Chez Stinky (22 page)

Mark raised his eyebrows and began to wave his clippers at her again. Kat interrupted him before he could say anything. “I quit. Feel free to give the ancient gum-filled chair in my dark hole of an office to someone else. Give my last check to Maria. She’ll get it to me.”

Kat spun around and left his office without another word. She stopped by her cubicle and slammed her personal belongings back into the beat-up banker’s box. Picking up the box, she left the building for the last time.

At her apartment, the red light on Kat’s answering machine was flashing frantically. Given the speed of the office grapevine, she figured Maria would have called by now. Kat pressed the button and her friend’s voice burst forth from the machine.

“Kat! Where are you? What happened? There’s a rumor going around you slapped Mark. I hope you did. Call me!”

Kat smiled. She had wanted to slap him. Too bad. Another missed opportunity. The next message was from Cindy Ross.

“Kat, this is Cindy. I don’t understand how you leash up the dogs. I’m confused. Call me back.”

Uh-oh. What had Cindy done? Whatever she did, it was undoubtedly too late now. Cindy knew Kat was at work. Maybe she had left a message there, too. Oh well. She definitely wasn’t getting that message.

The next message played. “Hi, Kat, it’s Joel. I had to untangle Cindy from the dogs. Could you call me when you get a chance? Thanks.”

Kat sighed. Part of her lamented the loss of her job. The other part missed Murphee and the dogs. Not to mention Joel. Looking around her lonely apartment, she decided to pack up and go back to Alpine Grove. It was only two hours away and driving might distract her from her newly unemployed status.

She called Cindy back and left a message that she would be there to do the afternoon walk. Then she called Maria at work.

Maria picked up and asked about Kat’s whereabouts again. “Some people are saying you kicked Mark in the nuts. Did you?”

“No I didn’t do that or slap him, either. Sorry. But I did quit.”

“I was hoping he’d been kicked. The idea of him bent over clutching the family jewels just made my day.”

“Well, I wanted to, if that makes you feel better. I think I do know why he rearranged the office though.”

“Why? No one can figure it out.”

“When I was driving back to my apartment, I thought about what he said to me before I quit. First, he told me I wasn’t pretty enough to work there and I needed to go home and change my outfit. Then he asked where my cubicle was. I told him it was in the back and he said that was good. I think he’s arranged people so the people he thinks are pretty are in the front of the office and the people he thinks are ugly are in the back.”

Maria didn’t say anything for a moment, apparently digesting this information. “I’m looking at the map. I don’t think you’re right. I’m in the middle, and I’m fabulous. And you were at the back because he forgot you. I’m sorry, but you’re not ugly. Mark may be stupid, but he isn’t blind.”

“Well, you told me he forgot I existed at all, so that doesn’t count. Look at the rest of the people. Think about it. Rebecca could be a runway model. She’s right up front. And Chris, the former actor, is pretty, too. He has the first office on the left. Oliver has a weight problem; he’s in the back.”

“Hmm. I don’t know about that. But I’m going out for the walk with the ladies at lunch. I’ll see what they think. Maybe we can plot a revolution. I feel a rebellion coming on!”

“Good luck with the insurrection. I’m going back to Alpine Grove. Cindy is having some problem with the dogs, and I hate being here without Murph, anyway. I miss her. My apartment is too quiet and depressing. I don’t have a job now, so there’s no reason to stay.”

After Kat hung up the phone, she began packing. She slowly placed her things into her suitcase. What if she moved permanently to Chez Stinky? The idea was not as far-fetched as it had been a few weeks ago. She had to leave her apartment eventually and now she had no job, as well. The real question was what could she do in Alpine Grove to make money? There didn’t seem to be much call for tech writers. She needed to do something or she’d starve. Unemployment had some unpleasant implications. Plus, she might go stir crazy in such a tiny town. Being on vacation was one thing, but living there permanently was another. Maybe she could find some other type of job. That was another dreary thought. Being a writer had been her dream for as long as she could remember. She didn’t want to do something else.

Kat shook her head, wishing she could cast out all the confusing thoughts clattering through her mind. Maybe walking through the trees and feeling the calmness of the forest would help her think more clearly so she could figure out what to do with the rest of her life.

Chapter 7

D
uring the two-hour drive, Kat slowly relaxed. It was a relief to be leaving her job and the city behind again. By the time she got to Chez Stinky, she was even happy to see the pot holes in the driveway and the huge ugly gray tarp on the roof.

Linus and Lori came shooting out from behind the house. Kat jumped out of the Toyota and crouched down to greet them. She hugged Linus around the neck, digging her fingers into his great fluffy mane. “I missed you guys!” Lori wagged so hard her whole body moved back and forth. Kat stroked the smooth fur on the dog’s head and rubbed her soft tulip ears.

“Okay, let’s all go for a walk. I heard the last one didn’t go too well.” Kat went around to the back and found Tessa bouncing up and down in the basement. Chelsey emerged from under her table and wagged happily when she saw Kat. After hooking up Linus and Tessa, the group went out to the forest trail.

As the other three dogs ran ahead, Kat and Chelsey strolled through the trees. The birds in the tree canopy above were whistling and trilling, having a complex conversation about the state of the arboreal universe. Swallows twittered and swooped through the branches. Kat stopped for a moment and closed her eyes, letting the sounds and fragrances of the forest wash over her as the tension left her body. Chelsey stood next to her, wagging her tail. She tilted her head back to look up at Kat, causing her ears to flop backward.

Kat gazed down at the dog. “It’s good to be back, little girl. I missed you and this place more than you can imagine. Definitely more than I thought I would. Now I need to find a way to stay here. First, I have to talk to Larry and Louise and find out exactly what I need to do to keep this place.” She reached down to pet the dog. “What do you think, Chelsey? Would that work for you?”

The typical worried expression Chelsey often had on her face had disappeared. She looked happy and hopped backwards a couple of times to demonstrate her enthusiasm.

Kat nodded. “Good girl. We’ll figure it out.”

After the walk, Kat called Joel. “What happened with Cindy?”

“She had a problem with Tessa’s leash arrangement. I definitely know what you mean by clotheslined now. You may need to find someone else to walk the dogs.”

“That’s okay. I’m back at the house again. I drove up this afternoon and walked the dogs. Cindy’s off the hook. I don’t suppose there’s another dog walker in Alpine Grove, is there?”

“No, Cindy is the only one. Having a monopoly works for her. I thought you had to work?”

“Not anymore. It’s a long and stupid story. Suffice it to say, you’re not the only one who is unemployed anymore. I’m joining you in embracing my inner slacker.”

Joel chuckled. “You’re making me feel better about my slacker-hood. I’m sorry about your job, though.”

“It’s okay. To be honest, for a long time my job was fine. Not great, but not horrible, either. Mostly I was afraid of losing it because then I wouldn’t be able to pay my rent. I do love writing, but by the time I got back up here, all I felt was a big sense of relief that I never have to go back to that office. Also, I think my boss may be losing his mind. He was always a little odd, but he went off the deep end when I asked him about a deadline. When he called my work useless, something in me snapped.”

“Useless? It sounds like you’re better off.”

Kat shrugged. “Maybe. Being unemployed does have some financial downsides, though. I need to figure out how to qualify to receive Abigail’s inheritance, so I can stay here and afford to fix up the place. And of course, figure out what to do with the rest of my life.”

“I can relate to that problem. I’m still working on it.”

“I guess we need to figure out what we want to be when we grow up. So far I’ve learned I can write well and walk dogs even better than a professional dog walker. It’s a unique skill set.”

“People pay Cindy. Maybe this town needs another dog walker.”

“I don’t want to go into town for the same reason she doesn’t want to come out here. It’s too far to go back and forth every day. I bet I’m not the only one who has this problem. People go on trips and they can’t get anyone to take care of their dogs because they live too far out of town. What if people brought their dogs to me? Is there a dog boarding kennel around here?”

“Not that I know of. It would be easy to find out.”

A little tingle ran up the back of Kat’s neck as an idea started to take shape. “I’ve got to walk my dogs anyway, so I can walk other people’s dogs at the same time. I could still write, too. Maybe I could be a freelance magazine writer. They don’t care where you live or when you write. Even if I wrote in the middle of the night, they wouldn’t care.”

“Maybe. I think you need to work on the getting-money idea first. Where would you put the dogs you’re going to be boarding?”

“I could build a kennel. The building could be back in the clearing.” Kat’s mind began racing as she considered the possibilities. “The driveway for the kennel could go off to the left, away from the house, with a circular driveway. I could gate off this section of the driveway to the house, so people don’t end up on my doorstep. But the dogs would still be close enough for me to take care of them. I could take them out for walks, feed them, and then write articles in between. Maybe I could set up some fenced-in areas for doggie play yards too.” Kat paused in her stream-of-consciousness brainstorming. “The other night, I forgot to ask you about the roofer. What’s his name?”

“John Wolf. He’s in the phone book under Contractors. He helped me fix the roof on this place.”

“Thanks! I need to make some calls.” Kat paused for a second. Was she overwhelming Joel with all this entrepreneurial inspiration? “So are you going to be around? I was hoping I could see you again. Soon.”

Joel paused before saying, “I’m not sure. It looks like I may have someone visiting this weekend. I’ll give you a call, okay?”

Kat hung up the phone and rested her hand on the receiver. Was Joel regretting the kiss the other night? If the visitor was the mysterious Allison, he might be trying to distance himself. Dwelling on that idea was way too depressing. Best to think about new opportunities instead. Kat got out a legal pad and started making notes about her new business idea.

Before she could move forward with her boarding-kennel idea, Kat needed to get a better understanding of the terms of Abigail’s will. She picked up the phone to call Larry.

He answered on the second ring. Perhaps things were slow at the law offices today. “Larry, I was hoping I could see a copy of Aunt Abigail’s will. I have decided to stay here in Alpine Grove permanently, so I need to understand all the stipulations.”