AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No. No, I don’t think you would.” Why hadn’t I considered that? Miss Adeline was every bit as invested in the dogs as I was.
The doors began to close and she stuck out her arm to stop them. “I knew you wanted to move in there too.”
“Thought y’allwould be gone longer than this.”
Stone Jacobs sat with his feet propped on the desk and hands behind his head.
“We would’ve been if it were up to this one.” Miss Adeline set her travel mug on the wood surface.
“We’ve already been through it a thousand times,” I groaned. Then I flashed Stone a weary smile. “Looks like you survived dog sitting.”
He was surrounded by zonked-out puppies.
“All good.”
“Thanks for staying with them.”
Stone had volunteered to help us load the dogs headed to their place. I hadn’t felt comfortable leaving everyone else behind on their own, given the events of the last few days.
“Anytime.” He dropped his feet to the floor. Three dogs popped up their heads. He patted one of them. “Just so you’re aware, some dude in a suit came by. I didn’t like the looks of him, so I didn’t let him in.”
“A suit?” Like the inspector? No. No. No. We had forty-eight hours to comply.
“Yeah. Not that I have a thing against guys in suits. Daniel is my best friend and he sleeps in one.” Stone stood. “That guy banged on the door for a while, but once he figured out I wasn’t opening up, he moved along.”
My heart thumped a thousand miles an hour. “Any idea what he wanted?”
“Nah. But he wanted to come in pretty bad.” He pointed to the door. “I’d keep that locked.”
“It wasn’t the inspector, was it?” Miss Adeline’s voice was hard.
“Don’t think so, ma’am.” He tipped his ball cap. “If you have any trouble, call us.”
“Thank you again.”
I walked him out and locked the door behind him, triple checking it was secure.
“What do you think that was all about?” Miss Adeline flopped into the seat Stone just vacated.
I rested on the edge of the desk. “Don’t know. But I’m thinking we need some curtains for the front windows.”
We’d always had the windows uncovered like a storefront. There’d never been any reason to cover them. Sure, there were the occasional break-ins in the neighborhood, but no one ever bothered us. Besides, it would be kind of hard not to get caught with so many dog alarms.
“I think you’re right.”
I frowned. “Are you any good with colors?” I glanced helplessly toward the windows. My attire mostly consisted of overalls, jeans, shirts, and sweatshirts. I wasn’t exactly up to speed on what looked good.
The dogs didn’t care if I matched or not.
“I decorated the apartment, didn’t I?” Miss Adeline lifted her chin.
“You did. How could I forget?” I pushed off the desk. “Do you mind holding down the fort for a little while?”
“Are you gonna tell me where you’re off to?”
I grabbed my coat. “Maybe when I get back.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
