Page 28 of Faking I Do
She turned around, almost knocking herself over. “Oh, hey. Lacey suggested I bring some of the dogs over. May as well see if we can find any of them a good home while we have so many people moving through here.”
“Good idea.” I bent to ruffle between the ears of a gray-and-white pit bull. It licked my hand in thanks.
“With any luck I’ll have room for you to bring Shotgun back next week.” Zina separated the dogs, leading them into a series of makeshift pens.
My heart squeezed. “No rush.”
She’d told me it would only be for a few days at first but kept asking if Shotgun could stay longer. I’d enjoyed having the company of the four-legged beast. We’d always had a variety of dogs around the ranch while I was growing up. Since I’d been out on my own I hadn’t had reason to care for anyone or anything else. But now with Shotgun around I found I likedsharing space, especially with a living being who didn’t try to tell me what to do all the time.
“How’s her muzzle healing?” Zina continued to separate the dogs and steer them into the pens.
“Great. She’s coming around, too. Not nearly as shy as she was the day we found her.”
“Good. She’s a keeper. She’ll make a great family pet for someone.” Zina got the last dog settled then turned to face me. “Want to help me get the paperwork together?”
I glanced around. I didn’t have plans today. Nothing on my agenda except maybe hitting up the bar with a few friends later. I could spare an hour or two to pitch in. “Sure. Just show me what I need to do.”
Zina dragged two chairs over and slid them behind a long table. “I’ll handle the questions if you handle the dogs. If people want to see a particular animal, just get it out of the pen so they can do a meet and greet. All the info is on the notecard taped to the front of their crate.”
Sounded easy enough. I leaned down to check out the notecard taped to the first pen. Bella—great with kids, doesn’t like cats, relinquished by her owners because she had too much energy. Poor dog. I dangled my fingers in front of Bella’s nose so she could sniff me. Satisfied I wasn’t a threat or withholding some kind of treat, she licked my palm. Seemed like a sweet girl. She nudged my hand with her nose, trying to get her block-sized head under my fingers.
“You angling for a rub?” I asked.
A couple stopped to chat with Zina at the table. I waited to see if they’d want to meet one of the dogs. My gaze swept the office area of the space. Standard cubicles lined the area in rows, except for the spot we occupied, that had been separated from the rest of the office area by a counter-height wall. What exactly did Lacey have in mind? Whatever it was, I couldn’t see it. ButI’d make damn sure that no one messed with her while she tried to carry out her vision, however crazy it might be.
CHAPTER 14
LACEY
“Over there.Yeah, just a few feet to the left, I think.” I clamped my hands to my hips as I directed the sign installer. Not everyone in town seemed all in on my idea to transform the Phillips property into wedding central, but regardless, I had a plan and I was sticking to it. I’d either succeed and blow away everyone’s expectations or go down in a plume of tulle, glitter, and fake rose petals.
The woodworking company in town had come through, creating a beautiful, handcrafted sign that lit up from within. I grinned as the guys attached it to the base they’d set in concrete last week.
Satisfied they didn’t need my help anymore, I turned to head inside the house. That’s where the majority of our time and budget would go. With only a few months before Adeline’s wedding, we’d need every spare second to transform the house into an event space. I paused on the wraparound front porch. I’d been to events at the Phillips House over the years but it hadn’t been the showpiece I’d envisioned. The city had transformed the gorgeous interior into more of a functional space. Now it was up to me and the team of volunteers to restore it to its original gloryand make it the kind of wedding venue that brides couldn’t pass up.
I turned the handle on the original mahogany door and stepped into the massive front foyer. Instead of hearing the buzz of the sanding machine from the vendor who was supposed to be refinishing all the hardwood floors, a high-pitched shriek filled my ears.
I turned around just in time to collide with Adeline. Papers flew everywhere. Adeline barreled past me, through the front door, and didn’t stop until she’d hit the middle of the front sidewalk.
“What the heck was that?” I muttered as I bent down to pick up the paper explosion.
“Rats.” Roman walked toward me from the doorway leading to the kitchen.
“It’s okay, I’ve got it.” I gathered the papers from the floor.
Roman squatted next to me. “I mean, you’ve got rats. Adeline wanted to take a closer look at the space, and we came across a baby rat in the kitchen.”
My pulse thundered in my ears. “Rats? Are you sure you saw a rat?”
“Pretty sure. Either that or you’ve got a mouse on steroids.” He pointed toward the front door that stood wide open. “Did she go out?”
“Um, yeah. She’s out on the lawn.” I swept the papers into my hands then handed them to Roman as I stood. “Here, she dropped these on her way out.”
“Thanks.” He took the stack of papers then left.
Rats. Could we really have a rat problem? Weren’t rats more likely to make their home somewhere dark and dank? Like the New York City subway system? I took cautious steps toward the doorway to the kitchen, hoping that Adeline and Roman were wrong. Maybe they saw a family of kittens. Or if it had to be wildanimals, maybe somehow a mama bunny had found her way into the building and made a burrow. It didn’t matter that it was only March and most baby bunnies weren’t born until spring.
Trying to convince myself that surely they’d been mistaken, I crept closer to the kitchen. Maybe the mama bunny had gotten herself in a family way and taken refuge against the cooler temps inside the house. And maybe she had a few friends who’d done the same. For all I knew, the Phillips House had become a home for single bunny mamas. Word could be on the street. That’s probably all it was.
