The Good, the Bad, and the Pugly (An Alpine Grove Romantic Comedy Book 7)

by Susan C. Daffron

  Fred returned with a pilsner glass full of beer and placed it on the bar in front of Clay. “Here you go.”

  Clay thanked the bartender, took a sip of the beer, and shook some foam off his hand. He put down the glass and said, “Are you enjoying your stay in Alpine Grove?”

  Dragged back from her surly thoughts about the male of the species, Brigid looked down at her iced tea. Clay was trying to be polite, but she wasn’t in the mood to talk. “It’s pretty here. I haven’t really seen the sights yet though. I’ve only done a little bit of exploring. Mostly, I’ve just been here in town.”

  “The Soloan isn’t one of our prettiest sights.”

  The deadpan look on his face was priceless, and Brigid laughed in spite of herself. The sound was so unfamiliar that it seemed to echo in her head like a sharp bark. How embarrassing. She clapped her hand over her mouth and then dropped it again quickly. Good thing it was so dark in here because she had to be blushing like an idiot. “No, I suppose it’s not. I haven’t been to a bar in a long time, but I’m pretty sure the last one didn’t look like this.” She took another sip of her tea and gestured toward the women seated next to her. “I met Maria and Kat and they invited me to join them for happy hour.”

  Clay tilted his glass slightly toward Maria. “Well, one of them looks happy anyway.”

  Peering around Kat, Maria waved at them enthusiastically. “Outstanding! Check it out. Indiana Jones is here. Hi Indy!”

  Clay looked momentarily confused, but nodded slightly at Maria.

  Brigid smiled. “Maybe it’s the hat.”

  “I suppose. Did you get any good books the other day?”

  Brigid sipped her drink as a stalling tactic. Talking to someone you had nothing in common with was hard and she was out of practice. But no matter how pathetic she was at this, there was no way she was going to mention all the self-help books she’d purchased. “I wanted to learn a bit more about dog training and Margaret recommended some books. What book did you pick up?”

  “It’s not the type of book I normally read.” He looked down at his glass. “I mean, it’s kind of a romance. But a bunch of people said I should check it out, so Margaret set a copy aside for me.”

  “That’s quite a few disclaimers. What’s the title?”

  “It was some best-seller last year called The Horse Whisperer. There’s talk that it will be turned into a movie.”

  Brigid lifted her drink at him in a mock toast. The combination of realizing that he was just as uncomfortable as she was, along with the Long Island iced tea, were helping her relax. “So the horse guy has to read the horse book?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Did you like it?”

  “I liked some aspects of it.”

  “You liked the horse, didn’t you?”

  With a slightly sheepish look, he nodded.

  At his expression, Brigid laughed again. It sounded more normal this time, which was a relief. “I understand. When I was a kid, someone told me I should check out Old Yeller because it was a dog book. Fortunately, I asked the librarian about it first. After she told me the story, I vowed never to read it.”

  “I had to read it in school, but I didn’t like the ending too much.”

  “See! Everyone says that. There’s no way I’m ever reading it.” Brigid sucked on her straw and peered over the glass at him. “Life is hard enough. I’ll stick to happy books, thanks.”

  “I can’t say I disagree.”

  Brigid tried to think of something to say as she sucked down the last of her drink. She should just go home. Why was she even talking to this guy? She sat up straight and looked around, trying to figure how she could best extricate herself.

  Clay pointed at the glass. “Do you want another one? You’re not driving, are you? Margaret said you live nearby.”

  Brigid looked at him and then at his beer glass, which was still three-quarters full. It would probably be rude to say no and just leave in the middle of a conversation. “I walked here. The Long Island iced tea was very good, but I should probably go. I have to get up early and walk a dog.”

  “I guess that little dog is an early riser, huh?”

  “Oh no, not Gypsy. She’s happy to just hang out and wander in and out through the doggie door. I am volunteering at the pound.”

  “Really? That’s a kind thing to do, particularly since you’re on vacation.”

  “I’m not very good at just sitting around.” She sucked on her straw again, even though the glass was empty. “The dog who’s there now—Judge—he’s so happy to see me. It just melts my heart.”

  “You sure you don’t want another? I’m buying.”

  Brigid hesitated. She should say no, but something about the timbre of Clay’s low voice was soothing and he was obviously trying to be nice. What the heck? Like he said, she was on vacation and Gypsy was probably just snoring away at the house anyway. “Well, okay. Thank you.”

  Clay waved to Fred and ordered the drink. He looked at her. “So tell me about Judge. That’s an interesting name for a dog.”

  “Well, it’s not really his name. Or I don’t know—I named him. So far, his owners haven’t claimed him, and I’m not sure what’s going to happen to him. I guess they ship dogs off to other facilities after their holding period is up.”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard that.”

  “But Judge has a skin condition. I took him to the vet and found out it’s treatable. But he looks terrible right now. It’s so sad—he’s such a sweet dog. And he doesn’t know he’s hideous.”

  “Has he got mange or something?”

  Brigid slapped her hand on the bar. “Yes, that’s it exactly! It’s some type that isn’t contagious, I guess. Dr. Cassidy assured me I won’t go bald and other dogs shouldn’t get it either.”

  “I’m glad to hear it.” He smiled. “It would be a shame to have all that pretty red hair fall out.”

  “I’m worried about Judge and I’m thinking about fostering him after his hold period. I’m not sure they’ll let me though.” She turned to look up at Fred, who handed her another tall glass full of alcohol tea. She took a long sip from the straw. This stuff was potent. Maybe she shouldn’t have gotten a second one. She really needed to be quiet. Why was she telling Clay all this?

  “Why wouldn’t they let you take the dog?”

  “I don’t know. The guy I talked to seemed confused by the idea.”

  “Find out if it costs them money to ship the dogs.”

  “Maybe.” Brigid sat up straight and looked into his eyes. “Wait, that’s brilliant! If a foster program saves them money, why wouldn’t they do it?”

  “I can’t think of any reason. But I’m not a cop.”

  “Assuming I can get Judge released, I have a place for him for two days. But it’s really temporary.” Brigid slumped back down. “I’m honestly not sure how it could work. The place I’m renting is just beautiful. Everything is new and for Gypsy it is fine. She’s small, healthy, and well behaved. But Judge, well, he has these sores and he kind of bled all over my Honda when I took him to the vet. It was nasty. I don’t care about my car because it’s old and crummy. But I really shouldn’t take him to the house, since it’s not mine. And what will happen when they get the next stray dog? I’d need to find more foster homes because the strays are only held for a short time.”

  Fred walked up and pointed at Clay’s glass. “Are you gonna want another one?”

  Clay shook his head at Fred. “No thanks.” He turned to Brigid. “Can’t you find some place else to put the dogs?”

  “Where? Most towns have an actual animal shelter for strays. I think I found the only person in the area who actually has a dog kennel. It’s not like people have that kind of thing just lying around.”

  Fred gestured toward Clay. “Well, you’ve got that huge empty barn and all those rolls of fencing that aren’t doing anything.”

  Brigid looked at Fred and her eyes widened. “I never thought of a barn. That’s a wonderful
idea.”

  “It’s for cows,” Clay said.

  “You don’t have cows anymore, and you said you never want to see another one. I believe it was something along the lines of you’d have to be an idiot to run cattle again.” Fred shrugged. “Do you think a dog would care that cows used to live in that barn?”

  Brigid looked at Clay. “Do you really have a completely empty barn? How far away is it? I could come over every day and take care of the dogs in the barn. It would only be temporary until I find them foster families. But then I could get them out of that horrible police station and they wouldn’t go off to…well, wherever they go, which no one wants to talk about. But I’m guessing it’s bad.”

  Clay made a face. “Well, I sure wouldn’t want to get sent there.”

  Fred nodded. “C’mon, man. That barn is just sitting there. You’ve got plenty of space for the horses and that whole other open shed for hay storage. You’re not using the cattle barn for anything anymore.”

  As Fred moved down the bar to check on Maria, Brigid turned to Clay, “Please, could you help? Judge’s time is running out.”

  “All right. But it’s temporary. That barn isn’t set up for housing dogs and it’s not exactly empty. It’s a mess and would take some work to set something up.” Clay grabbed his glass, drained his beer, and set the glass down on the bar with a thump.

  “But it’s big enough and you have fencing, right? I’ll help! I’ve got a little reprieve since Judge will be at Kat’s place for a couple days. And I’ll also work on finding Judge a foster home or maybe even get him adopted. Dr. C. said she knows people who want to help the dogs.” She drummed her palms on the bar in excitement. “This is going to be such a good thing. I just know it.”

  Clay put his hand over hers to still the drumming and Brigid jerked her hand into her lap in surprise. He said, “I should go. Are you going to be okay getting home?”

  “I’ll be fine. I came here with Kat and Maria and like I said, I live nearby.”

  “Okay, good. Let me give you my number and directions out to the ranch. We can meet and you can see what you’re dealing with. You might change your mind once you see it. I’m there pretty much every day working. Just give me a call and let me know when you want to come out.”

  Brigid nodded mutely and looked into his dark eyes. In the light of the neon bar sign, the topaz flecks flashed in his eyes in an oddly compelling way. What had she just gotten herself into?

  The next day, Brigid set up a meeting with the police chief to talk about Judge. She was determined to get the dog out of there before he was shipped off to points unknown. It really bugged her that no one ever said where or what the place was. After hearing about it repeatedly, she was afraid to ask.

  She went to the police station and greeted Jake, who told her to head back to the chief’s office. Even though the chief’s desk was huge, Kirby Russell was a large man who took up a lot of real estate behind its expansive mahogany surface. It was a beautiful desk, unlike the standard ugly beige metal desks found in municipal buildings everywhere. He stood up and held out his hand. “You must be Brigid.”

  “It’s very nice to meet you. I appreciate you taking the time to talk to me about the dogs.”

  He gestured for her to sit. “Well, you’re doing us a favor by helping out. What can I do for you today?”

  “I’d like to see about setting up a foster program after a dog’s holding period is up.”

  He folded his hands on the desk. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

  Brigid had relived her conversation with Jake the day before so many times in her head that she knew exactly how to describe what she wanted to do. “Well, I have lived in a lot of places because my husband was in the military. Many shelters have what they call a foster program to help homeless animals find new homes. After the stray holding period is up, the dogs are taken in by volunteers on a temporary basis until the dog can be placed in a permanent adoptive home. I’d like to put the dog you have now into foster care.”

  “That animal is scheduled for transport.”

  “I know. Does sending the dogs away incur costs? Because what I’m suggesting would cost the town of Alpine Grove absolutely nothing. It’s all done on a completely volunteer basis. I have arrangements made for this dog now. All you have to do is say yes.”

  Chief Russell leaned back in his chair and put his folded hands on his stomach. “Well, you make a compelling argument. Transport and the agreement we have in place does have budgetary implications.”

  “We can try this with the dog that’s here now if no one claims him. I believe this is his last day. I can pick him up tomorrow morning, and if my foster idea doesn’t work, I’ll figure something else out or adopt him myself. There’s no risk to you. But if this test goes the way I hope it will, I’d like to continue to take new dogs that come in and put them in foster care when their holding period is up. If no one claims them, these dogs deserve a chance to find new homes.”

  The chief put his hands back on the desk. “All right. We’ll give this a shot. The timing is good since Monday is a holiday, and it would be good to have that dog gone to free-up space, just in case. I don’t know why, but dogs always come in on holidays. I’m going to need you to fill out some transfer forms for this animal before you take him.”

  Brigid smiled. “I’d be happy to do that. Thank you so much! You are doing a wonderful thing for these dogs. I’m sure of it.”

  Chief Russell seemed to warm to her enthusiasm. “Well, the truth is I’ve got a couple dogs of my own. I’m glad to see you doing this, and I honestly hope you can make it work.”

  Brigid stood up and held out her hand. “I’ll do my best.”

  The next morning, Brigid arrived precisely at eight to pick up Judge. She couldn’t stop smiling as she signed the forms and loaded him into the back-seat of her car. It seemed like a miracle that everything was working out. For the first time in a long time, she’d done something really important and useful.

  The sense of excitement made her feel like she’d had too much coffee in a way, but without the jitters. Judge seemed glad to be away from the pound. He poked his nose out the window, seemingly excited to be headed off to new places with new scents to sniff.

  Kat’s place was quite a ways north of Alpine Grove, or “out in the sticks,” as she’d put it. Thank goodness Brigid didn’t have to go out there every day. While Judge was being boarded, she’d have time to work on getting everything set up at Clay’s ranch. Although Brigid was a little apprehensive about working with someone she barely knew, it was for a good cause. He seemed nice enough anyway. She smiled at Judge’s reflection in the rear view mirror. What an incredibly happy dog. For someone without a job, Brigid certainly was keeping herself busy. Her mom always used to say, “Better busy than bored.” It was true. Bored she definitely was not.

  After driving what seemed like a long way through acres upon acres of forest, Brigid turned down a driveway that was covered with a thick layer of light-gray gravel. The long driveway snaked through the huge trees and at one point, Brigid wasn’t sure she was in the right place. The dog was sniffing furiously behind her, deeply absorbed in the fragrance of so many evergreens. “Sorry Judge, I might have turned down the wrong driveway. I hope I didn’t get us lost.” But as she looked ahead, she saw a collection of old pick-up trucks off to one side, where the driveway seemed to fork. Kat had told her to continue straight toward the house.

  Brigid looked over her shoulder at the dog. “Okay, it looks like I didn’t take a wrong turn, after all. We’re here!” She parked under a large tree near an outbuilding. Maria had been right. It did sort of list a little bit to one side. Oh well, it was just for two days.

  The front door of the log house opened and with a wave, Kat walked down the steps toward Brigid’s car. As Brigid got out, Kat was peering into the back window. She gestured toward Judge. “That’s one hairless dog.”

  Brigid opened the back door and clipped the leash onto the new re
d buckle collar she had purchased for Judge. She’d even gotten a temporary ID tag and written her phone number on it with permanent marker. Judge leaped out and began sniffing the air. Brigid pulled him a bit closer in an effort to contain his exuberance. The light breeze was incredibly earthy, filled with the scents of pine and forest debris. To a dog, it was probably an outrageous olfactory experience. “I think the dip helped him. You wouldn’t know it, but I think he does look a little better.”

  “I read up on demodectic mange and it takes a while to treat, I guess,” Kat said, taking the leash from Brigid.

  “Thank you again for taking him.” Brigid looked back down the driveway toward the collection of pickup trucks. A tall man was walking toward them. She gestured toward the trucks. “I see what you mean about the construction. That’s quite a group you’ve got assembled over there.”

  “I know. And I’ve discovered there’s a wide range of motivation among people who work construction.” Kat smiled at the man as he walked up to them. “Brigid, this is Joel. He lives here too.”

  “You must be the engineer Maria mentioned,” Brigid said. In his beat-up jeans and thrashed t-shirt, at the moment he didn’t look much like an engineer. Mostly he looked grumpy, so Brigid went for her most ingratiating smile. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  Although he smiled, it seemed forced and the look in his forest-green eyes remained serious. “I hate to think what Maria said. Don’t worry though. We’ll take good care of your dog.” His gaze shifted to Kat. “I need to talk to you when you get a second.” He raised his gloved hands. “I’m going inside to wash up. It was nice to meet you.”

  Kat and Brigid watched him for a moment as he strolled off toward the house. Brigid said, “I guess he’s helping with the construction?”

  “Yes, although I think working two jobs is starting to get to him. I’m sorry if he was a little short with you.”

  “No problem. I was married for quite a while. I’m well aware of the unpredictable nature of the male psyche.”