Bone Is Where the Heart Is

by Maddie Sutton

  “—Stay in the church,” I finished for her. That was one of her favorite sayings. I’m not sure what it meant exactly but it didn’t matter. Her point was valid.

  Mom and Dad instilled that in both me and Sarah. Telling the truth, even when it made us look bad, was far better than lying and being forced to continue to lie to cover up the truth. The lie was always uncovered anyway so why go to all that trouble?

  Telling the truth didn’t save my business or reputation in Charleston but when I left, no one could accuse me of being a liar on top of it.

  “I was thinking about approaching the vet clinic to ask if they could do some demonstrations or mini-seminars on pet care.” I watched Gramma over the rim of my mug.

  She leaned over to pat me on the arm. “I knew you got your smarts from my side of the family. It’s a brilliant idea. You could also set up a table to trim nails and claws. Put a bowl at the end for donations. And your business cards. You have ordered business cards?”

  “Not yet. It’s on my list. I’ll order them as soon as we can close on the building since I need an address before I can pass them out. There’s a lot to be done, still.”

  Gramma said nothing when she stood from the table and disappeared up the stairs.

  “I guess I was abandoned, Winston,” I mused as he sat there, tail sweeping the floor. His attention was on Gramma’s half eaten breakfast.

  “Mary will be back. She still has food on her plate.”

  Winston was right. Gramma came back down and set a small box in front of me.

  Taped on the top was a sample of the business cards the box held.

  “Gramma, you shouldn’t have. I don’t know if I’m going to get the building yet. I’m still waiting to hear back—”

  “Trust your old Gramma, honey. That building is yours. It feels right.” She patted the box and went back to eating her breakfast.

  “Thank you,” I said, leaning to kiss her cheek. “I’ll put some in my purse before I go out.” I didn’t want to hurt her feelings by not being gracious.

  I wish I had her confidence.

  There was no denying it, though. The feeling that she was right was strong. My dad always taught me to go with my gut.

  My gut was saying this was right.

  I sat in the quiet of the kitchen, sipping at my coffee as my mind flitted around aimlessly over the events of the past week. How did Harry know Clare? Did they become friends when she moved here? They made such an odd couple but it wasn’t beyond possibility. Was it due to his connection to Violet? That picture showed a very happy couple. It must have been before Violet married Horace Pickering.

  “If you think much harder,” Gramma said, “you’re in danger of blowing a fuse.”

  “What?” I laughed softly. “Sorry, I was just thinking about Harry and Violet. Who would have thought they were a thing so long ago?”

  Gramma burst out laughing. “Harry and Violet? The woman wouldn’t have given Harry the time of day. She was a right snobbish one, that Violet.”

  I set my coffee down. “No, I’m pretty sure they may have been in love at one point.”

  “I know my gossip, girl,” Gramma said. “Have I ever been wrong?”

  She had a point. “But I have their picture.”

  Her eyes narrowed at me. “Do you now?” She made grabby fingers.

  I trotted upstairs to get the picture I liberated from Violet’s house and handed it to her before I refilled our mugs.

  “Oh, there’s your problem. That’s not Violet.” Gramma handed the picture back.

  “It’s not?” I looked closer at it. “So that’s her sister, Viola?”

  “Violet’s face was more heart-shaped. Viola’s was longer, more oval.”

  They looked identical to me. “So Harry and Viola...”

  “Caused quite a scandal. Old Man Dufore threatened to ruin the Stillwells if they didn’t stop seeing each other. Viola left home before she graduated and no one has seen her since.”

  “And Harry stayed here in town?”

  “Back then, reputation meant a lot more than it does now.” Gramma sipped at her coffee. “Broke Harry’s heart. There was nothing for him after Viola. Quite sad.”

  “Yeah.” And now her grandniece won’t get any of the family money.

  Sarah had been right that Violet Pickering had no friends in town if she was that horrible to everyone she knew.

  Chapter Twelve

  There was something beautiful about sleeping in. I was starting to get used to it. Even Winston didn’t wake me to go to the bathroom. These days would be over soon enough, once I had the shop open, so I intended to enjoy them while I could.

  Mom left a note saying she, Gramma and Winston were going down to the church to get their booth ready for the craft fair. She left her car keys on the kitchen table and asked if I wanted to join them in town for lunch.

  Thank you, Mom. I didn’t look forward to a day of riding on the bicycle again. A definite perk for living above my business was that my commute to work would be the shortest in history.

  Dad was most likely off at work, leaving me alone in the house.

  A long soak in the tub was just what the doctor ordered and when I emerged there were a few messages on my phone. One was to go to the realtor’s office.

  One from Jolene telling me she had a full shift today.

  No cohort to bum around with and getting into trouble. Whatever would I do with myself?

  Coffee and donuts cured all ailments.

  Before stopping by the realtor’s office, I wanted to indulge in two chocolate glazed donuts and a coffee.

  Sarah must have seen me drive up because by the time I got in the store, she had my coffee and donuts ready and sitting at the small table in the corner. “Hey, sis,” she said, glancing towards the curtained door that led to the back of the shop.

  “What’s up?” I said. It was pretty obvious something was going on. Sarah was about as chill as anyone could be, even when under stress, and right now, she was a little on edge.

  “It’s Belinda,” she whispered to me. “She’s been crying all morning.”

  “Over what?” I could only guess.

  “I’m not positive, but I think it was over Kevin Spencer’s warrant for arrest. The police came in here earlier looking for him. You know...” She leaned in further and dropped to a very soft whisper, as if Belinda could miraculously hear from another room over the refrigerator and freezer units in the back. “I think she was kind of sweet on him. She’s blaming herself for all this happening like it’s her fault.”

  “More than a little sweet,” I mused.

  Sarah sat back with a surprised look. “No. Get out.”

  “I saw the pictures. She looked happy. He looked distracted. I think she knew he was stepping out on her.”

  “With who? No, don’t tell me. I shouldn’t be gossiping about my boss. Oh my God, I wonder who he hooked up with. Geez, why would he treat poor Belinda so badly, especially after all that stuff with her husband? Who?”

  “I thought you didn’t want to know.”

  “I don’t.” Not missing a beat, she leaned in again. “I do. Who?”

  “I have no idea. She had her suspicions, though.”

  “You know, that explains why she’s been so squirrely lately.”

  “Squirrely how?”

  “Just...not like she usually is, you know? Leaving me to tend the shop alone while she went out to “run errands” she said.” Sarah air quoted with her fingers. “She hasn’t been looking really good for days now. I guess in hindsight, it makes sense. You think she was in love with him? Kevin, I mean. Like, real love and not some older lady sowing her wild oats?”

  “I really don’t know. She was upset when I talked to her. But that’s all I know.”

  “You are lousy at town gossip, you know that? Am I, like, even related to you?” Sarah snapped her towel at me playfully and got up to wait on a customer who came in.

  After I finished one donut, I tucked
the second away into the bag, gathered my coffee and headed for the realtor’s office.

  Rebecca was opening up when I walked up. “Hey, I think I’m early.”

  “No, you’re right on time. It will take a moment to get all the lights on and settle in but I can talk while I do that.”

  I followed her in and set my purse and my second donut on her desk.

  “The buyer has accepted your offer, and the inspector expedited his report. Nothing was flagged,” she said as she made a circuit around the office to turn on lights, the copier and the coffee maker. It wasn’t long before the aroma of fresh brewed cheap coffee filled the office.

  The news made my day. Since I was paying with cash, the house would be mine by the end of the week. One major hurdle down, a dozen more to go before I could open my doors for canine clients. “Is there a way I could get in to do a pre-walk-through so I can start making my plans for the shop?”

  “Well,” she sat at her desk and booted her computer, “it’s not part of the procedure but I have errands as soon as Gary comes in. I can swing by and unlock the side door for you. Just don’t stay there long and make sure to lock up before you leave. It won’t count as the final walk-through, you understand? And if anything goes wrong, it’s on you. The inspector gave it a passing grade but we still have the final walk-through before it’s official.”

  I made a crossing sign over my heart.

  Still walking on clouds, I needed to share the news with someone. And I had some shiny new business cards I needed to distribute.

  I managed to hit the vet clinic at just the right time. No one was in the waiting area and the vet techs were all gathered at reception talking with Maxine.

  Walking up like I was a total boss, and I was, let’s be real, I placed a stack of the cards in front of Maxine. She grabbed one and looked at it, her face breaking into a huge smile. “This is amazing, Naomi. Congratulations. This calls for a special treat.”

  She reached beneath her desk and pulled out a tin of oatmeal raisin spiced cookies. “For humans only,” she said, holding the tin out to me.

  “Thank you. I’m honored.”

  “Hold on.” She held out her hand to stop me from taking a bite. Picking up her phone, she punched a number and paged for Dr. Sawyer to come to the front.

  He appeared after a moment and shook my hand in greeting as if we hadn’t spoken for months, holding it for far longer than necessary. He made me the center of his attention for those few moments. I swear, if he greeted me like that every time he saw me? He could just have my heart. Right now. That was a suave move, right there.

  Luckily, my heart was immune.

  But if it wasn’t, he’d be a contender.

  “Maxine, do we have any extra card holders?” he asked as he admired my card.

  She produced one and we stuck the few I had in the holder. I should have brought the entire box.

  “I’m glad you’re up here, Dr. Sawyer—”

  “Please, call me Kane. I’m only Dr. Sawyer to Mrs. Rosenberg’s third grade biology class.”

  “Right.” Damn it, my blush was back. I hated when that happened without my permission. “I was wondering if I could interest the clinic in holding mini-seminars, just like forty-five minutes long, during the dog show festivities. We can put a can up on the table for donations for your expertise and split them with you and the shelter.”

  “No. You would keep the donations, one hundred percent for the shelter,” Kane said. “I think that’s a great idea.”

  “I was going to set up a nail clipping table for donations. Possibly take brushes to give dogs a good brushing out as a way to advertise my shop.”

  “Oh!” Maxine covered her mouth, trying to hold her squeal of glee. “I know what I can do. Years ago, during a Dog Days event for a shelter in Texas, they set up a tame, very-not-serious agility course so the kids could run their dogs through. Cute little trick things like standing in a hula-hoop with the dog and lifting the hoop over their head and setting it on the ground, weave poles out of plastic flowers, small jumps that were only two or three inches off the ground. Can I do something like that? Will there be room?”

  “Oh, Maxine, that sounds wonderful,” I said. “I can talk to Harry about it but I’m sure it will be fine. Do you think you can pull it off in the time we have? The craft fair is just over a week away.”

  Where did the time go?

  “I’m sure I can dig around in my garage and find everything I need. We can time it and give prizes to the kids for the fastest times through the course.”

  Kane patted her on the shoulder with a file folder on the way by to file it. A boss who did his own filing? Be still my heart.

  “Make up some doggie biscuit baggies and sell a handful for two dollars. What are you doing for prizes for all the events, Naomi?”

  “We’ve had several businesses step up to offer stuff. But if you have something you’re willing to donate, I won’t turn it down.” At first, I had been reluctant to do anything. Just chalk it up to my desire to hide under my bed after my epic failure in South Carolina.

  Now? I was very jazzed about what we were doing. It was for a good cause. The county would lose their no-kill shelter if Inge couldn’t keep up the lease.

  Doing this, being a part of something bigger? Maybe that was what I needed to pull myself out of my hole.

  “So when do you move in? To your shop?” Kane said, leaning against the counter.

  “As soon as I sign the paperwork. I’m hoping the end of the week. Want to come take a peek at the new place? See the before in real time?”

  “If you don’t mind waiting until after six.” Maxine put the tin of cookies away after Kane snagged two more. “That’s when we close.”

  “I’ll see you there! Just make sure it’s before dark. I don’t know if the lights were left on or I’ll have to have them connected. Looking around a house in the dark kind of defeats the purpose of showing it off.”

  Now was the part I dreaded more than anything. It took a supreme force of will to go to Land Records to talk to Clare Dufore.

  I didn’t want to give Winston up. I knew he was her great-aunt’s dog but we had bonded.

  Really, how much more bonded could a dog get with a human than to be able to talk to them? Like, literally talk.

  After an internal debate during the entire drive over on whether to engage Ben Moore’s services as family lawyer, I decided to take a chance and see if Clare could be reasoned with.

  Clare was sitting at the reception desk again, chin in hand and looking depressed.

  “Hi,” she said. “How can I help you?”

  “Hi, Clare, I don’t know if you remember me from—”

  “I do. You’re Naomi Cooper. You’re buying the house on Peace Hill drive.”

  “Yes. I was hoping I could talk to you for a second.”

  She glanced at the wall clock and sighed. “Sure. And I think I owe you an apology.”

  “What?” That was a surprise, and a pleasant one. She was aware how our last conversation had gone. “No. No you don’t. I’m sure everything has been unpleasant for you lately.”

  “I was rude and I’m sorry.”

  “Thank you. Think nothing of it.” I smoothed my hand along the countertop, trying to gather my courage. “As you know, I have your aunt’s dog, Winston. I was curious what your intentions were for him.”

  “Well, truthfully, I don’t want the little beast.” I must have looked shocked that she’d say that about sweet-natured Winston. I know not all Chihuahuas have the reputation for being sweet; in fact, the YouTube memes that floated around about ill-tempered Chihuahuas were popular. But really, Winston was a very sweet-natured dog.

  She noted the look on my face and sighed softly. “Not that he’s a bad dog or anything but he was my aunt’s favorite family member and that association brings bad memories.”

  “So you don’t mind if I keep him?” Oh please say yes.

  “Well...”

  My he
art sank, bottomed right out in my stomach, like a thick gross rock.

  “I have to let you know that I’m considering contesting my aunt’s will if she didn’t leave me anything. I suspect she left it to the dog.”

  “That would make a certain amount of sense.” I held my hand up. “Not that it’s right. You’re family.”

  “Exactly!” she said. “So his custody status may be up in the air until that’s sorted out.”

  “I don’t want your aunt’s money, Clare. And I don’t want to fight you. I just want Winston.” I couldn’t be any more honest than that.

  Clare squeezed her eyes closed. “This really isn’t a good time for this conversation, okay? I’m sorry, Naomi. But I’ll consider it.”

  The phone rang. Clare glanced at the caller ID and frowned. “Excuse me, I need to get this.”

  I nodded and stood a distance away so I didn’t appear to crowd her. Short of walking out of the building, there was no escaping overhearing her side of the conversation.

  She picked up the receiver. “What do you want?”

  “Don’t give me that crap. You’re...delusional if you think I am going to—”

  “Please. Like that could...”

  “Don’t raise your voice at me...fine. Fine. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  Clare slammed the phone down and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. Can we discuss this later? I have something I need to settle before this gets out of hand.”

  “Sure, I guess.” I backed out of the office and headed for the front doors. I heard a door slam behind me, followed by loud steps growing further and further away. I glanced over my shoulder to catch her going outside through the back door.

  Maybe a visit to my lawyer was in order.

  Ben was out of the office and wouldn’t be back until morning, so I left a note for him to call me when he had a chance. I had a few minutes to kill before meeting my family for lunch. Harry’s car was parked along a side street.