Page 12 of Wild Dreams

A child ran in front of me. "Sorry, Mr. Police Man."

I chuckled at his characterization.

The father said, "Sorry about that. He doesn't slow down for anything."

I waved a hand. "Don't worry about it."

People felt the need to apologize to me or justify what they were doing. It was some instinctual thing when they were around a police officer. But I wanted everyone to feel comfortable. I was here to help people.

I lifted my gaze to the next stand where there were kennels and dogs on leashes next to volunteers in long-sleeve blue shirts.

A blond woman, holding a small animal who looked more like a golden ball of fluff than a dog, caught my attention. Marigold was talking to a family with two little girls. "Oakley is so sweet. He's still a puppy, so he likes to jump and nip a bit."

Marigold worked with an animal rescue? What else didn't I know about her?

I approached but stood off to the side so I wouldn't alert Marigold to my presence. I didn't want to interrupt. I'd talk to her when the family moved on.

"Can I hold him?" the little girl with long brown hair asked. She must have been seven or eight.

"Of course."

The girl sat crisscross on the ground, and Marigold carefully placed the pup into her lap.

"Aw. You're so adorable." Then she giggled when Oakley licked her chin.

Marigold crouched in front of her. "I think he likes you. You can let him sniff your hand, then gently pet his back."

The girl looked up at her parents. "Can we get him? Please?"

Her father shot her mother a panicked look. "We weren't planning on getting a dog today."

"You have to fill out an application to adopt. Then a volunteer needs to visit your house to ensure everything is in order for a puppy. Oakley will need to be walked and fed and given a safe place to be when you're at school and your parents are at work."

Marigold stood and handed a piece of paper to the mom. "Here's the application if you're interested. We always have dogs, so there's no rush to make a decision."

"Come on, Marie. Give Oakley to Marigold," her dad prompted.

I was impressed when Marie handed the dog to Marigold without any further argument.

"Dogs are a lot of work," the mom said as they walked away.

"That little girl was so sweet with Oakley," another volunteer said to Marigold.

Marigold's nose scrunched. "He's an easy sell, but the parents hadn’t planned to adopt a dog today."

She wore the blue shirt with the rescue's logo tucked into white jeans. Her hair was pulled back into a low pony tail that curled over her shoulder. She was a beautiful woman even dressed down. I felt like I was seeing her for the first time. As a woman I was attracted to.

Marigold blinked at me in surprise. "Chance? What are you doing here?"

I smiled and stepped closer. It was good to see her. She always lifted my mood. "I was just making my rounds."

Marigold scanned my chest, as if she was cataloging my appearance. Then she snapped her gaze to mine as if she'd been caught checking me out.

"I didn't realize you worked with the rescue." I waved a hand in the direction of the blue sign depicting their logo.

"I usually work in the building, feeding and walking the dogs. They were short on volunteers, so they asked me to come."

"That's generous of you."

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