Page 70 of Housebroke

Linc walked along with them but stayed out of the fenced area so it wouldn’t be crowded. Hazel noticed him frowning the entire time the couple played with Penny, until he finally walked away. She looked for him but didn’t see where he’d disappeared to.

She wondered what had upset him? The couple—Cecilia and Kyle—were wonderful. They were both dog lovers and had recently gotten married and purchased their first house. They had a nice big backyard and were so excited about adopting a dog together. Cecilia had grown up with golden retrievers, so she was ecstatic when she saw Penny.

They played with her for about thirty minutes, then wanted to walk around the parking lot with her, so Hazel leashed her and strolled with the couple.

Cecilia and Kyle were lovely and sweet and obviously had taken a liking to Penny. They’d probably make amazing dog parents, providing they passed the home and reference checks.

And if so, Hazel would lose another dog. The pack would lose another dog. But Penny would have a forever home. Which was awesome and fulfilling and would make everyone happy.

She sighed, then continued to smile as the couple walked Penny around the grounds.

When they got back to the penned area, Sandy was waiting for them.

“I’m sorry to have to tell you both that someone has put in an application for Penelope ahead of you.”

“Oh no,” Cecilia said, clearly disappointed. “We were definitely going to apply to adopt her.”

“You can still do that,” Sandy explained, “and if the first application falls through, we’ll consider yours. In the meantime, we have another retriever I think you’d really love.”

“All right.” Cecilia reluctantly handed Penny’s leash over to Hazel, and Cecilia and Kyle wandered off with Sandy.

Just then, Linc made his way back over to her.

“Where’d you disappear to?” she asked.

He shrugged. “Wandered around to look at all the dogs. How’s it going?”

“It’s going... weirdly. This couple really liked Penny, but before they could put in an application, someone else did. Only I didn’t show her to anyone else.”

“Huh. That is weird. Maybe someone who met her at one of the other events?”

“Maybe. But unlikely. I think I’ll go check out the applications.”

But before she could, another person came by to inquire about Freddie, who wagged his tail and barked incessantly with glee. Linc offered to take Penny while she worked with the woman, whoultimately decided Freddie was too much for her and wandered off. And then someone else came by—a woman and man with a little girl who was just dying to hold Lilith.

Lilith was not thrilled and gave some growls, which immediately turned off the little girl, who turned her attention to one of Sandy’s mixed-breed puppies.

“You did that on purpose, Lilith,” Hazel said, reaching into the crate to scratch Lilith’s ears.

“She’s very smart,” Linc said. “She knows a good thing when she sees one. She’s got an awesome backyard with a pool, great shade, and people who love her.”

“Uh-huh. I told her from the very beginning this was a temporary situation.”

Linc cocked his head to the side. “Right. You’re doing a stellar job trying to place these dogs with other families.”

“Shut up. I’m doing my best here. It’s not my fault that Lilith is growly and Freddie is barky and Penny is—well, I guess we might be saying goodbye to Penny.” She fought the tears welling up in her eyes. But they were happy tears. They always were.

Linc scooped his arm around her. “She’s not gone yet. Just because someone fills out an application doesn’t mean it’s an automatic yes, right?”

“That’s very true. But oftentimes if people put in the effort to come to these events, they tend to be well qualified. I’d say we have about a ninety percent success rate with applicants.”

“That’s great. And if Penny gets adopted, another amazing dog will come along for you to rescue and give lots of love to, right?”

She laid her head on his shoulder. “Of course, you’re right. I have to stop getting so attached.”

“Nothing wrong with getting attached. It’s what makes you who you are. If you didn’t care about these dogs then it wouldn’t hurt so much when you had to let them go. And if you didn’t have a heart as big as the state of Florida, you wouldn’t be as good at this fostering gig. But you do, so I guess the pain of losing them is part of it.”

He’d summed up her entire heart in one statement. And complimented her as well. No wonder she—well, she sure appreciated the bejeebus out of him.

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