The Treasure of the Hairy Cadre (An Alpine Grove Romantic Comedy Book 8)

by Susan C. Daffron

  “I kinda got that impression. I’m trying not to be obnoxious. Your parents are as nice as you said they’d be.”

  “I appreciate that you’re being so polite.” Sara moved Olivia and lay down facing him. “I think my parents like you better than they like me right now.”

  Zack chuckled. “Well, your dad liked me until I pointed out I was gonna sleep with you. He turned kinda green and I thought he might lose his pie there for a second.”

  “That may not have been one of your most tactful comments. I don’t think it matters how old I am. No father wants to hear about his daughter’s sex life.” Sara placed her palm on his chest. “I’m sorry I snapped at you.”

  “That was not one of your most tactful comments either. In fact, it pissed me off. I respect the fact that you pretty much saved my bacon out in the woods, but back here in civilization, I’ve been on my own for a long time. I can do things like cut up vegetables and load a dishwasher. How I do it might not be up to your high standards, but you’ll have to suck it up and deal with my shortcomings in the kitchen. And everywhere else.”

  Sara scowled. “Now you sound like Josh.”

  “You mean Mr.–Ditched-You-at-the-Altar guy?”

  “Yes. That’s part of what is so…I don’t know…odd about having you here. Josh was at all our holiday dinners and spent time with my family for a long time. He knew how I like to do things.”

  Zack sat up and looked into her eyes. “Jeez, I am such an idiot for not realizing this sooner. You’re still hung up on him, aren’t you?”

  “No, I’m not. He mentioned my ‘standards’ when we discussed the reasons he didn’t show up for the wedding. It was one aspect of the ‘you’re bossy, opinionated, and have no sense of humor’ conversation. Along with ‘that’s why I cheated on you for a year’ before the wedding that didn’t happen.”

  “Whoa, that must have been harsh. You didn’t mention the cheating part before.”

  “It has taken me a long time to get over it because I felt so humiliated and stupid for not realizing what was going on.” Sara snuggled up and pulled him back down to the bed next to her. “You’re the only person I’ve ever talked to about what actually happened.”

  “I’m cool with a little bossiness.” He put his hand on her cheek. “Like I said before, there’s a lot to be said for leadership skills. But if you’re mean and start getting hyper-critical all over my case, we’ve got a problem. I’ve had way too much of that in my life.”

  “I’m sorry. I’ve always thought of myself as a sensitive, compassionate person. I’m constantly worrying about how other people feel and what they might think of me. But when I get upset, I start trying to control things.”

  “I noticed.” He gave her a kiss. “I like you. I really do. But you gotta loosen up sometimes.”

  “I’ll try.” Sara put her arms around his neck and gave him another more enthusiastic kiss. “I’m so glad you’re here. I feel much more relaxed and loose now.”

  “You do seem more relaxed now. I promise not to tell your dad you’re a loose woman.”

  Sara laughed. “Please don’t. I’m afraid the evening was unsettling enough for him as it was.”

  The next morning Olivia jumped onto Sara’s head to complain about the lack of food in her bowl. Sara disentangled herself from Zack and stumbled over to the closet to attend to the feline request for sustenance.

  As she crouched down to pour the food into the bowl, a few brain cells that had been paralyzed by last night’s amorous adventures finally woke up. Zack hadn’t told her what the song lyrics had to do with the treasure. Did he know where it was?

  She crawled back into bed, curled up alongside him, and reached around to tickle his stomach. “Are you awake? I have a question.”

  “I am now. You’d better stop what you’re doing unless you don’t want to talk.” He rolled over to face her. “But I can get on board with that idea too.”

  Sara pushed him away slightly. “I noticed. Maybe later. Right now, I want to know about the lyrics. We didn’t discuss it last night.”

  “You seemed to have other plans.”

  Sara ran her hand up his throat and twirled her fingers in the hair curling at the nape of his neck. “Yes, I know. Don’t change the subject. How do the lyrics of the songs relate to the treasure? Do you know where it is now?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “I thought you were sure.”

  “Hey, I told you before, I’m never completely sure about much of anything. But I’m pretty convinced the whole treasure thing relates to the songs.”

  “Why?”

  “Because of Mary Lou—I mean the dog Mary Lou. I remembered that Ira’s dog Mary Lou was named after the song “Hello Mary Lou” by Ricky Nelson.”

  “You said that. So what?”

  “Mary Lou saved me from a fire in the apartment building.”

  “So the dragon and fire stuff was real?” Sara pulled her hand away. “What happened?”

  “I didn’t remember any of it until I started singing the songs. It’s in the lyrics of the song “Fire Breathin’ Dragon,” which talks about a kiss awakening someone from a never-ending sleep. One night my foster mother’s crappy cooking caused a kitchen fire. The fire department came and Mary Lou ran into my room and licked me until I woke up. The firemen followed the dog. I ended up being fine, but it scared the crap out of me. I don’t know how Mary Lou knew I was in trouble.”

  “How does this relate to the treasure?”

  “It’s the letter. I think Ira was afraid Ozzy would get his hands on it, so it’s kinda cryptic. When I reread it, I realized that the song lyrics have to be the key. Most of Ricky Nelson’s songs deal with love. Lots of ballads and teenage romance stuff. Ira talked about love all the time. He kept saying he wanted me to experience love. I was a little kid, so I thought he was kinda sappy and probably just drunk. But looking back, it was actually nice that he wanted me to be happy and fall in love someday.”

  “That’s so sweet. He must have cared about you.”

  “Yeah, he used to say he wished his son were like me. At the time, I was so lonely and felt like no one could ever love me, probably because I’d been rejected over and over, moving from one foster home to another. In fact, after the fire, I got shipped off to a new placement.”

  Sara looked at him for a second, at a loss for what to say. “I can’t imagine how you must have felt. It breaks my heart to think of a little boy feeling like no one loves him.”

  “I was an angry kid and pretty much hated everybody. Except Mary Lou and Ira, after we started spending time together.”

  “It must have been hard to leave.”

  “Yeah I was upset, although not too sad about leaving my foster family. But starting fires tends to piss off the folks at child protective services.”

  “Did you ever find a nice family where you felt loved?”

  “Nope. I think I told you, I aged out of the system.”

  “Have you ever been in love with someone?”

  “Maybe.” Zack sat up. “What is this, twenty questions?”

  Sara sat up next to him. Maybe? That wasn’t an answer. Even if he wasn’t involved now, he must have ex-girlfriends somewhere. Wouldn’t he? Or ex-wives? What about the assistant, Meagan? Somehow, Sara had managed to spill her guts to him about Josh, yet knew absolutely nothing about Zack’s past relationships. She interlaced her fingers with his. “I’m trying to understand how all this fits. Do you know where the treasure is? Were we even in the right place?”

  “I think so and I have some ideas on where to look this time. It kinda depends on how big it is.”

  “Don’t you know? What is it?”

  “No clue.”

  “You’re kidding. All this time I thought you knew what the treasure was. Isn’t it money or gold?”

  “Even less of a clue.”

  “You said I’d be able to buy the camp a new canoe.” Sara slunk down into the covers again. “This is still a wild-goose cha
se, isn’t it?”

  “Maybe. But I have to do it. I’ll buy you a canoe if you want.”

  “We don’t even know what we’re looking for. I can’t believe this.”

  Zack slumped down next to her, looked into her eyes, and kissed her. “Believe it. You’ve spent enough time with me now that you shouldn’t be that surprised.”

  “You’re right. We should get going.”

  After they showered, dressed, and packed up their things, Amy served breakfast. Brian had left earlier to go to the hardware store to get something for the RV. Amy smiled, “He’ll be gone for hours. Staring at expensive tools takes a long time.”

  Sara put her toast down on the plate. “Once Holly and I are gone, please let Olivia out of my room. The poor thing is probably going stir-crazy in there.”

  “I will,” Amy said. “But you’ll be picking her up again after you get back, right?”

  “Of course, I will, Mom.” Sara smiled sweetly. “But I know you’ll enjoy her company. She’s such a nice kitty.”

  “No, Sara. I mean it.” Amy leaned over to pour some coffee into Zack’s mug and then glared at Sara. “I am not taking that cat. We travel too much.”

  Zack grinned at Sara. “She’s certainly got you pegged.”

  Sara said, “I’ll find Olivia a home. It’s not a problem. I’m simply pointing out that she is a nice cat.”

  “But it helps Sara’s overall game plan if you take the cat,” Zack said.

  Amy sat down and gave Sara a smug smile. “He certainly has you pegged.”

  Sara scowled. “I do not have a game plan. But I can tell you Olivia is extremely resourceful and a wonderful traveler. There’s no reason you couldn’t take her with you in the RV.”

  “Yeah, she was totally cool in the car. That cat even seemed to like the boat,” Zack added.

  Amy sighed. “Oh please, not you too.”

  Zack held his palms out in surrender. “Hey, I’m just saying that for a cat, she’s pretty adaptable.”

  After breakfast, Sara and Zack helped with the dishes and began loading up the car. Sara carried a backpack outside and stood in front of the shiny black coupe. She turned to Zack. “You have a Lexus?”

  “It’s a good freeway car. I have to spend way too much time sitting in LA traffic.”

  “If you have this, why did you rent the ugly car?”

  “I think Ozzy did something to Lizzie. She wouldn’t start and I didn’t have time to deal with it. Meagan got a mechanic to look at her while I was here.”

  “Your car’s name is Lizzie?”

  “Yeah, like Tin Lizzie. You know, like a Model T.”

  “That car is no Model T.”

  Zack leaned over and gave her a kiss. “Technology marches on, baby.”

  Chapter 9

  Hello Mary Lou

  Zack drove north from Gleasonville up to Alpine Grove. When he turned onto the road toward the marina, Sara was hit with an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. On the one hand, it hadn’t been long ago that they were ditching Ozzy’s stolen boat—and Ozzy. But on the other, much had changed between her and Zack, and this trip was likely to be different. Not to mention the fact that she was bringing a dog this time. She turned her head to look at Holly in the back seat.

  The dog looked pleased to be on the road, contentedly panting and staring out the window at the evergreens whizzing by. Zack didn’t seem too worried about the considerable amount of dog hair and drool Holly was leaving all over Lizzie’s plush interior, which was a relief. Sometimes people could be so unreasonable when it came to their automobiles. It definitely was a nice car too. How much money did business consultants make anyway? Zack obviously didn’t have the type of financial problems she did.

  Sara sighed, not wanting to follow that tedious train of thought again. Her parents hadn’t been too excited about her request for a short-term loan. It was a good thing she loved kids, since she wasn’t going to get rich teaching. Maybe she could figure out a way to trim her expenses somehow so the summertime lapse in pay didn’t leave her scrambling to make her rent. Running off on another trip with Zack wasn’t the most fiscally responsible thing she’d ever done either.

  Zack glanced at her and then back at the road ahead. “Are you worrying about something again?”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “You get this little crease between your eyebrows when you’ve planned something and it doesn’t work out. Did we forget something back at your parents’ house?”

  “No. I checked off everything on my list.”

  “Then what’s bugging you?”

  “I’m just anxious about this trip.”

  “What’s the worst thing that can happen? Ozzy is in jail because the police don’t like it when you stab people and rip them off. And since Ozzy has no friends, it’s not like someone is gonna bail him out. No one else knows or cares what we’re up to.”

  “I suppose you’re right.”

  “What’s there to be anxious about? We have food and a boat. I’m not injured either. The doctor I saw was impressed with your sewing skills.”

  Sara smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. The weather report isn’t great though. After our last experience with storms, I’m a bit concerned.”

  “Hey, we’ve got a tent this time. We’ll figure it out.”

  “I had a feeling you’d say that.”

  At the marina, they gathered up their backpacks and walked with Holly to pick up the boat Zack, or more accurately, his assistant had rented. Sara was still dying to know what the illustrious Meagan looked like.

  While they were waiting for the boat to be brought around, Sara told Holly to sit, and bent to stroke her head, explaining that boats were fun. Having the energetic dog confined in a small space was likely to be challenging, but she’d thrown the Frisbee around for Holly early in the morning in the hope of exhausting her. Once they got to the hiking part, everything would be fine.

  Sara stood up and noticed the man with the long gray hair was here at the marina again. With a small smile, she acknowledged him with a nod. He was sitting with his back against the post again, still wearing the same blue t-shirt and the pants with the many pockets. Didn’t he have any other clothes?

  Sara nudged Zack, who was staring out at the lake. “Hey.”

  He turned his head toward her. “Hey yourself.”

  “That man over there. I keep seeing him.”

  Zack moved to take a look and Sara said, “Don’t stare!”

  “How am I supposed to see what you’re talking about?”

  “Be subtle.”

  He turned around and put his hands behind him, clasping the railing. “Yeah, that’s the old dude who complimented you on the cat. So what?”

  “I saw him in town too.”

  “He kinda looks like he might be a member of the NFA club.”

  “What?”

  “No fixed abode. Living on the streets. He’s wearing the same clothes he was the last time we saw him. And he smelled like beer and smoke.”

  “Maybe he was camping. We were dirty and smelled like campfire smoke the last time we were here.”

  “Not that kind of smoke. Weed. The ganja, bud, herb, doobage. That kind of smoke.”

  “Oh.”

  “Stay here for a second. I’ll be right back.”

  “What are you doing?”

  “I want to see if he remembers that we ditched the boat before. I’d rather not have to explain how we stole a stolen boat.”

  Sara shrugged and watched as Zack walked over and crouched down next to the man. She couldn’t see Zack’s face, but the expression on the older man’s face was animated. He appeared to be oddly excited to talk to Zack. Maybe it was like Zack said and most people ignored him because he was homeless—or looked like it anyway.

  Zack reached into his pocket, pulled out some bills, and handed them to the man, who grinned and stuffed the money into one of the pockets in his grubby pants. They said goodbye and Zack walked back to Sara.
r />   She leaned to whisper in his ear. “So does he know about our life of crime?”

  “I don’t think so. And even if he did, he’s so laid back, I doubt he’d say anything to anyone.”

  “What did he say to you?”

  “Dude, that woman you’re with is totally hot.”

  Sara laughed. “Give me a break. He did not.”

  “I would never lie about hotness, Sparky.” He kissed her cheek. “Maybe we can go swimming again and you can do the Sports Illustrated model thing again. That’s the stuff fantasies are made of.”

  “This time I have a bathing suit, which would help.”

  “You don’t have to wear it on my account.”

  They turned at the sound of a motor. A large boat pulled up to the dock and a tanned young man with sun-bleached hair leaped out and tied it up. After loading the backpacks onto the boat for them, he explained the controls to Zack while Sara settled Holly in for the ride.

  Once they were underway, Sara sat next to Zack as they slowly navigated out of the marina area and the no-wake zone. She kept a tight grip on Holly’s leash, although the dog seemed to be adjusting to the unfamiliar mode of travel. She had her nose in the air, enjoying the scents on the lake breezes.

  Sara put her hand on Zack’s arm to get his attention. “How were you—or Meagan—able to rent a boat after losing the last one?”

  “Someone brought it back.”

  “Really? That’s remarkable. Who would return a boat?”

  “Yeah, I know. I had given Meagan the go-ahead to pay for the stupid thing, but she didn’t have to.”

  “So, um, what’s Meagan like?”

  Zack wiggled his eyebrow at her. “You think something’s going on there, don’t you?”

  “I do not!” Yes she did. She cleared her throat. “I’m just curious, that’s all.”

  “Don’t worry. Meagan is not my type. But she’s a great assistant.”

  “What is your type?”

  “Tall, sexy women with long dark hair, I guess.”

  “Very funny. I’m sure not every woman you’ve been with looks like me. I told you all about Josh. Have you been married? Lived with someone?” She widened her eyes to emphasize her query. “Anything? We’ve already established you aren’t a monk.”