Page 30 of Getting Lucky

“Maisie asked me to let her know when you two showed up,” Dustin continued. “Why don’t you follow me?”

He led them to a door with a sign that saidKennels.

“I get to start out with the dogs?” Iris said in a hushed voice, and Jack was thrilled to hear her excitement.

He had warned her that her first day might be an orientation, that she probably would not be allowed to play with the dogs yet, but he knew how much she needed some simple enjoyment and the soul nourishment that came from doing something good. Somehow Maisie had known it too. She’d been the one to suggest it, after all.

He’d been skeptical at first, thinking that Iris would presume he was trying to pawn her off for free labor, and while she’d made a few smart-mouthed comments about child labor laws—he’d pointed out that she’d aged out of them when she turned seventeen—her objections hadn’t been too adamant. Iris had always loved animals. She’d begged their mother for a dog for years to no avail, which Jack had secretly thought was for the best given their mother’s instability. And while Iris claimed she hated everything about Asheville, he’d caught her snuggling with Tyrion on the sofa while she watched TV (always when Adalia wasn’t around, of course).

Dustin opened the door, and the noise level shot up before they even walked in. It only got louder once they did. Multiple dogs were barking at once, in several different octaves. The kennels were along one side, and the long aisle ended in a wall with multiple windows. Maisie stood close to them, giving Jack a perfect view of her as they approached.

“I’ll leave you to it,” Dustin said, then headed back to the lobby.

Maisie wore a long-sleeved T-shirt, a pair of well-worn jeans, both of which clung to every delicious curve, and navy blue rain boots. Thoughts of her unclothed curves filled his head—his fingers digging into the flesh of her ass as he pinned her to her bathroom wall. Her legs wrapped around his waist…

Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun, exposing the delicate skin of her neck. Skin he remembered nipping and sucking.

Every ounce of blood in his body shot to his crotch, and he shifted uncomfortably.Not now.

But another voice insisted,She’s still interested.

He’d mulled over their interactions on Thanksgiving so many times, it was like a video clip in his mind. He only had to press play to watch it again. The way she’d touched his upper thigh at dinner, sending desire pulsing through him in a way he didn’t feel comfortable with, given how close they were to his sisters. How she’d stood so close to him after dinner, looking at him in a way that implied she’d prefer to go upstairs with him than stay for dessert. She still wanted him as much as he wanted her. Was it fair to hope she didn’t meet someone else before Iris left for college?

She was holding a garden hose and shooting a spray of water into a kennel. She seemed intent on her work, and even though it was apparent this was one of the more unglamorous jobs of running an animal shelter, he liked that she hadn’t pawned it off on someone else. Then he grinned, realizing she was probably about to.

She turned to face them, and he was once again blown away by her beauty. He’d met a lot of beautiful women, especially working as a bartender—women in slinky dresses with makeup expertly applied to accentuate their best features—but Maisie’s natural beauty captivated him in a way he scarcely understood.

“Hey,” she called out, her gaze lingering on Jack for a split second longer than necessary before she turned her full attention on Iris. “You ready to work with some dogs?”

Iris cast a glance at the empty kennel Maisie had been cleaning. “Yeah…”

Maisie laughed, and the familiarity of it did something funny to Jack’s chest. The fact that he recognized it. That he’d heard it while he had her pinned to the wall with his arms and another part of him. That it was so natural and lighthearted it made him want to hear more.

“I’m going to show you how to do this, but not today. I’m going to have you walk the dogs while I clean their kennels.” A soft smile lit up Maisie’s face. “Keeping things clean is important, but the dogs need plenty of love and attention too.”

Her gaze flicked so quickly to Jack, he almost missed it.

Maisie turned off the hose and walked to the next kennel. She grabbed a leash from a hook on the wall next to the door, then showed Iris the small whiteboard attached to the kennel gate. “These are very important. They’ll tell you the dog’s name and important information about them. This one is Pete, and you can see that he jumps up on people. Some of the boards might tell you a dog’s a biter. You steer clear of those ones, okay?”

Iris nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”

Jack checked out the large black lab, who looked like he was over fifty pounds. He wasn’t sure he liked the idea of Iris dealing with a huge dog jumping on her.

“When he or another dog tries to jump up,” Maisie said, “turn your back to them as you say no. When he gets down, turn back around and reward him. We try to teach them how to obey commands like sit, stay, and heel, but we don’t always have enough volunteers to work with them regularly. It’s super helpful if the bigger dogs are somewhat trained so their owners can manage them. After you’ve been here for a while, we’ll teach you how to train them too.”

He liked that she didn’t say “if”—she treated it as an eventuality rather than a possibility. Like she understood the gleam in Iris’s eyes just as much as he did.

“How do I reward them?” Iris asked, her gaze on the lab, who was already jumping up against the cage, eager for attention.

“A pat on the head. Making sure you have a friendly pitch to your voice when you praise them. Sometimes treats, but it depends on the dog. We try to be careful with some of the overweight and elderly dogs, but we’ll teach you as we go,” Maisie said. “For now, I’ll show you how to deal with Pete.” She opened the kennel door and stepped inside.

Pete jumped up, his paws hitting Maisie in the chest and pushing her backward.

Maisie turned her back to the dog. He moved around her, trying to jump up again, but she repeated the maneuver, and Pete stayed down this time, nuzzling the side of her leg.

“Good boy!” Maisie said enthusiastically as she rubbed the top of the dog’s head. Then she looked up at Iris with a smile. “Okay, your turn.”

“Are you sure it’s safe?” Jack asked, hating to question Maisie, but the last thing he wanted was for Iris to get hurt or to have an experience that kept her from coming back.

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