Bark to the Future (An Alpine Grove Romantic Comedy Book 5)

by Susan C. Daffron

  Beth laughed. “Maybe they do. Technology marches on.”

  Kat bent down to pet Arlo. “Cindy is probably home from the airport by now. She’ll see you tomorrow, Arlo. Be good.”

  Beth loaded Arlo into the Explorer and returned to her mother’s house. Kat had been too nice to say it, but she probably was hoping she never saw Arlo again. Beth looked in the rearview mirror at Arlo. “What are we going to do with you, buddy?”

  The next day at the store, Beth was half-heartedly sorting through books and thinking about Drew. She wanted to tell him about the cruise for her mother. He would love that idea. She also wanted to know if he was still planning to come to the party. At some point, Beth had realized she hadn’t actually given him any details about where the event was being held.

  Beth called the Enchanted Moose and the surly woman at the front desk told her that Drew’s phone was on Do Not Disturb, but that she could leave a message. Flustered, Beth listened to the automated voice and hung up before the beep. Could she be any more juvenile? She called back and forced herself to leave a message like a real grown-up. She gave Drew the details about the party and only stuttered a couple of times. But she did manage to get out the fact that she wanted him to come. Why did he have his phone off? She had no idea what he could possibly be doing. Maybe Dixie didn’t like phones? He seemed to be alone, but maybe he wasn’t. Maybe he met another woman from the reunion. Beth shook her head in an effort to stall her swirling thoughts. The idea of Drew with one of her classmates was disturbing. She didn’t want to dwell on that hypothesis.

  After sorting through a few more piles of books, Beth became increasingly annoyed at her own thoughts. If she wanted to know what Drew was doing, she should just ask him. After being a coward and avoiding him for ten years, she still couldn’t just pick up the phone and tell him she’d like to talk to him? What was wrong with her? She should just ask him to call her back. Why didn’t she do that before? Beth sighed and threw a book into the recycle pile. Could she be any more socially inept?

  She picked up the receiver and dialed the number for the Enchanted Moose again. “Yes, I’d like to speak to Drew Emery, please.”

  “You again?”

  “Yes. I apologize. I inadvertently failed to include a salient detail in my message.”

  The phone rang again and as she listened to the automated message she tried to formulate what she was going to say. After the beep, she stammered, “Drew, hi, um, I know, it...it’s me again. Beth? I just was wondering, well, wondering if you might, I don’t know…maybe…maybe. Well, if maybe I could see you before the party? Or talk to you? There is something I wanted. Um…yes…something I wanted to tell you about. I’ll be at the store. Here. It is in the same place. Well, you know that. Maybe you could stop by? Or maybe call? I will be here the same hours. You know. Ten to five. Okay, anyway…that was it. I am sorry to bother you. ‘Bye.”

  Beth hung up and put her forehead on her palms. That had to be the most convoluted inarticulate message in the history of the universe. If he actually did show up here, she’d be embarrassed to even look at him. Returning to Alpine Grove seemed to be causing some regression in her already meager interpersonal skills.

  Later that afternoon, the phone rang and Beth smiled at the sound of Drew’s voice. He said, “You called?”

  “Yes, I mostly just wanted to say hi.” She looked up as the bells on the doors jingled and said, “Oops.”

  “Is something wrong?”

  She whispered, “A customer just walked in. I shouldn’t be on the phone.”

  “Let me guess, your mom will kill you.”

  Beth giggled. “Sorry, but you know my mom is really strict about calls. No talking on the phone when customers are in the store. Can I call you right back?” She watched as the woman perused the shelves. Putting her hand over the mouthpiece, she said, “Please let me know if you need anything.” The woman nodded and pulled a book down from a shelf.

  “Beth, are you there?”

  She could hear the annoyance in his voice. “I’m sorry, Drew. Did you know your phone is on Do Not Disturb?”

  “I know.”

  “Well, ah, could you take it off, so I can call you back? I’m sure it will only be fifteen minutes or so. I’ll call you just as soon as this customer leaves.”

  “All right.”

  Beth said goodbye and hung up. She returned to sorting books and watched as the customer slowly worked her way around the store, methodically pulling out titles and reading the back covers. The woman appeared to be in her late forties or early fifties. Didn’t she have anything else to do? She had to have looked at a hundred-twenty-five books, yet she still wasn’t carrying anything. Beth said, “Can I help you find something?”

  The woman shook her head, causing her brown hair to brush against her chin. “Just browsing.”

  An hour-and-a-half later, the woman smiled, looked down, and said “thank you” before strolling out of the store, having purchased absolutely nothing. Beth sighed and picked up the phone to call Drew. As usual, she got the surly woman and then the answering machine.

  Oh well. She’d tried. If he was that intent on not being disturbed, she’d just have to talk to him at the party. If he showed up, he’d find out with everyone else about her mom’s cruise to Mexico. Beth smiled as she started gathering up her things in preparation for closing. Mom was going to be so thrilled.

  Saturday at the store, Beth waved through the window at people who were walking to the Italian restaurant for the party. She had no idea how Bea Sullivan had managed to talk Jerry, the owner of the restaurant, into closing it for a private event, but she had. Bea had remarkable powers of persuasion.

  Beth was sitting near the window sorting books and Margaret was at the desk reading a novel. Her mother was feeling better and had been working afternoons at the store for the past couple of days. She assured Beth that she could return home to Tucson whenever she liked.

  The idea of being warm again was enticing and Beth got her return ticket set up for Monday, which would give her tomorrow to pack and make sure everything was arranged for her return to Alpine Grove in March for the cruise. Since it was a surprise, she couldn’t talk to her mother about it yet.

  After this peculiar, yet somewhat nostalgic, blast back to her past, Beth wasn’t sure how she felt about returning to her real life. This trip had been a good distraction, but when she returned home, she’d have to face the harsh truth that her life was a mess. What happened next? Looking for a job was obvious. But what would she do with herself? No work. No school. What did unemployed people do all day? The only bright spot was that it would probably be amusing to relate her Alpine Grove experiences to Graham and give him more insight into her formative years.

  Beth had convinced her mother to ask Cindy to drive her to the bookstore after walking Arlo, so Margaret wouldn’t have to walk there alone. Beth had driven to the store the last two days so she could drive her mother home at the end of the day. However, Margaret insisted that she could walk the few blocks up the street to the restaurant.

  Beth gathered up her things and got ready to close up. “It’s no big deal to drive, Mom.”

  “I’m not an invalid. I feel much better. And I want the fresh air. I’m certainly not going to drive to the store after you leave, so I’d better get used to it.”

  “You could drive here for a little while. Why not?”

  “Parking is bad enough. I don’t want to take up a space that could be used by a paying customer.”

  Beth sighed. This was another of Mom’s retail rules. “All right. But if you start feeling sore again, you should drive.”

  Margaret glared at her. “You’re hovering again, dear. Please stop it.”

  “Sorry. I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

  They strolled slowly up the street and then crossed over to the other side. Margaret stopped in front of Bea Haven Gifts. “Look at her window display. Isn’t it lovely? I need to do more with mine.”


  “You always say that. The bookstore window looks great. Bea has lots of glittery gift items she can use. Books don’t sparkle.”

  “I suppose.”

  They walked into the Italian restaurant and Margaret was immediately surrounded by well-wishers. Beth took her mom’s purse and coat and retreated to a table. She sat down and put her finger to her eye, trying to get her contact lens back into the right place again. The stupid things had a knack for leaping out of her eyes at the worst possible moments. Blinking a few times, her vision cleared and she saw Drew walking over to her.

  She waved and smiled eagerly. “You made it!”

  “Hey, Beth. This is quite a crowd.” He sat down. “I can’t stay long. Miss Dixie is napping, but I need to get back to deal with her.”

  “Oh, but you’ll miss the big surprise.”

  “What’s that?”

  Beth reached over and put her hand on his arm. “Jill is giving my mom a cruise to Mexico. Isn’t that wonderful?”

  “Yeah, your mom will love that.”

  She smiled. “I’m going to brave the cold and the inevitable unpleasant spring snowstorm and watch the store while she’s gone.”

  “You’re coming back here? That’s surprising.”

  “Just for a couple of weeks. Jill asked me about it the other day. I tried to call you, remember?”

  Drew looked away toward the crowded room. “Yeah, sorry about that. I had deadlines.”

  Beth squeezed his arm. “Deadlines for what? You never told me what you do.”

  “I write. And as you may recall, I have a lot of experience with procrastination, so unlike raindrops on roses, deadlines are not a few of my favorite things.”

  Beth smiled. “You used to refer to yourself as a world-class expert in that area.”

  He looked back at her. “Yeah, some things never change.”

  “What do you write?”

  “Novels.”

  Beth’s jaw dropped. “You’re a novelist? Really? Would I have read anything you’ve written?”

  “You said you hadn’t.”

  “When?”

  “When you took my book out of Dixie’s sharp little teeth.” He grinned. “That pup has good taste in mysteries.”

  “You’re A.J. Emerson?”

  He wiggled his eyebrows. “Don’t tell. It’s a secret.”

  “I’ll say. That is definitely not you on the back cover.”

  “Yeah, I know. It’s some model they got.”

  “So you didn’t call me because you were writing?”

  Drew stretched his legs out under the table and leaned back in the chair. “Sort of. I was staring at the screen anyway. I’m having a little problem with writer’s block, you might say. My publisher is not amused. I’m on the last book of a six-book contract and I can’t figure out how to end it.”

  “Can I help? You helped me back in high school. Maybe I can return the favor?”

  “No. I just gotta pound through it and get it done.” He shrugged. “Mostly, I’m worried about disappointing my readers.”

  “You must have a lot of fans. Danielle told me she read about you in People magazine.”

  He cocked his head and scratched his ear. “Yeah, that interviewer was one fry short of a Happy Meal, so I kinda came off sounding like a moron. But my publisher loved the publicity. They were talking about another contract, but now they might be rethinking that idea.”

  “I’m sure that’s not true. My mom said she loves your books. She’s got the next one on pre-order, so she gets it as soon as it’s released.”

  “That’s good to hear.” Drew moved to get up. “On that note, I should go give her my regards and get going.”

  “Already? But you just got here.” She grabbed his hand. “Wait, Drew! I’m leaving on Monday. Can I see you again? I don’t even know where you live. I don’t want to lose touch for another ten years.”

  He sat back down, squeezed her hand, and looked into her eyes. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “Why not? Can’t we be friends? It’s been great catching up with you again. Like no time has passed at all.”

  He let go of her hand. “But it has.”

  “So what? I’d love to hear more about your books. You always did tell the best stories. I remember sitting up there at Make Out Point looking out at the lake and you were telling me this whole complicated tale about your cousin Bart.” She grinned. “It was hilarious. You have the weirdest family.”

  He scratched his chin. “I may have embellished a little.”

  “So Bart didn’t hang upside down in trees pretending to be a bat?”

  “I may have made that up.”

  “What about Frances and her promiscuous friend Barb at the hair salon?”

  “Yeah, she was slutty. But largely fictional.” Drew shrugged. “I really have to go, Beth.”

  “Could we exchange phone numbers?” She started rummaging around in her purse, looking for a pen.

  “Let’s just say goodbye, okay?” He placed both hands on the table and pushed himself up.

  She looked up into his eyes. “I don’t understand. Are you still angry? I wouldn’t blame you if you were. But I told you, I am truly sorry. Can’t we be friends now?” She needed all the friends she could get.

  He sat back down heavily. “No, I’m not angry at you anymore. I got over that a long time ago. You were right that I had a lot of growing up to do. I had a bunch of stupid, unrealistic ideas back then. But our lives are different now. I move around a lot. You have a house and a guy waiting for you back in Arizona.”

  “So what? That doesn’t mean we can’t keep in touch.” Beth had so few people she could really talk to that the idea of losing Drew’s friendship again made her feel slightly sick. It was just like when her friend Michelle moved away after tenth grade. After that, Beth didn’t have anyone to sit with at lunch. That was when she had starting hiding out in the library, so people wouldn’t see that she had no friends.

  Drew placed his forearms on the table and leaned forward. “What’s your boyfriend’s name again?”

  “Graham.”

  “Would you want to have Graham’s old lovers contacting him? How would you feel about that?”

  Beth shrugged. “Well, if they were in the past, it would be fine, I suppose. I mean I know he was married before.”

  “How much contact does he have with his ex-wife?”

  “He never talks about her.”

  “I’m sure that’s on purpose.”

  “So you really never want to see me again?”

  “I don’t think we work as ‘just friends,’ Beth.” He shook his head. “Everything that happened back then—it was just all too intense. There’s way too much history with us.”

  Beth felt a tear slip down her cheek. She blinked rapidly and her contact lens flipped out of her eye. “Stop! Don’t move!”

  “Jeez Beth, really? This used to happen all the time. Why don’t you get those soft contact lenses that don’t fly out of your eye every ten minutes?”

  Beth stretched out her hands, feeling around the tablecloth to find the contact. “They don’t work for me. I couldn’t see as well. It was like I was looking at things underwater, which gave me a headache.”

  Drew bent down and peered under the table. “In this dim light, we’re never gonna find the fool thing.”

  “I’m sure we will. Just don’t step on it!”

  Drew lifted his feet up under the chair and leaned down, running his hand along the floor. “Okay. I got it.” He handed the tiny green lens to her. “Dang, those things really get airborne.”

  Beth dunked the contact into her water glass on the table and put it back in her eye. She blinked a few times and smiled with relief. “Thank goodness. I hate not being able to see.”

  Drew put his hand on hers briefly, then stood up again. “Okay. I’m really leaving now. You take care.”

  She stood and faced him. “This is ridiculous. I don’t want to say goodbye to you forever
.”

  “Well, you sure had no problem doing it before.”

  Beth looked down at the floor. “I know. It was a terrible mistake. One that I wish I could take back.”

  “You can’t just press a rewind button, Beth. Life’s not like that.” He put his fingertip under her chin and tilted her head up so he could look into her eyes. “But if you have an emergency or something and really need to reach me for some reason, you can always find me through my publisher. I know your mom has the books at the store.”

  Beth reached out, wrapped her arms around his neck, and looked into his face. “I don’t want to do this again, Drew. I’m going to miss you too much.”

  The distressed look in his eyes softened. “I know, Bethie. Me too.” He bent his head and kissed her lips quickly before he pulled her arms away from him and stepped back from her. “Have a safe trip back to Tucson.”

  As he crossed the room to the crowd around her mother, Beth touched her fingertip to her lips, which still tingled from the contact. He was right. Some things never changed.

  She watched as Margaret hugged Drew and gestured animatedly. They chatted briefly, and a few minutes later he was gone.

  Beth and her mother returned from the party late. Margaret was exhilarated and said it was the best birthday party she’d ever had. Beth was exhausted from the stress of socializing, but pleased at how well the party had gone. No one seemed to want to leave and only when Jerry started closing up the restaurant did everyone start reluctantly exchanging hugs and filtering out onto the street. This was probably the most late-night action the main street of Alpine Grove had seen in half a decade.

  On the short drive to the house, Margaret went on and on about all the people who had been there. Beth had spent much of the evening near the door smiling and attempting to chat with most of the people she’d ever met in Alpine Grove, along with quite a few she hadn’t. It was probably going to take a week for her introverted soul to recover from all that human contact. She was looking forward to a relaxing Sunday of sleeping in, reading, and packing for her trip home.