Page 35 of Confessions of a Canine Drama Queen

“Since we’ve got a gap in the schedule while they do the first elimination round, we’ll get you to spend some time with her. We can go for a walk around the grounds, find a quiet spot to play and work on some tricks.” August motioned to where Molly’s leash was hanging from a hook by the door—you could tell this was truly a pet-friendly vacation spot in all the small details. “You get her ready for the walk and I’ll put some treats into a ziplock bag. Butyouneed to give them to her,youneed to issue the commands andyouneed to be her main point of connection. Forget I’m even here.”

That would be difficult for two reasons. First, because August was not the kind of woman one could easily forget. Her wild red hair, bright smile and upbeat yet take-charge attitude demanded attention. And second, because Keaton didn’t even want to think about how fast he’d be drowning in this situation if she wasn’t here.

As he went to grab Molly’s leash from the wall, his phone rang. Again. The unfortunate thing about working with other Wall Street types was that nobody knew how to take no for an answer. His out-of-office email message meant nothing, nor did the voicemail that basically said “I’m busy, don’t call me” in corporate speak. Not even the instruction he’d given to his executive assistant—to turn away everyone except his researcher and Thomas—was keeping the sharks at bay.

He canceled the call but the phone started ringing again immediately.

“Wow, they’re persistent.” August made aneekface.

“Sadly, it’s not just one person.”

“You’re popular.”

Keaton snorted. “Far from it.”

He walked over to Molly, feeling unsure of himself. Being here was like taking a trip to the Twilight Zone, because there was no other area of his life where heeverfelt uncertain.

Oh, because there aresomany different parts of your life, huh? What do you have besides work and family?

“Hey, Molly,” he said, thinking it sounded ridiculous to talk to a dog like it was a human. “Want to go for a walk?”

Her ears flicked, indicating she was interested even if she didn’t lift her head.

“Try again. Sound more confident,” August said under her breath.

“Let’s go for a walk.” He spoke louder this time, jingling the leash so that the metal components made a tinkling sound.

That got the husky’s attention. She jumped up to her feet and leaped gracefully out of the dog bed as if she were a show pony clearing a hedge. Molly looked at the leash, then up at Keaton, then back at the leash again. Then her head tilted to one side in confusion as if to say,I normally like walks. Walks withyou,however? Eh, I don’t know about that.

“We don’t usually hang out very much, but guess what...we have to be friends for the next few days.”

Molly made a whining noise as if Keaton had asked her to go without food for a week.

“I know, I feel exactly the same way,” he said dryly, his gaze sliding to August.

“Don’t be a baby. Clip her leash on and let’s go.”

“Bossy,” he grumbled, but he bent forward and attached the leash to Molly’s collar. Thankfully, she didn’t kick up a stink. Clearly, the desire for fresh air trumped her desire not to spend time with Keaton.

The trio headed outside and August slipped Keaton the bag of dog treats. She’d also grabbed a few of Molly’s toys that they might be able to use for tricks. August had a good idea what the dog could do, since she’d helped Leah with training her.

“Why are work people calling you so much?” she asked as they walked through the retreat.

They followed a path that wound through some fir trees, and the sunlight filtered down through leaves and branches, warming her skin. The ground was littered with twigs and other natural debris, and she caught some birds hopping around on the ground, scattering items to and fro as they looked for perfect nest-building items.

“That’s just my job. It’s nonstop. I also took this time off without giving any notice, so people are pissy about it.” He grunted. “That’s Wall Street for you—twenty-four seven and then some.”

“Don’t you ever...get tired of it?” she asked.

Molly padded ahead of them, tail swishing and nose sniffing. She seemed happy and relaxed, which was exactly how they needed her to be if they had any hopes of doing Leah proud over the next few days.

“Tired of working?” he asked, glancing at her. “Doyouget tired of working?”

“I guess we’re both workaholics.” She laughed. As they walked side by side, an easy, comfortable silence fell over them. “It’s been a while since I did this.”

“What?”

“Got out of the city and enjoyed some fresh air.”

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