Mary listened for another minute, wondering where the five hundred dollars she’d given Imogene just before Thanksgiving had gone, while she beckoned Erica in. “No, really, my answer hasn’t changed and I have someone here at the house I need to talk with.”
“But—”
“Bye, Imogene,” she said gently. She ended the call, blew out a breath, and then hugged Erica and rubbed Ziggy’s ears. The dog was so big she didn’t even need to bend over to do it. “It’s great to see you two. What brings you to Sunset Lane?”
“I was walking by, trying to give this big boy some exercise, and I realized I haven’t seen Mr. James in quite a while. Wondered if you could watch Ziggy while I have a short visit with him? It’s hard to focus when I’m making sure Ziggy doesn’t knock the poor man over.”
“I would be honored. You know I love dogs.”
“Don’t tell him,” Erica whispered, holding her hands over Ziggy’s floppy ears, “but he’s having surgery tomorrow. It’s past time to neuter him.”
“Oh, dear. Extra treats today.” Mary went to the cookie jar that still held Baby’s treats and pulled out a handful. “These are tiny, but they’re gourmet.”
“He’ll love them. Thanks so much,” Erica said. She looked out Mary’s front door. “Oh, look, there are Kirk and Mr. James right now.”
Mary stepped backward into the kitchen. “I’m kind of hiding from Kirk. Don’t tell him I’m home.” It made her feel like a bad neighbor, but seriously, the man hadn’t stopped bothering her since he had taken a notion to ask her out.
“My lips are sealed. I’ll wait till they get inside before I go over there.”
They both watched out the window while Kirk helped Mr. James up the steps, pausing with him to rest, then saying something that made them break out in identical, loud laughs.
It was a good sound, a good sight. “I shouldn’t fault Kirk,” Mary said. “I should be nicer to him. He takes care of his father without a word of complaint.”
“Not many men can do that. How old is Mr. James, do you think?”
“At least ninety-three. He served in World War II. And he’s in great shape for his age, but he doesn’t drive anymore and he has trouble with stairs.”
A thought flashed through Mary’s mind: Who would take care of her if she were lucky enough to reach her nineties? She shook it away, though, as something to think about at a much later date.
“Okay, they’re inside. I’m going to head over, but I’ll be back in half an hour.”
“Take an hour. I love having Ziggy here.”
As soon as Erica left, Mary looked at her cell phone to see three messages from Imogene. Her stomach curdled.
The woman wouldn’t take no for an answer, and she was downright nasty about it. Mary sank onto the couch, and Ziggy leaned against her, panting.
The love of a dog. She remembered how Baby had always known when to jump into her lap, how comforting she had been. If only Baby were here now.
Her eyes ached with tears she was determined not to shed. Crying didn’t solve anything. And she needed to solve this problem. She needed to figure out what to do about Imogene, who seemed to be settling into town.
Her threats to reveal everything about Mary’s past were getting more pointed. She was endangering Mary’s place in this cozy home and warm community that Mary loved, the business she’d built from the ground up.
A nasty inner demon bit at her. Yes, Imogene was endangering her life here, only that life was fake. No one in Pleasant Shores knew what she was really like, what had happened.
Ziggy gave her hand a delicate lick. He looked at her with big, brown, nonjudgmental eyes, and she leaned down and wrapped her arms around him.
She did let a few tears fall then. Couldn’t help it, and she had a good sympathy companion in Ziggy, who just sighed and leaned harder against her. It was probably healthy to let out her sadness and worry in the safety of the big goldendoodle’s company. He would tell no tales.
Suddenly, an idea came to her, and she lifted her head, thinking, putting it all together.
That little blue cottage next door to the soon-to-be Victory Cottage, which Amber had discovered was a short-term rental. She’d been thinking of using it to expand the program in some way, but she hadn’t figured out how.
Now, she thought about how comforting Ziggy was, and how comforting Baby had been.
Maybe this was something else to spend more of her money on and help people, before Imogene found a way to take it all.
Erica knew all about therapy dog training from going through it with Ziggy. Come to think of it, so did Sunny, a teenager who lived on the waterfront, Bisky’s daughter.
Creating a therapy dog program to go with the program for crime victims couldn’t happen right away; that would be too much. But she could lay the groundwork, make the initial purchase.
Protect the money from Imogene.
And eventually, if everything fell into place, they would have a therapy dog program at Victory Cottage.
ON THE SUNDAY after Thanksgiving, Amber and Hannah stopped at the local general store to pick up a few things Hannah needed for college. Amber tried not to think about the fact that Hannah was leaving.
It’s all good. Hannah was doing well in school, making friends, gaining independence. She had terrific scholarships that were paying most of her tuition. True, the house would feel empty once Hannah had gone back. True, Amber would have fewer hugs and fewer laughs and no one to binge-watch reality TV with when she couldn’t sleep.
Don’t impose those feelings on Hannah.
So Amber focused on this moment, what she could do now. “It’s so much colder up in New York. I know we got you the basic clothes, but what about
