Chapter 13 #2
Inside the small office, two older women stood behind the counter, chatting.
They fell silent as Parker and Genna moved toward them, though they both smiled.
Genna recognized them from when she’d worked at RTA as a teen.
The taller, curvy woman with the short brown hair was Abby Colton, Ryan’s wife.
Though he hadn’t been by since she’d started working there, in the past he’d stopped by frequently because he loved to fish.
And the petite woman with the beautiful silver hair in the messy bun was Sasha Colton, Will’s wife and Parker, Eli, Mitchell and Lakin’s mother.
“Hi, Mom,” Parker said, smiling back.
“Come here, you,” she said fondly, holding out her arms.
The two hugged and then, to Genna’s surprise, Sasha pulled Genna in for a hug, too. Then Abby hugged them both, before dragging them out back to see the rest of the noisy family.
Almost immediately, Parker and Genna got separated.
Lakin, Kansas, and Hetty dragged her over to a buffet table where they were setting up a huge charcuterie board.
Since Genna appeared to be having a great time, Parker decided not to worry about her and went over to help his dad, uncle and cousin Spence man the grill and smoker.
The next couple of hours flew past, with lots of laughter, good food and great company. Despite Eli’s usual focus on work, he didn’t once mention the Fiancée Killer. No one did. It was as if everyone needed a respite from the ominous shadow that hung over their town.
As things started to wind down, Spence and Hetty, holding hands, slipped away.
Next, Mitchell and Dove said goodbye. Lakin and Troy claimed they needed to check on something they were doing in their hotel renovations.
Parker and Genna glanced at each other. With a slight smile, she gave a tiny nod and they, too, made their excuses and left.
“That was fun,” Genna enthused, practically bouncing in her seat. “You’re lucky to have such a large family. They’re a lot of fun. Growing up, I always wished I had a brother or a sister or both.”
“Thanks. I guess your family cookouts are a lot quieter.”
“When we had them, yes. Since I’m an only child, I’d often invite one of my friends.
But that was a long time ago. Both my parents embraced a vegan lifestyle after they retired, so there hasn’t been a lot of grilling out.
” She shrugged. “When I stayed with them after my divorce, they didn’t even allow meat inside the house.
If I wanted a burger, I had to eat out.”
They turned onto his street. She sat up straight, her expression eager. “I can’t wait to see my little June Bug. I almost took her to the cookout today, but wasn’t sure how that would go over.”
“Same with Revis,” he admitted. “Hopefully, they’ll both enjoy camping.”
As he pulled into his driveway, Genna gasped. “The front door is wide open.”
Since he’d locked it, that meant someone had broken in.
Parking, he ran for the house, Genna right on his heels.
“June Bug,” she called. “Revis. Where are you?”
Heart sinking, he realized there were no signs of the dogs anywhere. Either whoever had broken in had taken them or they’d escaped out the open door.
“No.” Genna stood frozen for a moment. “They have to be here somewhere. Help me search the house.”
Quickly and methodically, they conducted a thorough search of every inch of the place. They opened closet doors, checked under beds, and even looked in the fenced backyard in case they’d been locked out. The entire time, Parker found himself praying nothing cruel had been done to the dogs.
“Time to search the neighborhood,” he finally announced. “Depending on how long they’ve been gone, we can only hope they didn’t get far.”
“Or that someone took them,” she responded, her tone as bleak as her expression. “I swear no one had better have harmed a single hair on those dogs.”
“I don’t think they did,” he reassured her, even though he wasn’t positive.
He kept his worry and anger banked low inside, wanting to offer Genna nothing but hope.
“If it’s your stalker, their main objective seems to be to make you aware they have access to your life.
Harming an innocent pet wouldn’t serve any purpose. ”
“I hope you’re right.”
Outside, after closing the front door, they faced the street. “You go west, I’ll take east,” he said. “Call me if you see them.”
Speed walking, while searching for any sign of either of the two dogs, Genna felt as if her heart had been pulverized inside her chest. Not only was she terrified, worried about her beloved little dog and Parker’s big one, but for the first time since all of this stalking had begun, rage simmered inside her.
How dare they—whoever they were—come anywhere near JB and Revis?
She could only hope the two had simply wandered off. Because if someone had picked them up and taken them somewhere, the chance of getting the dogs back would be slim to none.
If they were out here, she’d find them. She had to. Swallowing hard, she kept looking, refusing to cry.
Her phone rang. Parker. “Did you see them?” she asked, breathless with hope.
“Not yet. If I remember right, the shelter microchipped them before we adopted. That’s a good thing.”
Rubbing her aching temple, she agreed. “Only if they’re found.”
“They will be.” He sounded confident. Clearly, he didn’t share her secret fear that whoever had taken them would harm the dogs.
“I’ve checked all the way to the end of your street,” she said. “I’m thinking maybe we should call animal control, but they’re probably not open on Sunday.”
“I’ll call and leave a message. Since they’re part of the police department, they’ll know Eli. Let me do that now.”
After Parker had ended the call, Genna turned north and continued searching. She continually called June Bug’s and Revis’s names, even though she wasn’t confident either dog knew their new names yet. She had no idea what they’d been called before ending up in the shelter.
Each step she took without spotting them felt like another nail driven into her heart.
Finally, she turned around and headed back to the house. If she wanted to cover a greater distance, it would be better to use a vehicle.
She and Parker got there at the same time. “I think we need to drive around and keep looking,” he said. “I also left a voicemail for my friend who works for animal control.”
Trying not to panic, she agreed. They got into his truck and drove slowly, with the windows down, calling their dogs’ names over and over.
“Still no sign of them,” she said. “They’ve got to be around here somewhere. Unless whoever broke in took them.”
“I refuse to consider that possibility,” Parker responded. “Whoever broke in, deliberately left the door open, knowing the dogs would run off.”
A flash of black in the trees caught her eyes. “Stop,” she said. “I think I might have seen Revis.” Either that, or some other kind of wildlife. The kind that would make a meal of JB in two bites.
Immediately, he pulled over. “Let’s be careful. Just in case.”
“Agreed.” Cupping her hands to her mouth, she called out June Bug’s name. A second later, Parker called for Revis.
If she’d hoped for one or both of the dogs to come running out of the woods, she was sorely disappointed.
Side by side, she and Parker pushed through the tangled undergrowth into the forest. Up above, birdsong continued, but they saw no footprints, no trampled plants, no sign the dogs had been there.
“Maybe you saw a deer,” Parker said. He called for Revis once more. Genna joined him, her voice breaking as she said June Bug’s name.
“Let’s go back.” Parker took her arm.
“I’m not giving up.”
“We’re not,” he told her. “Let’s keep driving around the neighborhood and hope we spot them.”
“Maybe we should make signs and stick them up at every intersection,” she said, climbing back up into the truck.
“If we don’t have any luck this time, we’ll do that,” he replied.
Heart in her throat, she nodded.
His phone rang. “It’s Spence,” he said. “Let me fill him in on what’s going on. I’ll put the call on speaker.”
“Hey, Spence, what’s up?”
Spence laughed. “Did you lose something?”
Genna sat up straight, exchanging a look with Parker.
“What do you mean?” Parker asked.
“I had to go back to headquarters to help my mom find something, and those two dogs you and Genna got just showed up.”
“What?” Genna squealed. “I can’t believe it. We’ve been searching all over for them.”
“We brought them inside and gave them water,” Spence said. “They seemed a little thirsty.”
“We’re on our way,” Parker said, starting the truck. “See you in a few.”
After ending the call, he leaned over and gave her a jubilant kiss. Unable to contain her relief, she kissed him back. Then he put the truck in gear and they went to collect their dogs.
As they pulled into RTA’s lot, Spence came out to meet them. He waited on the covered porch as they hurried over.
“Mind telling me what happened?” he asked, looking from one to the other. “How the heck did your dogs wind up here?”
“Long story,” Parker drawled. “Which we’ll be happy to tell you after we see Revis and JB.”
“Go for it.” Spence stepped aside.
Genna rushed past him, pushing open the door. Once inside, she spotted her little dog all curled up in her dog bed. “June Bug,” she said, dropping to her knees and holding out her arms. “Baby girl, come here.”
JB lifted her head. Then, tail wagging, she trotted over to Genna.
Focused on reuniting with JB, Genna heard Parker calling Revis. A second later, Revis blew past her, barreling toward his owner. He barked twice, ran a quick circle around the room, and then settled on his belly in front of Parker.
“I can’t express how glad I am that they’re okay,” Genna said, looking up at Spence. “Thank you for holding them until we could get here. I had all kinds of awful scenarios going through my head.”
Spence nodded. “I still want to know how they got loose.”