Page 35 of Last Call at the Doghouse

He let her go and she took two quick steps back. She wished she could believe him.

She didn’t.

CHAPTER 11

She couldn’t stay in the room where she’d given in to Duncan. Who was she kidding? She’d given in to herself. She’d wanted him, and she’d taken what she wanted. Yeah, it had been a mistake, she saw that now, but she’d moved on before and she’d move on again.

She could’ve called a cousin and begged for a spare bed or gone to The Egg to sleep on Aunt Helen’s couch for a night or two, but she didn’t. Rough or not, new or not, The Doghouse was her place. Her home. Stella and Mary were there. She could rely on them; she could count on them not to break her heart.

She still needed to have that heart-to-heart talk with Mary about Sonny. Maybe he wasn’t the same creep he’d once been. Maybe he’d grown up, matured, and left that part of himself behind. It was a nice idea, the easy way out, but she had to be honest with herself. Some men never changed.

Was what Duncan had told her about Mary and Sonny even true? If he’d lie about one thing, he’d lie about anything. Still, she had to ask. She had to know.

Bag packed, phone call made, Armi waited on the front porch of the B&B for less than fifteen minutes before Tyler Milhouse pulled up in his pickup truck. No full moon tonight, so she’d be safe. Not that the Milhouse brothers were known to do more than howl at the moon and run in the woods for three nights a month. There would’ve been dead bodies or missing people all over this part of the state otherwise.

“Where to?” Tyler asked as Armi stepped into the truck and tossed her bag into the narrow back seat. The purse with the red book inside stayed on her shoulder, against her body at all times.

“The Doghouse,” she said.

At his look of concern she added, “I’ll pay for your gas and give you a drink on the house.”

Tyler shrugged at that, accepting. Maybe he didn’t have anything better to do on a weeknight when the moon was no longer full.

Armi breathed a sigh of relief as they reached the highway. She was always glad to leave Mystic Springs behind. That hadn’t changed.

The sun was setting. The sky to the west was streaked with color; orange and purple and pink. Tyler didn’t ask questions about her call for help and she didn’t offer an explanation. If she’d called a cousin for a ride, she never would’ve gotten away with that.

As they turned in Eufaula, she clutched her over-sized purse tightly against her chest and searched the sky for birds. After a few minutes she relaxed her grip a little.

The fact that Duncan hadn’t told her about being a shifter was enough to condemn him. That didn’t mean he’d killed Carlton, but he should’ve told her. The big dog she’d seen roaming the motel parking lot would be more than capable of tearing a human being to pieces. Not a werewolf, as he’d initially suggested. Not a flock of birds. A dog. A big, blue-eyed dog.

If he had nothing to hide, why hadn’t he told her the truth?

Without preamble, without warning, Tyler asked, “Do you think Stella would go out with me?”

Stella had to be ten years older than Tyler, and werewolf or not, The Doghouse bartender could chew him up and spit him out without breaking a sweat. “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask, I guess.”

“But what if she says no? I’d hate it if I asked and she laughed at me.”

“She might say no, but she won’t laugh at you.” Stella was tough as hell, but she wasn’t cruel.

Tyler squirmed in his seat. He wasn’t a bad looking guy, and of the five brothers he was likely the most pleasant. Weston was sweet, but much too young for Stella. Besides, she was pretty sure Weston had a girlfriend. Or two or three. He could be charming when he wanted to be.

“She’s really pretty, and I love her laugh. It’s like… a real laugh, you know? Like it comes from deep inside. Nothing about her is put-on or fake.”

Weirder things had happened… “She can sing, too.”

Tyler straightened a little and gripped the steering wheel a bit tighter. “Really? I didn’t know that. I’d love to hear her. Think she’d sing with us next time we’re at The Doghouse? Not this weekend, but the next, I think.”

Armi sighed. “Again, you’ll have to ask her.”

They made the rest of the long drive in silence. There were a few cars in The Doghouse parking lot. Not many, but not terrible for a Tuesday evening. Tyler parked near the door, and in a rare showing of good manners he reached into the back seat to grab Armi’s bag. He even carried it into the bar for her. When they were inside, Armi reached for her duffle. Tyler handed it over and walked toward the bar. And Stella.

Armi headed upstairs and dumped her things in her bedroom. What should she do with the book? She should’ve left it behind, given it to Helen to return to its rightful place in the library. That was a perfectly logical solution that came too late. She ended up carrying her purse back downstairs and going to her office. There she opened the small safe where she kept a little bit of cash and a few important papers, and with care she placed the red leather book inside and relocked the safe.

She and Mary were the only ones who knew the combination, since Stella didn’t want anything to do with the business side of The Doghouse. She didn’t want to handle bookkeeping or even ordering, though she didn’t mind telling Armi what to order and when they were running low.

Armi returned to the main room in need of a drink. Something with an umbrella in it maybe. Tyler and Stella were deep in conversation; something she wouldn’t have thought possible. They were probably talking about music. It must be nice to have a common interest, a casual conversation about something other than war, armies, and evil.