Page 29 of A Dash of Wolf

Princess Muffin Top watched the pile grow. “Are you out here to get drunk or to confront a vandal?”

“Both!” Adeline and Emory said in unison, then high-fived each other.

“I only see disaster coming from this,” Princess Muffin Top said.

They spread the blanket near the water’s edge, far enough from the construction equipment to stay hidden but close enough to see if anyone approached. Emory poured her specialty...hot coffee spiked heavily with whiskey and then topped with homemade whipped cream that also had whiskey and whipped cream vodka mixed in. She handed Adeline a mug.

“Whew! This is mostly whiskey,” Adeline said after the first sip.

“You’re welcome,” Emory said.

Giggling, the girls sat back under the twinkling stars and waited...and drank. After an hour had passed, there was still no sign of anyone coming to vandalize the bulldozer. The marsh was quiet except for the hum of insects and the gentle lapping of water against the bank about twenty yards away.

Adeline’s phone chimed, and both girls’ eyes went wide. It was after midnight. Who would be texting her this late at night? Adeline picked up her phone and read the text. “Ugh. It’s Grandmother Lavinia. I’m being summoned to the estate for lunch tomorrow.”

“I hope they prepare tuna,” Princess Muffin Top said.

“I hope she doesn’t give me too much grief,” Adeline said.

Emory passed her the entire bottle of whiskey. “Here. Drink up. You’re gonna need it.”

Adeline laughed as she topped off her travel mug.

“Is that Herman?” Emory asked as she peered into the water.

Adeline watched as a cluster of squish-squids swam over to them. Sure enough, Herman slithered up onto a rock and blinked at her with his massive eyes.

“Hey, buddy,” she whispered.

Herman cooed then slithered back into the water.

“So,” Emory said, settling back against a fallen log and cradling her mug. “Chief Wolfe.”

“What about him?”

“You tell me. You’re the one calling him Mason now.”

Adeline smiled into her mug. “I don’t know, Em. He’s...not what I expected.”

“What did you expect?” Emory asked.

“Someone who had dog breath,” Princess Muffin Top said.

Adeline glared at her cat. “Someone like the last chief.” She took a sip. “But the more I get to know him, the more I see he actually cares. He’s fair. He doesn’t want to arrest me...I can see it on his face every time. But he does it anyway because it’s the right thing to do.”

“That’s an annoyingly attractive quality,” Emory said.

Adeline sighed. “I know.”

“What do you think his story is?” Emory asked. “The PADA stuff, the undercover work. That’s years of not having a real life. No home, no family, no one waiting for you.”

“Maybe he was running from something,” Adeline said.

“Bad relationship,” Princess Muffin Top said as she lazily waved her paw through the water, sending the squish-squids scattering. They immediately came right back, as though they were enjoying a ride. “I bet he’s damaged goods. Do you really want to take that on?”

Adeline watched the bioluminescent glow of the squish-squids pulse beneath the surface. “Yeah. I think I do.”

A car door slammed somewhere behind them.