carried it to the trash can. And she certainly wasn’t going to concentrate on an animal. The idea was ridiculous.
“Yes, I’m absolutely positive. I’m not part alien.”
“Maybe you should go easy on the beer,” her father said as he came up beside her.
She opened her mouth to tell him her buzz was already wearing off, but changed her mind. “You’re right, Dad.” She held up the Coke she hadn’t quite finished. “Already switched over.”
“Good girl.”
Not much later, she kissed her mom good night, and got Neil to drive her home. Someone would drop her car off tomorrow. No biggie.
But once she was back at her house, she couldn’t help wondering if some of what Kristor had told her just might be true. Did aliens actually exist? She didn’t know why they couldn’t.
Maybe that’s what scared her the most.
Chapter 7
“Ms. Miller is bringing Sukie in this morning,” Jeanie said, hanging up the phone.
“Sukie?” Ria studied Jeanie to see if maybe she’d gotten her holidays confused and thought this was April Fool’s Day.
Jeanie was a cute little redhead who’d been working for Ria a couple of years, and right now, she wore a serious expression. No, she didn’t mix up the holidays. Teasing? Her lips didn’t twitch, not even once.
She was telling the truth.
“You’re not lying.” Ria’s bones dissolved into mush and she sank into the nearest chair.
Sukie was what everyone in town referred to as the “demon dog, psycho mutt”—a ten-pound fur ball of terror. She was a Pekinese with a bad temper, a pedigree longer than the distance from Ria’s shop to the sun, and a wealthy owner who spoiled her unmercifully.
Ria would refuse to pamper Sukie except Ms. Miller’s great, great, grandfather-in-law had established the town. He’d also started the first bank. The same bank that Ms. Miller’s husband now ran. The same bank that held the mortgage on Ria’s Pet Purr-Fect Grooming Salon.
Jeanie shook her head. “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. She wants the works.”
A hard shiver ran the length of Ria’s body. “Oh, God.”
“She’ll be here in twenty minutes.”
Ria sniffed. “But Sukie was just in here last week.”
“They’re going to the coast. She wants her to look pretty.”
“Do you think it’s too much to hope that she would fall into the ocean and get eaten by a shark?”
“Ms. Miller or Sukie?”
She waved her hand. “Either one. Both.”
Jeanie was thoughtful. “Nah, I think I’d be more worried for the shark.” She shuffled some papers around on her desk. “Uh, I’ve been meaning to ask if you’d mind if I took the rest of the day off.”
Ria tilted her head and looked at Jeanie. “You’re afraid of all the blood, admit it.”
“Yeah, but well…” She blushed.
Ria sat straighter. “What?”
“Amy, over at the realty office, might have a house Lenny and I can afford. We’re planning on a December wedding, nothing fancy, but we want to start marriage off right with our own place.”
Ria reached across the desk and squeezed her hand. “I’m so happy for you. Why didn’t you say something sooner?”
Jeanie laughed. “I am. I mean, I just did.” She rested her arms on her desk. Her eyes sparkled like a Fourth of July firework display. “Have you ever been in love?”
Kristor’s face immediately came to mind. He was the last man that she’d been around. That was the only reason she’d even thought of him. No, the guy was a nut, and since her mother had seen them talking and dancing at the party, she thought it was now okay to let him rent the room. Her mother had brushed away all Ria’s protests.
Ria had never been so glad for Monday. She’d wanted to lose herself in work. Well, until she’d learned Sukie was on her way in. That was life.
“If you’re going to look at that house, you’d better get over to Amy’s office before she sells it to someone else.”
Jeanie hesitated. “I hate to leave you alone with Sukie.”
Ria planted her hands on her hips. “I refuse to let that snarling mass of shedding fur get the best of me this time.”
“Be careful.” Jeanie grabbed her purse and left.
“I am so not up for this.” She hurried to the back to get ready, mentally checking off the things she would need. Heavy-duty thick gloves, towels…Valium. The last was for her, not the dog. So maybe she didn’t have any, but it was a nice thought.
The bell over her door tinkled. She sagged against the deep tub where she bathed the animals.
“Oh, Ria!” Ms. Miller could’ve been an opera singer the way she always called as if she were onstage performing.
“Courage, you can do this. It’s just a dog.” Ria pasted a smile on her face as she pushed past the curtains that led to the front part of her shop, then came to an abrupt stop.
An apparition of Ms. Miller stood beside Jeanie’s desk. At least, she thought it was Ms. Miller. She wore a wide-brimmed, red hat and a bright red dress with black polka dots, except she had no neck. The hat sort of floated on top of the dress and made her look headless.
“Oh, there you are dear.” Ms. Miller raised her head and her face appeared. “I imagine Jeanie told you I would drop by with little Sukie.”
Ria cleared her throat. “Ms. Miller, so nice to see you again so soon, and Sukie, of course.”
“Say hello to Ria, Sukie.” She jiggled her leash.
Sukie growled.
“No, no, Momma’s little girl must be on her best behavior if she’s going bye-bye this weekend.”
Sukie didn’t look as if she really cared. She was also minus the pink bows Ria had clipped on her ears last week. Ria figured they hadn’t lasted the whole day. She was, however, wearing her pink neckerchief.
The dog was cute. Adorable, in fact. She just had a lousy disposition. Ria had tried to get the pooch into training early, but Ms. Miller didn’t want Sukie upset. So, each time she brought the crabby canine in, there was a tug-of-war on who would win. Mostly, Ria thought Sukie came out ahead.
“Take good care of my baby,” Ms. Miller said before handing Ria the leash.
Sukie snapped at Ria’s feet, but Ria was ready and jumped out of the way. She smiled at the dog. First round—me. She sighed deeply. But there would be many more to come before she finished with little Sukie.
“I’ll take good care of her, Ms. Miller.”
“I know you will, dear. And I’ll stop by after I finish shopping.”
“Take your time.”
Ms. Miller left. Ria looked at Sukie. “You’re going to be good this time, right?”
Sukie curled her lip back and gave Ria the evil eye—and she did it very well.
Why did Ria get into this line of work, anyway? Oh, yeah, she’d mistakenly thought she had a way with animals. Had that been dumb or what?
She slipped on the gloves and picked up Sukie. The mangy mutt growled as Ria put her in the tub of water. The dog latched on to one of the gloved fingers, but Ria had purposefully left her finger out of that one. She’d learned. Sukie seemed satisfied to attack it, rather than her.
“Your mommy spoils you way too much,” she told the dog.
The dog loved the water, getting soaped down, and washed. If a dog could have a rapt look, this one did.
