Acquiring Trouble (13 page)

"What can I do?"

"I thought it was just suspicious that it happened the day after
Morgan came to see me."

"What?"
Miles bolted up from the bench.

"She stopped by yesterday and gave the Top Producers pitch. I turned her down flat and then the next morning I w
o
ke up to find my pigs poisoned. I wanted to know if you
could
do something about it."

"I'll talk to Marshall an
d Katelyn and see what
they say. I'll
let you know what I find out."

Miles hung up and im
mediately his phone rang again.

"Hey, Marshall. I just got off the phone with Tabby. What's going on?"

"I don't know. Katelyn's equipment
isn’t
up to testing for most poisons, so she's sent it off. It'll take a week most likely. Do you think Morgan did this?"

"I don't think so, but I'll keep an eye on her."

"Let me know if you find an
ything out," Marshall told him.

"Will do. See you in a couple days for tux fittings."

Miles
lay
back down
on the bench and lifted the weighted
bar above his chest. He c
oncentrated on his breathing
as he added more reps
, wondering if Morgan
was really capable of poisoning.
The madness
and
confusion w
ere
driving him to push himself harder. She was a delinquent, but when he kissed her he felt as if she was part of him. Who was the real Morgan Hamilton?

*
    
*
    
*

Miles
pushed opened the door to Katelyn's veterinary clinic and walked into a packed waiting room. Bill's tail wagged as he walked confidently th
rough the sea of cats and dogs.

"Miles. How
ya
doing?" Shelly asked from behind the receptionist desk.

"Fine thanks."

"I heard the tux fitting last week went well. My sister-in-law
'
s
best friend’
s
second
cousin works in alterations and she said that the ladies were fighting over helping y'all. A little tip
—y
ou might want to tell the guys not to walk out of the dressing room in only their tux pants. Y'all almost got old Mrs. Scranton trampled by young seamstresses. Oh! And who is this handsome young man?"

"Shelly, meet Bill." Bill sat up and held out his paw to shake. "Katelyn said she got the test results
back and I hope she doesn't mind, but Bill's a rescue and I wanted him to be checked out."

"That's fine. Come on,
hon
,
let me take you to an exam room.
Katelyn wanted to see you right away to give you the test results.
"

Miles walked through the lobby and int
o the exam room with pictures of
puppies on the wall.
The past week
and a half
had been quiet. There had been no more incidents of poison or other
mischief
. Morgan hadn't acted strangely and while people weren't happy to have her driving all over the state trying to persuade them to force
the
sale of Family Farms, they
hadn't complained about any inappropriate behavior on her part.
Miles was seeing her again tonight for their second official date, even though he had checked up on her a couple of times
since their last date.
Especially when he found out Top Producers was doing everything they could to d
elay the grocery store deal, or at least that’s
the reason he told himself
he was
calling her
. Deep down he knew it was because he couldn’t get her out of her mind. The way they talked, the way they l
aughed and the way they kissed.

The door opened and Katelyn came in
wearing scrubs and a white jacket with her name embroidered on the breast pocket. She smiled at Miles before sitting on the ground
to introduce herself to Bill. Bill looked at her with his big round brown eyes
,
and Miles watched as Katelyn fell under his spell.

"He's adorable! I didn't know you had a dog, Miles."

"Bill's a rescue. He just
kinda
found me
a couple months ago
."
Miles shrugged his shoulders as he remembered Bill sitting on his porch.

"That's how it usually works. So, I got the tests back from
Auburn.
Old Tabby's pigs were poisoned with ANTU. Usually they die from hypoxia within
2 – 4
hours of ingestion. Pigs that survive over 12
hours will most likely recover, which is why the younger ones lived. They had healthier systems to begin with.
"

"Could this be something they accidently got into?"
Miles asked.

"Maybe decades ago when it was used some for rodent control, but not anymore.
I’ve
already talked to Tabby and he said he doesn't use it anywhere on his farm. It was definitely a case of intentional poisoning
. And, before you ask,
I’ve
checked around the area and there ha
ve been no other cases of this."
Katelyn stroked B
ill's head, which
he had rested on her
leg.

"That's very interesting. I assumed you told Marshall already."

"Yes. He's also brought Noodle in on this. Our wedding is just a couple weeks away and we want someone to know all the details in case something happen
s
while we
are
on our honeymoon."

"That sounds like a good idea
."

"Now, let me see this cutie. My, you're a sweet old man, aren't you?
" Katelyn looked at Bill's teeth, "Probably nine years old or so." She finished running her hands over his long body and tested his
joints. "He's in great shape. I must commend you for deciding to keep him. Older rescues are the hardest to find homes for. I think you two will be good for each other.
"

"Thanks Katelyn." Miles patted his leg and Bill jumped up
from the ground, "L
et's go bud."

*
    
*
    
*

Morgan pulled
back right in time for an
other door to slam in her face.
David was so not going to like this. She ha
d only managed to secure ten
more signatures
this week
. Any means necessary was what David had told her and it looked like she was going to have
to up the ante to defeat Miles.

She didn’t want to hurt him. He'd shown her such kindness
since she came back to Keeneston.
And their date had been so romantic. She loved his dry sense of humor and the way he always seemed to be looking out for her. He would casually guide her through a crowd, hold the door for her
,
and make sure she was having a good time. Not to mention the way her body caught on fire when he just looked at her. Oh, and when
he kissed her!
His lips were a gift
—t
hat was the only explanation because the way he kissed was enough to turn a saint to a sinner
.

Tonight was their second date. She knew she was crossing a line by dating her opposition, but it wasn't like she hadn't crossed the line a c
ouple of times during her life. She couldn’t stop touching her lips, remembering the feel of their kiss. 

They had both been busy trying to defeat one another
in business
so they had decided to have dinner at the Blossom Café.
She was sure he was doing just as much travel
ing
as she was. When Miles suggested mee
ting at the c
afé, Morgan
actually
became
more nervous. Everyone in town would know about the date
wit
hin the next couple of minutes and
that
would only heighten the gossip being flung about.

Morgan pulled down Main Street
and silently laughed at the confused faces
debat
ing
whether
they should
wave or not. Apparently her car was similar to a very popular resident,
and
everyone
was taken aback
. For the past two weeks people start
ed
to automatically wave and then
would
stop
midway
to peer
into the tinted window
s
to see if they should
continue
or turn and run.

Morgan park
ed her car and headed into the c
afé. Conversation stopped momentarily before the gossip started back up. She looked around and found Miles sitting at his usual table in the back of
the
room. The closer she
walked
to him, the quieter the people
became
. When he stood up, smiled, and helped her into the chair she could have sworn
she felt a tidal wave of air as every head turned
to look.

"It
's good to see you again, Morgan," Miles said as he scooted her seat forward.

"You
too. How are
all the
wedding details coming along?"
s
he asked
,
trying to think of safe topics.

"Great. Katelyn is going to be a beautiful bride according to my sister.
I'
m playing the dutiful best man role and have made sure all the groomsmen make it to all the required events and such."

"
Just two weeks away. Are you all having a wild bachelor party?"

"No. We're just having our weekly poker night and the girls are getting together too. Now, let's talk about something more interesting." Miles' voice dropped and she fel
t her
heart instantly pick up.

"Morgan! What are you do
ing here?"
t
he shrill voice of one of her worst nightmar
es squealed in fake excitement.

"
Kandi
Chase, as I live and
breathe
! It's so good to see you
.
" Morgan plastered on her best screw
-
you
-
with
-
a
-
smile face and looked up into two huge things that weren't there when
Kandi
was tormenting her in high school. "My goodness! You sure
have changed since high school,
" Morgan
said as she
pointed to them.

Kandi
thrust her chest forward, "
I know! Aren't the girls lovely?
Men love them, don't they Miles?" Morgan choked when
Kandi
thrust them toward Miles.

"I'm sure your husband enjoys them. After all, he did buy them for you."
And there it was, one of the reasons Morgan had fallen
for
Miles
in high school.
The
very dry sense of humor he used to cut people down
without them even realizing it.

"Why don't you find out for yourself
,
B
achelo
r
N
umber
O
ne
?
"
Kandi
thrust the girls
toward his face
causing
him
to lean so far back Morgan thought
he'd tip over.

"No thank
you. Oh, look, there's your husband now."

Morgan stifled her laughter at the relieved sound
of his
vo
ice as a balding man with a pot
belly walked in and looked around.
Morgan watched as
Kandi
gave a pout with her fully injected lips before she turned to flounce her way to her husband.

"Bachelor
N
umber
O
ne?"
s
he asked as Miss Daisy put their order on the table.