

  Telescope couldn’t seem to contain himself anymore and headed towards the nearest obstacle to illustrate his skills. He ran through the tube quickly and then returned to them.

  “Show off,” Linda muttered. “My poor Pattie might be able to do that too. But you know that she’s still recovering from all that surgery last year. She still gets tired. And she doesn’t feel the need to prance around like some other dogs.”