Doggone Ugly Creek

by Cheryel Hutton

  She turned and walked back to her seat, shooting a smirk in Ace’s direction. Vanetti was right behind her, but as he turned to the microphone, Mayor Paradise spoke. “Hold on a minute there. I think Mr. Ellison should have a chance to speak.”

  Vanetti shot an angry glance toward the mayor, but he returned to his seat.

  I gave Ace’s hand a squeeze, and he smiled weakly before he stood.

  He walked to the mike with his shoulders back, chin up, determination etched on his face. “Hello,” he said. “I’m Ace Ellison, and I take care of unwanted animals. I understand the reasoning for not wanting a rescue operation in a residential area, but there are good reasons why I run things the way I do. First, I actually live onsite. If there are problems, I can deal with them immediately. On the other hand, most of the problems I deal with are simple misunderstandings about what I do and why I do it. Second, animals need an environment where they can run and be animals. I personally deal almost exclusively with dogs, and some of them are large. These animals need a big space in which to run and play. Having that space prevents the temptation to escape in order to run. My yard is large and securely fenced. It’s also far enough from the forest to make it unlikely wild animals will injure mine. Third, volunteers. Most of the volunteers who help me with the dogs are teenagers. Being near home makes it easier for them. By the way, the volunteer work gets these kids away from video games, shows them the value of physical labor, teaches compassion, and looks great on a college application.”

  He took a moment to shift the note cards in his hand. “I chose a house whose yard opened to the woods. I live at the end of a road, and pretty far away from any neighbor. I have spoken to the other people who live on my road, and none of them have any problem with me, and my dogs, living there. I have a building behind my house where most of the rescues live. That building is kept clean, the animals are fed, watered, bathed, and walked at least twice daily. New dogs are separated from the rest until a vet is satisfied they are healthy.” He looked down a moment, then back at the city council.

  “I love animals. I focus on dogs, but I wouldn’t hesitate to help a cat or cow or donkey. We as humans share this earth with a huge variety of other creatures, but we tend to ignore them most of the time, the worst being our pets. We’ve bred these animals over thousands of years to serve our purposes. Over time they have lost many of the survival instincts they once had, and are now under-equipped to survive without human care. We brought them into our homes. Many people love and care for their pets, but there are those who can’t, or won’t. That’s where people like me come in. We take the animals, in my case dogs, and care for them until another home can be found. The alternative is killing the animals. Yes, there are no-kill shelters. They tend to be overwhelmed and many depend on people like me to take some of the animals off their hands. I love what I do, but I wish there wasn’t a need. I’d be very happy to close my rescue and just be a photographer, but as long as there are animals who need me, I’ll do my best to help them. Thank you for hearing me out.”

  He turned and walked back to sit beside me.

  The room was quiet. Totally quiet, as if the entire audience was holding its collective breath.

  And then Terri stood. “I’d like to speak if I could. Not about the animal shelter, but about the zoning itself and other consequences of the change.”

  “Go ahead,” the mayor said.

  Terri went to the microphone. “My name is Terri Quinn, and I’m a novelist. What you may not realize is that people like me, writers, artists, crafters, are legally small business owners. If this zoning ordinance is passed, Ace Ellison will not be the only person affected. Artistic types don’t normally need a storefront or an office other than a workspace in his or her home, but this law would force us to use one anyway. For some the cost would force them to give up something they love. For others, like me, it would be a major inconvenience. Do you really want to send the message that Ugly Creek is intolerant of writers, artists, and even people like Miss Sunflower?” She shot a grin at the tall redhead. “I’m sure most of you have one of her quilts on your bed, or one of her gorgeous hand-knitted sweaters in your closet. She is legally a small business owner. Please consider the impact of rezoning carefully before you make a decision. Thank you for allowing me to speak.”

  She sat down as the sound of protest came from the Carlisle section of the room. She’s a friend of Ace’s, girlfriend’s cousin, owns a dog…

  The gavel came down and the mayor’s voice sounded through the uproar. “Quiet!”

  As the noise receded, I saw the council members conferring. After a moment, the mayor looked into the audience. “It seems we are ready for a vote.”

  I grabbed Ace’s hand and he clung to mine as each council member in turn voted no to the change, his grip lessening with each vote. By the time they were finished, I could feel him trembling. I glanced at him and saw tears in his eyes. I reached over with my free hand and squeezed his shoulder. He covered my hand with his free one and pressed mine against him.

  Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, the anti-Ace people expressed their disagreement with the vote. The mayor was once again trying to restore order—and failing.

  Her face was purple as she stood and yelled, “Anybody who doesn’t want to spend the night in jail had better sit down and shut up!”

  When quiet again descended, she looked out into the gathering. “Before we met here tonight, my fellow council members and I studied the current zoning ordinances, the laws regarding them, and the few changes to them over the years. We also looked at the ordinances of several other small towns. What we discovered was that in this, like so many other things, Ugly Creek is proudly different. Our zoning ordinances are nothing like those of other towns. Ours are basic divisions to allow for downtown businesses, residential areas, and to protect our beloved forest. Other than that, we try to work through problems as a community.”

  Ace tightened his grip on my hand again. I rubbed his shoulder and tried to give him my strength.

  “We’re a special little place here,” the mayor continued, “and I don’t think anyone wants to see that change. We believe that those who feel drawn here most likely belong.” She glanced toward Terri. “We certainly don’t want to discourage writers, artists, or makers of beautiful quilts.” A gentle laugh rippled through the audience. “Or people doing good things for our furry friends.” She smiled at Ace. “Thank you for your hard work.” She slammed the gavel down. “Meeting adjourned.”

  The room went wild. But I was too busy hugging Ace to care. He held me tight until Jake said, “The rest of us would like to congratulate him too.”

  I squeezed him firmly before I let him go.

  He met my gaze and held it for a moment.

  “Thank you,” he whispered. Then he turned to accept congratulations from the happy group surrounding him.

  Across the way, grumbling conversation became more heated by the minute. Terri and I glanced at each other before we moved simultaneously to stand between the dissenters and Ace. Seconds later, others joined us. As the group of us moved toward the door, Ace was surrounded by a small army of amateur bodyguards.

  I caught a glimpse of Miz Carlisle, who looked like she could bite the head off a chicken. Then she glared at me, and I looked down to make sure I wasn’t growing feathers. On boy, living next to her would not be fun.

  I looked away, only to see Lily glaring, but not at Ace. The person she shot hatred toward was Steve Zapata. The woman was seriously weird. But that was irrelevant. All that mattered was that the man I loved wasn’t being forced to leave the place he’d made a home.

  Then we were through the door and outside. The group walked together to the entrance to the gravel parking area. There we were met by Ace’s SUV and one of his teenage volunteers.

  Ace chuckled. “So that’s why you wanted my keys, Keith.”

  “Let’s all go have dinner and celebrate,” Jake said.

  Ace sighed. “Sounds
good, but I think I’ve had enough excitement for one day. Could we have a rain check?”

  “Of course.” Jake clapped a hand on Ace’s shoulder. “Go home and get some rest.”

  He glanced at me and winked.

  “Or whatever.”

  Ace, apparently oblivious to his friend’s implication, looked around at the surrounding supporters. “Thank you, all of you. I can’t believe how great you’ve all been. I’m a lucky man to have such great friends.” He wiped at his eyes. “I’d better go before I embarrass myself.”

  There was a round of hand-shaking, back-slapping, and a lot of hugging. Finally there was only Ace, Terri, and me.

  She hugged him and turned to go, but I caught her arm. “Be careful. She’s not going to be happy.”

  “I know. You be careful too.”

  She gave each of us the most serious look I’d ever seen on her. She hugged me and squeezed Ace’s arm, then headed to her Fiat.

  Ace turned to me.

  “I’m so glad that’s over.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I will be.”

  His hands settled on my shoulders. “Would you come home with me? I think we have some things to discuss.” He swallowed. “And honestly, I don’t want to be alone right now.”

  “Of course I will.” In spite of the ripple of worry the talk word shot through me, I wanted to be with him.

  “Want to ride with me?”

  “Thanks, but I have my car. If you want, I could pick up some dinner on the way.”

  “Sounds good.”

  We got in our respective vehicles and headed out.

  Chapter 20

  By the time I arrived at Ace’s house it was dark, but the light on his porch welcomed me. I grabbed the bag of tacos and walked toward the house. I was halfway across the lawn when the door opened and Dusty came running out, followed closely by Ace.

  I scooped Dusty up, laughing as she wiggled and licked my face. By the time Ace reached us, Dusty was done greeting me and struggling hard to get to the tacos.

  “I think I’m jealous,” he said.

  I shifted the wiggling ball of fur again. “Don’t worry; I’m sure she’ll play with you later.”

  He growled and pulled me into his arms. His greedy lips covered mine as if he were starving for me. Hell, he might be, I was certainly hungry for him. Then the furball decided she was being neglected and began wiggling and digging in her claws in an effort to climb up to our faces.

  Ace backed up, keeping one hand on the dog and one on me.

  “Let’s go inside.”

  He took the tacos and Dusty tried hard to change humans. “Traitor,” I told her.

  She gave me an innocent look before she went back to struggling to get to the bag of food.

  In the house, Ace put the bag on the table, and I put Dusty on the floor. She ran a couple of laps around the room, then sat staring at the table.

  “You know you can’t have any,” Ace told her. She lay down with her chin on her paws and managed to look both adorable and pathetic.

  Ace put plates and colas on the table and I unloaded the tacos. We sat down and dove in. Seems both of us were hungrier than we’d thought.

  When we came up for air, I reached over to touch Ace’s hand. “I’m really glad you can stay. You love this town.” I studied my food for a moment. “I kinda do too.”

  Ace chuckled. “Even with your crazy neighbor, everybody’s psychic aunt, and Bigfoot?”

  “Not to mention the unicorn.” As soon as the words were out of my mouth, the pieces slid together. For a moment I just sat there and thought about how many ways I could be wrong.

  “Are you okay, honey?”

  “I need to talk to Steve. Now.”

  He didn’t hesitate. “Let’s go.”

  As he drove, Ace called ahead. Fifteen minutes later we pulled into a long driveway leading up to a beautiful brick, large yet modest home.

  Steve opened the door and I winced when I saw the worry and fatigue that lined his face. “I’m sorry to bother you. I know you have to be exhausted but I think this is something you need to know.”

  “Come in.”

  He waved us into the den,

  Liza came in behind us, carrying a tray with cookies and colas. “If you prefer something else I can get it for you.”

  “Relax, both of you. I just want to tell you what I know, because I think it might be important.”

  Steve lowered himself into a chair. “Okay, what’s up?”

  Liza perched on the arm of her husband’s chair, and all eyes were on me.

  I swallowed and dove in head first. “Steve, how well do you know Lily Bennett?”

  He frowned. “Lily who?”

  In a sweet, intimate movement, Liza ran her fingers through her husband’s hair. “Lily Roth, she married Ken Bennett.”

  He nodded. “Oh yeah, I went to school with her. I haven’t seen her in years.”

  “She was at the zoning meeting,” I told him. “And she gave you one of those looks where you’re lucky to be alive.”

  He shrugged. “I have no idea why she would do that.”

  “I think I might.” Liza shifted her perch on the arm of his chair. “Lily has had it bad for Steve since high school.”

  He frowned up at her. “I didn’t know that.”

  Liza smiled down at him, her hand still tangled in his hair. “No need for you to know.”

  Steve grinned. “Keeping me all for yourself, huh?”

  “Hell yes. Nobody’s getting their grubby hands on my guy.”

  She leaned down and their lips met in a kiss that had me looking away.

  Ace cleared his throat. “Should we come back later?”

  It was another long few seconds before the two separated. Steve looked toward us, his smile one of smug satisfaction.

  “What were we talking about?”

  “Lily,” I reminded him. “I saw her with one of your security guys. His name was Ronnie.”

  He frowned. “And?”

  “He was talking about leaving tonight, but she said she needed more time to get ready. Then he said something about getting caught. I assumed they were talking about the affair but later I started to wonder about that. He actually said something about going to jail.” I swallowed in an effort to clear my dry throat. “Then Lily gave you the mother of all glares.”

  Steve’s eyes widened. “You’re sure the man’s name was Ronnie?”

  I nodded. “That’s what she called him. This guy is medium height, brown hair, he wore a Vols ball cap.”

  Steve sat for a moment as he chewed on his bottom lip. Without warning, he rose from his chair, grabbed his phone from a side table, and punched in some numbers. “I have some information I think you’ll want to hear.”

  He paced the room as he passed on what I had overheard. I held my breath—literally—as I waited for him to finish.

  “Breathe,” Ace whispered, poking me with his elbow.

  I realized the world was getting fuzzy and sucked in breath. “Thanks,” I whispered, and he winked.

  Before I could shove that adorable image out of my mind, Steve clicked his phone off and came back into the room. “I talked to the head agent on the case, Special Agent Anderson, and he was very interested.” Steve sighed. “To be honest, there have been questions about Ronnie, but nothing concrete. He’s going to look into what you told me, and call me if he learns anything important. I’ll let you know what he says.”

  Ace wrapped an arm around me. “Let’s go so they can get some rest.”

  I knew Ace was right. Steve and Liza looked totally worn out but it took resolve to stand, hug them both, and allow Ace to escort me to his car.

  “This feels kind of anticlimactic,” I said.

  He grinned at me from the driver’s seat. “If you’re feeling anticlimactic, I think I can help you with that.”

  I didn’t know whether to laugh, roll my eyes, or tell him to pull off the road so that we could get started.
“You’re something else.”

  “Well, if you aren’t interested…”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  He grinned as he took my hand in his, and for the rest of the trip attraction tingled between us.

  We barely got in the house before we had our hands all over each other. We stumbled up the stairs, almost making it inside the bedroom before clothes started flying. Then we flew too, again and again.

  When we finally came back down to earth, I lay warm and happy against the man I love as I told myself he wouldn’t have shared what he had with me if he planned on walking out of my life. Still, when I remembered the serious expression on his face when he said we needed to talk, something inside me whimpered in fear.

  I wrapped my arm over his chest and snuggled against him. I couldn’t imagine the rest of my life without Ace in it.

  Chapter 21

  The next morning Ace was up and showered before I managed to pull my exhausted self out of bed. “You wore me out,” I told him.

  He just grinned. “Take your time. I’ll go deal with the dogs then we can have breakfast.”

  He gave me a quick kiss before he headed out.

  As I showered and dressed, I tried to convince myself he hadn’t seemed distant this morning. He was just tired, that’s all.

  The mouthwatering smell of bacon, eggs, toast, and coffee drew me down the stairs. “You weren’t kidding about breakfast, I see.”

  He glanced my way from where he stood in front of the stove, spatula in hand.

  “I wouldn’t kid about something like that.”

  I got myself some coffee. “What can I do to help?”

  “Nothing.”

  He gave me a quick kiss then sat me down at the table. “Relax. I’m cooking.”

  “I could get used to this.” I saw how he froze for a second, and decided to change the subject. “I called Terri to let her know I’m okay. When she found out you hadn’t kidnapped me and swept me away to some exotic place, she was disappointed. I’m not sure if it’s because she’s a romantic, or because she wants to get rid of me.”