Kept in the Bark (Happy Tails Dog Walking Mysteries Book 5) Read online

  “I guess that book is going to do you some good.â€�

  Olivia glared. “Just for that, I’m not going to help you with breakfast. I’m going to text Andrew about Hattie, and then I’m going to play with the cat, while you think about what a bad friend you are.â€�

  “I could take the book back.â€�

  “Don’t even think about it.â€�

  Jackie laughed, and Olivia relaxed on the couch. Things were good. She and Andrew were working on their relationship. Jackie was back to being in high spirits. Her sister’s mood swings would peter out shortly. It was nice to be back on an even keel.

  And when Hattie showed back up, Olivia would feel more at ease. And so would Goodwin and Fender, no doubt.

  3

  Olivia managed to avoid Janelle all morning, but when the door to her office opened, her stomach clenched. Luckily, it wasn’t her sister walking in. “Andrew!â€� Getting up, she gave him a hug. “Are you spending your lunch break here?â€�

  “I took the rest of the afternoon off. I haven’t seen much of you lately.â€� He bent down and kissed her. “I’ve missed you.â€�

  “I saw you last night.â€�

  “Yes, and I heard about everything that you did yesterday.â€�

  “Right.â€� Olivia took a deep breath. “Okay, I already told you about my breakfast with Jackie. I came back and walked Lily and Tucker. It looks like Nick has been losing weight. I guess his wife’s nagging really is working! I avoided Janelle all morning, and I caught up with my paperwork. Also, one of the dogs left me a dead rat by the dogs’ dishes. My money is on Goodwin since Fender would only catch a rat if it fell unconscious into his food bowl. That’s pretty much it.â€�

  “Exciting stuff,â€� Andrew murmured. “Think you can spare an hour?â€�

  She recognized the gleam in his eye and sighed. “Believe me, I would love to give you an hour, but Duchess, Kiki, and a new pup are coming in for daycare this afternoon. They’ll be here in the next thirty minutes.â€�

  Despite the disappointment written all over his face, he smiled and said, “Want some help with daycare?â€�

  “I would love that. I don’t have anything after daycare, so if I don’t get any last-minute requests, I’ll have all evening free.â€�

  “Can I break your phone?â€�

  Laughing, Olivia pulled away. “Not unless you want to ruin my business.â€� It warmed her heart to know that Andrew wanted to spend more time with her. At least she wasn’t the only one in the relationship who realized that they didn’t have much time with each other.

  A couple of months ago, she had been worried that Andrew was cheating on her. Now, seeing the look in his eye as he stared at her, she wondered how she could have ever doubted him for even a second.

  “How long is your conference, again?â€�

  “Five days for the conference. Two travel days, there and back.â€�

  “Seven days.â€� Olivia’s heart dropped. “You don’t even want to keep the job at the hospital. I say quit before the conference and focus on your freelancing.â€�

  “I wish I could, but I need more contracts first. I will call you fifty times a day.â€�

  “That’s like every fifteen minutes, twelve hours a day. You either don’t plan on sleeping or don’t plan on paying attention to the seminars.â€�

  He held up his finger. “I’ll sleep during the seminar?â€�

  “Then what’s the point in going?â€�

  “It’s mandatory.â€�

  “Oh.â€� She frowned. “Right.â€�

  Suddenly, Goodwin jumped up, and even Fender groaned to his feet. A sharp, high-pitched bark distracted them, and Olivia looked over to see a small toy poodle trotting in through the door. “Duchess, wait!â€� Delilah, owner of the glitziest boutique in town, scurried in after her dog.

  “Hello, lovely.â€� Olivia bent down and picked up the precious pup. Today, the diminutive poodle was wearing a pink sweater. Duchess wiggled and covered Olivia in tiny kisses in between yelps. “Okay, you need to run about a thousand laps around the room before you calm down. Goodwin, Fender, go easy until she settles down.â€� She put the little dog down, and the poodle began to run in circles around the humans, occasionally rising to her hind legs to yap up at the boring people, who were just standing and talking, before taking off running again.

  “Sorry I’m early. Derek called and wanted to meet me for lunch. He is so sweet!â€� Delilah gushed, ignoring her darling’s antics.

  It was all Olivia could do not to roll her eyes. For two years, Delilah had made a determined effort to steal Andrew from her. Then, after being instrumental in getting Olivia and Andrew back together, she’d asked for free doggie daycare hours and help getting Deputy Derek Jameson’s attention.

  Things had been going well. Delilah had been telling everyone all about it, too.

  It was nice to see Delilah not putting the moves on Andrew, but her sickly sweet gushings about Derek were getting on everyone’s nerves. Even Andrew was inching toward the door.

  “Don’t even think about it,” Olivia whispered in a low voice as she reached out and grabbed his sleeve.

  “What?” he asked defensively though he gave her a wide grin. “I was just going to run downstairs and get you an apple tart for lunch since you’re so busy. I figured with you and Janelle on bad terms …”

  “I brought my lunch. I don’t need you to go anywhere,” she said, planting her hands on her hips.

  Delilah looked from one to the other with a bewildered look on her face. “What’s happening here? You guys aren’t breaking up again, are you?”

  Andrew laughed silently, and Olivia rolled her eyes. “No. He’s just being … helpful. Before you sneak out, Delilah, I need you to fill out a new contract. Duchess’s probationary period is up.” Meaning Delilah had used up all her freebies.

  Smoothing a hand over her chic blue dress (Delilah always did look snappy, but she owned a woman’s clothing boutique, so she had to look good), the woman pouted. “Can I do that when you drop Duchess off? Being more than five minutes late isn’t fashionable. It’s rude.”

  “Wait—why am I dropping Duchess off?”

  “I have to do a new window dressing this evening, and I don’t have time to pick Duchess up before five. It’s just right downstairs. No big deal. Okay, Duchess! Come give Mommy some kisses—and have fun!”

  A headache began to form behind Olivia’s eyes, and she pinched the bridge of her nose. She knew that she owed Delilah, but she wondered if the woman’s help at prom had been worth putting up with Delilah’s new idea of friendship.

  Duchess ignored Delilah, but the poodle’s owner didn’t look all that insulted as she waved and swooshed out of the office with the same flair that she’d entered.

  “Deep breaths,” Andrew advised as he reached down suddenly to grab Goodwin’s collar before the shaggy dog could bowl the tiny poodle right over.

  “You pick the worst times to head out of town,” Olivia muttered. “Janelle is impossible. Delilah is impossibly happy. At least Jackie isn’t moaning around anymore.”

  “It is pretty inconvenient,” Andrew sighed as he released Goodwin and ran his hand through his hair. “I still haven’t gotten that report from Hattie, and I can’t get in touch with her.”

  “She’s not answering her email or her phone?” Olivia asked uneasily. “Maybe she’s sick? Want me to check with the hospital?”

  “No, I can do that when I get to work. Thanks again for checking on her yesterday. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I was worried. I’m sure she’ll turn up.” He walked over and kissed Olivia deeply again before resting his fo
rehead on hers. “You’re going to be able to come over tonight, right?”

  “I wouldn’t miss it.” Her chest ached as she thought of him leaving tomorrow. It was ridiculous. It was only for a week, but she didn’t want any more bumps in their relationship. On the other hand, maybe he’d realize how much he missed her when he was gone and would agree to move in with her.

  Maybe he’d even suggest it himself. That would make things so much easier.

  After he’d left, she went to rescue Fender, who had collapsed back in his dog bed. Duchess had apparently decided he was a mountain to climb and was perched on top of him. Fifteen minutes later, Kiki, a thirty-pound brindle mutt, and Teach, a black Lab, arrived, and the doggie daycare officially became a madhouse. Teach and Goodwin were instant best friends and chased each other around in the main room. Olivia quarantined Duchess, Kiki, and Fender into the smaller room, where they could enjoy themselves without getting flattened by the bigger dogs. The basset hound gave her an annoyed look and curled up in the corner while Kiki and Duchess played with the dog toys.

  There were a few phone calls and inquiring emails, but they were all for tomorrow’s slots. When the dogs had tuckered themselves out, Olivia refilled their water bowls and settled back to fill out her finance charts.

  When that was done, she opened her emails and saw that she had two new applicants for the part-time positions she’d advertised. She didn’t love the idea of hiring someone, especially after her last employee had threatened to poison people’s dogs, but she needed the help. Her business was growing, and there was no way that she could keep adding dog-walking slots with her increasingly busy doggie daycare business unless she hired someone else. Both applicants looked promising, so she scheduled interviews with them and printed out their applications. Tomorrow would be a busy day, but that was good. It would help her keep her mind off of Andrew leaving.

  Despite all that she was accomplishing, Hattie’s strange disappearance was in the back of her mind. Finally giving in, she called Nick.

  “Sheriff Limperos,” he answered gruffly. He must not have looked at the caller ID first because he wasn’t usually so formal with her. In fact, he was either trying to schedule dog-walking without his wife knowing, or he was berating her for getting involved in a mystery.

  He was not going to be happy with her question.

  “Hi, Nick. It’s Olivia. How are you?”

  “That depends. Are you calling about Tucker or a dead body?” he asked sourly.

  “Neither,” she responded, a little too defensively. “Just an inquiry.”

  There was a moment of silence on the other end. “Uh-huh,” he drawled.

  “It’s not even for me! It’s for Andrew,” she explained hastily. “You know Hattie Dominick? Jackie’s next-door neighbor?”

  “I’m familiar with her,” Nick said slowly.

  Before she lost her nerve, she plunged on. “She does some freelancing work for Andrew, and he’s a little concerned because she’s missed some deadlines, and he hasn’t heard from her. I was at Jackie’s yesterday, and we noticed that she was gone. You don’t have anything to add to that, would you?”

  “Please tell me that you didn’t break into her house.”

  “We didn’t break into her house! Her cat was out, and we found the back door cracked open like maybe she’d left in a hurry.”

  “Then I guess there was an emergency. Olivia, please tell me that you’re not looking for a mystery to solve. It’s bad enough that you keep getting into trouble, but I don’t love the idea of you searching for it.”

  Goodwin stopped at her feet and, wagging, dropped a ball. Bending down, she picked it up and tossed it. The slimy ball left behind a coating of drool, and she wiped her hand on her pants. “I’m not looking for trouble. I wouldn’t even have gotten involved if Andrew hadn’t asked me to check on her, and you know he wouldn’t ask me to do that unless he was worried.”

  “I’m sure something just happened, and she had to leave. It happens, Olivia. If three days pass, and you still can’t get hold of her, then call me back. That’s the best that I can do, okay?”

  “Sure. I mean, I’m sure it won’t come to that. I’m sure she’ll be calling Andrew very soon! Thanks, Nick.”

  Hanging up quickly, she took a deep breath. The three-day limit wouldn’t be up until tomorrow. Surely Hattie would show up or call before then. Olivia wouldn’t even need to worry about it.

  At five, all the owners came to pick up their dogs. All except Duchess. Olivia dropped the little poodle off at the dress shop but failed to convince Delilah to take the time to sign the contract. Annoyed, she snuck into the bakery, hoping to grab a cup of coffee for now and two slices of pie for tonight.

  Unfortunately, Janelle was at the counter. Her expression turned thunderous as soon as Olivia walked in, and she spun on her heel and walked out.

  Mary was standing at corner of the counter, flirting with Wilbur. The handsome man was far too old for Mary, but he was new in town and a bit of a loner, and Mary couldn’t resist teasing him. The MegaStore crowd was also there, but they’d taken Olivia’s advice and changed out their shirts. They were seated around the same table as before, having a quiet meeting. A new face had joined them, but he was dressed in a slick suit that screamed money.

  No doubt, he was some advertising executive trying to figure out how to woo the angry small town into shopping with them.

  Mary took note of Olivia and hurried toward her. Wilbur looked almost relieved as he made good his escape to a corner in the back of the bakery’s seating area, and Olivia chuckled. “I don’t know why that man keeps coming back,” she teased the young woman. “You drive him nuts.”

  “He likes it,” Mary retorted. “I don’t think he has any friends, and I don’t think he knows how to brew a cup of coffee. I take him for a recent divorcee. He’s so hot.”

  “And in his forties. Too old for you.”

  Shrugging, Mary poured Olivia a cup of coffee. “I like older men.”

  “I’ll take two slices of the peach pie in a box to go.â€� Olivia took a sip and closed her eyes to savor the hot liquid. After swallowing, she opened her eyes and asked, “How is Janelle today? She headed to the back as soon as she saw me.”

  “The bride was in today with yet another change she wants to make,” Mary said in a low voice. “And get this—Janelle had to sign a waiver that allows the wedding preparations to be filmed. They’re turning it into some kind of television show. The couple isn’t even famous! They just have all this money.”

  Despite being angry at her sister, Olivia did feel badly for her. “Poor Janelle. Maybe I’ll stop by tomorrow night and see if I can’t help her out. She’s usually a little calmer when Patrick is around.” She took another gulp of the bracing liquid.

  “Why wait? Do it tonight. Maybe she’ll be in a better mood tomorrow,” Mary grumbled.

  “No can do,” Olivia said with sympathy. “It’s Andrew’s last night before he heads out to the conference. We’re having dinner.â€� She paused and then wailed softly, “He’s going to be gone a whole week!”

  “Well, unlike some men, you can trust him. The week will be over before you know it. And if you can stay out of trouble, you’ll have nothing to worry about!”

  “What?” Olivia narrowed her eyes and stared at Janelle’s assistant. “What do you know? What have you heard? I’m not trying to get into trouble! I’m just concerned for Hattie.”

  Mary’s eyes widened in surprise. “I was just speaking generically. You’re always getting into trouble. What’s wrong with Hattie?”

  “You know her?”

  “I deliver fresh bread to her every week. Is she okay?”

  “Yeah. I’m sure she’s fine. She just hasn’t gotten in touch with Andrew in a while about the app they’ve been working on, and she’s not at home. I’m sure she’ll turn up. I spoke to Nick about it, just in case.”

  “She’s not home? She hasnâ�
��™t canceled her bread order for this week. And Hattie never leaves home.” Mary was obviously in distress. Louder, she said, “I was surprised that she was even at the app launch! Nick has to look into this!”

  “Shh, Mary,” Olivia said soothingly. “If she doesn’t turn up tomorrow, we can file a missing persons report, but I’m sure it’s just that something came up, and she had to leave. We’re all going to feel silly when she shows up. Don’t worry, okay?”

  “Hattie is kind of absentminded when she’s working on a project,” Mary admitted. “Okay. Maybe the party made her realize that she wanted to get out more, and she’s out exploring the town—or even the city?”

  Olivia highly doubted it, but she didn’t tell Mary that. Instead, she drained the rest of the coffee in her cup, took the to-go box of pie, and nodded.

  Maybe Mary was right, and Olivia really was looking for trouble. She’d put it out of her mind while she spent tonight with Andrew, and tomorrow, she’d focus on her business. Hattie would show up, and everything would be fine.

  The last thing Olivia needed was to get into trouble while Andrew was gone.

  He’d never forgive her.

  4

  “Why are you looking so grumpy?” Jackie demanded as she took books out of a box and stacked them. “I’ve had a night and morning, and you are seriously bringing me down.”

  Slumped in one of the reading chairs at Shelfie, Olivia tried not to look dejected. “Andrew left this morning for the conference in California. He’ll be gone all week.”

  “What’s this all about? It’s just a week! Where is the independent Olivia who didn’t need no man!”

  Olivia snorted. “I know it’s going to be fine. I just wish things were more settled. Like … we weren’t living in separate apartments.”

  “I thought you were going to talk with him about that!”

  “I was, but then I figured if I waited long enough, he’d suggest it himself.”

  Jackie stretched one leg out as she struggled to balance on the small stool. Even with the extra height the stool gave her, she could barely reach the top shelf. “Taking the easy way out?”