Jax came up to the bar. “You’ve got a way with people, darlin’.”
“Do I?” I asked dryly.
“Like a drill sergeant crossed with a saint.”
Now, I had to laugh. “Don’t start,” I warned, givinghim a look before turning back to Geraldine. “When was the last time you saw Poppy?”
“This morning.” Her voice trembled with worry. “She was in the garden, barking at the hedges like usual. And then she just…vanished.”
“She probably wandered off to terrorize someone else’s garden.” I tried to sound reassuring. “Poppy’s got more energy than sense. She’ll turn up.”
“And Fergus?” Geraldine asked.
“Seamus will find him,” Liam Murphy assured her, though his tone was less confident than I would’ve liked.
“He’s probably hiding somewhere warm,” Liam Ryan, who was playing cards by himself at a table, suggested. “He doesn’t like the cold, you know.”
I sighed, rubbing my temples. “Alright, here’s what we’re going to do. While Seamus is running around looking for his feckin’ snake, Jax, can you take Geraldine and search the village for Poppy? And if either of you finds Fergus before Seamus does, please—please—don’t bring him into the pub.”
“Why not?” Jax asked, looking amused. “I think a snake will liven this place up.”
“Because the last time Fergus was here, half the pub cleared out, and the other half got so sloshed they started trying to teach him tricks like a bloody circus act.”
Ronan snorted, muttering, “Best night we’d had in weeks.”
“You’re not helping,” I shot back.
“Now, you gonna help me with my snake-versus-puppy crisis or not?” I demanded, holding Jax’s gaze.
“Darlin’, how can I say no to that?” he asked, a grin tugging at his lips. “Come on, Geraldine, let’s find Poppy.”
I sighed once Jax had led the half-hysterical woman out of the pub, flirting outrageously with her.
Saoirse came in five minutes later to start her shift. She looked around at how everyone seemed off-kilter and asked, “What’s up?”
“Nothing out of the ordinary.” I picked up another pint glass from the sanitizer and started to wipe it clean. “Just another day in Ballybeg.”
“Geraldine and Seamus were here,” Liam Murphy supplied, raising his pint.
Saoirse groaned. “Not again!”
“We got a missing snakeanda missing dog.” Ronan smirked. “Jax is with Geraldine and Seamus…he’s on his own.”
“If they find the snake, they can’t bring it here,” Saoirse immediately said, shuddering.
“Already told them that,” I assured her.
It took a good hour before Jax came back through the door. Geraldine was right behind him, clutching little Poppy like she’d found the Ark of the Covenant.
“Found her,” Jax announced as Geraldine pushed past him, beaming like she’d just won the lottery.
“Where was she?” I braced for whatever ridiculous answer was coming.
“In the church,” Jax replied, barely holding back a laugh as he came behind the bar.
“What?” I blinked.
“Yeah, barking at the holy water like it dared look at her sideways.”
