Free Board Stiff (Mattie Winston Mysteries) by Annelise Ryan Page B

now?”
    “I didn’t know I was going to a death scene. Irene nabbed me in the grocery store parking lot and brought me here.”
    “No problem. I’ll follow you out to your place.”
    We head back to the recreation room where I find Hoover in the middle of a circle of people in chairs and wheelchairs. A man is rubbing Hoover’s ears while Hoover rests his head in the man’s lap, looking happy and content.
    “It’s my turn,” the man next to him says. “Come on, Ted, quit hogging the dog.”
    “Sorry folks,” I say, “but it’s time for the dog to go home.”
    This announcement is met by a series of moans and groans.
    “Are you going to bring him back?” a woman in a wheelchair asks. “He is the sweetest thing.”
    “Sure,” I say with a shrug. “I don’t see why not.”
    After hooking Hoover back up to his leash, I lead him down the halls. I fully expect to run into one of the board members or Connie, and have some more explaining to do, but fortunately they are all gathered in the dining room and if any one of them saw a dog go by in the hallway, they apparently opted not to question it.
    After exiting out the front door and climbing into the hearse, I decide to do a quick swing through McDonald’s and order Hoover a hamburger for his good behavior. I consider ordering something for myself, but my stomach still feels unsettled so I decide to wait.
    My stop at the drive-through takes enough time for Hurley to beat me to my house. He is waiting for me when I pull up, standing on the front porch, leaning against a post. “Did you get lost?” he says as I get out.
    “I did a quick drive-through at McDonald’s to get Hoover a treat.”
    Hoover bounds out of the car and runs over to him, whining and wagging his tail as if he is greeting some long lost lover. I kind of know how he feels. As I look at Hurley, all tall and lanky leaning against my porch post with that blue-eyed smile, I want to wag my tail, too.
    After letting Hoover water a tree, I head inside and Hurley follows. Before I know what’s happening, he closes the door and grabs my arm, spinning me back toward him. He pulls me in close so that my chest is against his. “Can we talk before we go see this woman?”
    I’m not sure I’m physically capable of speech at the moment so I simply nod.
    “I am so sorry about this mess with Kate. Believe me, I had no idea she never filed the divorce papers. Nor did I know she was pregnant. Her reasons for keeping all that to herself are a bit sketchy. Every time I ask her about it, she shrugs vaguely and mumbles something about how she was worried I’d make her give the kid up. Believe me, there is absolutely nothing between us, anymore. To be honest, there never really was. That’s why we decided to divorce.”
    “That’s all fine and dandy, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re a married man, Hurley. And you have a kid.”
    “The marriage part I’m taking care of. That should be finalized in another week or so. The kid I can’t do anything about.” His eyes soften and he lets out a tiny sigh. “Not that I’d want to. Emily is great. She’s smart, funny, sweet tempered.... I’m a little pissed that Kate kept her from me all these years. But the whole fatherhood thing takes some getting used to. I’m not sure I’m cut out for the job.”
    I see genuine affection in his eyes and find it touching . . . as well as worrisome. Some silly part of me wonders if his feelings for his daughter will somehow roll over into renewed feelings for a woman he once cared about enough to marry. Then I remind myself that Hurley isn’t mine to be jealous over.
    “I get that you didn’t plan any of this, Hurley,” I say, pushing away from him. “But it doesn’t change the reality of it. And now that I’m back at my old job, we have the issue of our conflict of interest problem to deal with again, too.” I shake my head and squeeze my eyes closed. “I don’t know, Hurley. It seems like