Jenner Read online

  “Oh.” She still frowned, now shook her head at that. “I’m not even sure which neighbor would have done that,” she murmured. When he gave her the name Stippletone, she added, “Well, they’re here, just a little bit down the road, but I don’t remember them having any kind of fancy dog.”

  “I don’t think it would look like a fancy dog at all,” he replied. “At least not at this point in time. He looks like a normal dark-coated shepherd.”

  She nodded slowly. “I guess that makes sense. The Stippletones always seemed to have a number of dogs around.”

  “So you don’t know anything about this one, I guess?”

  “No, I don’t.” She frowned. “I’m not sure that’s the family you want though.”

  “Why’s that?” he asked, stopping as he reached the front door.

  “The main family or the original family were really good people,” she stated, then hesitated. “I guess that’s really not something I should be talking about.”

  “Please,” he urged her. “I’m here on a welfare check to make sure the animal is okay.”

  Her lips formed a tiny rose bud. And then she shrugged. “I guess you’ll probably hear it from the locals anyway, but the older couple was killed in a car accident.”

  He stared at her. “Both of them? Seriously?”

  She nodded.

  “Was that maybe two months ago?”

  “About that, yeah,” she agreed, “and they were really good people. They’ll bend over backward to help anybody. Couple of times I’ve run into a bit of trouble, and they immediately helped. Now, they have a son, but I don’t know much about him.”

  “Is there anybody else left in the family?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t know of any other siblings.”

  “So he may have the dog himself.”

  “He might,” she replied, with a nod. “The family did like dogs—not unruly ones—but there are quite a few dogs there now with the son. I don’t …” She hesitated and crossed her arms on her chest.

  He watched her body language with interest. “Obviously something about this bothers you.”

  “It’s the dogs that bother me,” she admitted. “Believe you me. I’m an animal lover but a lot of these? I just get the feeling that … well, let me just say, I went for a walk one evening, and I got surrounded by them, and I was definitely scared. They were out of control, and I don’t know what they would have done if the son hadn’t been there to call them back.”

  At that, Jenner frowned. “That doesn’t sound good.”

  “No, and when I saw him later, he told me that I had just let my fears get ahold of me.”

  “But you should never be afraid of dogs like that. When surrounded, however, it’s hard not to be. A pup can be dangerous. Now the War Dog is not the same. It’s been well trained. If he’s been well treated, he wouldn’t attack in a situation like that, particularly a War Dog that has extensive military training.”

  “Well, the old owners, the couple? They raised shepherds for decades,” she shared. “I know that they were really very, very capable. I’m just not so sure about the son.”

  “They wouldn’t have had the War Dog for very long,” he noted. “I think it was only adopted about six months ago. And then, when the welfare check came through, nobody knew anything about its whereabouts.”

  “I don’t know about that either,” she stated. “The son seems to buy and sell animals, so he may very well have sold the War Dog.”

  “That’s not allowed in the contract.”

  “But the contract would likely had been with his parents, who are now deceased,” she pointed out.

  Jenner nodded thoughtfully. “That could be why the welfare check didn’t go through and why the dog was flagged for a house call.”

  “I’m really glad to hear that the government is checking up on these animals,” she stated warmly, “because they’ve done so much for our country. So you really want to confirm that they’re being well looked after.”

  He nodded. “And I never was somebody who could leave an animal in need.” He looked over at her again, considering what she had said and what she wasn’t saying. “Did you have any trouble with the son?”

  Again her arms clenched, as they wrapped around her chest. Then she shrugged. “I don’t want to cause any trouble.”

  “You’re not causing any trouble,” he stated firmly. “Perhaps you should just tell me what it is that makes you uneasy, besides the dogs, obviously.”

  She nodded. “The dogs are definitely a part of it, but I guess, when it comes to him, there’s just something I don’t like.”

  “In what way?” She just shook her head. “Please,” he urged her, “I need to know what I’m dealing with.”

  “I don’t like the way he looks at me.”

  At that, he took a step back. “Do you feel like you’re in danger?”

  “I don’t feel safe. There’s just something …” She stopped, tilted her head, and added, “I don’t know, smeary.”

  “Smeary?” he asked. “Not sure I know that word.”

  “Just … slimy may be a better word. I don’t know. Something makes me want to take several steps back from him anytime I’m alone with him. He really crowds me too.”

  “Meaning, he likes to step into your personal space?” Jenner asked, as he took several steps toward her.

  She immediately backed up, nodding. “Yes, that and he comes here, even though I’m closed. He rang the doorbell a couple times, when he’s been really drunk. And it made me feel really uncomfortable.”

  “And so you would be.” He looked around. “Do you have much for security?”

  She shook her head. “Not a whole system. I do have a camera on the front door. I mean, we never have any problems in this area,” she explained. “It’s just been recently.”

  “Do you have other guests staying here?”

  “No, not right now,” she confirmed. “I do have two couples coming in on the weekend.”

  “Okay.” Jenner nodded. “So it’s just you and me for the next few days.”

  She nodded, as if uncertain about the way he had said that.

  Kellie Spalding looked at her new guest, even as he studied her. She had been more than surprised to see his prosthetic leg because she had seen no indication, except for a slight limp. And now just the talk about a War Dog reminded her what she’d gone through last time, the gripping fear, as she had been surrounded by those dogs. She rubbed her arms. “Look. I don’t want to cause any trouble, but he’s the kind of guy I choose to avoid, if I can.”

  “Got it.” As he opened the front door, he asked, “Any idea how many dogs he has?”

  “Last I saw, three, four, maybe five even,” she replied.

  “And that’s how many surrounded you?”

  She nodded. “Yes, well, four seemed to be more aggressive, while one kinda hung back,” she said, with a headshake. “I don’t remember any of them being a shepherd.”

  “What about his parents’ dogs?”

  “They were down to just the one at the end. I remember her saying something about a charity dog.”

  “That could have been Sisco, the military dog,” he noted thoughtfully.

  “And they were the kind of people who would have definitely taken it in and would have even applied for that honor. He was military himself, and I know he always wanted to be of service in some way or another.”

  “That makes sense then,” Jenner noted. “We don’t always know what happens when a War Dog is adopted. However, legally it would have been adopted by the parents, not necessarily the son.”

  “Right,” she murmured. “The son isn’t the most agreeable person.”

  “I don’t really care how agreeable he is, as long as the War Dog’s in good shape and is happy there.”

  She nodded. “Well, I’ll let you get walking. You plan on being back in time for dinner?”

  “I’ll be back in time,” he said. “I’ll just go down to your neighb
ors’ place and see what I can see.”

  Chapter 2

  Kellie watched as Jenner headed out the door. The limp was less pronounced now, or so she hoped. It would mean she’d helped in a small way. He was no longer in her sight, but she remained on the porch, just taking in the scenery. She loved it here. As she watched, another vehicle drove up. She smiled when the car door opened, and a fully pregnant Laura wiggled out. “Hey,” she greeted her friend, as she walked down her front steps, closer to Laura. “How’s life?”

  “It’s fine,” Laura snapped, with an irritable shrug. “Just too much going on these days.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” Kellie replied. Laura often had a less-than-positive outlook on life. Even though she had so much going for her.

  “I am too.” Laura let out a slow breath.

  “You want to come inside and sit down?”

  Laura shook her head. “Hey, sorry. I’m not trying to be a bitch, just had a really crappy day.”

  “I’m sorry for that too,” Kellie noted. “You aren’t usually this irritated.”

  “No, I’m not,” she agreed. “Got this phone message from my ex-husband, wanting to meet. I was trying to avoid that for a very long time, but apparently I don’t get to avoid it anymore.” She shook her head. “Although, if I’m lucky, maybe he’ll leave town without contacting me.”

  “Is it a problem?”

  “I don’t know whether it’s a problem or not,” she said. “Leaving him was definitely what I needed to do back then. I didn’t give him much of an explanation for leaving him, not sure I even have much of an explanation for it right now either—except I was young and stupid.”

  “Bring Silas in on it. Or does he not know?”

  Now Laura was pacing the driveway, with one hand at her lower back. “That I don’t want to do. He doesn’t like the fact that I was married before, in the first place.”

  At that, Kellie nodded. She’d heard some of this before, not a whole lot of it though. She and Laura had been friends of a sort for at least five years now. And Laura’s marriage to Silas was something that doesn’t come up. Deliberately. They were an odd couple at the best of times. “Sorry for anything that brings you stress,” Kellie said. “It’s something you don’t need, especially now.” She pointed to her friend’s large belly.

  “Nope, I sure don’t,” she agreed, as she patted her baby bump. “I don’t have a clue what brought my ex into town or why he’s even contacting me, but it’s not what I expected. And, of course, anything unexpected makes me nervous.”

  “Of course,” Kellie agreed gently, “but, if there were no hard feelings about the breakup, I’m sure that’s not an issue.”

  “I didn’t say there weren’t any hard feelings. I was not the person I am now,” she added, and with that came such an odd tone in her voice.

  Kellie looked at her friend and frowned. “Ouch. I gather you aren’t terribly happy about some issues?”

  She shook her head. “No, sure not.” Laura huffed. “Trouble is, I’m not even sure how to explain who I was back then, and I never expected to have to explain it to him.”

  “Who says you need to?” Kellie asked. “Just tell him that you don’t want to meet. Tell him it’s old water under the bridge, and you’ve moved on.”

  “He knows I’ve moved on,” she noted. “I just don’t know that he understands why I walked away. And, of course, what I told him back then wasn’t the truth, and I know it’s brought some hardship with his own friend because I had told him that I was marrying him. His best friend no less.”

  “Wow.” She stared in fascination at Laura. Normally the woman was a very well-put-together person, but today she appeared to be quite rattled. “Sounds like maybe there is a reason to meet him then, if for no other reason so that you don’t have to avoid him for the rest of your life.”

  “He’s in the navy, been working out of California for a lot of years,” she replied in exasperation. “So I never expected to see him again.” Then, with an irritated shrug, she added, “Of course he shows up now.”

  Not sure what to say about that, Kellie just nodded. “So why are you here today?”

  “I’m wondering if you have reservations for the week when the baby’s due?” she asked. “My family wants to come, but, of course, Silas doesn’t want them at the house.”

  “Ah,” she said, as she brought up her booking schedule on her phone. “And your due date’s what? Six weeks from now?”

  “It is,” she said, frowning at her tummy. “The problem is, I don’t know that Junior here will respect his due date in any way, shape, or form. So the booking must be fluid.”

  Kellie thought about it and added, “I do have some flexibility because that’s an October deadline. It’s just the beginning of September now, and it generally calms down by then.”

  “Well, it’s pretty empty right now, isn’t it?”

  “It has been,” she agreed, “but I had someone new in today, and I have two couples coming in this weekend.”

  “Good enough,” Laura said. “It will be for two couples because my brother and his wife will come, and my parents wanted to come too.”

  “I’ll put down a tentative booking for you for two rooms.”

  “Make it more than tentative. I won’t be too happy—if you end up full, and there’s no room for them right around when they arrive—and I have to deal with Silas.”

  “What if the due date changes?”

  “The only thing I can tell you is what I have for a due date now,” she snapped. And, with that, she turned and headed back to her car. She was massaging her lower back, as she took a couple more steps.

  “How is the pregnancy going?” Kellie asked.

  “It’s going fine,” she replied, “which, you know, considering I’m in my early thirties, it’s about time I got started.”

  At that, Kellie winced. She was in her early thirties herself. She didn’t have a partner and hadn’t contemplated a family because … it made things a little more complicated.

  She watched as Laura drove away in her fancy sports car. It was hard to imagine what was going on with her that she was this upset about her ex-husband showing up in town. Silas would not tolerate him anywhere close to her, and that much Kellie knew, so that could be an interesting scenario too.

  Silas was much older than Laura, and very controlling.

  Kellie stepped inside and quickly filled in the booking information for the reservation into her hard-bound journal at the front desk, then went to prepare dinner. Tonight it would be pasta and seafood. She hadn’t even asked Jenner if he ate seafood, and now she worried if he were allergic or something. In the kitchen, she quickly worked, getting the pasta and the sauce just perfect. She had a big salad ready and garlic bread warming in the oven.

  When the front door opened, she checked that everything was good for a moment, and then she raced out to the front. And, sure enough, there was Jenner. “Hey, you ready for food?”

  He nodded. “Absolutely. Kinda hungry actually.”

  “The only thing is, I forgot to ask”—she stopped and gave him an apologetic look—“if you’re okay with seafood? You noted no allergies or anything on your registration.”

  “I’m totally okay with seafood,” he stated, looking at her curiously. “What’s on the menu?”

  “It’s a pasta dish that I’ve been making for years. I got a hankering for it this morning,” she explained, “so I guess that’s what’s for dinner.”

  “Sounds good to me.” He stepped into the kitchen behind her and sniffed the air. “Perfectly okay with me. I’m always happy to have home-cooked food.”

  “There is something special about it, isn’t there?” she asked, tossing him a bright smile.

  He nodded. “Especially after a number of years of not getting it.”

  “I guess in the navy you end up not always eating the best food.”

  “There’s always lots, and it’s always filling,” he noted, “but sometimes the
y completely miss the mark in terms of what you would like to eat and taste. They’re not chefs, but they produce a lot of food very quickly.”

  “Got it. Do you want to sit in the dining room?”

  “Where will you sit?” She hesitated, and then he asked, “Or do you want to eat on your own? Don’t answer that.” He flushed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to cross a line.”

  “And you didn’t,” she replied, and, from her perspective, it was nice of him to even consider that. She worked on finishing up dinner. “I just didn’t want to push myself on you. Lots of my visitors prefer to eat privately.”

  “Not me. I’ve spent too much time alone,” he stated. “I’m just grateful to have a home-cooked meal.”

  “Did you find the neighbors’ place?” She turned to look at him.

  He nodded. “I did, indeed. It was deserted. No sign of any dogs. Not sure that I saw anything in particular pointing to signs of dogs, but I was short on time so didn’t dwell.”

  “Yeah, definitely to make it here for dinner while it’s hot,” she noted. “Plus, you may want to take a good look around first, just in case something odd is going on there.”

  He laughed. “You wouldn’t be at all unhappy if there was, and I put a stop to it, huh?”

  “I don’t think he’s doing anything illegal,” she clarified, with a shrug. “He’s just one of those guys who makes you nervous, if you walk down an alleyway.”

  “I do know,” he stated, “and he certainly won’t be bothering you while I’m here.” She looked at him in surprise. He shrugged. “It’s not in me to leave somebody alone to deal with somebody like that. However, chances are good though that he’ll take one look at me and not give you any headaches, until I’m gone again.”

  “And that would be very typical of him too, I would think.”

  “Did I see a sports car leave here, as I walked back again?”

  “Yeah, that’s a friend of mine,” she shared. “Laura’s due with her first child, and her parents and family want to come visit for the birth of the child, but her husband won’t let anybody stay with her.” She wondered why he suddenly had gone very still.