“You’re crazy,” Cleo, the black cat, said as she sashayed back and forth on the counter. “Absolutely insane.”
Ellie stretched her neck as she sat on the hard wooden kitchen chair, rolling it from side to side, and sucked in a deep breath as the cat continued her pacing.
Lola’s head swiveled back and forth to follow her movement. “But why, Cleo?”
“Why? Why? Are you serious? You can’t possibly be that dumb.”
“Hey,” Ellie cut in, wagging a finger in the air, “what did I say about calling Lola dumb?”
Cleo settled onto her haunches and narrowed her green eyes. “Well, if the dog collar fits.”
Lola flicked her dark brown eyes to Ellie. “What collar?”
Ellie shook her head, dismissing the comment. “She doesn’t mean it literally.”
“What I do mean literally is that you are crazy. Both of you. I think something went haywire in your brain when that nurse held you at gunpoint.”
Lola’s part-bulldog face wrinkled more than normal. “She didn’t hold me at gunpoint.”
“I’m not crazy. Aunt Susie was going to do it, too!”
Cleo wrinkled her nose. “And I told her she was crazy, too.”
Ellie grabbed her empty tea mug off the table and shuffled to the sink. “Well, I think it’s a good idea.”
“Me too, Ellie,” Lola agreed. “I’m excited.”
“What for? Because you’ll have more people to bark at?”
Lola nodded her wrinkled head, her floppy ears bobbing. “Yeah.”
“No,” Ellie corrected as she swirled the soapy sponge around the mug. “We talked about this. No barking.”
“Oh, right. I keep forgetting.”
Cleo shook her furry head back and forth. “Opening a B&B. What a horrible idea.”
