LITMIR.BIZ

       Chapter Three

      “That very good-looking man and a little girl are out front,” Bunny whispered with a smile as Claire came in the back door of Furever Paws on Monday afternoon. Claire returned Sunshine to her kennel and secured the door, noting the time of the walk on the big whiteboard on the wall. The year-old rottie mix had been at the kennel for two days, and was slowly warming up to walking on a leash. “Says he’s here to see Claire Asher about adopting a puppy.” Bunny smiled slyly.

      Claire shook her head at Bunny’s expression. “Well, he is.”

      “I can’t wait to hear about your date,” Bunny said, her blue eyes twinkling. “Find me later and tell me everything.”

      Do I want to be reminded of any of it? No. “There’s nothing really to tell. No chemistry, even if he was great on paper.”

      Bunny nodded. “I get it. A blind date, no matter if he’s Pierce Brosnan, can’t compete with a first love on the brain.”

      Especially when that first love is in the same restaurant.

      Claire glanced at the clock. It was exactly three thirty. She’d practically raced here after finishing up at school, grateful that her last period of the day was monitoring a study hall. She’d wanted to get to the shelter with some time to spare before Matt arrived so that she wouldn’t be flustered. So, she’d taken Sunshine out, grounded herself on her turf and was ready by the time she got back inside.

      Claire left the dog kennels and headed to the main lobby. She almost sucked in her breath at the sight of Matt, looking as good as Bunny had noted. He wore a navy-blue Henley, a black leather jacket and dark jeans.

      She gave him a fast smile, then turned her focus on Ellie, who was practically jumping in place.

      “Hi, Miss Claire!” Ellie said with a huge grin on her adorable face. “I can’t wait to see the puppies! Can you believe my mom finally said okay to me having a dog? I’ve been waiting years!”

      “Well, you are only eight,” Matt pointed out, giving her still-crooked braid a playful pull.

      “I’ve wanted a dog since I was two,” Ellie said. “But I had to show my mom I could take care of a dog. And I can! And I will!”

      Her handsome uncle smiled. “I know it.”

      “Well, to the kennels, then,” Claire said, leading the way. This was good. They were both ignoring running into each other last night. “We have four puppies and three dogs between a year and a half and two—they’ve got a lot of puppy in them too. Let’s start with the puppies and see who you like.”

      She glanced at Matt, who was quiet.

      “Just one rule,” Claire added to the girl. “No putting your fingers in the kennels. Some dogs might nip because they’re a little nervous or need more training time.”

      At Ellie’s serious nod, Claire stopped in front of a six-month-old shepherd mix, Tabitha, whose amber eyes darted over at them. She stood and barked up a storm, sending the other dogs into a commotion, and ambled over to the bars of the kennel. She sniffed the air for a treat and when one wasn’t forthcoming, she padded back over to her bed and began chewing on her rope toy. Tabitha had an ear infection that required medication for the next week, and the irritation might have been making her act out a bit.

      “She’s really cute,” Ellie said with a bit of a frown. She knelt down in front of the cage. “Hi, puppy. I’m Ellie.”

      The puppy barked like crazy again and came over and sniffed the air again, then went back to her bed.

      Ellie tilted her head and bit her lip. Claire could immediately tell the girl didn’t feel a connection with Tabitha.

      “And next we have a five-month-old springer spaniel puppy,” Claire said, moving to the spinning pooch in the next kennel. In true form, Belle began spinning in circles, trying to chase her tail.

      Ellie gasped. She dropped down on her knees in front of the kennel, watching the puppy with delight on her face. “Hi, there! Hi, puppy!”

      The puppy stopped spinning and came closer to Ellie.

      “Remember, sweetheart, don’t put your fingers in the kennel,” Matt said, and Claire nodded at him.

      Belle barked, excitedly wagging her tail, jumping up at the kennel door and trying to sniff Ellie. She sat down and barked at Ellie, then made a play bow.

      “She wants to play with me!” Ellie said. “You are so adorable!” she added. “You’re exactly what I dreamed about!”

      Belle began barking like crazy and spinning around, desperately trying to catch her tail in her mouth.

      Claire widened her eyes and looked at Matt, who was grimacing.

      Ellie laughed, her entire face lit up with happiness. “I see your name is Belle, and I know that means beautiful, and you are, but I think you look more like a Sparkle. That’s what I’d name you, Sparkle.” She bolted up. “This is the one! This is my puppy!”

      Claire couldn’t remember the last time she saw someone so excited, and she saw excited kids a lot during the course of adoptions.

      “Yup, you’re the one, Sparkle!” Ellie said, dropping down to her knees again and smiling at the puppy.

      Who squatted and peed right on the floor, the mess seeping into the corridor to the point that they all jumped back.

      “Oops,” Ellie said. Then she seemed to remember what her mom said about housetraining, and worry slid into her expression. Her shoulders slumped, and her face scrunched up for a moment. Claire could tell the girl was trying not to cry.

      “Well, Sparkle is definitely not housetrained,” Matt said gently, a hand on his niece’s shoulder. “And she sure is noisy and busy. Why don’t we—”

      “I’ll clean it up!” Ellie added, looking from her uncle to Claire, and back at the puppy, and then back at Claire. “Are there paper towels or something?”

      Claire smiled and got the roll of heavy-duty brown paper towels. “I’ll take care of it, honey.” She quickly mopped up the mess.

      “Your mom made her requirements very clear, sweets,” Matt said. “So even though Sparkle is cute, she’s a long way from being trained and she seems kind of hyper.”

      Ellie’s little shoulders slumped again, and she sucked in a breath.

      Aww. This was always a difficult thing, when someone fell for an animal that wasn’t the right fit for the home. “Ellie,” Claire said, “two kennels down is an adorable chiweenie named Tucker who’s housetrained and knows basic commands. A chiweenie is a cross between a Chihuahua and a dachshund.

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