The Art of Wag by Susan C. Daffron Read Free Book Online Page A

you’re driving. You see a guy with a stupid sign and you know you gotta give him a wide berth. Because you never know what dumbass maneuver he’s gonna pull in that rusty ole Ford pickup of his.”
    Tracy laughed. “Remind me not to visit your home town. Alpine Grove is bad enough. The hunters are all out in their rusty pickups. But they’re wearing camo gear, so they think you can’t see them.”

    Joel stood in front of the open pantry in the kitchen. “Kat, could you come here for a minute?”
    Kat put down her novel, got up from the sofa, and was followed by three dogs. She stood next to Joel. “What’s wrong?” The canines—Lori, Lady, and Linus—stared into the pantry lovingly. The huge wooden box full of human food was always a source of great interest.
    Joel pointed at a huge plastic jug in the cabinet. “What is that?”
    “Mustard.”
    “I know that. It’s a lot of mustard. No one needs this much mustard, except maybe a baseball concession stand.”
    Kat shook her head. “The grocery store has a new restaurant-supply aisle. Maria thought it was incredible. I didn’t notice that she’d grabbed this until we were checking out.”
    “How can you not notice when your friend puts a six-pound jar of mustard into your cart?”
    “I was trying to keep her from buying any more Twinkies. We have more than enough.”
    “That’s for sure.” Joel sighed. “Could you return the mustard? It’s not opened. Just because something is a good deal doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.”
    “All right. I discovered it when she was here and I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. She did buy a lot of food for us.”
    “Mustard is a fine condiment, but it’s not something we can live on. What do you want for dinner?”
    Kat gazed at the pantry and then grinned at him. “Well you’ve ruled out mustard and Twinkies. That really limits our options, you know.”
    Joel grabbed some cans and walked to the kitchen. “I’ll wing it. Would you chop up some carrots for me?”
    Kat headed for the refrigerator, followed by the three dogs. “I’m on it.”
    Joel started opening cans and dumping them into a pot. “You have a parade of large dogs following you. What did you do with the little one? Where’s the dachshund?”
    Kat looked around her. “She was right next to me.” She bent down to look under Linus’s hairy body. “Okay guys. Where is Roxy?” All three dogs wagged, but none of them gave any indication that they had any clue where the dachshund had gone.
    “You didn’t lose the dog, did you?”
    Kat stood up and put her hands on her hips. “ Lose is such a strong word. Roxy is here somewhere. I’ll look around.” She went back to the living room and looked under the sofa and end tables. Lori licked her ear. “Yuck. Lori, why do you always have to do that?”
    A small yip noise came from the direction of the kitchen. Kat pushed Lori away and stood up. “Did you hear that?”
    Joel stopped chopping carrots. “I heard something. Was it the dog?”
    Kat started back toward the kitchen. There was a louder woof and all the dogs ran back to the kitchen and stared at the walls and cabinets.
    Joel put down the knife and leaned back against the counter. “Was it from inside or outside? She didn’t get out, did she?”
    Kat’s shoulders slumped. “I hope not. She doesn’t really do stairs, but I’ll go look, just in case.” She waved at the dogs. “Let’s go, everyone.” It was pouring rain and Kat grabbed an umbrella and a raincoat on her way out. The dogs thundered down the front steps and then turned to glare at Kat. She waved at them. “I know. Yes, it’s raining. Get over it. Look for Roxy. You’re dogs. Use your noses. Sniff her out.”
    Linus shook his huge body, spewing water on the other dogs, who leapt away from him. They all sniffed around half-heartedly for a few moments. Lori and Lady were not fans of wet weather, so they went back up the steps and stood on the front landing, looking