Total pages in book: 18
Estimated words: 16767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 84(@200wpm)___ 67(@250wpm)___ 56(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 16767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 84(@200wpm)___ 67(@250wpm)___ 56(@300wpm)
“I didn’t realize he was married,” I said, feeling a pinch of guilt that the guy had flirted with me.
“He’s not. They divorced almost as quickly as they got married. It was ten years ago when I was twenty and didn’t know what the hell I wanted to do with my life. I’d been pursuing a vet tech degree, but when I came here with Sutton, I kind of fell into a job helping a guy with his kennels. I fell in love with it. Well… I fell in love with the dogs and the guy. But when the guy turned out to be a pain in the ass, I ditched the guy and kept the dogs.”
“And Sutton stayed? Does he work here at the kennels, too?”
She stood up to refill our coffee mugs. “He definitely helps out around here, but he’s a doctor in town.”
That news surprised me. “You’re kidding?”
“No. It’s one of the reasons he wanted to move here. He was flirting with this guy online, and the guy mentioned the town was looking for a new general practitioner. Sutton had this unrealistic idea that he’d move here and be the town doctor and live happily ever after with his handsome husband. It didn’t quite work out that way. I worry sometimes he’s only staying here for me and his patients.”
The man I’d met at the pizza place had seemed confident and satisfied. He’d talk to anyone and everyone who’d walked past us. “He seems happy here,” I told her, for whatever it was worth. “I saw him yesterday and could barely get a word in edgewise because so many people stopped to chat him up.”
Her sisterly pride was evident in her smile. “He’s a good guy. Everyone here loves him. Well… everyone except his ex. But I don’t really blame Pete. Sutton wasn’t exactly honest with him in the beginning.”
My stomach fell, and my head felt like it wanted to detach from my body. Even my hands suddenly felt tingly and weird. “Pete Valentine?” I asked, not really needing the confirmation. It made sense now. His reaction to Sutton, Sutton’s odd look when he walked into the bar that day.
“Yeah. You know Pete? He might have flown you in, come to think of it. Nice guy. Sometimes I wish I’d kept him instead of Sutton in their divorce,” she joked. “He’s a sweetheart. The kind of guy who’d give you the shirt off his back. All the Valentines are like that. Jolly’s the brother I know best because he’s into dogs as much as I am, but Ryan and Boston can fix just about anything, and Baby is the kind of guy you want to put in your pocket and keep safe.”
I didn’t care about any of that right now. I both wanted to know more about Pete and Sutton and not hear another word about it.
“Oh,” I said, because that was simply all I was capable of at the moment. Thankfully, Kinley didn’t seem to notice. We finished our lunch and returned out to the kennels so I could say goodbye to the puppies. One in particular kept nipping my boot laces.
“I wish I could take her home with me,” I said, reaching down to give the puppy one last snuggle.
“You can,” she said with a wink. “She’s the runt, which means I’ll adopt her out as a pet. She’s a love bug. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jolly wants her, even though he’s trying hard not to get another dog.”
“Maybe Pete would want her,” I said without thinking.
Kinley reached over to scratch the black-and-brown fuzzball between the ears. “Maybe. She’d probably like riding around in the plane with him, and she’d love hanging around Knockwood. She’s very social.”
I leaned over to press a kiss against the puppy’s head and inhale one last bit of puppy breath. When I set her back down in the fenced-in area with her littermates, she waddled off wagging her tail almost enough to knock her over. The little heart-shaped spot on her back stood out, and I knew she was going to make someone a loving and devoted friend one day.
Kinley studied me with a knowing grin. “You sure you don’t want to take her? I’m experienced in traveling through the airports with dogs. I can help you with all the details.”
I held up my hands. “No, thank you. As much as I’d love that, she wouldn’t be happy in a city apartment lifestyle. She’ll be much happier staying here with someone who’ll let her run and enjoy the snow when it comes.”
Kinley nodded and led me down toward the dock. The faint buzz of the airplane could be heard in the distance. I closed my eyes and wished as hard as I could that Pete was the one coming to get me.