Chapter Twenty-Four

Tell me again what it is you’re supposed to be doin’ on Saturday?” LuAnne asked as she leaned against the Hanlons’ kitchen counter on Thursday evening.

Livvy stood beside LuAnne with an equally bemused expression on her face. “I’d like to know too, since I’m supposed to be helping you. It would be a big plus if I had some clue about what it is I volunteered for.”

“An offer that is much appreciated, believe me.” Kate laughed and greased another cookie sheet. “All I know is what I’ve been told—greet people, see that they have everything they need, and take care of small problems that come up.”

She shrugged off the niggling doubts that the mention of “small problems” always brought on. “Whatever happens, Paul keeps reminding me that by Saturday night, it’ll all be over.”

Livvy grinned. “Making people welcome ought to be second nature to you after so many years of greeting people on Sunday mornings.”

“So what are the cookies for?” LuAnne asked.

Kate followed LuAnne’s gaze to the counter, which was piled high with an array of cookies: chocolate-chip, oatmeal-raisin, lemon snowballs, and snickerdoodles.

Kate had even made sugar cookies in the shape of little hound dogs. She hoped the owners of other breeds wouldn’t take that as an indication of favoritism. It was the only dog-shaped cookie cutter she owned.

She grinned. “Maybe it’s all those years of church potlucks, but hospitality is always connected in my mind with food. I thought I’d set up a table with trays of cookies and jugs of iced tea. Maybe a coffee urn, if I can find a place in the park to plug one in.”

“That ought to set a nice tone when people arrive,” Livvy said.

“Nothin’ says welcome like something from the kitchen,” LuAnne agreed.

Kate peeked in the oven to check the progress of her latest batch, then she closed the door to give it a few more minutes.

LuAnne wrinkled her nose. “I can’t believe you’re making cookies for the dogs too.”

Kate felt her face flame and hoped her friends would attribute her pink cheeks to the heat from the oven. Even she wondered if she might be going a little over the top with that idea. Maybe Renee was rubbing off on her.

“I came across the recipe in that dog magazine, and I figured this would be the perfect time to give it a try.” She set bone-shaped pieces of dough onto a cookie sheet, ready to pop into the oven when the first batch of doggie treats was finished.

“I know it seems crazy to heat up the house like this when the weather is so miserable, but this baking frenzy has been therapeutic for me. I’ve been so concerned the past few weeks about Kisses and Renee. Now that Kisses is home again, I needed to do something to use up my excess energy.”

LuAnne surveyed the profusion of baked goodies. “From the looks of things, you’ve burned up plenty of energy today. You’d better conserve a little bit for Saturday.”

“Have you heard any more about the guy who took Kisses?” Livvy asked.

“Not yet. Daniel is really a nice young man, in spite of what he did. I hope he doesn’t get in too much trouble over it.”

LuAnne snorted. “After all the heartache he caused Renee?”

“I know. I felt that way too, at first.” Kate pushed damp strands of hair off her forehead with the back of her hand. “After I overheard what he said in Paul’s office and had a pretty good idea he was the dognapper, and after dealing with the Murphys, I assumed his wife might be in on it too. I started out to their house loaded for bear. But once I met his family and found out why he took the tote, I saw things a little differently. In a way, what he did was rather sweet. Inexcusable, but sweet.”

She opened the oven door again to check on the doggie treats.

LuAnne sniffed and gave Kate a suspicious glance. “What did you put in those things?”

“Wheat germ, powdered milk, brewer’s yeast, and pureed liver. It sounded very healthy.”

LuAnne exchanged a long look with Livvy. “Remind me not to try any of those by mistake.”

“No problem,” Livvy deadpanned. “Just make sure you don’t reach for anything that’s shaped like a bone.”

The doorbell sounded.

“Would one of you mind getting that?” Kate asked as she donned her oven mitt.

While Livvy went off to answer the door, Kate pulled the doggie treats out of the oven.

Livvy returned with Renee and Kisses in tow.

Kate slid the bone-shaped morsels onto a cooling rack and walked over to rub her finger behind Kisses’ ears.

He looked up and gave her a doggie grin.

“How’s the prodigal pooch?” LuAnne asked.

Renee drew herself up. “I would remind you that the prodigal son left home of his own accord. In Kisses’ case, it was hardly by choice.”

Then she dropped her show of pique and looked down at Kisses as if she still couldn’t believe he was back with her again.

“He’s doing fine. I had Dr. Milt give Kisses a thorough examination on Tuesday just to make sure he hadn’t suffered any ill effects from being abducted.”

“He must be quite a resilient little guy,” Livvy said.

Renee nodded happily. “In fact, Dr. Milt told me on Tuesday that Kisses is in even better condition than at his last checkup. He said the same thing when we saw him again this afternoon.”

Renee narrowed her eyes down to slits, then she waved her hand. “Surely he was exaggerating.”

“So why did you go back today, if everything was fine?” LuAnne asked.

“I’m worried about him.” Renee lifted Kisses and rubbed her cheek against the top of his head. “I can’t put my finger on it, but I feel that something is wrong.”

Kate studied the little dog. “Like what?”

“He just isn’t acting like himself. His appetite seems to have changed, for one thing. I fixed him his usual ground meat, garlic, and onions, and he hardly touched it. He took a few bites, then he backed away and turned up his nose at the rest.”

“Let’s see what he thinks about these.” LuAnne reached over and snagged one of the bone-shaped doggie treats. Breaking off a corner, she held it on her palm and offered it to Kisses.

He sniffed at it tentatively, then reached out and gobbled it up. He smacked his tongue and sniffed LuAnne’s hand as if looking for more.

“See there?” Renee’s voice wobbled. “That isn’t anything like his usual fare at all. And yesterday, I found him digging into a bag of trash I had sitting out ready to take to the curb for collection.”

Worry lines creased her forehead. “He’d torn a hole in the side of the bag and had his head wedged inside the hole. He was...rooting around in the trash like a common mongrel.”

Her voice caught. “I’m wondering if he’s had some sort of psychological trauma.”

Kate bit her lip and turned as if to put the oven mitt away so the others wouldn’t see the merriment on her face. Maybe she should suggest Renee go buy a bag of the cheapest dog food SuperMart had to offer.

Then again, maybe not.

She smoothed her face into a compassionate expression. “Give him a few days. I’m sure he’ll return to his normal, happy self in no time.

“Are you still planning for him to compete in the show?” Kate asked.

The older woman beamed. “I am indeed. Physically, he’s fine, and he looks absolutely beautiful. I’m sure he’ll do very well.”

Kate couldn’t help but notice that Renee had toned down her earlier predictions of victory.

Kate handed Kisses another treat. “I’m sure he’ll have a fine time,” she told Renee. “It should be a lovely day.”