Bark Up and Smell the Coffee

by Stella St. Claire

  “I don’t mind,” he said quickly.

  “I guess I’m proud to call it my home again,” Willow said, trying to come up with an explanation that was partly true. “I grew up here, and I do have roots here. But I was away for a while. For college. And I lived in Chicago as well.”

  “Ah, the Windy City. I’ve been there before. Great theater. Great pizza. Great Lakes!”

  Willow laughed, and then said, “I liked it a lot. But there were some things I needed to get away from. And this feels like home now.”

  “Always good to have a home. But I’m afraid I’m traveling most of the time. New York City is my base.”

  “They have great pizza too,” she joked.

  “The best,” he challenged.

  “Too close to call,” Willow said. “They’re different.”

  She felt his eyes on her, and she looked away, feeling excited but shy.

  “So,” he said, and she had to turn back to look at his face. “Where does the name Willow come from? Are you named after the tree for a reason?”

  “It’s a family name. I told you I had roots here.”

  He groaned good-naturedly.

  “Willow was my aunt’s last name. She was one of my favorite people. She passed away last year, but she made sure I inherited her house and land to buy my dog gym. My recent success is all due to her.”

  Their meals arrived, and they both declared their dishes to be perfect. Willow was having a wonderful time. The conversation flowed easily. They talked more about yoga and their favorite poses. They bonded on their shared love of Zen and “finding their best life.”

  By the time they finished dessert, Willow was smitten. Her date wasn’t the shark of the business world that she worried he might be. It also didn’t seem like he could be the killer if he were so blasé about acquiring the bed-and-breakfast now.

  She left the restaurant with a pep in her step and a kiss on her cheek. She couldn’t help but smile. She had cleared a suspected, and she had successfully re-entered the dating world.

  Benny would be a perfect person to start dating too because he lived outside of her town and that would guarantee that they would begin casually. She wasn’t ready for an extreme commitment at the moment. That was too intimidating. She just wanted a nice man that she would like to spend time with. Benny seemed to fit the bill.

  She headed towards her car but allowed a final look back at the restaurant that had been the location of a perfect first date. She saw something but squinted to make sure that she was seeing this right.

  It was Griffin. He was entering the restaurant alone. Despite her contented feelings a moment ago, Willow felt herself frowning.

  What was Griffin doing there? This was a semi-fancy restaurant and the perfect place for a date. Was he meeting someone there? Who was it? Griffin had never mentioned a date over their morning cups of coffee.

  But why should he? He was her contractor. Yes, they were friendly, and being pushed into investigating a case had only made them seem closer. However, that didn’t mean that he needed to tell her all his plans.

  She wanted to keep her business and personal life separate, and she was going to. Griffin was business, and Benny was personal. At least, as long as he remained off her suspect list, he could be personal.

  But the question kept nagging her: why was Griffin here?

  12

  The next morning, Willow stirred her coffee angrily at her kitchen counter. Today was a day Willow’s hatred of mornings was thriving. Not only did she have to force herself out of bed and face the day when she’d much rather be under the covers cuddling with Tele, but it also seemed that everything she had heard since she had gotten up was bad news.

  Terry had to cancel their morning training session. She’d been called in for questioning at the police station again. After their talk and walk with the animals, Terry had been debating telling the police about Benny’s scheme to sabotage Kaitlin. She had finally decided to do it, but the plan seemed to have backfired. They had hauled her back in for questioning instead of finding Benny.

  Willow also didn’t like being reminded of Benny’s scheme. He had seemed like the perfect gentleman at dinner, but he was the same man who had asked a woman he barely knew to destroy someone’s business for his personal gain.

  Willow’s phone buzzed. She didn’t feel like looking at it because she figured it would be more bad news. Curiosity eventually won out. After all, there might have been a new development about the murder.

  It was a message from Wednesday asking why Willow ignored her texts from last night.

  Willow didn’t want to admit that she had been annoyed by seeing Griffin show up at the restaurant and was trying to keep the memory of her wonderful first date alive before she shared it with anyone. She typed in that she was sorry, but before she could reply more, Wednesday called her.

  “I promise I was planning on calling you today anyway,” Willow said.

  “Don’t be mad,” Wednesday said, at almost the same time.

  Willow groaned. “That’s never a good way to begin a conversation.”

  “I didn’t have anything exciting to add to my pics last night, so I headed to the restaurant you went to hoping to bump into you after your date.”

  “Annoyed, but not mad,” Willow said.

  “Anyway, you had left already. But I saw Benny with someone else.”

  “Another woman?” Willow asked. Why did she feel her heart sinking like that? It had just been one date. Sure, it had seemed like the perfect date at the time, but they hadn’t made any promises to one another.

  She braced herself to hear the description of what the other woman looked like but was not prepared for what Wednesday actually said.

  “No. With Griffin!”

  “What? No. I don’t believe it,” Willow said. “No way.”

  “I’m texting you the photo evidence right now. Griffin and Benny met up last night.”

  Willow set her phone to speaker mode and placed it on the counter. She waited for the picture to upload, figuring that this was somehow Wednesday’s version of a practical joke. They had been at the same restaurant, but they weren’t meeting each other. Why would Griffin want to see Benny? Or vice versa?

  However, as the picture appeared and Willow saw it, she realized that this was not a joke.

  “Are you still there?” Wednesday asked.

  “Yeah,” Willow said, remembering that she was still on the phone.

  “Can you see the picture?”

  “You were right,” she admitted, picking up the phone for closer inspection. “It looks like Benny and Griffin did meet.”

  In the picture, they were sitting at the bar near the restaurant’s large window. Griffin was nursing a beer and looking somewhat serious. Benny had switched from wine to something on the rocks and seemed to be laughing. What could they be talking about?

  “Isn’t this juicy? How should I best spin it for the ‘Week in My Life’?”

  “What?” Willow said, nearly dropping her phone. “There is no spin.”

  “The two men in your life are meeting, and you don’t think it’s an exciting development?” Wednesday asked incredulously.

  Willow bit her tongue. Even if she thought that was true, she wouldn’t want this broadcast all over the internet for everyone to see. It wasn’t even a part of her week in the life – it was her sister’s. She would seem like the butt of a joke in a situation that didn’t seem very funny to her at all.

  “Wends, there’s no story here,” Willow said, sounding as convincing as she could. “They are not two men in my life, and they’re just having a drink.”

  “There were empty seats at the bar. It looks like they wanted to talk about something. What do you think it was?”

  “Probably sports.”

  “What if they were talking about you?”

  “Why would they be talking about me?” she said dismissively. Though, truthfully, part of her did want to hear what her sister’s answer wou
ld be.

  “Well, you did say it was a good date, right?”

  “Yes,” Willow admitted with a sigh. “It seemed like the perfect first date. Benny isn’t a killer. He’s charming and smart. He loves dogs. And if Griffin hasn’t scared him off, I’d love to see him again.”

  “You think Griffin could have scared him off?” Wednesday asked in gossip-mode again.

  Willow could have hit herself in the forehead. “That’s not what I meant.”

  “Because it does seem like there are some sparks between you two. I know you don’t want to admit that, but—”

  “There’s no but,” Willow said quickly. “I don’t want to date anyone I’m working with, and I’m hoping to continue construction with Griffin. If this case could just get solved, so the police would stop accusing Terry of the murder, we could focus on winning with Lady Valkyrie, and I could build my dog spa.”

  “Are you sure there’s no story?”

  “There’s no story,” Willow repeated. She was glad that they were on the phone so Wednesday couldn’t see any traces of uncertainty on her face.

  “All right.” It sounded like her sister was pouting.

  “I better go,” Willow said, eager to end the call. “I have a lot to do. What with the championship, the construction, and the crime like I just mentioned.”

  “I guess I have a lot to do too. I need to figure something else out to focus on for ‘My Life’ today.”

  “Just don’t forget about dinner with Dad tonight.”

  “Right,” Wednesday said. Willow could practically hear the gears turning in her sister’s head. “I wonder if that could be part of my feature. I wonder how photogenic Dad would be.”

  They said goodbye and hung up. Willow felt the urge to throw her phone across the room but refrained. There was nothing but bad news coming in today.

  Telescope entered the kitchen and looked up at her.

  “What terrible thing are you going to tell me now?” she accused the dog.

  However, Telescope just wagged his tail.

  “Sorry,” she said, bending down close to him. “Maybe I’m overreacting.”

  He leaned against her, giving a doggie hug. She hugged him back, trying to calm herself. Why was Griffin meeting with Benny? What was he hoping to accomplish?

  Willow’s phone buzzed. She looked at Tele for support, then checked her text. Griffin was informing her that he was going to be late.

  “Perfect,” Willow muttered. “So, I’ve started this lousy day early for no reason.”

  She set the coffeemaker to begin another pot and then headed to the living room to sit in a more comfortable chair. While the coffee brewed in the kitchen, she stewed in her own thoughts. They weren’t focused on Kaitlin’s death but on Griffin’s behavior. She couldn’t figure it out.

  She was sure Griffin didn’t know Benny beforehand. She would have remembered if Griffin ever mentioned him, especially when she realized he was a suspect. If Griffin knew him, she wouldn’t have had to go on a phony first date to question the businessman.

  But, it hadn’t ended up being a fake date. It had been fun and wonderful. It had left her wanting a second date.

  Griffin had been pretty upset when she told him that she was going on a date. Did he follow her there? Had he been spying?

  “I bet that’s what it was,” Willow said angrily.

  Telescope was sitting on her lap and trying to comfort her. However, she was feeling more like a villain in an espionage thriller, stroking her pet’s fur as she planned her nemesis’s demise. If Griffin had been spying on her, she might not turn a laser weapon on him, but she would give him an earful as to what she thought about it.

  This was why she wanted to keep her business and personal life separate. She didn’t want romantic quarrels and jealousies bleeding into the workday. She didn’t want her contractor following her around and scaring off potential rivals.

  She wasn’t sure how long she sat there brooding, but it must have been a while because Telescope fell asleep.

  She woke him up with the proclamation. “I’m just going to have to lay down some ground rules. Griffin will have to know that it’s all business when we’re working on the dog spa.”

  Telescope licked her nose, and for once Willow wasn’t sure what he meant. Was he being supportive or patronizing? Or was she reading too much into her dog’s reaction? She was tempted to ask him, but the pup fell asleep again.

  She decided not to move and wake him again, so she continued to dwell on the same thoughts and felt herself growing more and more angry.

  When the doorbell rang, she felt like a powder keg about to burst. However, she made sure to put on a bright smile when she greeted Griffin at the door.

  “I’m sorry I’m late,” he said while sporting his own smile.

  “That’s all right,” Willow said pointedly. “I bet you needed to catch up on some sleep. Out late last night? Getting a few drinks?”

  Griffin didn’t seem to pick up on her tone. Instead, he revealed a paper bag that he had been hiding behind his back.

  “I forgot what time the bakery on Sycamore opened. Most bakeries like to open at the crack of dawn, but Sycamore likes to take their sweet time in the morning.”

  Telescope wanted some attention and jumped onto his back leg. Griffin handed the bag over to Willow and knelt down to say hello. After scratching the dog’s ears, he gave him a bone-shaped dog treat that also seemed fresh from the bakery.

  All right, yes, it was nice that Griffin was starting to spoil her dog as much as she did, but it wasn’t necessary. She did own a business that catered to canines. It wasn’t like there was a shortage of treats to hand out. This was another example of things becoming too personal. She was going to have to set boundaries.

  Telescope scooted off to either bury or eat his treat in peace. He gave Willow a look on his way that conveyed a warning not to overreact again. She knew she was probably going to ignore that advice.

  “Pecan pie?”

  “What?” she asked, turning her attention back to Griffin.

  “I remembered you liked the Sycamore Street Bakery because they made muffin flavors that taste like pies. I thought pecan was your favorite, but I got some other flavors too.”

  The pecan pie muffin was her favorite, but now wasn’t the time to admit that. She handed the bag of pastries back to Griffin.

  “You don’t have to buy me muffins.”

  A look of confusion crossed his face. “I thought you’d like them. You’re always hungry in the morning.”

  Willow walked toward her kitchen to give her enough time to count to ten. Griffin closed the front door and followed her.

  She gripped the counter as she spoke. “Griffin, I think we need to focus on business.”

  He was already taking out some coffee mugs and then began to pour the coffee. “Sure. You can tell me about any finishing touches you want at the dog gym, and the house only needs a little more work. It’s just the aesthetics now. Do you want to change the trim color or something like that?”

  “I want to talk about adding the doggie spa.”

  “You do expect to move forward with that?” he asked, pausing mid-pour.

  “I do. I’m sure Terry will be cleared soon, and then we can focus on training. Lady Valkyrie is sure to win, and I’ll have all the money needed for the extra renovations,” she said, avoiding eye contact. “I thought the spa could branch out from my office since that’s already used for business. It can take over the bathroom on the first floor. I know we’ll have to expand the space too, and it would be easy to give up the hall closet. It might have to extend into my current living room, especially if I keep having Great Danes as customers.”

  “It would probably take up at least half of your living room if you want the wall to run straight from your office.”

  “I can live with that,” she said, finally accepting a cup of coffee from him.

  “Willow, are you sure you want to do this?”

 
; “What do you mean? Of course, I want to.”

  He played with his mug. “It just doesn’t seem like your heart is really in this. You’re an amazing dog trainer. But the one time I was here, and you bathed Tele, we both ended up soaking wet. And he’s chihuahua.”

  “Chihuahua-mix.”

  Griffin joined her at the counter. “I think maybe it’s like being a contractor and an interior designer. They’re similar, but not the same. I think you might be trying to force something because it seems like a good idea on paper. But is it really the right thing for you?”

  “Are you a contractor and a therapist now?” she asked, walking away.

  “I didn’t mean to upset you,” he said earnestly.

  “It is a good idea on paper, and it’s a great idea in real life to become a one-stop place for your dogs,” Willow said, crossing her arms. “I don’t know why you’re trying to undermine this. But I guess that’s becoming a habit for you.”

  “What do you mean by that?” Griffin asked, setting his coffee down a little harder than was necessary.

  “Forget it. I want to focus on business. I want to focus on the spa.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked again.

  Willow’s eyes narrowed. “What? Are you trying to get out of your contract?”

  Griffin sighed. “That’s not… Well, I did think this project was almost over. And I do have another offer. But I wouldn’t say I’m trying to get out of my contract.”

  “You are,” Willow said, grabbing a muffin and shaking it. “These muffins were a bribe.”

  “No,” he said, picking one but holding it like an offering. “They were celebratory muffins.”

  “What are we celebrating?” Willow asked, setting down her pastry before she reduced it to crumbs.

  “Well, I thought we were celebrating that your house was almost done and that I got an offer for an amazing new project, and…” He continued talking but it was mumbled as if it embarrassed him. All Willow could make out was the word “dating” and she decided to jump on it.

  “Dating?” she asked. “Like how you tried to crash my date last night?”

  “What are you talking about?”