Chapter 27
Sutton hadn’t realized how badly she needed one uninterrupted hour of me-time until she was tucked into a corner booth at Espresso Yourself, coffee in hand, and not a single person in the room needing anything from her.
Colter had given her the morning off to work on the Paws for the Cause event, so she’d dropped Lynlee off at school and headed straight for Jo’s shop.
Sutton wrapped her hands around whatever Jo had put in front of her without asking—a flat white this time, smooth and unfussy, no frills—and for once didn't argue about it. She was starting to think Jo might actually be a bean whisperer.
At this point, resistance was pointless. Jo had a hundred percent success rate and zero patience for questions. Sutton had officially given up trying to order for herself.
Sutton let her eyes wander. It was an eclectic crowd that morning. Ranch hands, a few high school teachers, a group of cowboys arguing over Himalayan beans and Kona Coast roast, and the Bridlewood Bocce Team holding court near the display case.
She sighed, swirling the bitter and aromatic liquid, thinking that in a town like this, half the battle wasn’t the work, the animals, or even the small-town gossip. It was surviving the quiet moments in public spaces.
Espresso Yourself offered a little anonymity in the open chaos, a small freedom she wasn’t ready to give up. And of course, somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that freedom could vanish the second Colter walked in.
Sutton leaned over the bar top, pencil tapping against her notebook as Vivi rattled off ideas faster than Sutton could write down.
“Okay,” Sutton began. “In years past, Dr. Porter said they had a raffle, a silent auction and a pie walk. I’ve got three shops willing to donate something for the raffle.
Then of course there’s adoption day. I need open pens for the bigger animals and playpens for the kittens and other small animals. ”
“Fuck what Dr. Porter wants,” Jo said, leaning back in her chair and fixing Sutton with a steady look. “What do you want?”
Sutton blinked, caught off guard. “I don’t know. I mean, I want it to be successful. I want people to adopt. I want to raise double last year’s money.”
Vivi put her elbows on the bar—her eyes pure challenge. “Yeah, but that’s not what you want. That’s what everyone else wants you to want. You’re letting everyone else design your fundraiser, Sutton. Don’t do that.”
Sutton hesitated, pencil stopping mid-word. “I guess I haven’t really thought about it like that.”
Jo tilted her head, a sly grin tugging at her lips. “Then think—really think. If you could run it your way, the way you want, what would it look like?”
Sutton chewed her lower lip. “I have a friend from school who makes clothes for animals. Her company is called Critter Couture and I think she’d sell us product in bulk and then we sell at retail.
” Her voice gained confidence as she warmed to the idea.
“How many pet owners do you think live in Bridlewood?”
“At least a few hundred,” Vivi said.
Just like that, the doom cloud hanging over Sutton’s head thinned. A few hundred animals, a town full of pet lovers, and a circle of women who actually believed in her. Suddenly, Paws for the Cause didn’t feel so overwhelming. It felt possible.
“That’s it!” Sutton snapped her fingers. “What if we turn Main Street into a catwalk event where people show off their pets.”
“People are going to pay you just to walk their own dogs?” Jo asked.
“They do it every year in San Francisco, I don’t see why it can’t work here but on a smaller scale. I mean, give folks a good cause and the right hook and they will happily open their wallets. And we already have the cutest hook in the world. Puppies and kittens sell themselves.”
“I love this,” Vivi said. “Charge an entry fee. Let owners gather sponsors if they want. I bet we raise enough to bankroll spay-and-neuters for a year.”
“If we start the walk at Town Hall and go up Main Street, we could end it in front of the Bridlewood Community Center,” Sutton said. “Don’t they have space we can rent out for the adoption part of the fair?”
“If you’re a non-profit you get it for free. You just have to fill out some forms,” Jo said. “I can also set up a booth outside my store. Coffee, human snacks, pet-friendly treats, the works. And everything goes to the cause.”
Sutton shook her head, overwhelmed. “Jo, I can’t ask you to do that.”
“You’re not asking, I’m volunteering.” Jo’s look dared Sutton to argue.
“I want you to at least cover your costs,” Sutton insisted.
“Fine,” Jo said. “Proceeds minus expenses. Happy?”
“That is perfect,” Vivi said. “Every animal lover in this town will show up.”
“Add a cash prize and you’ll double the turnout,” Jo said. “People will crawl over broken asphalt for money and puppies.”
"That's not a euphemism, right?" Vivi asked. "You mean literal money and literal puppies?"
"In Bridlewood? Could go either way."
Sutton nearly vibrated with relief. The rescues would be right there, looking adorable, charming the pants off future families. She was literally staging an event that gave them the best shot they’d ever had at finding their forever home.
“I also want to switch up the adoption part of the fair. Instead of the usual setup where dogs are in pens waiting for people to come pick them out—”
Vivi’s eyes widened, a grin spreading across her face. “Oh no. You’re about to blow my mind. Go on.”
“Instead, the potential adoptees—people, not dogs—sit in a room. The dogs wander in and get to pick their humans. No barriers. No lines. Just connection. Like, the dogs choose their own pack.”
Jo whooped, slamming a hand on the tabletop. “Hell, yes. That is so Sutton that it’s perfect.”
Vivi’s expression softened as she nodded, approval written all over her face. “Finally. Something bold, heart-driven, and impossible to forget. Sutton, this is your vision. Own it.”
Sutton felt a spark of excitement—of permission—to do something entirely her own. It felt good in a way she had almost forgotten, like stretching a muscle that had been clenched for years.
This was what she'd been building toward—not just surviving or just getting through the week, but this.
A room full of people who believed in something she'd imagined up.
She thought about the spreadsheet and the color-coded tabs and med school.
And for the first time since she'd moved to Bridlewood, those columns felt less like a fantasy and more like a direction.
Like the town was showing her, slowly and without making a big deal of it, that she could put down roots here.
That she could build something real. That the plan—her plan, the one she'd made for herself before everything got complicated—might actually come true.
“You really think it could work?” she asked.
Jo waved a hand dismissively. “Work? It’ll be legendary. And you? You’ll finally stop letting everyone else tell you what’s possible.”
“Exactly,” Vivi said. “You’ve got the brains, the heart, and the stubborn streak for the logistics. Now just stop second-guessing yourself.”
Sutton smiled, a little nervous, a little thrilled. “Okay, a clothing boutique. A pet parade. Dogs choosing their humans. That’s what we’re doing.”
Jo raised her drink. “Then we’re doing it. No excuses.”
Vivi clinked her mug against Jo’s. “No excuses. Let’s make it impossible to forget.”
“Great. So what event are each of you heading up?” Sutton asked, leaning on the table with a grin.
Vivi and Jo looked at each other, the silent kind of communication perfected by women who had already decided they’d stepped in it.
“What? Don’t tell me you’re backing out now. If I’m going to follow my heart on this fundraiser,” she said. “Then that includes working with my friends.”
Vivi’s grin returned, brighter this time. “You’re right. I can’t let you have all the fun. Okay fine, I’ll organize the boutique.”
Jo rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. “And I’ll harass, uh, I mean, politely convince, local businesses to donate for the auction.”
Sutton laughed, a little relieved. “Pawesome. We have a plan.”
Jo rolled her eyes and Vivi burst out laughing before leaning in conspiratorially. “And don’t forget food, decorations, photo ops. You know people love that social media stuff.”
“Of course,” Sutton said, scribbling notes furiously. “Raffle items, volunteers, parade route, adoption rooms, all the logistics.”
Vivi clapped her hands together. “See? This is why I left the big city and moved here.”
“Let’s be honest. You moved here because the sex with Boone is life changing,” Jo said, then looked at Sutton. “Her words, not mine.”
“That too. But I love how the town works together,” Vivi said.
“Total domination of small-town fundraising,” Jo said.
Vivi laughed. “And for once, we’re actually going to enjoy it instead of stressing every step of the way.”
Sutton looked at her two friends, feeling a warmth that had nothing to do with the coffee in her glass.
“All right. Let’s make it happen,” she said, and suddenly the plan didn’t feel like just another task—it felt like their mission.
Jo raised her mug. “To Paws for the Cause, shit bags optional, success inevitable.”
Vivi clinked her cup against it. “I’ll drink to that. Now, let’s get to work before anyone notices we’re actually being responsible adults.”
“Speaking of responsible adults, what’s going on between you and Colter?” Vivi asked, approaching the topic as if she were being sly.
She was not.
Before Sutton could answer, the door swung open and Lady Rea swept in like she'd been waiting just outside for the exact right moment—which, knowing Rea, she probably had.
"I thought that was your car," she said to Sutton, settling into the empty chair beside her with the unhurried ease of a woman who had never once felt unwelcome anywhere. She set down her handbag. Looked around the table. "Don't stop on my account."