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He was usually relaxed when he left Emily’s place—for obvious reasons. But tonight was different. Tonight, he felt out of sorts. Lately, it seemed as if nothing could fill up that hole inside him. Not even a little bit.
Beck decided to do what he always did in this type of situation. He pushed it to the back of his mind, tucked it away in a corner he had no desire to visit, and headed home.
Chapter Six
By Thursday, Sid had read five books, one of which consisted of over seven hundred pages, an impressive feat by anyone’s standards. She’d learned a few new yoga poses, gone to the spa across the lake for a facial and massage, caught up on The Bachelor and three of the Housewives reality shows, and was now bored out of her mind.
If this was what relaxing was all about, she needed to up the game. Her staff had been instructed not to contact her unless her business was burning down, and so far, she’d heard not a peep. Not even from Kylie, and that had to be some kind of record.
She’d just had lunch on the back deck in the sun, and the view was lovely. After all that cold and snow when she’d first arrived, the temps had soared, and she only needed a light jacket to keep warm. The steady drip of melting ice off the roof nearly lulled her to sleep, but she hopped up, cleared away the remains of her toasted tomato sandwich, which was mainly crumbs and the end of a pickle, and decided to go for a walk and enjoy this first taste of spring. She grabbed her cell phone and a pair of sunglasses and locked up the place.
When she got to the end of the driveway, she crossed the road and found the trail that ran perpendicular to the road and the river, which made it easy for Sid to know where she was at. The air was fresh, the sun warm, and she spied squirrels darting among the bushes, as well as robins and blue jays swooping overhead. Buds were beginning to sprout on the bare-limbed trees, though there were plenty of evergreens for color.
By the time she spied Manchester House, she’d been hiking well over an hour, and when she noticed Molly’s SUV in the driveway, she crossed the road. Maybe she needed some human interaction after all.
Sid was about to head up to the house when she heard Molly’s voice coming from the outbuilding, which she understood to be an animal shelter of some sort. She changed course and, since the door was open, walked inside with a hesitant “Hello.” Molly was bent over a table, back facing Sid, and turned at the sound of her voice.
“Hey,” she said with a big smile. “This is a nice surprise.”
“I hope I’m not bothering you.”
“God, no. Actually, I could use a little help. I just took delivery of these little guys, and an extra hand to feed would be great.”
Sid walked over to the table to find a litter of puppies, six in total, in a basket. They ranged in color from light tan to near black, and one was completely white. They were adorable and incredibly small and fragile.
“How old?”
“Between two and three weeks. Their eyes are just beginning to open.”
“What happened to their mother?”
Molly fetched six syringes full of formula and handed one to Sid. “I have no idea. They were dropped at the clinic in town overnight. Lainey, the lady who runs the office, found them this morning when she went in to work. My brother dropped them off about thirty minutes ago. I’ve got a foster mom coming to grab them, but they need to be fed now.” She handed Sid the white puppy.
Sid cradled the little guy or girl, she didn’t know which, and, after a few attempts, was able to feed the puppy successfully. She fed two more and was just placing the last one back in the basket when an older lady walked into the shelter. Her faded red hair was piled high on her head, and an easy smile lit up her face when she spied Sid and Molly. She wore a colorful coat of pink and red and purple, and baby-blue pants tucked into black rubber boots. The epitome of eccentric, she greeted Molly warmly.
“Sid, this is Serena Fairbanks. She’s one of my best fosters.” Molly paused. “Her daughter owns this cool boutique down along the river.”
“Bella something or other?” Sid asked, eyes on Serena.
The woman nodded and smiled. “You’ve met my Poppy.”
“I have. Her boutique is lovely.”
Serena was silent for a few seconds, her gaze intense as she studied Sid. “I feel like I know you.” Sid didn’t get a chance to respond because she saw the ah-ha moment light up the woman’s face. “You’re Sidney Barrett. I love your show and your website. So much great information. I watch it all the time.” Her face scrunched up. “I just… You were on TV last night.”
“I was.” Sidney nodded. “I taped a bunch of segments before I left so that we’d have content.”
“Good to know.” Serena winked. “Why, I can’t believe you’re here in our little corner of the world. How long are you staying?”
“I don’t know,” Sidney admitted. “I haven’t had a vacation in forever, and I needed a break. Nate’s a friend, and he convinced me to come to Crystal Lake. He said it would be good for my soul, and he’s right.” Sidney blinked and thought about that. Nate was right. She was more relaxed than she’d been in a very, very long time.
“Well, I hope to see you again.” Serena peered into the basket, her smile faltering. “Who on earth would leave these puppies overnight? We’re damn lucky a coyote didn’t get them, or a raccoon.”
“I know,” Molly sighed. “At least our mystery owners did drop them off instead of…”
“Instead of what?” Sid frowned.
Molly turned to her and shrugged. “Some folks around have been known to tie up a litter of kittens or puppies in a garbage bag with rocks and toss it into the lake.”
