Chapter 4
“L ast night turned into another blind date, thanks to Georgie. This time, it was the head of the PTA at the elementary school.” Alex said into her phone as Lady trotted alongside her with her favorite pink ball in her mouth.
“Wow. How’d that go?” asked Tori Blake, Alex’s best friend, standing behind the front desk of the Whispering Pines Bed and Breakfast, which Alex owned, nestled in the quaint little charming mountain town of McKenzie Ridge.
Alex let out a defeated sigh, “About as good as you’d expect.” Tori said with a chuckle as she sorted a stack of mail.
“Not only the head of the PTA,” Alex shared dryly into the phone, her voice oozing mock enthusiasm, “But also… neighborhood HOA president.”
“Gasp!” Tori drawled into the phone sarcastically as if full of surprise, laying on the mock drama. “A committee guy, huh?”
“Want to know the plot twist?” Alex teased, her tone laced with wicked amusement as she dodged a low-hanging tree branch and kept pace with Lady. “He doesn’t even have children, and he lives with his mother.”
Tori remained silent for a beat, suspicion practically humming through the phone before she finally spoke in a low, drawn-out tone, “I have so many questions.”
“I didn’t but got the answers anyway.” Alex deadpanned dryly, her tone the verbal equivalent of an eye roll. “Political aspirations. Wants to run for school board next, then city council, all to eventually run for mayor someday.”
Tori guffawed, “Got to give it to him... that’s quite an ambitious and oddly specific plan.”
“Oddly… is a good way to look at it. Tonight is a blind date with my brother-in-law’s co-worker.” Alex shared.
“Ah. Luke’s joined the cause and is actively seeking suitors.” Tori giggled.
Alex and Lady arrived at the darling little dog park nestled in the middle of the city—an urban oasis with tidy gravel paths, benches painted in cheerful colors, and a patchwork of well-worn turf that told stories of countless tail wags and tennis ball chases.
Alex pushed open the gate, its hinges giving a familiar groan, while Lady trotted in like she owned the place—her favorite pink ball still clutched proudly in her mouth, tail swaying as she surveyed her familiar play place.
“I’m not a cause.” Alex scolded, albeit playfully. “My sister clearly recruited her husband against his will. Luke isn’t this cruel.”
Tori sighed, “Georgie can be quite convincing.”
“I think you mean bossy. She’s president of the marry-off kid sister committee.” Alex said as she unleashed Lady and threw the pink ball for her to give chase.
“Wait. I thought you were in Portland for your niece’s birthday.” Tori questioned.
“Ding, ding, ding,” Alex said in a semi–sing-song tone, her voice lacking enthusiasm. “My sister stooped to a new low and used her child to get me here and dating anyone single with a pulse.”
“Aww. She just loves you.” Tori offered.
Alex bent down to pick up the slobbery pink ball Lady had proudly dropped at her feet.
She turned it over in her hand with a soft grimace, the rubber squeaking slightly beneath her fingers.
Lady’s tail thumped expectantly against the grass; eyes locked on her human like a furry missile waiting for launch codes—but Alex wasn’t quite ready to throw it yet.
“Maybe a little too much,” Alex admitted. “There was one guy, though... last night.”
Tori leaned on the counter and reached for a nearby bowl of popcorn. “Do tell.”
“I think he snuck out of the event, too,” Alex said softly, her voice laced with something dreamy as she reminisced about the perfect ending to a far-from-perfect evening. “Gave me his rideshare so I wouldn’t be alone, at night, waiting for my car.”
“Oh wow. That’s so sweet. Chivalrous even.” Tori’s voice crackled with excitement through the phone, her tone edging into full-on interrogation mode. “Did you get his name? Number? What do we know about him?”
Alex paused, the warmth of her earlier whimsy fading like sunlight behind a passing cloud. The memory—so vivid and sweet—suddenly dimmed beneath the weight of what she didn’t do. “Nothing. I was so taken aback by the gesture... I sort of... froze.”
Alex tossed the ball again with an easy flick of her wrist, and Lady darted after it with the kind of joyful determination only a dog could muster.
Her ears bounced with every stride, the pink ball now her entire world.
Alex smiled to herself, lightening the mood, as she watched the familiar routine play out—same park, same ball, same overachieving golden retriever who took fetch a little too seriously.
“Maybe that’s why Georgie thinks you need her help.” Tori suggested playfully, “Does taken aback mean he was handsome, too?”
Alex chuckled, “Chivalrous, remember? But yes, handsome. How are things back home?”
“You mean in the two days since you left for the city? Well, there was a hostile takeover at the dog park.” Tori teased, scratching behind the ears of the smug-looking cat that had just leapt onto the front desk like it owned the place.
“It’s now a cat park. And a meteor demolished Main Street. You’ll hardly recognize the place,” she added nonchalantly, like she was reporting the weather instead of faux small-town mayhem.
Lady trotted back like a champion, tail wagging and tongue flopping, and dropped the ball at Alex’s feet with a proud little snort. Alex scooped it up with a grin, gave it a quick toss into the open stretch of grass, and watched as Lady took off like a fuzzy little rocket on a mission.
“Sounds like you’ve been reading post-apocalyptic sci-fi again,” Alex said with a chuckle.
“How’d you know?” Tori asked, feigning innocence with a teasing lilt in her voice.
Alex let out a mock-exasperated sigh. “Because you’re President of the book club and own a bookstore. Maybe you’d like committee guy.”
“No thanks,” Tori said, cutting in with playful firmness. “Our little mountain town has plenty of committees of our own to look for a date.”
“Well, sounds like everything’s handled over there,” Alex admitted, scanning the park for Lady, who hadn’t returned with the ball.
“All good here, Mayor,” she replied with the exaggerated obedience of a soldier.
Alex snorted. “Interim Mayor,” she corrected.
“Yeah, yeah,” Tori replied with an exaggerated sigh, her tone full of playful exasperation.
“Got to go, I think I lost Lady’s ball. See you in a couple of days.” Alex ended the call with a wry smile, pocketed her phone, and stood—ready to embark on a tennis ball rescue mission led by one smug retriever and zero clues.