Pepper, the Highlander & the Dead Guy

I bounced up the steps to my log cabin and was reminded of the tumbles I had taken in the woods. A nice hot soak in the tub would help remedy the aches that were beginning to make themselves known, but it would have to wait until later. I had some work to do and I knew that once my mom heard about the incident, she’d either give me a call or if she wasn’t busy drop by. She—bless her—didn’t think I needed as much protecting as my brothers felt I did. Of course, my best friend Amy, would beat a path here as soon as she could to get the news firsthand.

Right now, I had to check on Mo and see how he was doing when I realized I hadn’t brought my keys with me. I hoped Mo was feeling well enough to unlock the door. I peered through one of the two windows that flanked the front door and didn’t see him anywhere in the living room.

There was only one other place he’d be. I walked along the porch that ran the full length of the front of the house and looked through my bedroom window. Sure enough, he was stretched out on my new chenille bedspread.

I tapped on the window. “Mo! Mo, get up and open the door.” He didn’t move, so I shouted, “Mo, get off my bed and open the door now!”

He lifted his head and gave me a sorrowful look.

“That’s what you get for sneaking into my stash and eating a whole bag of teriyaki beef jerky. Now get up and unlock the door.”

He moved as slow as molasses as my Aunt Effie would say. I was waiting at the front door for him and when he finally made it there, it took him three tries to unlock it.

I opened the door and hunched down to give him a rub and a hug. Mo was my four-year-old Alaskan malamute. I got him when he was a year old. “I’ve warned you about getting into my stash and now you’ve paid the price, pal.” He whined and licked my face in way of an apology, and I gave him another hug and forgave him like I always did, though I warned, “Remember this the next time you think about invading the pantry.”

Mo might appear lazy to most, but he was one intelligent dog. My father still didn’t believe he could unlock the front door since Mo refused to do it in front of him. I told my dad it was because he had called Mo lazy, but my dad just thought me crazy.

Mo followed me into the living room that ran from the front to the back of the house where French doors flanked a stone fireplace. He stretched out in front of the cold fireplace, his favorite place, especially when I had a fire going.

I went to the kitchen. It opened onto the living room and dining room, everything in the open, no place to hide, I just love it, my Aunt Effie would say with a smile, not knowing she was ahead of her time when it came to open concept living. But then Aunt Effie had been a woman ahead of her time when it came to many things, and I had loved her dearly. If it hadn’t been for her, I wouldn’t have this beautiful log cabin on three acres.

My cell phone rang, and I grabbed it off the kitchen counter where I had left it when I went for a walk.

“Hey, sis, just to let you know I stopped Mom from running over there and checking on you, but I told her I’d call and see how you were doing,” my brother Danny said.

Danny was the oldest of my three brothers. He owns Madison Garden Center that I hold part ownership in since I gave him the money to start his dream business. He and his wife, Kelly, worked hard to make it a success. They were expecting their first child in June, having waited to get the business going before starting a family. Kelly was presently with her mom and dad in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they retired about five years ago, helping her mom care for her dad who had recently taken a heart attack.

Danny was the one who tormented me the least growing up. He has always been there for me. The first to make sure I was all right if anything happened. So, I was fairly sure it had been Mom who had stopped him from hightailing it over here.

“Mom told you to leave me alone, didn’t she?” I said and couldn’t keep the chuckle out of my voice.

“Wait until she finds out about this guy Josh told me is interested in you. You’ll be hearing from her then.”