What Not to Wear to a Graveyard. Debra Sennefelder

they were a bit much for a visit to an old graveyard, but she loved them and hadn’t worn them since last October. She did a quick inspection, the heel of the boot that had gotten tangled in a vine wasn’t broken. Thank goodness. Even though she got them on sale, she couldn’t afford to replace them now. Not on her new meager salary. A bark pierced the quiet isolation. She perked up. A dog? Could she have found the missing dog?

      A flash of white caught her eye. The missing dog was white!

      She scampered to her feet, brushing off her black leggings, when a small dog trotted out from behind a tombstone that had been intricately carved with a skull and crossbones. Spooked by the ominous-looking tombstone, Kelly wanted to coax the dog to her so she wouldn’t have to approach the final resting spot of someone who wanted to be represented for all of eternity by skull and crossbones.

      She tried to remember his name, Liv had mentioned it. Shoot. She should have paid more attention. Ah, the story of her life.

      The little dog barked again. His dark eyes were a combination of worry and hopefulness.

      Kelly needed to get the dog to come to her, which was easier said than done since she had zero experience with canines. She was just finding her footing with felines thanks to her inheritance of Howard, her granny’s beloved orange cat. Though, she had yet to find out what was so beloved about him. Focus, Kell. She was about to collect a big reward, that was if she could get the dog.

      She squatted down, opened her arms, and made whistling noises to encourage the dog to come forward. He looked hesitant. She couldn’t blame him.

      “Come on, boy. It’s okay. I’ll take you home.”

      The dog’s head tilted sideways, and the worry she’d seen in his dark eyes just moments ago faded. He happily approached her.

      “Good boy.”

      The dog hesitated a moment before trotting into Kelly’s arms.

      When she got a hold of him, she inspected him for injuries but found only his fur was dirty. She reached for his collar. Billy Lane. Yes! She’d found Constance Lane’s dog.

      “Let’s take you home, Billy.”

      Kelly scooped him up and settled him on the back seat of the Jeep. Happy to be out of the cemetery, she slid behind the steering wheel. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have found the dog at the cemetery of all places. Maybe her luck was changing.

      Chapter 2

      Kelly took off her plaid blanket scarf and covered Billy. She then cranked up the heat inside the Jeep, because the pup was shivering when she’d placed him on the back seat.

      The poor little guy had been missing for two days, left out in the elements with no shelter to keep him warm or food to keep his belly full. She glanced in the rear-view mirror and caught a peek at him. He was cute. He’d look adorable in a tartan plaid sweater.

      Before pulling out of the space, she called Pepper.

      “What’s up, Kelly?” Pepper knew practically everyone in Lucky Cove and was the one to call for an address.

      “You won’t believe what happened. I was just at the Colonial Cemetery…”

      “For the photoshoot.” Pepper hadn’t bothered to hide the disapproval in her voice. But Kelly let it go, because Pepper hadn’t approved of most of the ideas for revitalizing the boutique. Pepper was of the mindset if it wasn’t broken don’t fix it.

      “I found Constance Lane’s missing dog! He was right there in the cemetery.”

      “Are you sure it’s him?”

      “I think so. How many lost white dogs are there in Lucky Cove?” Her gaze flicked up to the rear-view mirror for another quick look. The dog was curled up, and his eyes closed. He must have been exhausted from his ordeal. “I want to take him home. Do you know the address?”

      “Yes, everybody in town knows where Constance lives.”

      Everyone except Kelly. That’s what happened when you stayed away for a decade and visited only on holidays. She’d become an expert at breezing into town and disappearing just as swiftly. After Kelly got the address, she told Pepper she’d be back to the boutique as soon as she could.

      Driving back to town, she kept her excitement for the reward money contained.

      Her granny had an old saying, don’t count your chickens before they hatched. There was a chance she found Billy’s doppelganger.

      Twenty minutes later, Kelly arrived on Willow Road. She navigated her Jeep through the decorative front gate of the gracious property, complete with a manicured lawn and an impressive white Colonial house. Billy had a lovely home.

      She opened the passenger door and reached in for Billy. Underneath the scarf, he was toasty warm. He was probably starving too.

      “How the heck did you end up at the cemetery?” With the dog held close to her chest, Kelly tucked him under her teddy coat, and he snuggled. She made her way along the fieldstone walkway to the red-painted front door. She jabbed the doorbell and waited. Billy’s head lifted. He must have known he was finally home.

      The door opened, and a petite dark-haired woman appeared.

      “May I help you?” Her pale blue eyes narrowed when she saw the dog, and she stretched out her arms. “Billy. You found him.”

      Kelly released him to the woman, and suddenly her chest felt very cold.

      “I found him at the Colonial Cemetery.”

      Billy licked the woman’s chin. “Mrs. Lane will be so…so relieved.”

      “I’m sorry, I thought you were her.”

      “Oh, no. I’m Greta Upton, the housekeeper. Mrs. Lane is unavailable now. Please, come in. Let me take your name and information. I’m certain she’ll want to thank you personally and give you the reward.”

      Greta stepped back and opened the door wider. She hugged Billy before setting him on the floor. “Don’t go running off again.”

      “How did he get away, if you don’t mind me asking?” Kelly entered and from the foyer she could see into the two rooms on either side of the elegantly decorated space. Filled with predominantly white and blue furnishings along with white painted woodwork, the rooms had a coastal vibe. From her limited view, she could tell Constance Lane had good taste.

      Greta’s lips pursed. “Billy escaped from his pen somehow.” She pulled out a pad of paper and pen from the lowboy chest and handed them to Kelly. “Please write your information.”

      Kelly did as requested, though with a little less enthusiasm than she had on the drive over. She expected to be greeted by an ecstatic dog owner gushing over the return of her beloved pet, not a housekeeper and a pad of paper. But the important thing was Billy was home. She glanced at the source of her windfall, and he looked up at her. Now, she could have sworn she saw a sadness in his dark eyes. He should have been happy. He was home.

      “It broke my heart when I discovered he’d taken off. I came inside for a moment to answer the house phone. And poof he was gone when I returned to the yard.”

      “It surprised me to see it made the newspaper so quickly.”

      “Well, Mrs. Lane is a friend of the paper’s owner, and he made sure the story got printed in the newspaper.” Greta looked down at the dog. Her gaze came back up to meet Kelly’s. “Bless him. If he hadn’t, Billy might not have been found.”

      Kelly smiled. She was happy to return the dog to his home and even happier to know she’d be receiving the reward money soon. “I guess I should go now.”

      “Mrs. Lane will be in touch. She will be so grateful and happy when she gets home to find Billy is here.”

      Kelly left the house, but before getting back into the