Page 1 of Caught in the Crossfire

CHAPTER ONE

Nicole Copeland glanced at the clock and frowned. Riva was late. Cosmo, her beautiful Doberman-Great Dane mix, had been shampooed, pampered, and buffed, and was more than ready to go home.

She turned back to her computer, glared at the two unopened emails. Why did Ivan contact her after two years? She thought she’d made herself perfectly clear at their last encounter that she never wanted to see or hear from him again.

Ignoring the uneasiness caused by the emails she now deleted, Nicole refocused on the matter at hand. If Riva didn’t arrive in the next few minutes, she would have to call her. Pet Palace didn’t board pets although she was considering adding it to her growing list of services.

Boarding pets, however, required additional workers to staff the grooming salon overnight. Maybe Dawn, her employee and friend, would know a few students from the community college suitable for the position.

Nicole glanced at the clock again. She didn’t want to leave late tonight. Mason was picking her up for their dinner date soon. Nicole smiled as she thought of Mason Kincaid, the dark-haired, broad-shouldered construction worker with a heart of gold and kisses powerful enough to weaken her knees. The best day of her life was the day she arrived in Otter Creek, Tennessee, and met Mason. The day he asked her to marry him ranked a close second.

A car door slammed nearby, and Cosmo barked. Who needed an alarm with him around? Maybe Riva was here.

A moment later, the front door opened, and Dawn Metcalf, her co-worker, rushed in with her arms full of grooming supplies. “Sorry I’m late. I know you need to leave soon, but Colleen wanted to talk.”

Nicole smiled. “No problem. We’ll whip this place into shape for business tomorrow morning in no time. We have a full groom with Tank first thing tomorrow.” The chocolate Lab was a sweetheart.

“Aww! I love Tank. Hopefully, our order will go into the mail tomorrow morning so we won’t have to return to Cherry Hill for more supplies.”

“Tristan assured me our supplies will be here by the end of the week.”

Cosmo barked again.

Dawn frowned and peered into the holding room. “Cosmo is still here?”

“Riva will be here soon.” She hoped. What was keeping her? Nicole stepped around the counter. “I’ll start cleaning while you take the supplies to the storeroom. If Riva doesn’t arrive in the next few minutes, I’ll call her.” Good thing she and Mason chose to watch a movie at his house rather than go to a theater.

“Don’t you have a date with Mason?”

“Dinner and a movie at his place. He’ll understand if I’m delayed.”

“You’ve been here late every night this week. Go home. I’ll stay tonight.” Dawn’s voice sounded muffled as she walked toward the supply room. “It’s not like I have a hot date to worry about.” She returned a moment later.

“I don’t want either of us staying late,” Nicole said. “Tank will arrive at 7:00 a.m. along with three of his buddies. With both of us cleaning, we’ll finish fast and figure out what to do about Cosmo if Riva still hasn’t shown up.”

“If we offered boarding, we’d have a worker to handle late customers as well as care for pets staying overnight.” Dawn smiled.

Nicole held up a hand. “I know. I’m thinking about it. If you know of two people interested in overnight work, tell me their names. No promises, but we’ll see.”

After working fast for thirty minutes, Nicole dumped the last of the dog hair in the trash and tugged the bag from the can. “Go home, Dawn. I’ll find out what’s keeping Riva. Maybe I can drop off Cosmo for her. With her real estate job, she’s all over the county. Perhaps a client delayed her.”

Skepticism gleamed in Dawn’s eyes. “Almost two hours late? No matter how amazing a house is, nobody has that many questions. Call her again. This isn’t like her.”

Nicole grabbed her cell phone and called Riva Kemper for the fourth time in two hours. After five rings, Riva’s voicemail message kicked in again. Great. Looked like she would have to text Mason to let him know she’d be late. Again. Good thing the man she adored was understanding.

At the prompt to leave a message, Nicole spoke. “Riva, it’s Nicole at Pet Palace. Cosmo looks amazing and is ready to show off his buffed nails. Since your house is near mine, I’ll swing by your place with Cosmo. If you’re not home, I’ll take him to my house. Call me, okay? I’m starting to worry.”

She ended the call.

“Still not answering?”

Nicole shook her head. “Riva knows Cosmo hates to be in a crate and she adores him. This doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe you should wait for Mason before going to Riva’s. If something is wrong, you shouldn’t be alone.”

“He’s picking me up at home and Riva’s place is only four blocks from mine.” She grabbed Cosmo’s spiffy red leash and opened the crate. “Come on, buddy. Let’s get you home.”

Cosmo barked and dashed from the crate.

---