Page 22 of Taming Georgia

I take another bowl from her hand and look her in the eyes. “You need to take care of yourself, Ethel. Hire some weekend help. You need at least a day to rest, a day foryou.”

“I’ll rest when I’m dead.”

I let out an exaggerated sigh and place the bowl of food into the next dog’s cage. I’ve successfully lasted two weeks here, and truthfully, I’m really proud of that. Wyatt hasn’t made it easy.

I haven’t gone on another rescue with him since we got Huey, Dewey, Louie, and Princess from under Wyatt’s old apartment building. Ethel let me name them. Naming the rescues is one of my favorite parts of the job. Hope, the pregnant girl from my first day, should be having her puppies any minute. It would be cool if I could name them as well.

I’m not sure how long I’ll stay on here, but I’m not ready to go yet. I truly feel that I’m meant to be here right now for some reason.

Despite the stress of dealing with Wyatt, I love it here. I love Ethel. She’s quickly become one of my favorite people in the world. I adore the dogs, each and every one. My family never really had pets when I was growing up, which was probably smart, considering how much we moved. I never knew how wonderful, loving, and smart dogs could be.

For all the stress that Wyatt causes, the dogs take it away tenfold. They have this ability to make me feel loved and important. Their faces light up every day when I get here. Their entire bodies shake with happiness at my presence. It’s a cool feeling.

Most of them have been tortured, starved, and abused at the hands of humans, and yet they don’t hold that against me. They just want to love me. They just want to be loved. They’re so sweet and forgiving in a way that I could never be. Some days, I cry all the way back to Paige’s because it’s so overwhelming. I wish I could take each and every one of them home with me.

“You said your sister’s name is London?”

I blink, my mind returning from my thoughts. It takes me a second to register her question. “Um, yeah. London.”

“Do you have any other siblings?”

“Nope. Just the two of us. We’re close. She’s just two years older than me. She lives in the Tennessee mountains with her husband.”

Ethel pulls the wagon behind her as we walk to the other side of the kennel. “Both of your names are of places. That’s neat.”

I laugh. “Yeah, until you know why.”

“Uh-oh. Do I want to know?”

“It’s where we were conceived. My parents actually made me in Atlanta, but they liked Georgia better. I mean, obviously, my parents had to do it in order to make me. It’s just weird to think about.”

“Yeah, no one wants to think about their parents bumping uglies, but that’s life.”

“Ethel!” I say with a laugh, tapping her arm.

“What? Do people not say bumping uglies anymore?”

I shake my head. “Oh, Ethel,” is all I can say.

“Cheers to us!” Paige says, holding up her glass.

London and I clink ours together with hers, saying, “Cheers!”

“These are good!” I tell Paige.

“Right? I’ve always wanted to learn how to make a good mojito. I think I’ve achieved it.”

“You have. These are perfect,” London agrees. “And seeing that I’mnotpregnant, I can drink as many as I want!”

She says it with a smile, but I know she’s bummed that she and Loïc still haven’t conceived. I know this past year has been stressful for them. But even with the challenges they’ve faced, I’ve never seen my sister so happy. Loïc and London are the only couple I know who just might be truly in love, shattering my theory that soul mates don’t exist.

“Before we leave for the club, we need to address the rhinoceros in the room,” Paige says with a serious expression.

“You mean, the elephant?” I question.

Paige’s eyes go wide. “Uh, no, the rhino.”

“The expression isthe elephant in the room,” London backs me up, her lips turning up.

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