Page 8 of Finding Noah
When Noah hadn’t been working as a bank teller, or sleeping with the wrong men, he’d been an assistant trainer at a pet store. He’d been in line for a promotion to head trainer—and an ability to quit his day job and live his dream—when Leroy the scumbag had cheated.
“I will be most pleased to assist you in setting up your website. Let’s unpack our vehicles, shower, eat dinner at that lovely diner we saw, and then come back to commence work. By bedtime, we’ll have the best website possible. You have custody of the photographs?”
“Yep. Thanks for reminding me to do that.”
The pet store had a large collection of photographs of Noah with the different pets he’d trained. I’d advised him to get digital copies along with a legal release so he could use them for his own purposes. The trainer he worked with adored him and so had cajoled the store owners into providing everything we needed. Since Noah wasn’t competing for business, they were also willing to provide references.
Several of Noah’s clients had provided testimonials.
I had everything I needed. The mandatory marketing class I’d attended, along with the elective on website design, would come in handy. “All good.”
His eyes softened. “What would I do without you?”
“You need never find out. I’ll always have your back.”
“As I’ll always have yours.” He said the words reflexively—likely with little thought to them. We’d been sharing them back and forth for nearly twenty years.
But I wanted so very much more.
“Does this place meet your standards? Are you ready to unpack?”
He grinned. “I can’t wait to start our new lives.”
Oh, I really hope so.
Chapter Two
Noah
The Blue Star Diner was classic Americana—and I loved it.
Andrew, an adorable guy with golden-brown hair and the co-owner, greeted us with a huge smile. “New in town or passing through?”
I met his grin. “New in town. We’ve rented a house just outside of town.”
“Oh, whose house? If you don’t mind me asking. I know just about everyone around here.”
“Miss Esmeralda’s home.” Christian added his smile to our little group as Andrew guided us to a booth.
“I was so sad to hear she went into the nursing home—but for the best, I think. She was so very independent.” The young man gestured for us to slide in.
“We’re going to visit her once she’s settled and she invites us.” I eased into the booth with vinyl seats. “And I’m starting to ramp up my business.”
After he placed the menus on the table, Andrew cocked his hip. “Business?”
“Dog training.”
“Oh! I love it. There are a couple of people in town who can definitely use your services. Whether they will or not is an entirely different story. Do you have a business card?”
“I do.” I yanked out my wallet and handed over three cards. We’d had these printed at a store in Sacramento as we passed through so we’d be ready to go when we arrived. “I have flyers as well.”
“The library. Maybe the feed store? They’re just out of town. And I’d suggest the rec center in Hartsville. There’s a pet store as well.”
“Hartsville?”
“Yeah, oh, and maybe the hardware store? The owner’s a friendly guy...” Andrew grinned.
“May I ask a question?”
