Lost and Found

One

"Leave it to Mother Nature."

Lightning flashed across the darkened sky, immediately followed by a deep roll of thunder. Allison Ryder turned the key in the ignition of her precious classic 1965 Mustang and the engine roared to life. She reached forward with trembling fingers and flipped the windshield wiper switch.

"Oh, would you look at that," Allison said, annoyed by the gold-colored paper swishing back and forth across the front window of her car.

"Settle down. It's just a flyer," Katie consoled.

"I know what it is." Allison snapped at her best friend as she stumbled back into the downpour. "Lord, I hate Texas storms."

With the icy cold rain pelting down onto her head, she reached to snatch the flyer off her windshield; or tried to. The swish of the rubber blade pulled the paper out of her reach and then tormented her by tossing it, along with a stream of water, back at her. A moment too late, she figured it probably would have been easier if she'd turned the wipers off first. The blade snapped back toward her again and sent another stream of water directly at her face. "Crud!"

She finally ended up with a wad of wet paper stuck to her fingers. Infuriated by the whole situation, she jumped back into the car and shook her hand, trying to get the soaked paper loose. It landed on top of one of the bags settled in the back seat.

Once a week she made the trip into the heart of town to buy groceries and every week someone stuck one of those stupid flyers on her car. According to the numerous advertisements, she could lose twenty pounds in twenty hours. She could find Mr. Right through her VCR. Heck, she could even increase her annual salary by one hundred times by simply using her home computer. With all the wonders of the flyer world, her life should be perfect. "I hate it when they do this in the rain. Don't they know what a mess they make? What right do they have?"

"They should all be shot at dawn." Katie said from the passenger seat, her green eyes sparkling and a knowing grin spread across her face. "To hell with free enterprise and all that stuff."

"Oh stop patronizing me," Allison snapped playfully.

"What did I say? I'm just voicing an observation on your behalf."

Katie turned her head away and Allison reluctantly smiled as her friend's rosy cheek twitched. "You might as well laugh, before you explode. Lord knows I don't want your twisted sense of humor splattered all over my nice leather seats."

"Oh that's sick, Al."

Allison grinned. "Oh yeah, like you aren't, giggle girl."

"Not me. I have absolutely no desire to laugh at you." Katie snorted.

"What kind of person has so much time on their hands they can walk around tormenting people with useless pieces of paper?"

Katie pushed her overly long brown curls out of her eyes and sniffed. "What kind of person lets a piece of paper ruin her day?"

Allison glanced over the back of her seat and stretched to see around the van parked next to her. Not seeing anything, she stepped on the gas and the car rolled slowly backward. "You just don't get it. Someone had to cut down trees to make the paper this is printed on."

"It happens," Katie acknowledged.

"Then someone pollutes the air with all the machinery that makes and prints the paper."

"And this is what's got your knickers in such a twist? For heaven's sake, Al, plant a tree." Katie settled into her seat and checked her seatbelt as the car started to back up.

Thud!

Al's foot went instinctively to the brake pedal and the car jerked to a stop. Staring into her rearview mirror, she looked through the rain smatterings into a very deep, brown pair of eyes glaring in at her. A split second later, she noticed the man the eyes belonged to, leaning half up on the trunk of her car. She slammed the car into park and jumped out into the rain. Thank God she hadn't been moving fast enough to hurt him.

"Why me, Lord?" she mumbled.

He raised head up and the hood of his rain jacket slipped back. Dark hair hung, dripping around his face.

His angry gaze locked on her and she fought the urge to step back. "Oh my."

"What are you trying to do, kill me?" he shouted.

She stared, mesmerized as the creases across his tanned forehead deepened.

"Hel-lo. Anybody in there?" he asked sarcastically.

Allison could barely hear him over the car's engine and the rain, but he didn't sound happy.

"I'm sorry. I looked and didn't see anyone. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine for someone who just almost got run over by a crazy woman driver. Didn't anyone ever tell you cars can kill people if you don't know how to drive them?"

"I just couldn't see around the van," Allison offered, apologetically. The man turned to walk away and she noticed the hood of his plastic jacket sagging from the weight of rainwater quickly filling it up.

Large cold drops fell onto her head, dripping down her face as she shook her head against the chills. Her damp collar sagged against her neck. Still disquieted by his intense stare, Allison looked around her. Several cars drove past, splashing muddy water up onto their legs.

The irritated man shook his leg and mumbled in her direction. "If you couldn't see, you shouldn't have gone." He turned back and glared at her.

"That makes no sense. I would have had to wait until the owner of the van came out. Perhaps you should have looked to see if my reverse lights were on."

"Well forgive me; I had other things on my mind." He pushed his hair back and reached for his hood.

She opened her mouth to warn him about the water, but he held up a hand to silence her.

"Don't tell me, let me guess."

She tried again to speak, but he went on without giving her a chance to say anything else.

"You're sorry. Do you know how many people are killed by careless drivers who have no business out driving in the rain?"

His eyes turned dark and something sad flashed across his features, but the anger quickly returned. Rain dripped down inside her jacket, drowning what little patience she had left and she decided he could use a good cooling off. "Actually, I wanted to tell you...oh, never mind." She stifled the nervous giggle threatening to erupt from inside her. "Do you want my name and address or anything?"

He stared at her. "Why? So we can date?"

This man's arrogance riled her and she struggled harder to hold her tongue. "In case you're hurt."

"No. I'm fine. Just try to be careful in the future. I'm still young and I'd like to live long enough to grow old."

The sadness returned to his features. Allison offered him a weak smile and climbed back into the car. She looked back in time to see him flip his hood back onto his head and a wave of water wash down over his face and into his eyes. She turned her head away so he couldn't see her smile. She strained to hear the faint rumblings of his curses as he ran off.

"Is he okay, Al?" Katie asked.

"Yeah, he says he is. What else can go wrong today?"

"You okay?"

"Sorry, I'm just having a bad week." That's a gross understatement, Allison thought.

"So I see. Want to tell me about it?"

How could she tell Katie the most important thing in their life was about to become non-existent? She'd rather roll in a fire ant bed than be the bearer of bad news. "Just forget it."

"Fine."

"Okay." Allison stared straight ahead in silence.

She could feel the wrinkles on her forehead and reminded herself not to frown so much. She made a mental note to buy the economy size jar of skin cream on her next trip to the drug store. The inevitability of wrinkles gave her less and less reason to smile, which meant if she weren't careful she'd end up looking like a raisin.

Years of living under the Texas sun had taken their toll on her mother and once they'd diagnosed the cancer it had been too late to save her. Allison shook off the image of her mother's wrinkled and battered skin against the stark white pillows of her deathbed.

"Allison, do you have any recollection of how to have fun?"

Allison slowly turned and faced her friend. "And what the heck does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything," Katie replied.

"Like?"

"I can't remember the last time I saw you smile and you never go out with us anymore. I'm worried about you."

"Well don't be. I've just been busy. Things aren't good at the shelter."

"What do you mean, Al?"

Dang. She hadn't meant to say that. Allison knew the moment of truth had arrived and she hated having to be the one to tell. Katie cared about very few things outside her family and one of them was about to be destroyed.

"I think Doc is gonna close the shelter." She saw the surprised look on Katie's face and knew she'd have to explain.

"What do you mean, you think? Either he is, or he isn't. How could he? Where will all those poor babies go?"

Allison hated to even think about it. "I don't know. He says he's too old to do it anymore and wants to go live in Utah with his son."

When Katie sighed, Allison realized they were still sitting in the parking lot. She shifted the car into reverse, carefully slipped the Mustang out of the parking space, and headed for home. When she turned her head to look at her best friend she noticed the worry lines on Katie's forehead. Maybe they could save money if they bought wrinkle cream in bulk. She brushed a stray lock of deep auburn hair away from Katie's face.

"You okay about this, Honey?"

"Yeah, fine." Katie sighed.

Allison knew she wasn't, but couldn't think of any words of comfort. Katie meant the world to her and she hated seeing her upset. She'd been wonderful to her since she'd come back to Texas.

Brasselton, Texas was a small town. Most of the world didn't even know it existed. Ten years earlier, a freak storm had whipped a series of tornadoes through and destroyed most of the town. Some of the residents who'd lost their homes didn't have the money, or desire to rebuild, so they'd packed up and left. Many had left behind family pets of one variety or another. Katie, unable to bear the thought of all those poor babies alone and hungry, started taking them in.

A year later, Allison had dropped out of college and moved back to Brasselton to care for her ailing mother. Unable to find work as a veterinary assistant, she'd gone to work in a dog-grooming salon. That's how she'd met Katie. She brought the strays in to have them cleaned up.

Then she'd opened Katie's Care Shelter and Salon, a home for wayward strays. Allison had liked Katie immediately and they'd become great friends. The dog groomer had reluctantly let Al go when Katie asked her to work for her. They'd worked side by side until Katie got pregnant with Justin. Her husband had all but forbidden her to continue with her work. His fear of her contracting some disease from a stray animal had led him to force the issue of safety. So, she'd sold the business to Doc MacGruder, who'd run it for going on six years. Now he planned to close it down.

"I don't know what to do, Katie."

"It's not your problem, Al." Katie continued to stare out the window.

"Look, I hate this as much as you, but it's not either of our business to handle."

Katie turned sideways in her seat, her face suddenly beaming with enthusiasm. "But it could be."

That expression always led to the same talk. "Oh no! We've been over this a hundred times before. I don't have the money or the–" Allison stopped when she saw Katie's eyes twinkling.

"The what? The time." Katie rolled her eyes and heaved an exaggerated sigh. "You've got nothing but time. And if Doc closes you'll be unemployed."

"Hel-lo! Un-em-ployed. Does that word mean anything to you? Of course not, you have a husband to spoil and support you. If I'm unemployed where would I get money to buy and run an animal shelter?"

"Allison, stop whining and listen to me."

Allison watched her friend's animated hand gestures and the melodrama with which she pleaded her case.

"I'm not whining, I'm complaining. There's a difference."

"Whatever. Anthony would do anything for me."

"Well, I'm glad you shared that. I feel much better about the condition of my life now." Allison maneuvered the car around the corner and headed down the road toward her house. "Maybe I would understand better if I had someone who'd do anything for me."

"What if I ask him to help me–us–buy it back?"

"Katie, you know how he feels about you working. He'd never let you do it."

"He would if I told him we would be partners and you were going to run it."

Allison turned and stared at her friend.

"Allison, look out!"

The sound of a truck horn blaring pulled her attention back to the road. She swerved in time to avoid crossing the centerline. The man driving the pickup truck in the oncoming lane graced her with a colorful hand gesture.

"Katie, you can't be serious. Look at what you do to me. All this hooey you're spewing almost got us killed." Several more cars passed them as Allison carefully made her way home. She swerved to miss several puddles of water that she knew as potholes in disguise. She had no intention of bottoming her baby out. She tried to ignore Katie's rambling by considering how much it would cost to repair the Mustang. Parts weren't cheap.

"Why not? By the way, I'm not the one driving. This is a great idea."

"Oh my. You are serious." Allison slowed and pulled the car up next to the curb in front of her house. The rain splattered against the windshield and she considered leaving the groceries in the car, but decided to save the innocent lives of her ice cream and milk. She cared too much for the classic car she'd inherited from her mother to let melted treats ruin the original upholstery. Katie sat staring straight ahead–pouting.

Allison began gathering up her bags. With several plastic sack handles cutting into her fingers she turned toward Katie. "Are you gonna help me?"

"Oh, I see. I ask a favor, you say no, and then you ask for a favor and expect me to say yes." She shook her head and made clicking noises with her tongue; the same noise Allison had fallen victim to when Katie had first asked her about going to work for her years earlier.

"Oh stop it. I didn't say no. I just don't think Tony will go for it."

"Does that mean if he will, you'll do it?"

Allison tucked her hands onto her hips. "Oh for Heaven's sake."

"It would help assure that you never have to worry about being unemployed and we'd be partners." Katie fidgeted in her seat, barely able to contain her excitement.

"If I say yes, will it get you and my ice cream into the house?"

Katie rubbed her chin and with a victorious grin nodded her approval. "Fine, we can go in now."

They jumped out of the car and pulled the bags of food from the back seat. Allison tossed her keys to Katie and watched her run toward the house. She was about to close the car door when she saw the crumpled up flyer. She grabbed it off the seat and slammed the car door.

She made it half way across the yard before she saw the soaking wet ball of fur with a pink bandanna wrapped around its neck running toward her. The golden retriever jumped around her feet, nipping playfully at her bags.

"Stop it. Go home." She stepped sideways to avoid a collision with the dog, but the strange pup jumped in front of her. She was familiar enough in general with dogs to realize it didn't want to hurt her. The animal simply wanted to play. As cute as she was, the middle of a rainstorm was not the time.

"Allison, what are doing?" Katie stood under the protection of the porch roof motioning her to hurry up. "Stop playing with the dog and get up here before you catch a chill."

"Brilliant idea, Katie. Tell it to the pup." Allison stopped to give the dog a chance to see she wasn't playing. "Okay, you go home now and we can play later. Go on."

Droplets of water rolled down her forehead. The mixture of conditioning mousse and rain burned her eyes and she squinted against the stinging sensation. The dog stopped and leaned forward, barking cheerfully. She looked terribly comical with her front paws stretched out in front of her and her tail up in the air wagging furiously. Water shot through the air from the sweeping motion of the dog's tail and Allison couldn't help but laugh.

"Okay, enough is enough. Go home so I can get in the house." Allison made a dash for the house. She'd moved almost five feet when she heard the squeal and the earth disappeared out from under her.

The slippery plastic bags slid out of her hands only seconds before she hit the ground. Every bone in her body vibrated and she thought she might have swallowed several of her teeth.

Allison lay still on the wet grass with her eyes closed.

Carefully, she took several deep breaths hoping to get some air into her lungs, but there was none to be had. It wasn't until Allison opened her eyes that she realized the reason she couldn't breathe had a lot to do with the huge sopping wet dog sitting on top of her.

"Get off me." She gasped.

She raised her head to see Katie pulling the stray dog off. "Would you stop playing and get up. You'll catch your death laying in that puddle."

She stood up and brushed some of the loose grass off her soaking wet bottom while Katie led the dog to the shed.

Katie came back several minutes later and helped her pick up the last of the groceries.

They didn't hurry to the house since they were both drenched anyway. Once Allison got into the kitchen, she plopped down into the closest chair.

"Oh, Al, are you okay?" Katie kept her head down and didn't look directly into Allison's face.

"I'm fine. Nothing a few months of physical therapy and some counseling won't take care of." She took several deep breaths. "And don't you dare laugh." Moments later, her anger slipped away, and her breathing returned to normal. "I swear you have spent the entire day laughing at me."

"I didn't even see her. Who does she belong to?"

"I wish I knew. I've never seen her before either, but I sure would like to know."

"Hey, what's that in your hand?"

Allison looked down and realized she still clutched the flyer. "That's it, the dang flyer is cursed." She opened her hand and smoothed it down onto the table, trying to match up the torn edges. "I'd like to know what is so all fired important that they had to ruin my life with one piece of paper."

"Uh huh, me too." Katie stood behind her and laughed.

"Oh, it's not that funny."

"Yes, it is, Al."

Allison read it aloud. "Lost! Large enthusiastically playful golden retriever puppy. Please contact–"

"Oh, Allison, you're a hero."

"Puppy my foot. That beast is Cujo's sister."

"But she loves you," Katie argued playfully. "I could tell by the way she watched you as I dragged her to the shed. I could barely keep her from running back to you."

"I've lived this long without love, I could have continued to survive without it."

Allison tossed the flyer down on the oak table and got up to put her groceries away. When she reached for the bag across the table, a sharp twinge of pain in her lower back stopped her. She straightened up and rubbed the spot.

"You okay, Al?" Katie stared at her waiting for an answer, concern etched in her features.

"I think I must have twisted my back when I fell over Marmaduke."

"You aren't blaming that poor puppy are you? I think you should call her owners and take it out on them."

"What's the flyer say?" Katie picked up the bright gold piece of paper and read the bottom. "Hey, it gives this street as an address."

"That can't be right. I know everyone on this street."

"Maybe you have new neighbors."

"Oh, Katie, come on. The only house on the street that's vacant is the one on the corner. The Town Council has been threatening to tear it down for years."

"Why haven't they?" Katie asked.

"Someone from out of town keeps stopping the paperwork. Something about it being a landmark."

Katie moved over to the back door and stepped out onto the porch. The dark clouds drifted past as the rain lessened. Allison moved to stand behind her and breathed in the fresh scent. "Is that the house over there?" Katie pointed toward the end of the street.

"Yep, it's more of an eyesore than anything." She pulled her attention away from the old house. Allison rested her chin on Katie's shoulder and together they watched the sun slip down behind the trees.

"I'm so glad I moved back to Texas. I've never seen a sunset even close to this beautiful." Allison draped her arm around her friend's shoulder and they watched the brilliant colors blaze across the big sky.

"Al, I think you should call the number on the flyer. They might be worried."

"Yeah, I'll bet Marmaduke has already trashed my shed." Allison picked up the flyer and searched for the name and telephone number.

"Oh my. What the heck kind of name is that?"

"Wilfred Hoyt. I can only imagine what he looks like. I can just see some poor old man in coveralls, half crippled and hunched over trying to keep track of that heathen." Allison laughed.

"Hey, girlfriend, maybe you can get a date out of this."

Frowning at her friend, Allison sighed. "What is it about this day that everyone who speaks to me thinks I should be dating?"

"I beg your pardon? You mean I'm not the only one who thinks you spend too much time playing Dr. Doolittle? This man could turn out to be a real hottie."

Allison smacked playfully at her friend and they laughed. "Yeah, Wilfred sounds like a heck of a stud."

"Just call so you can get rid of your house guest. She sounds like she's getting impatient." They stopped talking and listened to the dog barking and yipping into the now quiet evening. "At least the storm has passed and they can come get her sooner."

Allison picked up the cordless telephone and dialed the number.

The chipper voice that answered only added to her irritation. She explained the situation then wrapped up the call. "Well, just give him the message with my address and tell him I have his dog. I'll be home all night."

Allison shoved the telephone into the base and leaned against the counter. The last thing she wanted was to be saddled with the horse of a dog for the night. There were reasons why she didn't bring her work home with her.

"Well, Al, I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

"Me too, but I need to shower before I do anything. Can you wait?"

Katie waved a hand at her and smiled. "Yeah, I've got all night. Tony took the wee one to Grandpa's for the night. They're going fishing in the morning. I can stay as late as I want."

"Hey, why don't you stay the night? It's been years since I had a sleep over."

"Only if we can order pizza and I get the fluffy pillow."

"You're on. I'll be down in a minute. You go ahead and order dinner while I shower."

Allison stood in the shower letting the steaming hot water roll off her into the bathtub. The throbbing in her back had gotten worse, but the heat from the water helped ease some of the tension. She was looking forward to facing the old coot who owned the dog. She had a juicy piece of mind to give him.

She heard the doorbell ring just as she turned off the blow dryer. She looked in the mirror, picking at her roots as she pulled the comb through her dark brown hair one last time. "Looks like it's time for another date with Miss Clairol," she said to her reflection. What are they all talking about? I date. Allison fluffed her bangs and turned off the light. She wanted to get downstairs to pay for the pizza before Katie could. Katie never let her pay for anything.

"I've got it, Katie." When Allison reached the bottom of the staircase, she found the foyer empty. She went into the kitchen and found nothing. "Where'd ya go?"

"I'm out back," Katie shouted from outside. "Wilfred came to pick up his dog."

Allison stepped off the back porch and headed toward her shed. Carefully, she sidestepped several puddles she knew covered holes in her yard. She rounded the corner of the house and saw Katie open the door to the shed. She caught a glimpse of a man next to her as he bent over. She raised her hand to wave, and then she saw it. Everything bad in her life flashed before her eyes, and in slow motion no less.

"No!" Everyone shouted at once.

Before she could stop the impending doom, it slammed into her chest at full force and knocked her to the ground. Cold and musty smelling mud seeped up around her and soaked through her clean clothes. She bit down hard on her lower lip, what was left of it, holding back the string of curses that would surely lose her a spot in heaven.

Nothing made sense. Small goose bumps of annoyance rose on her arms as a warm tongue slid up her face. As she lay on the ground, she prayed for the patience to not strangle the dog, or its owner.

"Al, honey, are you all right?"

The sound of Katie's voice rang in her head, but it wasn't her friend she saw when she finally got her eyes open. She stared up into very deep, very brown– "Oh my."

"Howdy neighbor."

Lone Heart	Too Hot to Handle	My Hero, My Lover	Hunks: Opposites Attract	Do Not Disturb