The Art of Wag (18 page)

His expression brightened. “Yes. She remembered me! And the store looks almost exactly the same. She’s probably selling different stuff I guess, but it still seems the same, you know?”

Tracy gestured toward the street. “Yeah, that’s my mom. She loves everybody, so the store always has a ‘come on in and look around a while’ feel to it.”

By the time dinner was over, Tracy had run out of Alpine Grove anecdotes. Todd paid the bill and they went outside, where the wind had picked up and a flurry of leaves were cavorting along the sidewalk. He put his arm around her shoulders to shield her from the wind. “I’m kind of glad I’m not out in the woods right now. It’s getting cold!”

She looked up into his deep blue eyes. “Do you want to go somewhere else? The same dive bars still lurk down the street if you want to get a glimpse of some more local color.”

Todd smiled. “No thanks. Do you want to come back to my room for a drink?”

Tracy’s back stiffened and she mentally cautioned herself not to do something dumb. “Um, well, I have to work tomorrow, so I probably shouldn’t.” No matter how cute he may be. “I live right down the street. We can walk down there and then say good night. I really do have to get up early. The vet clinic opens at eight and I have to get there at seven thirty to set up.”

Todd nodded. “All right. Maybe I can see you again, though.”

“Sure, that would be great. It’s been fun catching up.”

In front of her mom’s store, at the doorway leading up to her apartment, Tracy stopped. “This is me.”

“You live in your mother’s gift store?”

“Actually, upstairs above it. There’s an apartment.”

Todd looked surprised. And not in an “I’m impressed” way. More like a “you’re a loser” way. Tracy took one of his hands in hers. “Thank you for dinner. I had a great time.”

Todd suddenly let go of her hand, reached out, and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her to him. “Would you like me to come upstairs?”

Tracy shifted in his arms. Sure, she hadn’t had a date in long time, but this felt way too uncomfortable. “Maybe another time. My place is kind of a mess.” That was an understatement. He bent down and kissed her, triggering an unwelcome flashback to eighth grade. Maybe she was doing something wrong. She tried to readjust her head. What was he doing? It felt like she was kissing a trout. Was she really
this
out of practice? How pathetic.

He released his hold on her and a corner of his mouth turned up. “I’ll give you a call.”

“Okay. Thanks again for dinner. I had a great time.”

Tracy turned, slowly unlocked the door to the stairway up to her apartment, and watched as he strolled away. The traffic light was off for the day and flashing, which cast an eerie red glow on the blustery street. He certainly was handsome and obviously successful at whatever he did for the oil company. Maybe he really would call tomorrow. Or maybe he’d already written her off as a small-town loser.

As Tracy walked into her apartment, the strident yapping of her angry dachshund surrounded her. “Hi Roxy. I know I interrupted your evening routine, but I actually had a date.” Roxy paused, seeming to contemplate this news for a moment, but then resumed her angry diatribe.

Tracy waved her hands at the dog. “Quiet, Roxy! Let me check my messages, then we can go for a walk. You’re not gonna like it, though. It’s getting cold out there.”

Tracy pressed the button on her answering machine and heard Rob’s deep voice tell her that he hadn’t made it to Alpine Grove today, but would be there tomorrow afternoon. She looked down at Roxy. “I’m sure glad he didn’t show today. I forgot about it when the whole prospect of actually going out with a hot guy came up.” She grabbed the leash, bent down, and clipped it on the dog. “Okay little dog, let’s go.”

Roxy eagerly rushed to the door and Tracy picked her up for the journey down the stairs. They exited the stairwell and Tracy put the dog down on the sidewalk. A big gust of wind whipped at the small dog’s fur and Roxy looked up at Tracy in dismay.

Tracy moved forward, dragging the dog behind her. “I told you that you wouldn’t like it.” Roxy ran to a patch of grass, relieved herself, and turned back toward the gift store. Tracy followed the dog back to the doorway to the stairs. “You sure get a lot more efficient when the weather turns.”

The next day at the vet clinic was mercifully free of emergencies. Tracy was relieved to finally get the “easy” day that was supposed to have happened on Monday. At the end of the day, Tracy was doing the final accounting and looked up when Rob walked through the door. She pointed at his head. “Hey, you got a haircut.” The shorter hair lowered the
Scooby-Doo
factor somewhat. Shaggy’s hairstyle really wasn’t a good look for anybody. Rob’s hair was still sort of all over the place, but at least now there was less of it.

He leaned on the desk. “I can take a hint. And I never want to subject my hair to that nasty junk you put in it ever again.”

“You’re not going to forgive me for that, are you?”

“I’ll get over it. Are you ready to leave? We have a lot of work to do. Do you have any sketches I can look at yet?”

Tracy shook her head. The idea hadn’t even occurred to her. “I was busy. There was an urgent laundry situation and then an emergency here yesterday, so I had to work late. Are you staying at the H12?”

He rested his elbows on the counter. “Yes. It’s really kind of a dump, isn’t it?”

“I didn’t say it was nice. I said it was convenient. There’s a difference.”

“That’s true.” He turned and waved toward the greater Alpine Grove area. “It’s great that I can walk everywhere. I did some window shopping on my walk down here to the clinic. It was fun. And everyone is so friendly, which is such a change from LA. In the city, everyone walks around like they’re wearing blinders. Here people smile and talk to you. I met a lawyer standing outside his office and we had a nice chat.”

“Oh, that was Larry Lowell. He likes to get away from his desk and stand around watching the world go by. But hey, don’t knock anonymity. Here, it can take forever to get through the line at the grocery store. And then you’ll meet someone you know in the parking lot. But if you really want to get to know people, go to the post office. That’s where the real action is.”

Rob laughed. “You seem to have this place figured out. I should get you to write the copy for the web site too.”

“I’m not much of a writer, but I have lived here for a long time.” She paused. “Actually, I do know a writer who lives here, if you need one.”

“I’m starting to think you know everybody.”

Tracy put her notebook away and closed the drawer. “Sometimes it feels like it. I have some stuff to finish up here and then I need to walk my dog. Can I meet you in about an hour?”

“That sounds great. I’m in Room 2 at the H12. I think I’ll stop by the gift store on my way back. Isn’t that the store your mom owns?”

“Yup. Say ‘hi’ to Bea for me.”

After tending to Roxy, Tracy walked up to the H12 and found Rob’s room. The H12 was one of those motels that never seemed to change. It had looked pretty much the same for as long as Tracy could remember. Periodically, it would sport a new paint job and the owners would remodel the rooms somewhat, but the basic configuration remained. So no matter what cosmetic changes were made to it, the place always had a somewhat retro fifties motor-lodge feel to it.

Tracy knocked and strolled into the room when Rob opened the door. “Wow, I haven’t been here in a long time. This brings back memories.”

“What? Prom night?”

Tracy put her hands on her hips in mock indignation. “I beg your pardon. I was not that kind of girl.” Okay maybe she was, but not at the H12. Yuck. “It looks like you’ve got yourself a serious nerd set up going. I can’t believe you hauled all this computer stuff up here.”

Rob surveyed the room, which was outfitted with a folding table loaded down with a computer, a printer, and a large monitor. “I’m used to dragging around computer boxes. That’s your workstation. I have a laptop over here.” He pointed to a small computer on the desk.

“You have a laptop? Those things cost a fortune.”

“Actually, it’s the one I use for work. Don’t tell. But I’m just going to be calculating costs and writing up the quote. You get to use my good computer that has Photoshop on it.”

A knot formed in Tracy’s stomach. “Maybe we should go get something to eat. There’s a little cafe right around the corner.”

Rob’s brows pulled together. “We really need to get started on this. We’ve only got a few days to figure out what this whole huge site is going to look like. I set up the meeting for Sunday, since it’s your day off. And I already lost a day getting here, because I had to do an emergency network installation yesterday.”

“There are networking emergencies?”

“Yes. The company couldn’t communicate with the home office, so they were freaking out. When people lose money, it’s an emergency. The boss wouldn’t let me go until I fixed it.”

“Yeah, like I said, we had an emergency at the vet clinic too, if that makes you feel better.”

Rob looked horrified. “No, it doesn’t. Was an animal hurt? What happened?”

“A dog had a run-in with a large tree branch. This type of thing happens a lot in hunting season.”

“Is the dog okay? That sounds bad.”

Tracy smiled at his expression. “Max is going to be fine. But he has to wear an E-collar, so now he’s a conehead. That’s probably making him cranky.”

“I think your emergency trumps mine. Still, all this means that we’re behind schedule. We need to get to work.”

Tracy glanced over at the computer. “It can wait until after we eat, right? I’m starving.”

“I suppose so. But then we really need to get started.”

“Whatever you say.”

Rob insisted that they get their meals from the cafe to go, so they could work. Tracy capitulated unwillingly and carried her little white bag of food back to the motel. After they got inside, she put down the bag, kicked off her shoes, and flopped down on her stomach on one of the beds. She waved her stockinged feet back and forth. “My feet are killing me. All that time standing on the hard floor at the clinic wears me out.”

Rob turned on the computer and monitor on the table. “Maybe you should get some new shoes.”

“I have some shoe inserts, but they’re kind of worn out.” She rolled over on her back with her feet hanging off the end of the bed. “I’m tired.”

Rob grabbed her bag of food from the table and handed it to her. “Eat something. You’ll feel better. Then we can get to work.”

Tracy took the bag from him and sat up cross-legged. “Okay. Thanks for feeding me again.” She took a huge bite from her sandwich and chewed ravenously.

Rob sat down at the desk and flipped the switch on the laptop. “You have to be one of the hungriest women I have ever met. Don’t you ever eat?”

“It’s hard to get a free moment at the clinic. I buy frozen food when it goes on sale. When I get a chance, I pop one into the microwave. A lot of times it’s when Dr. C is busy doing surgery and I can monitor the anesthesia machine while I eat.”

Rob frowned. “You eat while she’s cutting up dogs and cats?”

“By then I’m usually starving. If I don’t eat, I get a headache.”

With a look of distaste, Rob took a bite of his sandwich and put it down. He walked over to the table with the large computer and monitor, bent over the keyboard, and poked at some keys. “This is all ready to go.”

Tracy flopped back down on her back. “I think Jon and Annabelle finally got new beds in here. This one is actually comfortable. I’m just going to digest for a minute.” She put her hands behind her head and closed her eyes.

Rob said sharply, “What are you doing?”

Tracy opened her eyes. “I told you, I’m resting. What’s your problem?”

“Is there something you’re not telling me?” Rob walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed. “We need to get started. If you’re going to back out on me, now would be a really good time to let me know. Because I’ve got to make a whole lot of calls, if that’s what’s going to happen.”

Tracy sat up. “No. I’m just waiting for creative inspiration.”

“You’d be a lot more prepared for that blast of inspiration if you actually sat at the computer. Why are you avoiding it?”