Chapter 24
TWENTY-FOUR
A loud chorus of frantic, high-pitched barking started up the moment Maddy neared the wooden gate at the bottom of the front garden walkway. She stopped at the edge of the brick path, suddenly unsure. Just how many dogs did Mae have, anyway? Were they scary? They didn’t sound big, but…
She was starting to have second thoughts about doing this.
Mae pulled the door open the moment Maddy reached the steps leading up to the front porch, the rainbow flag blowing slightly in the breeze.
“Good morning, young lady. Come on in. Quiet, you three.” She herded three surprisingly hostile Chihuahua-looking dogs back with a foot. “Don’t mind them, they just like to make a lot of noise to compensate for their insecurity about being small. Little Dog Syndrome.”
Maddy stepped inside with her overnight bag and looked down at her new charges. All three looked like they wanted to bite her ankles.
“So this is Larry, Curly, and Moe.”
“Moe?” Moe was clearly a female, wearing a pink bow around her neck.
Mae flapped a dismissive hand. “It’s short for Maureen.
Come on, you three. Out of the way.” She shooed them away from the door, but they stayed right at Maddy’s feet, noses glued to her ankles.
She prayed they wouldn’t bite as they snuffled and wuffled her socks and shoes with quivering black noses.
“Come into the kitchen, and I’ll show you how the feeding routine works.”
Mae ran through the dogs’ schedule. Different foods in different amounts for each one. Same for medications. Supplements. Water dishes. Potty habits.
Maddy filed it all away, fighting back the sense of being overwhelmed. This was why she was a cat person. Keep the litter box clean, put down some food and water, and the cat was happy.
“You’ll have to crush Moe’s pills up and hide them in peanut butter, or you’ll never get them down her. And give Larry an extra bit of the probiotic powder on his breakfast. Otherwise his poos won’t be firm enough for you to pick up.”
Oh, lovely. She could hardly wait to experience that pleasure.
Maddy nodded, struggling to keep the alarm from showing on her face. This was…a lot more involved than she’d expected.
“You can walk them after you feed them breakfast and dinner. Around the block once is more than enough, but if it’s raining, you’ll be lucky to get them to the end of the driveway,” Mae finished with a smile.
“That’s it. I’ve already fed and walked them this morning, so they should be good until early afternoon. Any questions?”
Why did I agree to this? “No.” She eyed the dogs warily, who were now all staring up at her in suspicion with eyes too big for their little heads. It was only for a day or two. It would be fine.
“You don’t have to be here the whole time. Feel free to come and go as you please during the day. I just mainly wanted someone here with them overnight.”
“Of course. What about the security system?”
“I don’t have one.”
“You…don’t?” A single, elderly woman living alone up here?
“Don’t need one with these three,” she said when Maddy stared at her in dismay. “They’re basically furry alarms on four legs. Bark their fool heads off if anyone comes within a nine-iron of the place.”
Ummm, that wasn’t—
She patted Maddy’s arm. “You’ll be safe as a kitten with them and the deadbolt.
Promise. No need to worry. And you know how to reach me if anything comes up.
I should be back tomorrow night, but if for some reason I can’t make the last ferry, I’ll be home as early as I can Sunday. I’ll let you know.”
“Okay.” Maddy saw her out, still a little overwhelmed.
But she couldn’t help feeling sorry for the dogs as they stood staring at the closed door while Mae’s car drove away. As though they were all in disbelief that Mae would abandon them with a stranger.
Larry’s tail drooped dejectedly.
Aww. “She’ll be back in just a day or two. We’ll be fine. Maybe we’ll even be friends by the time she comes back.”
They ignored her, staring at the door as if they could will Mae to come back.
Okay, maybe no to the becoming friends thing then.
She decided it was best to let them be and not try to force herself on them. Settled on the sofa with her laptop, she got to work on the latest financial projections she was doing for Blaine.
She worked straight through until her focus started wandering. It was a little after four in the afternoon. She could sneak in a nap before Lachlan was done work for the day.
Larry, Curly, and Moe all raced over and hopped on top of her as soon as she stretched out on the sofa and draped a blanket over herself. They were actually pretty cute when they were curled up on her like little furry heating pads.
She silenced her phone so it wouldn’t wake her. The house was quiet. She was warm and comfy and so tired…
She jerked awake in near darkness to frantic, shrill barking.