Fleeced at Yappy Hour (Roundup Crew Mystery Series Book 3)
From Fleeced at Yappy Hour
Chapter One Part Two…
I wandered away from the bar and into the kitchen, where I was about to grab my phone from my back pocket when a warm hand stopped me.
“Hey there, stranger.” Gus grinned down at me, his hair flopping over his forehead, the tiniest bit damp with sweat. I found myself licking my lips and trying not to openly drool. Something happened to my insides when I watched Gus in the kitchen- something I definitely couldn’t talk about in proper company.
I’d really never found myself dating two guys at once, but that was the predicament I currently found myself in. Who could I possibly choosebetween a charming chef or my lovely law enforcement friend? Then again, at the moment neither was asking me to choose…so…I was temporarily putting aside my monogamist tendencies.
Gus was the new sole owner of DelVecchio’s, a restaurant right across from the Wine and Bark. It used to belong to him and his best friend, Dan, but Dan was murdered the same week I arrived in Pacific Cove. I didn’t know back then that Dan’s death would be the first in a string of terrible incidents around my little town- incidents that I somehow managed to keep getting involved with.
“Hey,” I replied with a soft smile. “So, how’s cooking in a normal kitchen?”
“The ones in New York were better, but the company here can’t be beat,” he chuckled, glancing around at the decidedly not million-dollar kitchen. Just a few weeks ago, Gus had been competing in a national cooking competition show filmed in New York. He didn’t say it out loud, but I could tell that he’d loved his time there, and would probably go back if he got the chance. “Who are you calling?”
“Yolanda. She’s suspiciously absent,” I said.
“Ah, I was wondering why there wasn’t any screaming laughter, aside from the children,” Gus mused, poking fun at our dear friend.
I chuckled, then watched as he shuffled awkwardly on his feet, glancing out toward the patio where Brad was still entertaining the kids- and a good deal of the moms, too. Then, abruptly, he squeezed my shoulder in a tight hug, wiped a bead of sweat off his brow, and went back to work on the ten orders he had lined up.
Quickly, I turned back to the phone, dialing Yolanda’s number and quelling the annoying flutter of nerves in my stomach.
She’s totally fine, Maggie, I reassured myself. Maybe she just got busy.
“Hello?” spoke a voice said from the other end.
Relief flooded through me when I heard her voice come through the phone. “Yolanda! You’re home!”
“Yeah,” she replied breathlessly. “Mags, what’s going on?”
I replied with a groan. “I can’t survive fundraiser night without you. Where are you?”
“Home,” she replied as if it was obvious. “I have so much to do! I couldn’t come to the Wine and Bark and be surrounded by children and barking dogs and, just, oh my Lord, it would have been an absolute mess.”
“And this is absolutely out of character,” I informed her. “Are you all right? Are you sick, or something? Do you need Gus to make some soup? I’ll bring it over to you.”
“God, no, I couldn’t eat a thing,” she sighed. “There is far too much to do. Beepo! Don’t scratch at that!”
Never in my life did I think I’d live to see the day that Yolanda yelled at her precious little terror of a dog. Something was really wrong.
Gus caught my eye across the kitchen, furrowing his brow in curiosity. All I could do was shrug, though. Even I had no idea what was going on with Yolanda right then.
“Uh, Yo, you’re yelling at Beepo,” I pointed out hesitantly.
“Yes, because he won’t stop scratching at the darn door! He only got three walks today and doesn’t understand that Mommy needs a break,” Yolonda said.
I could practically hear the stress breaking her vocal cords apart and made a split-second decision. Yolanda wasn’t dead, thankfully, but I was getting a little worried that she might end up killing someone in this state, maybe some innocent bystander who just so happened to look at her sideways.
“Listen, the fundraiser’s over at nine,” I told my friend. “I’ll stop by after and bring you a burger, okay?”
“Dog in the kitchen!” One of the servers came running past me, a tiny, furious little chihuahua on his tail, snapping at his jeans. “Dog in the kitchen!”
“Hector, get that dog out of there!” Rachel shouted as Hector, the server, raced past her, absolutely terrified of the little demon on his heels. “Who’s dog is that?”
A flurry of activity kicked up in the dining room as the little terror raced around, getting chased by at least two servers and all the kids.
“Well, that sounds like an absolute riot, I should let you go,” Yolanda said suddenly, hanging up before I could even protest.
That was quite unlike my darling blonde friend. She might have her head in the clouds half the time, but they were always pretty and fluffy. The clouds that had gotten her head tonight seemed like stormy, dark ones filled with rain.
Maybe she and her boyfriend, Sergeant Gottlieb, had gotten into a fight. That would explain her strange demeanor. Gottlieb was an odd man, one whom I’d run into more than once on my investigations, and even on a date with Brad. He was sort of rough around the edges and suspicious of everyone he met, which was why it had been nearly impossible for me to picture him and Yolanda together.
“Maggie! I could use a little help out here!” Rachel called. I shoved Yolanda from my mind and hurried out to help, bracing myself for whatever childish disaster was imminent.
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Diana Orgain is the USA Today Bestselling Author of the Maternal Instincts Mystery Series, Love or Money Mystery series, and The Roundup Crew Mysteries. Diana is also the New York Times Bestselling co-author of the Scrapbooking Mystery Series with Laura Childs. To keep up to date with the latest releases visit Diana at www.dianaorgain.com
