Making It Right (Most Likely To #3)

Cherie shook her head.

“Sampson is your chief around here, right?” The dog whose name Jo said jerked his head her way.

“Right.”

“And Jezebel needs to stay because of the puppies, and your seniors aren’t going anywhere.”

Cherie caught on to what Jo was doing.

“The way I see it,” Jo said. “Those are the four dogs you keep.”

“But—”

“Old dogs don’t live forever,” Jo reminded her. “It’s possible that you could end up with one or two of these back before you know it.”

The woman looked like she was going to cry.

“And if we find homes in River Bend, you can visit them.”

When Cherie sniffed, it took effort to not join the woman in her loss. “We can do this.”

“I hate this.”

Jo didn’t like it either. “And as soon as the vet says it’s possible, you fix Jezebel. No reason to repeat this heartbreak.”

Cherie walked her to the front door, two of the dogs followed while the others found their beds and curled into balls for a morning nap.

“Jo.” Cherie stopped her before walking out.

“Yeah?”

“Sampson’s son, Noah, sure would make a good police dog.”

The dog at Cherie’s left lifted his head to her hand.

Jo smiled. “Let’s try and find Noah a proper home first.”

Cherie released a long-suffering sigh and closed the door behind her.





Chapter Sixteen




Gill really wanted to party with Miss Gina. From the smell of the lemonade she was drinking, it appeared she was already ahead of him.

Wyatt and Luke fixed him up at breakfast, introduced him to more people than Gill thought a small town could hold, then brought him out to Miss Gina’s, where he’d spent most of the day pulling boxes out of the bed-and-breakfast’s attic.

It appeared that Miss Gina held no concern for putting a complete stranger to work within seconds of meeting him.

“Are we looking for anything in particular?” Luke asked, wiping the grime from his forehead.

“I have a box of old photographs, the kind captured on film and not some camera phone. Felix was asking for old images of this place for Zoe’s show.”

Apparently Zoe was some sort of famous chef who spent a fair amount of time filming her talents for those television food shows. Not that Gill had ever heard of her, or ever watched the food networks. From all the praise he’d heard since arriving at Miss Gina’s, Gill looked forward to sampling the woman’s cooking.

“If we’re looking for pictures, why have I taken ten boxes out to the back porch?” Wyatt asked.

“Since I have three muscle-bound men at my disposal, I’m going to use you.” Miss Gina knelt next to a cardboard box and blew dust off the top before opening the thing. Inside sat a bunch of Christmas decorations. “I forgot all about these. Here, Luke, take this down.”

“You’re killing me, Miss Gina.”

“Zoe would approve.” She stood and nudged the box with her foot in Luke’s direction.

“Is this what you’re looking for?” Wyatt lifted a handful of loose pictures over another box.

Miss Gina wore a long skirt and a long-sleeved shirt that belonged back in 1965. The only thing missing was the flower in her long, gray-streaked hair. “Let me see those.”

The woman removed the pictures from Wyatt’s hands and filtered through them.

She smiled. “Ah, yes.”

Wyatt leaned down, picked up the box he’d removed the pictures from. “So we’re done here.”

Miss Gina glanced around, removed a blanket from old children’s toys. Including a creepy-ass doll that belonged in a horror film.

Gill was happy to see the thing made Wyatt shiver. “What the hell is that?”

Miss Gina didn’t answer the question. “Maybe we should bring this stuff down, too. Considering there’s a baby on the way.”

Wyatt took the blanket from Miss Gina’s hand, tossed it over the doll. “No kid of mine is going to have that haunting their dreams.”

Miss Gina rolled her eyes. “Wimp.”

“Whatever.” Wyatt lifted the box. “That shit stays here.”

“Grab that box, Gill. I’m sure it has more of these pictures.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Miss Gina scowled. “Not sure I like that ma’am stuff. I’m not old.”

“Treading on thin ice, Gill,” Luke warned as he made his way to the pull-down ladder that brought them up to the attic.

He backed down first, and then stood ready to help Miss Gina.

The woman made some crack about Luke looking up her skirt that had Gill chuckling.

“She’s quite the character,” he said to Wyatt.

“You haven’t seen anything yet.”

They left the attic, folded the stairs back up where they belonged, and then lugged the remaining boxes out to the back deck with the others. Miss Gina instructed Gill and Wyatt to take the boxes with decorations to her garage to go through later while she and Luke opened a box full of photographs and spread them out.

“So your wife is pregnant?” Gill asked.

Wyatt grinned. “Yeah, crazy.”

“Congratulations.”

“Thanks. We’re excited. She wanted to keep it quiet for a while, but Jo and Zoe figured it out.”

“The women seem tight,” Gill said.

“They’re like sisters. Look out for each other, give each other crap about everything. It’s nice.” Wyatt pushed the boxes onto a top shelf above the garden tools in the garage.

“How long have you lived in River Bend?”

“Close to eight years now.”

“So you didn’t know Jo’s dad?”

“Nope. Luke knew him, and Miss Gina, of course.”

A Range Rover pulled into the gravel drive, bringing with it Zoe and Mel.

The women climbed out of the car. “We have groceries,” Mel announced.

Wyatt moved to her side, kissed her briefly before filling his arms with paper bags. “You’ve met Gill,” Wyatt said.

“Yes we have. Is Jo here?” Zoe asked.

“Nope.”

“Good.”

Gill knew what was good for Zoe was bad for him. “I know a thing or two about interrogation,” he told her, removing the bag from her hands and grabbing the last one from the back of the SUV.

“I’m counting on it.”

They followed the women inside. “Should I be concerned?” Gill asked, half joking.

“I’m not sure. Jo hasn’t dated since I moved here. I wasn’t even sure she had a sex drive until Mel moved to town and I overheard them talking.”

She has the drive, Gill thought but didn’t say.

They walked through the Victorian and set the groceries on the counter in the kitchen before moving to the back door.

Miss Gina sat cross-legged on the ground next to one of the boxes of old photographs, reliving memory lane.

“There were concerts in the park in the center of town,” Miss Gina was telling Luke.

“I remember a band in the old gazebo before it fell down.”

Miss Gina handed the picture to Wyatt. Gill saw an image of a band wearing flared jeans and tight shirts. “You should build this,” Miss Gina said.