Derby Divas (Zoe Donovan Mystery) (4 page)

Zak was going to be a perfect parent for the large and active dog
, but it hurt that he’d never even discussed it with me before agreeing. Of course, we weren’t married or even engaged, and he knew me well enough to know that I’d be thrilled he was helping out with the Winnie-and-Bella situation.

“I hope it’s okay that
I called him directly.” Jeremy looked uncertain. “Winnie’s son came in first thing this morning and wanted an answer by noon or he was going to take matters into his own hands and find Bella a home himself. He’s in town to move Winnie to her new condo this afternoon. You were in the meeting when I thought of Zak.”

“Of cour
se it’s okay,” I assured Jeremy. “Zak will be perfect. He’s been lonely since Lambda died, and I’ve been thinking of talking to him about another dog. I don’t know why I didn’t think of Bella. She’s a beautiful dog with lots of energy to do the things with Zak that Lambda never could.”

Jeremy
sighed in relief. “I’m glad it’s okay. Winnie’s son can be very pushy, and I have to admit I was feeling desperate. I knew Winnie would be crushed if we couldn’t find the perfect home for Bella, and her son wasn’t giving me much time. You listed Zak’s cell as one of your emergency numbers, so I went ahead and took a chance and called him directly. I didn’t realize he was out of town, though. Winnie’s son wants Bella picked up by three o’clock today. Zak said he was going to call you about taking delivery.”

I looked at my phone. I’d turned it
off during the meeting. I powered on and saw that I had both a text and a voice mail from Zak. “Yeah, he did call, but I had my phone turned off,” I answered. “I’ll head over and pick Bella up in a little while. I’m sure Charlie will be thrilled to have the company.”

Charlie lifted his head at the sound of his name.

“By the way, excellent job with the inspection. The woman from the county seemed quite taken with your knowledge and level of expertise.”

Jeremy smiled. “That’s not all she was taken wi
th. We’re going out this weekend.”

Terrific.
The last thing I needed was a messy love affair between Jeremy and a county representative who could shut us down with a single stroke of her pen.

Jeremy must have noticed the look of despair on my face.

“Don’t worry. We aren’t dating,” he assured me. “I know the rule about mixing business and pleasure. Vivian is a nice woman my mother’s age who happens to like classic cars. Morgan and I are going to show her around. I assure you that I’ll be on my best behavior. By the way, I wanted to let you know that the mysterious animal deaths we were dealing with while you were away have stopped completely since they isolated the water supply your dad told Salinger about.”

“That’s good. Did they find the source of the contamination?” I wondered. While I’d been in Hawaii
, several animals had died or become sick as a result of contaminated groundwater. My dad and Jeremy had helped track down the source of the toxins.

“Not yet
, but Salinger assures me he’s working on it. My guess is that one of the cabins in the area is being used as a meth lab, but it will be hard to figure out which one without searching each and every one unless someone slips up and brings attention to themselves. Guess we’ll just have to keep an eye out for any more deaths.”

“I’m going to call Zak and then head over to Winnie
’s to pick up Bella. My phone is on now, so call me if anything comes up.”

I felt bad for Winnie. I understood why her children were concerned about her living alone in a house that required shovel
ing snow in the winter and yard work in the summer, but Winnie was an independent soul who probably wouldn’t love living in a structured community. I was glad that Jeremy had thought of asking Zak whether he was interested in being Bella’s new human. They really would be perfect for each other and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it myself. Zak hadn’t answered his cell when I called, but I’d left a voice mail letting him know that I was picking up Bella and would be happy to keep her at my place until he returned.

“I guess you
’re here for Bella.” Winnie had tears running down her cheeks when she opened the door. I had to bite my lip to keep from shedding a few tears of my own.

“I can come back later if you need more time to say good
-bye,” I offered. I love my job, but situations like this are the worst.

“Now is good
.” Her son walked up behind Winnie with Bella on a leash.

“Let’s talk on the porch,” Winnie suggested.

I stepped aside as Winnie and Bella joined me outdoors. It felt like my heart was breaking as Winnie hugged Bella, but I couldn’t think of anything I could do or say that would make this easier for her. Saying good-bye to a beloved pet was never easy.

“Zak is excited to have
Bella come to live with him,” I tried. “He’s going to take good care of her.”

“I know he will
.” Winnie smiled through her tears. “I can’t bear saying good-bye, but Bella is a large dog who needs a big yard and someone to walk her. My new condo doesn’t have much of a yard at all.”

“Jeremy said you could have a small dog. Have you thought about adopting an
other dog that wouldn’t need much exercise?”

Winnie’s eyes lit up. “Do you have a dog like that?”

I considered the question. Winnie would need a small dog who was well behaved and wouldn’t require vigorous exercise. An older dog would be perfect for the elderly woman, although I wouldn’t want to pair her with a dog so old as to have health issues. I had six dogs under twenty pounds currently at the shelter. Three were super-hyper and two had a tendency to bark at everything that moved. The sixth dog might work, but none seemed quite right.

“What about a cat?” I asked. “I have a beautiful longhair tabby named Sheba. She
’s sweet and gentle. Her owner recently passed away, and I’ve been looking for just the right placement for her. She likes to sit on your lap and rock away the afternoon but isn’t real tolerant of other animals or small children.”

“I don’t have other animals or small children,” Winnie offered hopefully.
“And I spend a good part of every day in my old rocker.”

“Can you
have a cat in your condo?”

“I can.”

“Can what?” Randolph asked as he joined us on the porch. I think he wanted to be sure I was going to leave with the dog.

“Have a cat,” Winnie s
aid.

At first I thought her son was going to protest the idea
, but then he smiled. “A cat would be a perfect solution, but when I suggested it, you said that a cat could never replace Bella.”

“I did say that,” Winnie admitted, “but that was before I knew there was a cat that needed a human just like me. Can I meet her?” Winnie asked me.

I glanced at Randolph. He nodded his head in the affirmative.

“I’ll go and get her. If you like her
, you can take her on a trial basis. If it works out, we’ll do the adoption paperwork later.”

“We
’re leaving in two hours,” Randolph warned me.

“I’ll be back in less than one. I’ll donate a cat
carrier, a litter box, litter, and food so you can get her settled when you get to your new place. I even have some of the special salmon treats she loves. It may take her a few days to adjust to her new situation, but I think the two of you will be perfect together.”

Winnie was actually smiling as I loaded
Bella in the truck, and I felt a whole lot better about taking her than I had when I’d first arrived.

Bella and Charlie got along fabulously, so I decided to leave them at the boathouse while I went to visit my parents. I called Ellie and told her about the newest member of our family, in case she arrived at the boathouse before I did. My parents greeted me at the door of their new home, handed me a glass of wine, and told me they had something important to discuss with me. My heart sank as they led me to the deck and asked me to take a seat. Ever since my mom came back to town and I found out I was going to be a sister, I’ve held a secret fear that eventually Mom would leave—she always does—and take Harper with her.

“Thanks for coming by,” Mom said nervously. “Your dad and I have something important to discuss with you.”

“Please don’t leave,” I begged.

“What?” Mom looked surprised. “I’m not leaving.”

I let out a long breath. “You aren’t?”

“Of course not.” Mom sat down next to me and took my hand. “Your dad and I are getting married
, and I want you to be my maid of honor.”

“Married! You’re getting married?”
I jumped up and grabbed my mom in an extremely exuberant hug.

“
Oh my God I am so happy,” I cried.

“Don’t I get a hug
?” Dad asked.

I let
Mom go long enough to hug my dad and then pulled them both into my arms.

“When?”

“Right away,” Mom answered. “We don’t want a big ceremony. Just you and Harper and Pappy.”

“And Zak
, of course,” Dad added.

“Are you sure? We can do something nice at Zak’s. It doesn’t have to be huge
, but you could invite a few friends and have a reception.”

“It seems a little silly to go to all th
at trouble at this point,” Mom said. “We have two children together.”

“Maybe
, but it’s the first and only wedding for both of you,” I pointed out. “Please think about it. I’ll do everything. All you’ll have to do is show up.”

Mom hesitated
and looked at Dad.

“We’d need to keep it small,” Dad insisted.

“You can make up the guest list,” I assured him.

“And I don’t think I want to bother with the whole white dress thing,” Mom added.

“We can do a theme. It will be fun and less formal,” I suggested.

“A theme?” Mom asked.

“Yeah.” I shrugged. “Like Hawaiian or nautical. We could all wear veils and do Arabian Nights.”

“I’m not wearing a v
eil,” Dad said.

“Can your dad and
I have a couple of days to talk about it?” Mom asked.

“Of course. It
is
your wedding. I’m just so thrilled you guys are finally getting hitched that I’ll be happy with whatever you decide.”

I picked up Harper
, who was propped up in her infant seat.

“Did you hear
?” I held her in my arms and looked into her bright blue eyes. “We’re going to have a daddy
and
a mommy.”

Harper smiled.

“Oh, I have to show you the outfits I got for her.” I adjusted my baby sis so that she was resting on my shoulder, then returned to the house for the bag of goodies I’d brought back from my trip.

“I got a bunch of things
, but this is my favorite.”

I held up a tiny lace dress in a pale yellow with a matching hat
that looked like something one would wear to a garden party.

“Adorable
.” Mom took it from me. “Maybe we should do afternoon garden party for our theme. The women could wear sundresses and floppy hats and the men could wear casual dress attire.”

“I love it,” I said.
And I did.

“Zak’s
deck and pool area is already pretty awesome, but we could add huge bouquets of flowers in a variety of bright and summery colors. I’m sure Hazel will help with the arrangements. She’s really into her flowers, and since she’s dating Pappy, we’ll have to invite her anyway. I can ask Ellie to cater the food, and I’m sure Levi will help set up. Jeremy can do the music.”

“Doesn’t Jeremy belong to a heavy metal band?” Dad asked.

“Yeah, but he can play all types of music. Give him a list of what you want and I’m sure he can do it. This is going to be so awesome.”

“And small,” Dad reminded me.

“Of course,” I agreed.

“If we
’re going to actually
have
a wedding, I’ll need to invite my parents and a few other members of my family,” Mom pointed out.

“I
’m sure that won’t be a problem,” I said. I looked at Dad, who was frowning. “We’ll just invite family and a few friends,” I assured him.

By the time the big day rolled around
, I would look back to this moment and realize how foolish I was to think that small was even a possibility.

“I’ve joined a dating site,” Ellie informed me after I’d returned to the boathouse to meet her for dinner. Both Charlie and Bella greeted me as I walked through the door as if I’d been away for days rather than a couple of hours. I gave them both welcoming hugs before answering.

“Dating site? Like online dating?”

“Basically.” Ellie followed me across the room as I headed to the back door to let the dogs out for a run on the beach. “You register and fill out a profile. After you do that, you’re given a list of men who seem to meet your requirements. Some of them live too far away to actually date, but others live in the general area.”