The Saint Paddy's Promise Read online

  The Saint Paddy’s Promise

  A Tess and Tilly Mystery

  by

  Kathi Daley

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2019 by Katherine Daley

  Version 1.0

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  Special Dedication

  This book is dedicated to the group of tireless JDRF volunteers who raised money for type 1 diabetes research. A special thank-you to Jay Snyder, who bid on the chance to name a character in an upcoming Kathi Daley book. Jay chose the name Jennifer Anne, for his daughter.

  To learn more about JDRF please visit their website: https://www.jdrf.org/

  I want to thank the very talented Jessica Fischer for the cover art.

  I so appreciate Bruce Curran, who is always ready and willing to answer my cyber questions; Jayme Maness for helping out with the book clubs; and Peggy Hyndman for helping sleuth out those pesky typos.

  And, of course, thanks to the readers and bloggers in my life, who make doing what I do possible.

  Thank you to Randy Ladenheim-Gil for the editing.

  And finally, I want to thank my husband Ken for allowing me time to write by taking care of everything else.

  Books by Kathi Daley

  Come for the murder, stay for the romance.

  Zoe Donovan Cozy Mystery:

  Halloween Hijinks

  The Trouble With Turkeys

  Christmas Crazy

  Cupid’s Curse

  Big Bunny Bump-off

  Beach Blanket Barbie

  Maui Madness

  Derby Divas

  Haunted Hamlet

  Turkeys, Tuxes, and Tabbies

  Christmas Cozy

  Alaskan Alliance

  Matrimony Meltdown

  Soul Surrender

  Heavenly Honeymoon

  Hopscotch Homicide

  Ghostly Graveyard

  Santa Sleuth

  Shamrock Shenanigans

  Kitten Kaboodle

  Costume Catastrophe

  Candy Cane Caper

  Holiday Hangover

  Easter Escapade

  Camp Carter

  Trick or Treason

  Reindeer Roundup

  Hippity Hoppity Homicide

  Firework Fiasco

  Henderson House

  Holiday Hostage

  Lunacy Lake – Coming in 2019

  Zimmerman Academy The New Normal

  Zimmerman Academy New Beginnings

  Ashton Falls Cozy Cookbook

  Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mysteries by Henery Press:

  Pumpkins in Paradise

  Snowmen in Paradise

  Bikinis in Paradise

  Christmas in Paradise

  Puppies in Paradise

  Halloween in Paradise

  Treasure in Paradise

  Fireworks in Paradise

  Beaches in Paradise

  Thanksgiving in Paradise – Coming in 2019

  Whales and Tails Cozy Mystery:

  Romeow and Juliet

  The Mad Catter

  Grimm’s Furry Tail

  Much Ado About Felines

  Legend of Tabby Hollow

  Cat of Christmas Past

  A Tale of Two Tabbies

  The Great Catsby

  Count Catula

  The Cat of Christmas Present

  A Winter’s Tail

  The Taming of the Tabby

  Frankencat

  The Cat of Christmas Future

  Farewell to Felines

  A Whisker in Time

  The Catsgiving Feast

  A Whale of a Tail – Coming in 2019

  Writers’ Retreat Southern Seashore Mystery:

  First Case

  Second Look

  Third Strike

  Fourth Victim

  Fifth Night

  Sixth Cabin

  Seventh Chapter

  Eighth Witness

  Rescue Alaska Paranormal Mystery:

  Finding Justice

  Finding Answers

  Finding Courage

  Finding Christmas

  Finding Shelter – Coming in 2019

  A Tess and Tilly Mystery:

  The Christmas Letter

  The Valentine Mystery

  The Mother’s Day Mishap

  The Halloween House

  The Thanksgiving Trip

  The Saint Paddy’s Promise

  The Inn at Holiday Bay:

  Boxes in the Basement

  Letters in the Library

  Message in the Mantel – April 2019

  Family Ties:

  The Hathaway Sisters

  Harper

  Harlow – May 2019

  Haunting by the Sea:

  Homecoming by the Sea

  Secrets by the Sea

  Missing by the Sea

  Betrayal by the Sea – March 2019

  Sand and Sea Hawaiian Mystery:

  Murder at Dolphin Bay

  Murder at Sunrise Beach

  Murder at the Witching Hour

  Murder at Christmas

  Murder at Turtle Cove

  Murder at Water’s Edge

  Murder at Midnight

  Seacliff High Mystery:

  The Secret

  The Curse

  The Relic

  The Conspiracy

  The Grudge

  The Shadow

  The Haunting

  Road to Christmas Romance:

  Road to Christmas Past

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Recipes:

  Orange Muffins

  Beefiladas

  Irish Stew

  Brandied Cherry Cheesecake

  Chapter 1

  Sunday, March 17

  Five dogs in training, two human trainers, one canine trainer, a beautiful sunny sky, and a rarely seen high temperature of sixty-two degrees made for what I considered to be an almost perfect March day.

  “Oliver Hanson, this is Tess Thomas and her dog Tilly,” Dr. Brady Baker, the owner of the only veterinary hospital and animal shelter in my hometown of White Eagle, Montana, introduced the tall, dark-haired man who had approached from the far side of the parking lot. “Oliver is interested in adopting Hank and would like to watch our training session today.”

  “I’m happy to meet you.” I held out my hand in greeting. “Hank is a great dog. He has the usual energy one might expect from a sixteen-month-old lab, but Brady and I have been working with him for almost two months now, and the improvement we’ve seen in his responses to verbal commands as well as his overall attention span has been amazing.”

  I couldn’t help but notice the way the man’s eyes twinkled when he smiled. “I’m glad to hear it. The main reason I came all the way from Spokane to adopt a rescue from the shelter in White Eagle is because of the work you do training your dogs before you place them. I have to say, I am more than just a little impressed.”

  I glanced at Brady and grinned.
Brady and I put in a lot of hours training the dogs here, and we were both proud of our accomplishments. “Brady and I realize that a dog who has received at least basic training will be less likely to find his way back to the shelter once he has been adopted.” I looked toward a bench in the sun. “You picked a good day to make the trip. Why don’t you have a seat, and after we put all the dogs through their paces, you can try working with Hank one-on- one.”

  The man nodded. “That would be great. Thank you.”

  I’m not usually one to brag, but I will say that Brady, Tilly, and I have worked out a training routine that by this point runs like clockwork. In as little as eight to ten weeks, we can take an undisciplined and untrained dog and turn him or her into one who will listen to his or her human and respond correctly to the basic commands of come, sit, down, stay, heel, and wait. Most dogs are cleared for adoption after the basic training course, but there are those with unique potential that we hold back for specialty training that could make them a candidate for advanced work with FEMA or another organization that utilizes highly trained canines.

  Brady and I had tried a few different approaches in the beginning, but then we found that the key to our success in many cases was Tilly. Tilly is an old pro when it comes to responding to both verbal commands and hand signals, and we have often used her to demonstrate the behavior we are after, which seems to help the younger dogs who are eager to learn but have no idea what it is we are asking of them.

  The dogs we’d brought out with us today seemed to be enjoying the warm weather and sunshine as much as their human trainers. Almost everyone was on their best behavior, which made the training session seem to go faster. In another couple of months, we’d add water training at the lake for many of the more advanced dogs. It was surprising how many of our prospective parents wanted to adopt dogs who liked the water and could swim.

  “It seems to me that Rosie is becoming more and more distracted with each session,” I said to Brady as we loaded the dogs other than Hank into his truck after our session. “When we first started working with her, she showed real promise, but now I’m just not sure.”

  Brady huffed out a breath. “Yeah. I’ve noticed that as well. Maybe some one-on-one time will help get her back on track. I’ll work with her this week. Why don’t you take Hank and get Oliver started with his individual session while I finish up here?”

  “Okay. Do you know if Oliver has experience training a young dog?”

  “When I asked him that question, he said that his last dog lived for an impressive seventeen years and he was a child when he was trained, so Hank will be his first.”

  “Okay. I’ll go over the basics.”

  I instructed Tilly to stay with Brady, then headed across the parking lot with Hank on a lead. Oliver stood up to greet us as we approached.

  “Oliver, this is Hank.”

  Hank wagged his whole body as Oliver stooped down to pet him.

  “Hank is still in what I refer to as the puppy stage despite his size,” I informed the man. “He has a strong play instinct, which can seem to many to be a negative, but if you understand his need for exercise, you can use it to your advantage.”

  “Oh, and how is that?” he asked as he ruffled Hank behind the ears.

  “A lot of dogs respond best to food as a reward for a job well done, but Hank will do almost anything for a chance to play with you for even a few minutes. The trick is to use playtime as a reward for cooperative behavior. Hank wants to please you. If you make it clear what you are asking of him and reward that behavior with a tug-of-war session or a game of fetch, I think you will both be very happy. I’m going to have you put him through his paces today. When the session is over, if he has done well, let him know you are happy with his behavior and then play with him for a few minutes.”

  Oliver nodded. “Okay, let’s give it a try.”

  “We’ll start easy with a down stay and then work on recall and finally walking at heel.”

  As I knew he would, Hank performed like a pro. When it came time for his play session, it looked as if Oliver was having as much fun as the dog. I think we’d found a match that had the potential to last a lifetime. Oliver agreed to return the following weekend for another session, and if that went well, he would take Hank home with him after the adoption paperwork was completed.

  “Do you need a ride?” Brady asked after Oliver left to drive back to Washington and we’d completed our training for the day.

  “No. Tony dropped me off and was going to pick me up, but I told him he could just pick me up later from Bree’s. If Tilly and I cut through the park, it is less than a mile to her place, and it is such a beautiful day that I thought we’d walk.”

  Brady looked up toward the clear blue sky. “It is a nice day. How is the wedding planning coming along?”

  I shrugged. “It’s coming along exactly as I predicted it would.”

  “As you predicted?”

  I looked Brady in the eye. “Stressful, angst-filled, drama at its best. On the day we found out that Mike and Bree were getting married, I told Tony that Bree would start off by swearing that she wasn’t going to be one of those bridezillas she professes to have no patience for, while I predicted that halfway in, she’d be as monsterlike as any bride who had ever existed.”

  Brady laughed. “Is she really that bad?”

  “She really is. But it is her wedding. And as her best friend, maid of honor, and future sister-in-law, I want her to have her perfect day. If she is having a hard time figuring out exactly what that day might look like, I am determined to be patient and let her take the time she needs.”

  “You’re a good friend.”

  “Bree means a lot to me. She has always been like a sister to me, and now that she is going to be my real sister, I couldn’t be happier.” I tossed the stack of traffic cones we used in training into the back of Brady’s truck. “Are we doing another training session on Saturday?”

  “I’d planned on it. I thought we could just meet here if the weather is nice again. If we are back to regular March weather, we’ll meet at the shelter. I want to get as many dogs through our basic training as possible before the adoption clinic next month.”

  “Are you still thinking of doing speed dating again?”

  Brady nodded. “It seemed to work well the last time we tried it, so yeah, I thought we could give it another go.”

  “Okay, then, I’ll see you on Saturday if not before.” After waving to Brady, Tilly and I took off across the park. I loved this time of the year, when the snow had melted and everything felt fresh and new. It had been an early spring this year and I supposed we could very well get more snow, but I knew once the heating trend started, any snow that did fall would melt in a matter of hours. Mike and Bree had decided to get married in June. I knew my brother would prefer a church wedding and an indoor reception, but Bree wanted to be married outdoors under the night sky. Her plan seemed to me to be riddled with problems, but I knew she needed to work through those problems herself, so I just stood back and supported her process.

  Of course, in my mind, the biggest challenge was the weather. June could be tricky. Sometimes the month was warm and mild, while other Junes could be wet and cool. In terms of snowpack, it had been a mild winter this year. We’d had snow early on, but then it seemed to taper off, with only small storms blowing in during the normally heavy snowfall months. I supposed that a warmish winter and spring could mean that summer would arrive early. June could be gorgeous in White Eagle if the planets aligned and everything fell into place.

  I glanced toward the walking path that meandered through the park. The trees were budding, and I knew that the brown and barren landscape would begin to turn green with just a few more warm days. The flowering shrubs were beginning to bud, and if the temperature cooperated, the entire park would be brilliant, with flowers in a multitude of colors before long. I glanced down at Tilly, who began to wag her tail so hard that it was swatting my leg. Pausing to see what she w
as looking at, I noticed a young woman with long blond hair sitting on a bench next to an elderly woman holding a cane. The young woman smiled at Tilly and me as we approached.

  “Can I pet your dog?” the young woman asked.

  “Certainly. Tilly loves to meet new people.” I motioned to Tilly that she could carefully approach the woman, who had reached out a hand.

  “I just love dogs, and yours is beautiful.” The woman smiled. “My name is Jennifer Anne Claremont, and this is my grandmother, Elizabeth Bradford.”

  “I’m Tess Thomas and this is Tilly. We are both happy to meet you.” I glanced toward the lake, which had been frozen until the warm weather we’d been having had arrived. “It’s a beautiful day to get outdoors.”

  “It really is. And I am so grateful for the sunshine and warm temperature. I can’t tell you how many Saint Patrick’s days Nana and I have spent sitting on this bench in the middle of a snowstorm.”

  “You sit out here every year despite the weather?” I asked.

  Jennifer Anne turned her head to the side and glanced at her grandmother with a look of complete adoration on her face. “Have to. Nana has made the pilgrimage to this bench every March 17 for the past sixty years, rain, snow, or sunshine. I started coming with her eight years ago, after she suffered a stroke that limited her mobility and made it impossible for her to drive. It is also difficult for her to speak, which makes any sort of public transportation difficult, so I volunteered to chauffer her for as long as she needs me.”

  From the woman’s loving expression, I didn’t think she minded the duty she had volunteered for in the least. It warmed my heart to see such a devoted granddaughter. I no longer had a grandmother, and in the moment, it really hit home how much I’d been missing out on.

  “Sixty years?” I responded. “That’s quite a run. I sense there’s a story behind it.”

  Jennifer Anne glanced at her grandmother. “Is it okay if I tell Tess and Tilly your story?”

  The white-haired woman nodded.