Halloween Hijinks (A Zoe Donovan Mystery Book 1) (12 page)

I flashed both men a look of sincere gratitude
. “Thank you. You saved me big time.”

“Happy to help
.” Zak smiled.

If Zak wasn’t careful
, I was going to stop resenting him and start liking him, a circumstance I figured would be strange and unfamiliar to both of us. As I looked around the table, I realized that, as big a fan as I am of a smooth and consistent equilibrium, that particular state was most likely a thing of the past.

“I should get going,” Levi interrupted my rumination
s. “I still have a lot to do to get ready for the game. Should we meet up after?”

“Everyone can come over
to the boathouse, if you want,” I offered. “We can make a fire in the pit and have a few cocktails.”

“Sounds good
.” Levi kissed me on the cheek. “See you then.”

“Good luck,” I called after him.

“Yeah, break a leg,” Ellie said.

“I don’t think you
’re supposed to say that before a football game.” Zak laughed. “Would the two of you like a ride to the game? We can leave the extra cars at Zoe’s.”

“Sounds
good to me.” Ellie grinned. “I need to make a few stops before the game,” I announced. “How about we meet at my place at four? That way we can get to the game early and get good seats.”

As Charlie and I drove toward the shelter so that I could check on the whereabouts of the other ten rescue dogs, I thought about how important it was to have good friends
. I knew that whatever happened, Levi, Ellie, and even Zak would be there to share my ups and downs, my triumphs and my failures. Yes, things were changing, but I only needed to change with them and a new equilibrium could be found.

“Who’s this?” Ellie asked as she walked in the door of the boathouse several hours later.

“Maggie,” I answered
. “She’s one of the rescue dogs and very pregnant. I couldn’t just leave her at the shelter to have her puppies, so I brought her home.”

“Uh
-oh.” Ellie grinned. “Seems like the last time you brought an animal home from the shelter he was here to stay.”

Ellie wasn’t wrong
, Marlow and Spade had both been shelter cats who had come for a visit and stayed. Besides, I was already a little in love with Maggie, a purebred Australian shepherd with black and tan markings and a white chest. In spite of the fact that she had endured intolerable living circumstances for who knew how long, she was surprisingly sweet and gentle.

Ellie knelt down to pet her
, and Maggie licked her face. She gently set a paw on her lap, as if to communicate her appreciation for the small amount of attention she was being granted. Her timid disposition made me want to cry. Poor little thing. I just hoped she had enough strength to deliver her pups when the time came.

“She’s so skinny,” Ellie commented.

“I know. I’m worried about the pups. I had Scott give her a physical before I brought her home. She’s been through a lot: beatings, starvation, filthy living conditions. Scott gave me a high-calorie, nutrition-dense dog food to give her, as well as a whole suitcase full of supplements. He doesn’t think she’s as far along as she looks. We’re hoping she’ll have time to gain some weight before she delivers.”

“Are the other rescues in this bad shape?”

“They aren’t in good shape,” I admitted.

“I’ve been thinking about getting a
dog.”

“Come by the shelter and take a look
. I have to warn you, though, that most of the rescues are going to need a gentle hand.”

“Are they aggressive?”

“There are two dogs I’m worried about. We’re going to keep them at the shelter for a month at least so we can evaluate them before we adopt them out. The other dogs are more skittish than they are aggressive.”

When I arrived at the football field I realized that the pregame hijinks that had gripped our town for the past week had changed to Halloween hijinks. Not only was almost every spectator from our team decked out in costume but the goalposts had been wrapped in orange and black crepe paper, a stunt that earned Levi a warning from the head referee and delayed the start of the game by twenty minutes while they were unwrapped.

The cheerleaders
had ditched their new uniforms to dress up as sexy vampires, and the team’s mascot, Popeye the Bulldog, was wearing a devil cape and horns. “Monster Mash” blasted from the stadium speakers as we waited for the game to begin.

“You people really like your holidays,”
A woman I recognized as being one of the teachers from Bryton Lake Academy, said as she sat down next to Zak.

As totally strange as this may sound
, I actually felt a little jealous when Zak introduced himself and started up a conversation with the very voluptuous educator. I hate to admit it, but Zak is a handsome man. Add that to the fact that he has a ridiculous amount of money and that makes him one of the most eligible bachelors in the entire state. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that the woman was coming on to Zak the way she was. Just because I’ve never considered him to be date material doesn’t mean everyone else with a double X chromosome looks at him in precisely that way.

I tried to focus on what was happening down on the field
, but I had to actually stifle a gag when I overheard the woman say that she had a few tricks up her sleeve if Zak was up for a treat. Seriously? Wasn’t she a little old for trick-or-treat?

“Something wrong?
” Ellie asked. “You were scowling.”

“I wasn’t scowling,” I countered.

Ellie raised an eyebrow, silently challenging me to defend my position.

“Okay, maybe I
was
scowling. The conversation to my left is so syrupy nauseating that I’m having a hard time keeping down my lunch.”

Ellie leaned forward so she could look around me
. She noticed the woman talking to Zak and smiled.

“What’s that for?
” I challenged.

“What’s what for?” she asked innocently.

“That smile.”

“I can’t smile
?” Her grin broadened.

“Not when the smile means something that totally isn’t true,” I reasoned.

“Sometimes a smile is just a smile.” Ellie’s entire face lit up.

I turned to look at Zak
, who was whispering something in the woman’s ear that made her blush.

“I’m not jealous,” I whispered.

“I never said you were.” Ellie tried to hide her grin.

“I don’t even like Zak.”

“I know.”

“It’s just that it’s rude to carry on so…so…” I was rarely ever lost for words
, so this was a new experience for me.

“There’s Levi
.” Ellie drew my attention back to the field as Levi and the rest of the coaching staff jogged onto the field. The band started playing the school fight song as the team ran onto the field behind them. As the guys settled in to perform warm-ups, Levi tossed a pumpkin toward the center, who playfully hiked it to the quarterback. I was glad to see that playful Levi had showed up for the game. After all he’d been through, serious and cranky Levi could have been here just as easily.

“Isn’t he great
?” Ellie gushed.

“
Freakin’ wonderful.” Oops jealous Zoe was back.

Ellie frowned at me.

“I’m just kidding.” I tried for the happiest, most carefree voice I could muster. Apparently I was a real bitch when change that I couldn’t control came knocking at my door. “You know I love Levi. Leave it to him to bring his funny side to the game in spite of everything that’s happened. It’s no wonder the kids love him so much.”

I couldn’t help but smile as Levi chased Popeye around the field as the team filed toward the sideline to allow the opposing team a few minutes of warm-up. The fact that his entire team was cracking up was awesome, but the look of horror on the opposing coach’s stuffy, prep-school face was priceless.

“Look, there’s Samantha Collins.” I pointed her out among the opposing players.

“I thought she was crazy for wanting to play on the team, but her involvement sure has gotten her a lot of attention.  I bet she’s the most popular girl at her school,” Ellie speculated.

“Or the most unpopular,” I countered.  “Sometimes being a trendsetter isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.”

“Yeah, I guess.  Oh good, they’re starting.”

Even though
the Bulldogs’ star player was in the hospital, the guys held their own and the game ended with a score of Beavers 24–Bulldogs 21. It was a close game that had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I felt bad that our team lost, but the guys seemed to be taking the loss in stride in spite of the fact that it was most likely the biggest game of their high school career. Levi was smiling as he jogged with his team to the locker-room, and I hoped he was taking the defeat as well as he seemed to be.

“Poor Levi
.” Ellie sighed as we walked toward the parking lot.

“I don’t know;
he seemed okay to me.”

“Yeah, I guess he did.”

“Levi isn’t one to take things too seriously,” Zak commented. “He knows how to focus and work hard when it’s important to do so, but he also knows how to let go and relax when the situation calls for it.”

“Do you think we should wait for Levi?” Ellie asked as we arrived at the parking lot.

“I really should get home to check on Maggie,” I
said. “I’m sure he’ll be along as soon as he finishes with the team.”

“Yeah, you’re right.
” Ellie climbed into the backseat of Zak’s truck although she was obviously disappointed to be leaving without Levi.

It was a beautiful night. The air was calm, the sky clear, and a million bright stars blanketed the night sky. The four of us sat around the fire Zak had built, sipping on some secret recipe that tasted a lot like pure alcohol. I closed my eyes and listened to the waves from the nearby lake lap gently onto the shore. It was moments like these, when I was comfortable in my corner of the world with my friends and my animals, that I felt the peaceful serenity of the forest surrounding me.

A lone coyote howled in the distance as Ellie laughed at something Levi said. Charlie and Maggie slept
at my feet, while Lambda slept behind us. Normally Charlie would be hanging with Lambda, but Maggie was feeling insecure and therefore was glued to my side, and I suspected Charlie’s loyalty to me had more to do with jealousy than anything else. Technically I’d only agreed to keep Maggie until she’d weaned her pups, but deep in my heart I knew Ellie was right: Charlie and I had a new housemate.

“Are you sleeping?
” Zak asked.

“Um,” I replied.

“You’re missing an awesome meteor shower.”

I opened my eyes as streams of light shot through the sky
. “Did you like the house?” I asked. I’m not sure why the fact that Zak had planned to take a look at my grandfather’s house popped into my head at that exact moment. I suppose when you let your brain relax for a moment it remembers all the stuff you hadn’t even realized you’d forgotten.

“I did
,” he said. “There are things I’d like to change if I buy it, but the location is fantastic and the basic floor plan acceptable.”

“So you’re going to buy it?”

“I might.” Zak paused. “How would you feel about it if I do?”

Good question
. I found that having Zak around wasn’t nearly as astringent as it once was. I wouldn’t say that under normal circumstances I’d seek out his company, but I realized that I no longer wanted to gouge his eyes out when I saw him. I figure I must be mellowing in my old age.

“I guess it would be okay.”

“Then I guess I’ll have a conversation with your grandfather.”

I smiled a tiny little smile that would
n’t be noticed. I would never admit it to anyone, but I found I was glad Zak would be my new neighbor. I loved my secluded little cove, but having someone just around the bend wouldn’t be all that bad. The fact that it was Zak should have horrified me, but somehow it didn’t. Maybe change wasn’t so bad after all.

The next morning I realized I shouldn’t have worried about not having any zombies for the run; sleep deprivation had apparently turned me into a zombie myself, hoping for a juicy brain to fuel my empty soul. The only saving grace to an impossible situation was that an angel of mercy had shown up even earlier than me and had set everything up, including the registration table, time clock, and finish line. I leaned against a post and closed my eyes. For the first time in my life I really understood how someone could sleep standing up.

“Morning,” a voice penetrated the mist that exists between sleep and wakefulness.