A Killer Retreat by Tracy Weber Read Free Book Online Page B

She’s hoping you’ll teach a private class for the wedding guests from New York.”
    â€œI’d be happy to.”
    â€œEmmy will be so pleased. She claims that yoga will help us get over our jet lag, but honestly, I think she’s looking for ways we can all be in the same room without fighting.” He winked. “You know how family can be.”
    Indeed I did. Dad and I used to fight like cats. I missed those fights still, even almost three years after his death.
    My chest felt undeniably heavy, but I kept my voice light. “Tell Emmy I’ll drop by the office later so we can set something up.”
    â€œGreat. You’ll love her. She takes after her mother.”
    Oh, God, no.
    I cringed before I could stop myself.
    Bruce’s eyes twinkled. “That would be Helen, my ex -wife. The woman you saw a few minutes ago was my current wife, Monica.”
    Michael’s frown clearly telegraphed his thoughts. Nice one, Kate.
    I changed the subject. “Hey, can you do me a favor? As you probably noticed, Bella’s not great with other dogs. Would you please keep Bandit on a leash?”
    Bruce shifted uncomfortably. “I would, but it’s not up to me. Like I said, Bandit’s my wife’s dog. Emmy and I told her about the leash rules already, but she’s not exactly a rule follower. Monica’s more of a free spirit.” Bruce glanced over his shoulder toward the cabin. “I’ll try talking to her again.” He shook his head slowly. “But if I were you, I’d keep my eyes open, just in case.”
    _____
    Michael and I trudged back to the cabin, both exhausted. While Michael showered off the deer dung and Bella snarfed down her breakfast, I listened to the Yoga Chick’s voice mail. I expected at least one long-winded message from Rene, but the only message was from the studio. Mandy must have called after I turned off the phone. She didn’t sound happy.
    â€œUm, Kate, there was an incident this morning. One of the kids in the Mom and Tot class pulled the fire alarm. I called 911 to tell them it was a false alarm, but we still had to evacuate the building. The firemen just let us back inside.”
    A second person mumbled in the background. Mandy’s voice faded. “Thanks for coming. Sorry for all of the excitement.”
    She spoke into the handset again. “I gave the students free passes, but you should let Alicia know what happened. The people who live in the apartments upstairs were pretty upset.”
    I sighed and hung up. I knew exactly which little towheaded tot had pulled that lever—it was the third time this month. And for the third time this month, I cursed Strong and Supple, Serenity Yoga’s main competitor, for banning the demon-child and his sweet-and-always-apologetic mother from their classes. No matter how many times I considered it, I didn’t have the heart to do the same. Maybe I could anonymously send her a gift certificate to the Pilates studio down the street …
    The alarm had already been sounded, so to speak. I’d deal with the fallout later. In the meantime, I tried calling Rene, but the call went directly to voicemail. Now I was worried. Forgoing the opportunity to leave a smart aleck message on my machine was odd enough for Rene; turning off her phone was practically unheard of.
    Michael emerged from the bathroom wearing a towel and a smile. Water dripped from his curly, damp hair and ran in enticing rivulets down his chest. He looked at me meaningfully. “I’m still all wound up from that stupid dog incident.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “What do you think? Should we burn off some stress?”
    In a rare moment of symbiosis, I understood and agreed completely. I laid down my phone, handed Michael our one remaining dry towel, and strode purposefully to the bedroom—to grab my yoga mat.
    Michael pulled on some sweats and headed off for a long soak in the