Page 11 of Will Bark for Pizza
I bet he gives good belly rubs.
Is he coming to save my mom?
Where is my mom?
Uck, my nose is still wet.
My tail’s wet too.
I want my towel rub.
And treats.
I definitely deserve treats.
That pondweed looks weird.
Where did my mom go?
Did she go get pizza?
FIVE
BECKETT
When I spottedthe redhead with a dog standing on a paddleboard in the middle of Ghost Lake, that should have been my sign to turn the hell around and go.
I’d lingered out at the cabin long enough, convincing myself that purchasing this cabin was the perfect way to put down roots in this town. Nana, whom I was talking it over with on the phone, grunted as soon as the words left my mouth.
“There’s a redhead on a paddleboard.”
I didn’t need to say more. Nana was there through two of the blowouts that occurred after myinteractionswith redheads in the past. Chaos and a string of bad luck always followed in their wake.
“It’s an omen,” Nana said, right before the woman fell into the lake.
“Yeah. Probably.”
I simultaneously ended the call and kicked off my boots, before stripping out of my shirt. Luke mentionedGhost Lake was shallow compared to the larger Glimmerstone Lake, but that didn’t mean someone couldn’t drown in it. And so far, Red hadn’t resurfaced.
A blond shepherd dog whined and paced on the paddleboard, pressing his nose into the water on each side. He didn’t seem eager to jump in, but he was definitely concerned.
The woman was still under.
Fuck.
No time to remove my jeans, I emptied my pockets and waded into the lake. I swam straight toward the board. The water was colder than I expected, but I blocked out the discomfort and focused on the mission at hand: save Red.
The dog wearing a bright yellow and black life vest silently paced from the front to the back of the board, looking down at me with big brown eyes, urgently begging me to do something about his human.
I dove under, the setting sun no fucking help in the darkening waters. I scanned the area, mostly with my arms, and came up empty. I refused to let panic set in, refocused my search, and dove back down.
There, on the opposite side of the board, a sea of red hair and long, bare legs gave her away. She was headed to the surface. Only when her head broke the water did I follow suit.
“Husker, you okay?” she choked out as she propped her elbows on the board, fear heavy in those blue eyes. Despite her coughing and panting, her concern was more for the dog than herself. That much was evident in the way she looked at him. Had I ever met a redhead whocame with a dog? I quickly shook the question away. She already showed me she was chaos. Having a dog didn’t change the redheaded curse I’d endured since the fifth grade.
The dog lay down on the board, his head next to hers, nosing her face in obvious concern.
“You okay, ma’am?” I asked from the opposite side of her board, announcing my presence as my foot found purchase on the slippery bottom. The water was just shallow enough that I could balance on my toes and keep my chin above the surface without having to tread water.
