Page 146 of Will Bark for Pizza
The lakeside cabin looked different from the first time I saw it, yet still the same. Connor and Luke helped me empty the place of Karl’s furniture, and retrieve what little I had from my storage unit. The green carpet, wood-paneled walls, and decades-old bathroom fixtures would eventually get upgraded, but those projects were far down on my list.
“You going to survive out here, cooking your own meals again?” Luke ribbed.
Iwouldmiss Grandma Connie’s cooking. But I was looking forward to cleaning up the old charcoal grill and putting it to good use.
“I’ll hardly be here,” I admitted. I was behind schedule on the Kniffen Street house, but if I put in some long days, I could catch up.If you stop focusing so damn much on the bookstore, you’d be on schedule, Nana’s voice echoed in my head.
I checked my phone on impulse, but I hadn’t heard much from her or Madeline since Nana caught a flight out of Denver almost two weeks ago. Only a few texts to know she arrived safely.
I sure as hell hoped no news was good news.
“You need any help with that house?” Connor offered.
“Maybe next week when I start on the kitchen. This week is painting, and I only have one sprayer.”
“How’s the sale on the bookstore coming?” Luke asked.
“We close middle of next week.”
“Any regrets?”
I studied my best friend, wondering if his question was more than a surface-level inquiry. With Luke, it was hard to tell.
“No. It’s a solid investment.”
“Think Kira can do it?” Connor asked Luke.
“I don’t know,” Luke said, his tone more honest than cynical. “I hope so.”
“I think the odds are in her favor. She has a lot of help,” I chimed in.
“You’ve been spending an awful lot of time—” Luke’s phone rang, effectively cutting him off. He was in plain clothes today, due for a day off. But as the police chief, he was always on call. Judging by his hardening expression, it was work.
“Shit, got to run. Some idiot ignored the warning and went kayaking on Glimmerstone Lake.”
I glanced out my new living room window, noting the choppy water. The wind was gusting north of fifty miles per hour, according to the coffee drinkers I’d bumped into earlier. It made for rough waters. At the big lake, I suspected it would be worse.
“I’d offer to help you unpack,” Connor said, glancing at his watch, “but I need to pick up Opal from summer camp.”
“I’m good,” I said to them both. “Dinner’s on me whenever you’re free.”
As the brothers drove away in their separate trucks, I stared out the window and watched the waves ripplingacross the otherwise quiet lake. No one was out on it today. The locals obviously knew better.
Silence quickly filled the cabin. I’d always been a sort of lone wolf, but the quiet was already deafening.
I threw a set of sheets in the stackable washing machine—the newest appliance in the entire place—and set to unpacking, hoping to drown out the silence. I considered calling Madeline as I worked, but her lack of communication likely meant she was pissed at me. Probably convinced I’d sicced Nana on her. It might be best to hold off until I talked to Nana to get an assessment of what was going on.
I filled the dresser and closet with clothes, the linen closet with a set of towels, and the pantry with a few items I picked up at the grocery store earlier. But the house still felt . . . empty. The walls were bare—the family photograph taken down before I was given the keys.
It was missing something.
Kira.
I tried to shake away the thought, but a new one popped in to join it.
And Husker.
I imagined her laughter as I cooked dinner, trying not to burn the food because she was bare-legged and wearing only my T-shirt. Husker, of course, would be stationed in the doorway waiting for handouts, those sonar-level ears at the ready for anything.
