“We won’t be breaking or entering anything,” Debbie Sue said. “We’ll just open the gate and let Waffle come out, just like Nick did in Ed’s yard.”
Aunt Ed released a great sigh. “Okay, Okay. Looks like we’re gonna do this. Let me call and re-set some appointments.”
No. No. We can’t do this, Sandi wanted to shout, but she could see that Debbie Sue’s steadfast resolve would override anything she said. The woman had a rebuttal for everything. Sandi had never met anyone with such a commanding personality.
Soon, Sandi was belted into the back seat of Debbie Sue’s crewcab pickup and they were flying down the highway while Garth Brooks blasted “I’ve Got Friends in Low Places” from the radio. From where she sat, Sandi couldn’t see the speedometer, but Aunt Ed was hanging on to the dash with one hand and the “oh Jesus bar” with the other. Sandi could feel her heartbeat drumming in her stomach. She didn’t know if her case of nerves was from the speed they were traveling or because she was about to break into someone’s yard and steal a dog.
“Don’t forget that curve up ahead,” Aunt Ed cautioned.
At the Flying C, they saw no people. Only a sprawling Spanish-style ranch house of tan stucco with wide verandahs and huge pots of beautiful colorful flowers. Debbie Sue drove past it to a smaller but still nice redbrick house with a chain-link-fenced yard all around it. They and Waffle spotted each other and he began to bark and trot along the fence.
“There he is,” Debbie Sue said, catching Sandi’s gaze in the rearview mirror.
She drove behind the house, came to a stop at a gate in the fence and shoved the gear shift into park. She turned back to Sandi and said, “Go get him.”
You go get him, Sandi wanted to reply. This is your idea. Instead, she bit down on her lower lip.
“Do you need any help, hon?” Aunt Ed asked.
“I don’t think so.” Sandi picked up the leash she had brought with her, eased down from the back seat and tiptoed toward the gate, looking left over one shoulder and right over the other.
“Jesus Christ, Sandi, you don’t have to sneak up on him,” Debbie Sue hollered out the driver’s side window. “There’s nobody here but us.”
Still, Sandi was cautious. She eased the gate open and Waffle trotted to meet her, a big smile on his face. She bent down to hook the leash on his collar and he licked her face and made happy dog noises. A memory of how he had reacted when he saw Nick came back to her. Waffle was as fickle as most of the other males she knew.
With no trouble, she hooked the leash onto his collar, took the time to re-latch the gate, then easily led Waffle into Debbie Sue’s pickup. And just like that, Waffle was hers again.
As soon as they reached Salt Lick, giving no more thought to what they had done, Sandi hurriedly gathered all three dogs, their respective toys and abodes and hit the highway to Midland.
Chapter 15
Nick arrived home mid-afternoon, but didn’t see Buster in the backyard. He parked and walked through the house and out into the yard. Randy was there, bouncy and happy to see him, but where was Buster? Had he escaped and run off again? If so, how had he gotten out of the yard? Anxiety skittered through Nick’s midsection.
He walked the perimeter of the fence, looking for a break or a sign the fence had been cut. He investigated the gate and latch, which appeared to be untouched. He called and whistled to no avail. Just like before, he had no idea where to look. The dog was as elusive as quicksilver.
Scanning the landscape, he saw Harley’s wife watering plants on their patio. Heartsick over losing Buster again, he walked over. “Evening, C.J.”
“Oh, hi, Nick. Are you looking for Harley? He hasn’t come home yet.”
“I’m looking for my dog. You know, the big dog I brought home yesterday?”
“Oh. He and your new puppy were in your back yard this morning. I saw them playing. But I left early and was gone all day. I didn’t even look when I got home. He’s not there now?”
Nick shook his head.
“Aw, I’m sorry. Maybe he hasn’t come back from town yet.”
Nick’s head snapped up. “What town? What do you mean?”
“You know. Salt Lick. The vet’s wife sometimes grooms dogs for people she likes. Debbie Sue mentioned that you wanted Buster groomed. She and Ed probably came out here and got him.”
Shit. Buster was either back at Sandi’s aunt’s house in Salt Lick or back with Sandi in Midland. Relief surged inside Nick. At least his dog was safe. Nick felt better, but only slightly. Now he had to figure out how to get his dog back again.
“Oh. Okay, thanks, C.J.” He touched his hat brim to her and walked back to his house and his new puppy.
The next morning, he awoke with Buster, the Salt Lick sleuths and the good-looking redhead on his mind. This BS had gone far enough. It was interfering with his job. But before he took further action, he had to be sure that Buster hadn’t run off again, that Sandi and her pals had him.
A plan evolved in his mind. After readying for the day, he went into his home office and typed up a flyer on his computer. A beauty shop would be an ideal place to leave handouts. Of course, once he asked Sandi’s aunt and her partner to allow him to leave the handouts in the Styling Station, they would know he had removed Buster from the aunt’s back yard. Guilt threatened to stop him, but he swallowed it and moved forward.
At the Styling Station, while he sat out front drumming his fingers on the steering wheel and trying to decide the best way
