Lantern Lake Winter Collection: Books 1-3

by Gretchen S. B.

  "Is there a reason you're trying so hard to antagonize the young woman?"

  "I am not." His voice sounded defensive even to Robert, but he didn't say anything else to defend himself.

  "Uh huh." After a moment he sighed, and his eyebrow quirked down. "She's quite bright, actually. I didn't have an appointment until ten today and no walk-ins. So I had about an hour and fifteen minutes with her, showing her the ropes. Either the way we do things is archaic or she's smart as a whip. She picked up on everything very quickly. I'm pretty sure she was keeping track of ideas on how to make things more efficient. She and I are going to spend some time after lunch, before I leave for the day, going over the rest of the billing and that sort of thing, but I'm fairly certain it's going to take her maybe an hour to get all that. She's the sort of person we need in that position. I loved Susan, bless her heart, but she couldn't modernize anything to save her life. Play nice. I can’t believe I’m saying that to you of all people; I feel like that's something you'd say to Jared." Shaking his head, Herb turned and headed back to his office.

  Robert couldn't help the small growl that bubbled up from his throat as he snatched one of the dog beds that the cleaning service had washed recently. They were lucky the cleaning service laundered everything once a week, including the cloth dog beds. Robert couldn't imagine what they had done before the cleaning service they used popped up in Bunny Ridge five years ago.

  He was ticked to be compared to his brother, Jared. Jared was his immediate older brother and he'd always been a standoffish individual. He'd never been a people person even when they were kids. The only exception had been the three years he was with Lillianna. Lillianna had been an elementary school teacher that had for some reason no one understood, fallen in love with Jared, the gruff brother. Six months after they'd gotten married, a drunk driver had swerved going home from the town's annual Christmas festival and hit her car. She had stayed at the school late in Bunny Ridge otherwise she wouldn’t have been on the road. Her death had spiraled Jared not only back to his grumpy self, but it intensified it. Jared lived in a cabin on the far corner of the lake between Lantern Lake and Bunny Ridge. He was out in the boonies most of the time. As he had a tech job, he could work remotely, and as long as he had Internet, he didn't need anything else. He stayed out there with his big old Newfoundland and spoke to no one for days on end. They were all worried for him as Lillianna had died six years ago next week but none of them knew exactly how to help the sullen McAllister brother.

  Reminding himself to give his brother a call or shoot out there and visit him, Robert carried the dog bed back out to the front reception area and tucked it neatly behind the desk for Murphy to use without saying so much as a word to Gail.

  ~~

  "Robert, McAllisters standby their obligations. Your father did not raise you to go against that. You gave your word that you and your brothers would be at my place tonight to sample the food I'm bringing to Christmas. And you're going to come. You have no social life whatsoever so bare minimum you're going to have dinner with me, Reed, and your brothers because I'm going to do my darndest to make sure only one of you boys turns out to be a hermit."

  At two in the afternoon he'd received the call from his aunt. Kevin hadn't been able to come up with any sort of good reason why Robert had to come to dinner and called in the big guns. No one billed guilt trips like their mom or their aunt Dottie. Plus, Kevin knew Robert was not about to say no to Dottie. He could text her and as long as she didn't call him immediately afterward, because she hated text messages, he would've been able to get out of dinner because he could pretend he didn't see his phone. However, this ambush meant he was probably stuck going to dinner.

  "Hello, Aunt Dottie. It's nice to speak to you too," he replied calmly.

  "Don't you give me that. You're coming to dinner. Now tell me ‘Yes, Aunt Dottie, I will see you at dinner’." Her voice was stern and held a confidence that said she knew very well he would not say no to her.

  Even though he knew there were no real consequences other than guilt trips for skipping out on dinner, he didn't have it in him to do it. Sometimes they joked that the women in their family had brainwashed him from a very young age to do exactly as he was told because as an adult, he found it hard to say no to them.

  "Yes, Aunt Dottie. I will be at dinner, but I'll be late. I have a patient coming in at six-thirty and I don't know how long it will run."

  "That's not a problem, I will call your brothers and let them know we will have dinner at seven. We'll move everything back, there's still plenty of time to do that and everything will be fine. In fact, let's say seven-thirty, so the food will still be warm by the time you get here even if your appointment takes an hour. I will see you tonight." Dottie hung up the phone.

  What was it with their family and never saying goodbye on the phone? It was as if nobody wanted to let the other person have the last word, Robert mused as he shook his head. He headed to the front reception area. He'd been avoiding it all day, but he knew he had a two o'clock appointment for a check-up with a ferret. Then he would head out to the Bushel ranch to examine a pregnant horse they were fairly certain was going to be giving birth within the next week. The mother was young and since it hadn't been a planned pregnancy, something which Robert still didn't understand, Ken Bushel was nervous. So far everything had been fine; Robert didn't expect to be gone more than an hour as long as nobody else requested a house call.

  When he got to the front there was nobody in the waiting area other than Gail and Murphy behind the desk. He frowned as he scanned the area then looked at his watch. It was five after. He was late but Cynthia and her ferret were nowhere to be seen.

  "Your two o'clock canceled about ten minutes ago. She rescheduled for tomorrow. She said her son is sick and she got the call saying she needed to get him from school about an hour ago. By the time she got him and they both settled in, she realized she wouldn't be able to make the appointment, so she apologized for the late notice and said you never can plan around a sick kid."

  While her voice was calm and neutral, her eyes revealed that she didn't care for him, but she would maintain as much professionalism as she could. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't good at hiding her expression. Robert was determined to change her mind, even if she was only going to be here for a week.

  He shucked his coat and put it over his arm before turning to face Gail head on. "That's fine. I have to go out to the Bushel ranch anyway. If you'll go ahead and give them a call to let them know I'll be early I’d appreciate it. Did anybody else want a house call this afternoon?"

  Much to his surprise, she nodded and handed him two post it notes, each with rather detailed information in immaculate, swirly handwriting. "Yes, there were two different people who hoped to be fit in for house calls today. One was a farmer about a pig." She tapped the first Post-it note. "All of his information is right there. The other…" She tapped the second Post-it note. "Was wondering if you could come out and check the setup they have. They're having problems with bunnies?" The tone in her voice conveyed that she was full of amused curiosity. "They want to make sure the setup they have to keep them out of the prize-winning vegetables isn't something that's going to hurt the animals."

  Robert looked down at the second sheet. Sure enough, it was Mrs. Hart. The older woman grew award-winning vegetables and had a business making jams and pickling things, so her garden was her livelihood. She was out in Bunny Ridge which was aptly named for the sheer amount of rabbits that were around half the year.

  "Bunny Ridge gets overrun with rabbits. There aren't nearly as many in the wintertime. But Mrs. Hart takes her gardening very seriously. She does all her defensive measures in the winter so as soon as she can start planting, she doesn't have to worry about them. I think she has a few things growing right now, though I can't imagine there’d be a lot of rabbits about," he theorized aloud.

  "I can't believe there's a place called Bunny Ridge." Her tone was still amused but there was wond
er to it. Robert wasn't sure how that had become the official name for the other city either. But at least it fit.

  "Thanks for these," he said as he waved the notes and began walking down the hall.

  "No problem," she called after him then he heard the rapping of keys on a keyboard. If he wasn't mistaken, she began humming an upbeat tune he couldn't quite identify.

  Chapter 5

  "Oh, Ms. Evans, I'm so glad I caught you before you headed up," rang Dottie's cheerful voice from behind the front desk as Gail walked in wearily at ten past seven. Robert told her before his six-thirty appointment that if no one showed up with an emergency by six forty-five, she should go ahead and call it a day and he would get anyone that came after that. She’d stuck around, not wanting to leave Murphy. Before long though, she did, because while he was perkier than he had been in the morning, she knew the young vet was right. He wasn't quite up to snuff yet and she hoped another overnight would help him. On the plus side, she would be at the clinic every day and if something should happen there were two vets and Gail right there to take care of him. Dr. Struthers mentioned that even after they released Murphy, he was more than welcome to come with her every day.

  Even though it had only been a day, she liked the job as their front desk receptionist/office manager. She’d called her sister on her lunch break as she took Murphy for a stroll around the area and her sister had been as surprised as Gail had been by how nice the vets were being. Her little sister suggested something that totally caught Gail off guard.

  "Why don't you see if you could do that job full-time? If you like it, there's no reason not to. They need someone. If the pay is good enough for you to live on your own, why not. Saves you the trouble of scrounging to find a job around here."

  Her sister had been gung-ho about Gail moving back to the west side of the state and closer to their family for years. Even more so now that she was about to have a baby, so the suggestion caught her off guard. She quickly dismissed it out loud to her sister even though mentally Gail wondered if there was a possibility. She’d only been there one day so she couldn’t make an accurate assessment yet, but she couldn't imagine it would be all that bad.

  Eventually Robert would warm up to her, she assumed, and they could get along or at least be civil enough to get the job done. Worst case scenario in a couple years when Dr. Struthers retired, she would graciously leave the practice and Robert could hire someone more to his tastes. She couldn't help but wonder whether his tastes were similar to the chair of the department she was recently let go from. Why did men want their office staff to be friendly and bubbly instead of effective?

  She knew that wasn't a fair assessment so instead of continuing that spiraling train of thought she smiled at Dottie.

  "What can I do for you, Dottie?"

  The older woman’s smile widened, and she motioned for Gail to move closer. "First, I want to say we’re happy to have you for a week. Next, I wanted to let you know that we are pet friendly so when Murphy decides he's good to move in with us, that's completely fine. It is an extra fifty dollars a night for your pet, but I have been told I will be billing the veterinary clinic.

  "More importantly I know you're not from around here and don't know a lot of people, so I wanted to invite you up to my apartment for dinner. Normally I relax and have my alone time and read or watch programs at night but this evening I'm having some family over. I've been trying out a bunch of new recipes. My nephews and son will be coming over. Before you get weirded out, I'm not trying to set you up. They’re friendly boys and I figured you could do with some company versus sitting in your room by yourself. Besides, you already know one of them. Robert is actually one of my nephews."

  Even though the older woman's tone was friendly and light, Gail had a sneaking suspicion this was more than just a request and if she put up too much of a fight there might be some pushback. Part of her wanted to sit in her room alone but it had been too much for her last night. She probably truly needed the distraction. Maybe that would help her sleep.

  Before she could think too much about it, she nodded once. "Sure, Dottie. What time?"

  The older woman beamed. She already had a wonderful smile, but this could light up a dark room. Clearly, Gail accepting had been the right decision.

  "I'm almost done here. Got another five minutes or so for a late check-in. Give me about ten minutes then go ahead and knock on my door upstairs, just keep going up the staircase you'll see it. It takes up the whole floor, so you only have to worry about the one door and if I'm not there Kevin or one of them can let you in." She looked down at the paperwork in front of her.

  Gail took that for the dismissal it was, mumbled her thanks, and headed up to her room. She couldn't believe how friendly Lantern Lake was. She’d heard about small-town hospitality before but honestly hadn't expected them to be quite this nice all the time. Maybe she’d run across the only people in town who were like this, but somehow, she doubted it. The half dozen people she interacted with in person at the vet clinic today were almost all friendly as well. They were under duress because their pets and livestock were not doing so well but they were always polite and kind. It was exactly the kind of atmosphere she needed coming off of feeling worthless from being laid off from the University.

  ~~

  She ran out of things to stall with relatively quickly. Gail changed her clothes, since she brought the box with part of her wardrobe in it into the room last night. It wasn't as if she had a lot of fancy clothes. She mostly wore jeans to work, like the rest of the office staff, unless it was a special occasion, so she didn't have anything that screamed dinner party. Something about Dottie made her think that’d work fine. A little more than ten minutes passed when she headed up the stairs slowly and rapped on the only door on the fourth floor.

  From the looks of that door and its placement, the fourth-floor apartment was fairly large. She could appreciate that for Dottie. If the woman had to live here and deal with things day in and day out at least she got a nice apartment out of it instead of a cramped room. The rooms were not cramped for a hotel space but not ideal for permanency.

  She rapped on the door twice and heard rustling before the door opened to a young, smiling face. Tan with sandy bond hair, his features looked similar enough to Dottie's that she was willing to bet this was Dottie's son.

  "I am guessing you are Gail?" He had a melodious voice that told her his singing voice was probably fantastic.

  She nodded once. "Yes, and you must be Dottie's son?"

  His smile grew which made his resemblance to his mother slightly stronger. "That would be me, name’s Reed. My cousin Kevin is here as well, and my mom let us know to expect you. Come on in, and if you eat some of the vegetables off the vegetable platter, she won't just blame me and Kevin for eating them all before guests arrive." He swept the door open in a large gesture that made Gail laugh.

  She stepped in to see a warm cozy space with overstuffed furniture and not a lot of knickknacks. There were sections of wall that held a large variety of photos that she guessed were of Dottie’s family. There were only two pieces of art on the walls. The decorations were no-nonsense but comforting. It was a fine line. She appreciated it because it set her at ease.

  As she walked in, she saw a very large island with stools set out around two sides. At that island was a man probably the same age as Reed, who resembled him closely enough to be a sibling. But this man held himself more friendly, upbeat. He didn't have the same mop of dark brown hair Robert had. Instead this man, who must've been Kevin, had cut his hair short and styled it. He had a lean, toned body that told Gail he definitely worked out regularly. Robert was in good shape, but it was clear Kevin worked on his appearance more than his brother did.

  Kevin looked up with what looked like a pepper slice smothered in ranch halfway to his mouth. "Hey, Gail, nice to meet you." He shoved it into his mouth.

  "That's Kevin," Reed said quickly and Gail could practically hear the rolling of his eyes even tho
ugh she wasn’t looking.

  "Nice to meet you too," she replied.

  "Can I get you anything?" offered Reed as he moved in front of her and motioned as he walked to the large open area that seem to be the kitchen. The whole room in front of her was open. The kitchen took up one-third of the room between the large island and all the counters and a pantry. It was the kind of kitchen people dreamed of. The area also held a living room area and the dining room. Even though all of them were in one space it was sectioned off enough that it wasn’t claustrophobic, and you could definitely tell where one space ended and another began.

  "Water would be great," Gail answered. Since she wasn't sure what Dottie had, she knew water was a safe bet.

  Reed moved about the kitchen like he knew the place, which she assumed he did since his mother lived here. As he poured her a glass of water three of them lulled into an uncomfortable silence. The only sound was Kevin eating things out of the vegetable tray.

  Reed seemed to feel a need to play host since his mother wasn't there yet. After handing her the water he sat on a stool at the island, patted the one next to him, and motioned for her to sit. "Take a seat, did she tell you how many of us were coming to dinner?"

  Gail shook her head; she didn't think the question warranted more response than that.

  "All right, we will try not to overwhelm you. Although surprising you with that many of us at once would be overwhelming no matter what. It will be Kevin and myself, Kevin's little brother, Maxwell and Kevin's older brother, Robert, and of course my mom, who you've met. I assume you've met Robert, as mom tells me your dog is under his care. I'm sorry to hear that," he added sympathetically.

  With a pang she tried to determine whether his sympathy was genuine, but she muttered her thanks anyway.