Page 80 of Wag More Bark Less

“Where’s the rest of your entourage?” I asked, kneeling to clip on Ellie’s leash. She swatted at it three times before letting out the heaviest doggie sigh I’d ever heard. I gave her a We talked about this look. She returned it with a glare only slightly less potent than the one she gave me last night after flipping the light back on.

Kira laughed in the background, and I shot her a glare.

“Ethan—that’s my husband—took the boys to get lunch,” Violet said. “Some pizza place with a dog on the sign.”

“Pizza Patty’s,” Kira offered.

“Yeah, that sounds right. I was looking for Maggie so I could invite her to join us.”

“Does she know you’re in town?” I asked.

“She would if she checked her phone. Did she lose it or something?” Violet asked as I held the door. “I was worried sick about her. Her last video message was recorded in the middle of nowhere on some hike, and it cut off mid-sentence. I thought she might’ve been eaten by a bear since I’ve heard exactly nothing from her since. I made Ethan reroute us to Bluebell Springs so I could make sure she was still alive.”

“I promise, she’s alive and well,” I said, offering her what I hoped was a reassuring smile, despite the guilt I felt for distracting her last night.

Had I known her family was trying to get in touch with her, I might’ve . . . might’ve what? Encouraged her to talk to her sister before or after she crawled into my lap and kissed me as though I was her single source of oxygen? Fuck, I needed to get a grip on reality or I wouldn’t survive this day.

Kira flashed me a you’re so screwed and you know it look, so I flipped her the bird as I left the store with Violet.

“She’s at the Legion Hall,” I said, pointing down the street.

“Of course she is,” Violet said. “Let me guess. My sister found some senior citizen struggling to log in to their online account and now she’s helped half the town’s elderly population?”

“Pretty much sums it up.”

“No wonder she’s been so hard to get ahold of. Our mom’s been freaking out, worried she got chopped into pieces by some lumberjack axe murderer.” She looked up at me as we walked across the street. “To be fair, our mother’s a very dramatic woman. Her heart’s in the right place, but that woman could out-sweat a nun in a brothel with how much she worries.”

“Is there a reason to worry?” I shouldn’t pry, but curiosity got the best of me.

“Only that she uprooted her entire life for that sorry excuse of a manchild,” Violet said. “And for what? The jackass hasn’t even given her a shitty orgasm in like a year. Dammit, sorry. Do not tell Maggie I said that. I swear these pregnancy hormones make me incapable of keeping my inside thoughts inside.”

She shook her head as we crossed the last street, but I didn’t dare say a word because I wanted her to tell me more.

“Mom’s convinced Maggie’s heartbroken and hiding from us. I think she just needs some damn space to reevaluate her life because the man she thought she was marrying turned out to be a total douche canoe. But since tomorrow was supposed to be their wedding day, I promised Mom I’d check in on her. Reassure her my sister wasn’t in the middle of a mental breakdown. We were already planning to spend the day in Colorado Springs, so this didn’t send us too far off course. Mom’ll be so relieved to know that Maggie’s just being Maggie.”

“Tomorrow was her wedding day?”

Violet stopped right outside the door, slapping her hand on it before I could pull it open. “How much did you already know and how much information did I just volunteer? You know what, don’t answer that. Better if I can play the naïve pregnant woman.”

“If it makes you feel better, Maggie seems to be thriving here. Ellie too.”

“It’s hard to believe you’re the same rental host who held her door code hostage over the dog you’re now voluntarily walking.”

Violet pulled the Legion door open, instantly spotted Maggie in her usual spot—not hard considering the line of veterans led to her like a road on a map—and charged toward her.

“Magnolia Jean Holland, what the hell happened to your phone?”

“Violet?”

Maggie murmured an apology to Bernie as she slid out of her chair and ran to her sister to give her a long, tight hug.

“What are you doing here?” Maggie asked, her entire face illuminating with joy. She was attractive even when she was scowling, but she was the most beautiful when happiness radiated from every pore. I couldn’t imagine how any sane man could fumble a woman as precious as Maggie Holland.

Ellie tugged me forward, and I let her.

“If you checked your phone ever you’d know the answer to that. What happened to it? Did you get mad and chuck it in a lake or something? Did a bear stomp on it?”

“It died on the hike.”