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“Is there anything wrong, sir?”
His shoulders slumped when she said it, a final insult, being called sir.
“No, nothing wrong. Goodbye, Amber. See you Monday.”
She waited for him to get into his truck before she opened her car door. But when he pulled out onto the road, she quickly got in and locked the doors. Everything about the encounter felt wrong, but there was nothing she could do about it because he hadn’t really done anything.
Once she was home, she quickly wrote down everything he’d said before she forgot, just in case.
Driving down the highway toward the clinic, Ted slammed his palm on the steering wheel. “Damn it!” He’d done it again.
Slowing down at the entrance to his driveway, he didn’t turn in, heading toward town. Hopefully, Kelly was free. He had to stop playing games and get serious before he did something really stupid.
Kelly was free to see him, but she was just getting ready to leave for the rescue to see if Maggie’s dog, Brulee, liked the dogs that needed fostering. She had her back to the driveway and was locking the door when Ted’s truck pulled in.
She was stunned. They had talked to each other daily since the last time he’d come over. What was going on? He’d never seemed needy before this.
“Hey, I guess I got here in the nick of time,” he said.
“I’m just walking across the street,” she replied, pointing to the rescue. “Maggie and Justin are coming by to look at dogs to foster.”
“Can I go with you?”
“You want to come to the rescue? Why?”
“Because I want to be with you, and I don’t want to wait here,” he said, holding out his hand. “Come on, it’ll be a new adventure. You can show me around.”
“It’s not mine, remember? But I might have something exciting to share with you if you’re really interested.”
“I’m interested,” he said.
“Well, let’s go get this over with, and then I’ll tell you.”
They crossed the street hand in hand just as Justin slowed down in front of the community center building.
“Wait a minute. Is that Ted and Kelly?” Maggie hissed, pointing to the couple.
“I think so.”
“He was just at the preserve with Amber this afternoon. I saw them together. I’m telling you, that guy is slick.”
“Maybe it had something to do with her school,” Justin said.
“Stop making excuses for him, Justin. That’s enabling someone to continue bad behavior.”
“Aw, I’m sorry. I’m not trying to make excuses for the man, trust me. It’s just that I’ve never seen him at the preserve. Not once.”
“Well, here goes nothing. I’m already sick of him. Let’s get this over with,” Maggie said.
Brulee being Brulee liked all the dogs. So while Ted and Justin chatted vet talk, Kelly and Maggie tried to reason with Brulee.
“Are you kidding me, girl? Pick one or two, not all six!” Maggie said, laughing.
“These two little fluff balls will be the easiest to manage,” Kelly said. “What do you think?”
“Sure. I can take them. I’m not thrilled, but I will. I can just see white fur all over my house.”
“They’re housebroken and sleep all the time, so they should be okay. And can we talk? I spoke with my father! He’s thrilled with our plans. He’ll donate the trailer and the foundation.”
