Page 36 of Pepper, the Biker & the Vanishing Body

“Right,” my mom said and smiled. “I told you keeping a copy of my license in the car would come in handy, Warren.”

My dad shook his head.

“You should be used to Mom always being right,” Josh joked with a laugh.

My dad grinned. “The same fate awaits you one day.”

Josh stopped laughing. “Never.”

“We’ll see about that,” my dad said, still grinning. “Get a search going in the woods to see if anything can be found and I assume you already sent out an alert to the hospital and local doctors to report any dog bites.”

Josh nodded. “All done. The blood sample is on its way to the lab and?—”

I didn’t hear my brother say anymore, Ian’s arm went around me to usher me a few feet away.

“Beau and I need to go, Pep,” he said.

I saw the reluctance on his face to leave me and his concern once again made me realize how lucky I was to fall in love with a great guy. “No worries, Ian, go do what you need to do. But I am thankful that you rushed to my aid. My worry had me completely forgetting about that tracker, which is going to receive high reviews from me, and I’m so glad you remembered it.”

“I would never leave you on your own to face an upsetting situation. I’m here for you, Pep, always.”

Okay, so my heart fluttered a bit at his endearing declaration. Once again, I felt myself in one of Amy’s romance books, only this time I didn’t think it was a bad place to be.

“I didn’t waste any time in getting to you once I saw your text, which meant pausing the meeting and the reason I need to leave now and resume the meeting.” He gave me a quick kiss. “Let me know if you learn any more later.”

I joined Amy. Beau was already in the SUV waiting for Ian.

My dad turned a parent look on me, the kind that says that you better pay attention to what I’m about to say, but I beat him to it.

“I will tell you everything Mom tells me about the incident, but I cannot promise I can get her to go home after lunch and rest, though I will try for your sake. And I will not threaten to take Mo away from her for the rest of the day.”

“You’re stubborn,” my dad said.

“And who did I get that from?” I asked innocently and heard Amy laugh.

My dad ignored my quip and asked, “Any idea what the guy was looking for in your mom’s purse?”

“Actually, I believe I do,” I said to his surprise. “Keys! More specifically, the keys to Willow Mansion, which are sitting on my kitchen counter.”

My dad muttered, shaking his head. “I thought we laid to rest the tale of a Willow family treasure years ago.”

“You know about a possible Willow treasure?” Amy asked.

“It’s been speculated about through the years, different rumors circulating. Myths being born from a few,” my dad said.

“What myths?” I asked.

“Ask your mom while at lunch. She knows more about them than I do. I only know there is not a bit of truth to any of them.”

“Endless rumors,”my mom confirmed what my dad had said once at the diner. She took a sip of tea and checked on Mo, lying at her feet beneath the table. “He is upset that you wouldn’t let him bring his bone in here with him.”

“It’s no place for him to be chewing on a bone and he’s lucky Zelda lets him in here and he can’t be too upset since he’s sleeping. And most importantly, you need him nice and rested so he can finish out the day with you.”

My mom smiled. “So, you’re not going to tell me to go home and rest?”

I recalled my promise to my dad. “You should go home and rest, but I doubt you will.”

My mom laughed. “Now that you have fulfilled your promise to your dad?—”

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