Free Ninja Soccer Moms by Jennifer Apodaca Page A

looked down to see the brown ooze staining the delicate suede. Damn. Setting my foot down, I said, “Is Roxy here yet? She told me to meet her here.”
    â€œRoxy? No I haven’t seen her. But I need her to call back that computer guy. Can’t make heads or tails of what he’s saying.”
    â€œShe’s probably on her way. What’s wrong with your computer?” Roxy had dragged Duncan into the computer age. She worked with some computer techie to get everything at the nursery computerized. Duncan had enough basic knowledge to work the system, but he turned glitches and problems over to his niece. I could relate to that. Computers and I don’t exactly communicate.
    â€œCan’t get the customer receipts to print—” His gaze slipped past me. “Hey! Get out of there!”
    I whirled around in time to see Ali jump up on one of the three plastic trash cans set out by the trailer office. “Ali!”
    The trash can went over, and the lid popped off. Ali barked and started digging through the rubble.
    I forgot about my boots and ran across the mud, anchoring my purse underneath my right arm. “Ali, no!”
    She ignored me, digging through plastic bags, newspapers, dead leaves, and other assorted junk. I got to her, slid to a stop and grabbed Ali’s black collar with silver studs. “Ali!”
    At eighty pounds of pure muscle, my one hundred and twenty-nine-and-a-half pounds of not enough exercise barely caught her notice. She kept digging and barking.
    â€œGet that dog out of here!” Duncan roared from behind me.
    I had both hands on her collar. “I’ve never seen her like this! I don’t know what’s gotten into her!” I yanked hard on her collar. My purse slipped down my arm, but I focused on my dog. “Ali, come—ugh!” My feet slid out from under me and I landed on my butt.
    In a pile of trash. Slimy, wet trash.
    Duncan closed one big hand around Ali’s collar and pulled her back.
    She growled.
    Getting on my knees, I turned around to face my dog. “No, Ali!” I couldn’t believe she would bite Duncan, but I didn’t want to chance it. She wasn’t looking at Duncan, though. Her long nose and intelligent eyes focused on that trash can.
    Weird. While Duncan held her collar, I got up, grabbed my purse off the ground, and slung it over my shoulder, then piled the trash back into the can.
    She didn’t like that, alternating between whining and barking. I put the lid back on the can and did the only thing I could think of—dragged it into the trailer office, then shut the door.
    I went back out to my dog. Getting down on one knee, I took her face in my hand. “What has gotten into you?”
    Duncan let go of her collar. “Get that dog out of here.”
    I looked up at him. “I’m sorry, Duncan. But you know Ali, she’s never done anything like this before.” I thought he was overreacting.
    â€œI don’t have time to take care of your dog, Sam. Roxy’s not here, and I have work to do.”
    I knew an invitation to leave when I heard one. Besides, I was worried about Ali. She never acted that way without a reason. I stood up. “Look, Duncan, I’m concerned about Roxy. She’s acting awfully emotional, even for her. Have her call me when she gets here. Please.” I took Ali’s collar and went to the car.
    Blaine was going to have a fit when he saw all the mud Ali and I tracked into the car. My boots were toast. Fortunately, my purse had landed on top of the trash pile, not in the mud. I set it down on the floor of the passenger side.
    And what the hell was wrong with my dog? What was in that trash can that she wanted so badly? Driving on Mission Trail toward work, I looked over at Ali. She was curled up on the seat, her sad eyes watching me. “What, Ali? What am I missing?”
    My cell phone rang. Watching the wet road, I leaned across to the