Page 7 of The Beachside Rental

And it was her day off.

Jenna wasn’t happy with her job.She felt like just another employee, instead of a member of the founding family.It’d been that way since her father had suddenly died the prior year.

Their family was still grieving—each in their own way.She supposed her way was wanting to prove herself.Her father had given her the promotion of front end manager shortly before his death.And now that she wanted to make her mark by reorganizing the front of the market, her brother—the store manager—was holding her back.And she didn’t know what to do about it—except to leave.

The question about her future weighed heavily on her mind.And so, when the walls of her duplex felt as though they were closing in on her, she went for a walk along the beach.It always helped soothe her.

As the water washed over her feet, she tried to think of something that she would enjoy more than interacting with Bluestar’s residents on a daily basis.By working the frontend of the market, she always knew when someone was having a birthday because they would be checking out one of their cakes or candles.She also heard the latest gossip, not that she passed it along, but she wasn’t going to lie—it was interesting to hear.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a blur of activity.It drew her from her thoughts.She turned her head in that direction to see a big dog running through the sand.It looked to be a golden retriever.

She looked around for its owner but didn’t see anyone.She stopped and turned around to see if the owners were behind her, but there was no one there either.

The dog came to a stop a short distance from her.For a moment, they quietly stared at each other.

“Hey, there.”She sent the dog a warm smile.Then she knelt down.“Come here.”

The dog didn’t move, as though he hadn’t made his mind up about her.Then he slowly made his way toward her.

“That’s right,” she said in a cajoling tone.“Come here.”

And then he was standing in front of her.They were practically eye to eye.She reached out and pet his soft fur.He was definitely well-cared for.

“Where did you come from?”she asked.

Buried in his fur was a red collar, but before she could grab hold of it, the dog jerked away.Then he took off running along the beach in the direction she was headed.Hopefully, he was going home.His tail wagged as though he were living his best life.That made one of them.

Where was he?

Simon’s writing was long forgotten.Instead, he was worried about Gus.It wasn’t like him to take off and stay gone.Sure he was curious and liked to investigate his surroundings, but he didn’t normally wander far from home...until today.

Simon looked all around the duplex.He’d even knocked on his neighbor’s door and was willing to have her glare at him again.He wasn’t sure what his neighbor’s problem was, but she sure didn’t like him.She didn’t answer the door.

With a frustrated sigh, he jumped into his golf cart and drove around the area.He looked high and low.He stopped and showed Gus’s picture to people, but no one had seen him.

Then Simon had a worrisome thought.Gus had been curious about the ocean, but surely he wouldn’t have gone into the water alone.Would he?

Simon turned his cart around.He wished he was driving a car, then he could go much faster.When he pulled up at the duplex, he took long, quick strides to the front door.He’d been in such a hurry that he hadn’t even stopped to lock the front door.

He rushed from the front of the house to the back.When he stepped onto the deck, he came to an abrupt halt.There was Gus lying on the deck.The dog innocently lifted his head and looked at Simon.

“Don’t do that,” Simon grouched.“Don’t try and act innocent.I’ve been looking everywhere for you.In the process, I didn’t get any work done.”

Gus whined before putting his head down.He covered his eyes with one paw.He acted like Simon was making a big deal out of nothing.His paw slipped down, and he peeked at Simon.

“You are still in trouble.”Simon gave him a stern look.

Gus whined as though in denial of doing anything wrong.

“Stay right there.”Simon stepped inside and grabbed Gus’s six-foot leash.

When he stepped back out on the deck, Gus hadn’t moved.In fact, the only thing he moved was his eyes as he watched Simon walk toward him.

Simon hooked the leash around a post on the deck before he hooked it to Gus’s collar.And then he repositioned Gus’s big water bowl so he could reach it.There.Now he could relax and get back to work.

Gus turned his head away before he rolled onto his side to go to sleep.The dog may be acting chill, but Simon knew from past experience that Gus hated being leashed.If a dog could be a free spirit, Gus would be one.

Simon grabbed his keyboard writer and sat down.All of this made him think about his book.Perhaps his superhero has a sidekick.Maybe it’s a dog or maybe it’s an intergalactic pet.It could definitely add some fun to the story to help offset the severity of the world ending.