Page 41 of The Love Shack

“What other knowledge do you have?”

“I’ve learned a lot about setting up and running a business. I have a fair understanding of security, too.”

“Security?”

“For protecting a business, or a home. It’s just something that always interested me. When my parents had security set up at our home, I was in my late teens and dogged the installers every step. Then at a previous job, I noticed some inadequacies in their system and suggested some upgrades.”

“Thankfully,” she said, “there isn’t a lot of crime in Cemetery.”

His frown gathered. “No one can ever be too careful, so even here, I hope you take precautions.” As a woman alone, she needed to be aware of every risk imaginable.

“Sure. I look both ways before crossing the street, and I lock my apartment door at night.”

Not at all what he meant, but her amused smile kept him from belaboring the point. “So let’s hear the details for your marketing ideas.”

“On top of handing out some T-shirts to the hot guys and women in town, and the cat yoga, of course, you could coordinate with Berkley for a weekly or monthly thing where you walk the dogs at the shelter. Maybe have a designated starting point. It’d score big with Betty, I’m sure. Kathleen the mannequin could be there, and Betty could lead it off, like a walk through the park, and around the scenic part of town.”

“Almost like a parade.”

“A parade! Yes, we should coordinate that, too.”

Happiness looked good on her, but then, he suspected this particular woman was always appealing. “I like it.”

“Sounds fun, right?”

He grinned at her. “So fun that one meal might not be repayment enough.”

7

Three days ofrain turned the shelter’s exercise yard into a muddy mess, which made Berkley, her two part-time staff and every available volunteer put in extra hours to keep paws and kennels clean. They’d no sooner get the job done than it became muddy again. She couldn’t wait for the return of superhot, sunny days.

Thankfully, Hero was a fastidious fellow who avoided mud puddles when possible. Still, his paws had to be cleaned every time he went out, and when playing with a few of the other dogs at the shelter? It was game on. If one leaped into mud, Hero followed.

The upside to that was they were each equally exhausted at the end of the day. Dinner, a couple of hours cuddling on the couch, and they were both ready to crash.

Hero slept wherever he wanted, as did Cheese. Sometimes they were in her bed, sometimes on the floor—which meant she always had to step carefully when first awakening—and sometimes they’d go to another room.

Made her wonder if she snored, or more likely, tossed and turned too much.

Today, as she sluggishly stirred and opened her eyes, she found Cheese staring down at her intently, a clue that the cat was hungry. Berkley groaned, gave her a tickle under her furry chin, then lifted her head to locate Hero.

On the floor, curled up nose to butt, Hero snoozed on.

Smiling down at him, she then whispered, “Morning, bud.”

He jerked awake with a start, legs wheeling in the air a moment before he got upright and greeted her with a wide yawn, showing sharp teeth and curling his long tongue.

Body aching and head muzzy, Berkley sat up and stretched. It didn’t help. “How lucky am I to wake up with two such amazing friends?”

Cheese headbutted her once before leaping from the bed and leaving the room, no doubt heading to the kitchen for breakfast.

For only a moment, as she sat there on the side of the bed, Berkley was transported back in time to the naive age of seventeen. She’d always awakened then with a stretch, too, anxious to check on her mom, who had good days and bad. Full of love and hopes for a bright future, Berkley had found the mornings easier then. Her mother, despite her illness, had been happier, uplifted by Berkley’s romance with a considerate, mature man who’d promised to help her through all the tough times. In those days, her mother had thought her only daughter had found love and she’d been upbeat.

Then the news had struck, and her name became synonymous with everything ugly in the world. She was a husband stealer, a dog-faced, pathetic loser. A few people had said it was good her mother was dying, because that was preferable to living with Berkley.

Pain struck her anew, and her hand automatically went to her stomach as if to soothe the queasiness churning there. Until that awful episode of her life, she hadn’t known people could be so deliberately cruel. And she’d never expected such cruelty to be aimed at her.

Hero whined, snapping her back to her morning and the long list of things she had to get done.

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