Chapter 1 #2
The pup hopped off the bed, the tags on his collar jangling, and appeared at my side.
With a quick swipe of his tongue, all of my anger dissipated.
It wasn’t his fault he wasn’t housebroken yet.
I’d been running the For Pitties’ Sake pit bull rescue for a few years now.
Even the most loving pups came with a ton of baggage.
The thunder and lightning during last night’s storm probably set him off.
I ran a hand over the back of his head. “It’s okay, bud.” Then I shifted my weight to my heels and waddled to the bathroom to wipe off my foot. By the time I’d showered, cleaned up Herbie’s mess, and driven the short distance to the dog rescue shelter, the sky had lightened a few shades.
Staff would be in later, but I’d taken the morning shift today.
That meant it was up to me to get the dogs fed and out for a potty break.
Herbie trotted alongside me as I unlocked the front door and let myself in to the crumbling building For Pitties’ Sake had called home for the last ten years. A puddle of liquid greeted me.
At first, I thought one of the dozens of dogs at the rescue had broken out of its kennel and had an accident.
But when I flipped on the light and looked toward the ceiling, I immediately spotted the source of the leak.
My stomach twisted. Several tiles of the drop-down ceiling sagged.
A line of rainwater dripped in a constant plop-plop, splatting onto my feet as I stood in shock.
Herbie plunged through the puddle, licking up the water and taking the opportunity to splash around.
“This isn’t here to play with.” I let out a sigh.
I’d been working on an idea for a special event to increase awareness about the shelter.
Now I’d have to shift all of my energy into raising enough funds to clean up this mess and make repairs.
For a moment, I wished I’d never taken on this project.
Maybe I should have stayed in the military and never come back to Ido.
A chorus of barks and yips sounded from the back of the building. The dogs. That’s why I’d taken over. And that’s why I’d stayed. As I made my way toward the back where the kennels were set up, my phone rang.
“Good morning, sunshine,” my best friend, Lacey, practically sang into the phone.
“What are you so happy about?”
“Gee, who crapped in your cereal this morning?”
“It wasn’t my cereal. It was my bedroom floor, and I put my foot in it.”
“Oh, hon. Which lucky male did you take home with you last night?”
“Herbie.”
“And that’s the way he treated you?”
“Hey, I’m used to getting dumped on by members of the opposite sex. Just look at my last attempt at a relationship.” I should have known the last guy I tried dating was cheating on me. All the signs were there, I’d just been too busy to notice.
“We still on for lunch?”
“I’ve gotta cancel,” I said. “There’s a leak at the shelter, and I’ve got to get it patched up before the rain starts again.”
“Oh no. Are all of the dogs okay?” Lacey asked.
“Yeah, they seem to be. But I’ve got a few inches of water to sop up.”
“My offer still stands, you know.”
I shook my head. “I’m not going to pimp out my pups so you can bring in more crazy brides.
” Lacey had been after me to come up with some sort of puppy wedding package.
Ever since she’d been elected mayor and revamped the tiny town of Idont, Texas, into Ido, she’d started billing it as the best place in Texas to tie the knot.
Over the past year, she had come up with all kinds of crackpot ideas.
“Just think about it, you bring over a couple of the dogs to take part in a few weddings, and you’ll earn enough to get the roof replaced in no time at all.”
There had to be another way. I loved my bestie, we’d had each other’s backs since we were in junior high together, but this latest obsession of Lacey’s had me shaking my head. “I’ll figure something out.”
The muffled barks turned into an earsplitting chorus as I pushed through the door from the front office to the back. “I’ll have to call you later. I’ve got to feed the dogs.”
“How about I bring lunch to you? I can stop by around noon.”
“Sure.” One less thing to have to think about. Although, holding Lacey at bay with her crazy ideas might take more effort than trying to figure out what to feed myself for lunch, so it might not be an equal trade-off.
“See you in a bit.”
I disconnected and slid my phone back into my pocket.
As I let the first phase of pups out to the runs in back, I searched for more damage.
Besides a few small drips and drops in the supply room, the back of the building didn’t seem to have any major issues.
Thank goodness. I didn’t think I could deal with another crisis.
Lacey might be embracing all things having to do with Ido, but I couldn’t seem to get on board the ridiculous idea of transforming our tiny town into a mecca for demanding brides.
Ever since last spring when we’d had that article in Texas Times, the town had been bursting at the seams with weddings and the headaches that came with them.
Lacey was in hog heaven since her sole role as mayor was to force a breath of life back into the town.
But I, along with quite a few other longtime residents, weren’t so thrilled with having a slew of outsiders descend on our small corner of Texas every weekend.
Also, the wedding business had caused an increase in the number of pit bulls being abandoned to For Pitties’ Sake. And that was something I vowed to fix.
By the time Lacey arrived at noon, I’d run two loads of wet towels through the dryer and still had more to go.
“You really need to take care of this.” Lacey glanced down at the bucket as rainwater continued to drip from the ceiling.
“I put a call in for someone to come take a look this afternoon.” I picked up the wet towels and traded them out for a fresh batch.
At this rate, I wouldn’t be able to keep up.
Unless I wanted to move into the shelter and work towel patrol all weekend, I needed to figure out a way to stop the leaks.
“I got you a taco dinner from Ortega’s. That ought to lift your spirits.” Lacey reached into the brown paper bag she’d brought with her and set the food on the counter.
My stomach growled. I’d been so busy the thought of breakfast hadn’t even crossed my mind and now it was time for lunch. “Thanks. You’re always looking out for me, aren’t you?”
A grin spread across Lacey’s face. “I sure am. That’s why I think you need to take me up on my offer. It’s easy money.”
I shook my head. “No way. Pimping my pups out so you can make a buck off some bossy bride isn’t going to help.”
“I don’t see how you can say that.” Lacey clamped her hands to her hips. Her wedding ring caught the light from the fluorescent overheads and sent sparkles all over the walls, reminding me of how much my friend’s life had changed over the past year.
“I know you think it would be helping, but I don’t know how any of these dogs would react if we dumped them into one of your gussied-up wedding ordeals. With my luck some drunk bridesmaid would get bit and then I’d have liability issues in addition to the leaks I’ve got going on now.”
“But you could pick some of the most laid-back dogs. Like Buster.” Lacey pointed to a square dog bed set up in the corner of the office.
A giant pit bull lifted his head at the mention of his name. His tail thumped against the linoleum, once, twice, before he let out a rush of gas.
“You want to clear the ceremony?” I asked as the stench of Buster’s explosion wafted through the air. “Because if you’re looking for a way to run off the wedding party, Buster’s your dog.”
Lacey wrinkled her nose and then pinched it between her fingers. “Okay, so not Buster. But surely you’ve got another option. How many dogs do you have here right now?”
“Too many.” I gathered the brown bag with one hand and waved the other in front of my face, trying to fan away Buster’s stench. “Let’s go sit out front.”
“There have got to be a few sweet ones.” Lacey followed me to the picnic table in the shade of a giant live oak.
I handed her a towel to dry off the plastic bench. “I just don’t feel comfortable with the idea.”
Or any of the ideas Lacey had been coming up with lately. Transforming the town into wedding central had been bad enough, but Lacey kept trying to up the stakes. I’d made multiple attempts to try to talk her down, but Lacey was hell-bent on putting Ido on the map.
“Fine. I’ll come up with another idea.” Lacey bit into her taco with more force than necessary. The shell cracked, dumping half of the contents onto the paper wrapper.
“Careful. Don’t take out your aggression on the taco supreme.” I grinned.
“Has anyone ever told you you’re impossible?”
“You know you’re the only person in town who thinks so.”
“No one else knows you as well as I do.” Lacey narrowed her eyes as she took another bite—a gentle bite.
I held back a response. Lacey might have a point, but holding my ground was the only thing that had ever worked for me.
Until it hadn’t. The one time I’d let someone else talk me into not listening to my gut, I’d almost ended up with a hole in my head.
Granted, life in Ido was much different than the time I’d spent on active duty in the Middle East. But still, I couldn’t be too careful, especially not with the assholes who kept dumping pit bulls around town.
As if she could read my mind, Lacey finished a sip of her soda and turned to me. “You have any more incidents?”
“Hmm?” I tried to pretend I didn’t know exactly what my friend meant.
“Vandalism. Bodie told me he was out at your place earlier this week. Someone took a baseball bat to your mailbox.”
“Nope. Nothing since then. They pretty much chalked it up to some kids with too much free time on their hands.”
“If it happens again call Bodie first. He told me you called the sheriff’s department, and it took forever for them to send someone out.”
I shrugged. “I don’t want anyone to accuse me of taking special liberties.”
“You’re practically family. That’s not taking special liberties, that’s just what it is.”
Practically family. The thought of Lacey with her blond hair and blue eyes fitting in with my mix of Mexican, German, and Scottish heritage brought a grin to my face. My friendship with Lacey was one of the only things I enjoyed about being back in town. That and the dogs.
I’d wished I could pick up and leave it all behind more than a time or two over the years.
But my deeply ingrained sense of obligation held me back.
Lacey would be lost without me. And I loved knowing I was actually making a difference in the lives of the dogs I was able to save.
But if I were being honest with myself, like, really, truly, gut-wrenchingly honest, the main reason I stayed was that I could never leave my brother.
“Hey, are you going to be out by the Phillips House anytime today?” Lacey asked.
“I can be. I need to pick up some more towels at home and take Zeb to an appointment. What do you need?”
Lacey’s eyes softened at the mention of my older brother’s name. “How’s he doing?”
“Better.”
“Remember, hon, it’s me you’re talking to. You can tell me the truth.”
I set my taco down. “He’s doing fine. I just wish he’d find something to live for again. He’s lost that light he used to have, you know?”
“He’s lucky he has you looking out for him.” Lacey nodded. “He’ll find his way.”
“I hope so.” As much as I might dream about leaving Ido, I could never move away from my brother.
Zeb had enlisted in the Marines right out of high school and spent five years on active duty before the transport he was in rolled over an IED.
When he came home, he was a different person than the young man who’d left with stars in his eyes and the desire to follow in our dad’s footsteps.
“Just give it time. Time heals all wounds, isn’t that what they say?” Lacey dipped a chip into her guacamole.
Time. That was one thing I never seemed to have enough of nowadays. “You asked about running to the Phillips House. What do you need?”
“Oh, I’ve got some linens I picked up from the dry cleaner from last weekend’s wedding that need to be put away. If you’re out that way, would you mind dropping them off for me?”
“Sure.” It was the least I could do. Lacey wouldn’t hesitate to do me a favor. All I ever had to do was ask.