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Chapter Twenty-Seven
CUTS ME TO THE CORE
Kenzie
Caffeine becomesmy life blood as the day goes on, but the more I drink, the less effective it becomes. Once Bentley was relieved of dunk tank duty, we tried to stick together, but there has been so much to do that it wasn’t really possible.
Joyce finds me and grins excitedly. “Thank you again for everything you’ve done today. I’m so glad Joslin sent you to me.”
“I am, too,” I say earnestly, for more than one reason.
Joyce glances around. “Where’s Bentley?”
“Last I saw, he was cleaning a litter box. Something I absolutely took a picture of.” I plan on getting that one printed and hanging it on my wall.
She laughs and pulls me into a hug I don’t expect. “I’m so glad the two of you finally started getting along. I was worried I was wrong about pairing the two of you together.”
I start to question her but hear my name being called. I turn to find Louise, the little old lady from the bar, walking toward me.
Joyce pushes me toward her. “Go say hi, then find Bentley. The two of you are officially off duty for the night. I’ll see you tomorrow for clean up.”
A sigh of relief escapes me. “Thanks, Joyce.” Then, I turn to greet Louise and realize she’s holding a leash with a long-haired black dog at the end. “Find yourself a new companion?” I ask with a grin.
She nods excitedly. “Thought this was better than revisiting the bar. Hopefully you’ve had good luck there, though. Or at least snapped some pictures like I told you to.”
I chuckle and lean in closer. “I actually ended up with the businessman.”
“No shit? I’m impressed. Not that you’re not good enough, but that you approached him after waiting so long. Good for you.” The dog barks, making us both laugh. “Even Scooter agrees,” she adds.
“Well, I can sleep a little better now that I have Scooter’s approval.” I lean down and scratch the dog’s head.
Louise waggles her brows when I look back up. “Hopefully, you’re sleeping less. At least you should be if you’re doing things right.” Before I can respond, she adds, “It’s time for us to head home. Hopefully we’ll see you around, Kenzie.”
“I hope so, too,” I say with a genuine smile, then watch them walk off toward the parking lot.
Now, I just need to find my boyfriend and get the hell home before I fall over on my feet and sleep in the grass.
I head toward Celia first and find her still painting faces, but thankfully, she looks like she’s on her last one.
“Hey, have you seen your brother?” I ask when I approach.
She keeps her eyes on the woman’s face while she answers. “No, but I could really use some new water to clean all my brushes when I’m done with this one if you’re not busy.”
Her voice is groggy, and I know she’s just as tired as I am, if not more.
“I’ll go grab some from the tent. Be right back.”
She nods, staying focused, and I go off to retrieve some water bottles for her. My eyes scan for Bentley, but I still don’t see him. I’ll have to give him a call once I’m done helping Celia if he doesn’t appear before then.
Just as I step under the tent, I hear a woman’s voice.
“Excuse me? Are you a volunteer here?” she asks.
I turn around and nod. “How can I help you?”
“I’m doing a story about the event. I was hoping to ask you a few questions if you have a minute,” she says.
I want to say yes, but when I look into her amber eyes, take in the skirt and heels that don’t fit in here, something seems off. Plus, from what I knew, all of the reporters left when the sun started setting and most of the pets had been adopted.
