A Not So Rustic Retreat: Holt Jacobs Mystery - Book 2 by Stirling Lily

Author:Stirling, Lily
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stirling Options
Published: 2024-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

Istayed seated on the step and stared vacantly at the road. Chouzie greeted me with a friendly bark. His lion’s mane was more majestic than usual. Had Juniper given him a blowout?

Chouzie rested his head in my lap. I idly stroked his fur while ignoring Juniper, who held his leash. My sister took the step above mine since Chouzie had taken Sienna’s spot.

“A little birdie told me you had quite the adventure.”

I’d never heard of Darren referred to as a little birdie—I’d prefer snitch or gossip.

When I didn’t answer, Juniper poked my shoulder. “You look bad,” she said.

“So I’ve heard,” I muttered, rubbing my shoulder.

“Come on,” she said, standing. “Chouzie and I were walking to town for an errand before meeting Jude for dinner.”

I groaned as I hauled myself to my feet. “No. Do you have any idea how far I’ve already walked today?”

“It’ll do you good,” she promised. “I’ll let you hold the leash.”

“What makes you think I’d want to hold the leash?”

Juniper raised her eyebrows.

I joined them on the walk…and I held the leash. Not that I care about bonding with Chouzie. Sure he was a nice dog, but I didn’t have time in my life for a celebrity.

We were almost in town when I remembered I hadn’t showered or put on clean clothes. How nice of a place was the restaurant? Doubtful a restaurant in Baycliff, Idaho, had strict dress codes. Still, you never want to be the smelly guy in the restaurant.

Juniper had directions pulled up on her phone and began leading me past various businesses, all of them boasting their own Fourth of July displays. Was she buying fireworks?

“Here,” she said, pointing at a bench. “You can wait here with Chouzie. He gets decision fatigue in stores.”

Had my baby sister just told me to sit and then stay?

Before I could comment, Juniper had vanished into the shop, and I was left with Chouzie. The chow chow gave a low bark at a picture of a grinning poodle that was almost eye level with him on a foldout sidewalk sign.

In bold, the sign declared Protect Your Pets before giving statistics about animals running away from the sound of fireworks. The advertised solution was easy-to-attach trackers. The advertisement wasn’t subtle.

Chouzie was still eyeing the reader-board poodle when I began petting him. “Someone as fancy as you must be chipped. Right, buddy?”

My hand stopped halfway down Chouzie’s back. Had I just talked to a dog…in public? I half expected hidden cameras and people popping out of bushes laughing. But, for possibly the first time during the entire trip, luck was on my side, and no one saw.

When Juniper left the store, she had one item. She knelt before Chouzie and began fluffing his hair. “Are you ready to go live?” she cooed.

Chouzie gave a bark that Juniper took as a yes.

Due to an overall lack of caffeine, I hadn’t pieced together the clues of what Juniper was doing until she spelled it out for her viewers. “After

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