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The sun peeked over the trees, warming me a little bit in the cold morning air, and I searched the crowd for Eva’s tiny body. She’d said the booth would be next to the warm-up area. Except the booths were actually tents with solid sides, and I couldn’t see into any of them unless I drew even with the tables inside.
With no other options, I scooted past shorts guy, who was definitely not wearing enough layers, and started walking along the line of mini-tents set up next to the sidewalk. The first wave of the race didn’t start for another forty-five minutes, so I took my time people-watching.
Since I missed the carpool that morning, I kept watch for Noah and the others too.Missedwas a generous description. I’d thrown a pillow at Eva’s head when she tried to wake me up. The rest of them had piled into Mac’s Jeep, and I’d gone back to sleep. For a solid fifteen minutes.
Damn Mac and damn mornings… and damn Noah for the naughty dreams that didn’t leave me feeling all that rested.
When the negativity threatened to strangle me, I stopped in a patch of sunshine and lifted my face to the warmth. Old me lived on those brittle feelings of desperation and anger. She would have laughed off the prospect of running for fun and gone out clubbing with her girls, stumbling into bed around the time Eva and the others were leaving for the park.
I didn’t want to be that person anymore.
My angry tirade was rooted in fatigue and the deep-seated fear of inadequacy I’d struggled with my whole life. No one here deserved my wrath. Might as well try to enjoy the experience.
It was a beautiful morning, despite the chill in the air. My sweater and jeans kept me warm, and I was damn cute in my red peacoat. I had a paper cup of coffee with nowhere else to be. Nothing to complain about there.
In a sign the universe was rewarding me for my improved attitude, a group of broad, muscular guys jogged past me in sweats and TU shirts. I took a sip of my coffee and followed them with my gaze, along with most of the people congregating.
The crowd parted as if royalty were passing, but I didn’t think they were football players. For one, I knew most of the football royalty. For two, they moved differently. I couldn’t explain the distinction.
One in the back with a beanie pulled low over his dark hair slowed his pace as he drew even with the booths. He zeroed in on one of the tables, frowned, then sped up again to catch his crew. His face looked familiar, but I couldn’t place where I’d seen him before.
I moved in the same general direction, dodging a few more groups as I fed my curiosity. The interior of the booth came into view, and my brows flew up at the sight of Eva flirting with another hot athlete type.
Interesting. The running royal seemed personally upset, which made me wonder how Eva knew him. See, new me was already much happier than the crankier, old version. Bonus, I’d found Eva.
I finished off the last of my coffee and eyed the banner hanging from the table. The wordsAdopt Me Today!appeared over a picture of a cluster of ducks that looked like someone had dumped them out of a bucket. What had I gotten myself into?
Eva’s latest conquest wandered off with a dazed look on his face, and she finally noticed me, waving enthusiastically. I tossed my empty cup in a trash can close by and joined her in the tent.
She hugged me as if I hadn’t tried to decapitate her this morning with flying bedding. “Great coat. It’ll really helps draw the eye.”
“Thanks,” I drawled. “Should I stand out here like a barker pulling the people in?”
“Nah, you’re going to take it off soon anyway—it’s not that cold. Just stand behind the table next to me and look cute. It doesn’t take much more than that.”
She scooted over so I could assume my position, and I leaned forward to check how far I could see. “This is a really inefficient set-up. How close are we to the starting and finishing lines?”
Eva pointed, and I caught sight of the giant inflatable arch with the wordsSTART/FINISHhanging from yet another banner. I blamed the running royalty for distracting me.
“Do they run right past here?”
“Yeah, we’re supposed to catch their attention before they leave and right before they finish.”
I frowned. “For what purpose?”
She shrugged. “To collect donations? Honestly, I didn’t get a lot of information when I arrived. We’re working one of the Lucky Duck booths, and the organizer mentioned sample pets.”
My brows shot up. “What the hell is a sample pet? Like here, try this one out to see if it’s a good fit? That’s horrible. Also, there aren’t any animals here.”
A corner of her lips lifted in a half-smirk. “You noticed that, did you?”
I waved at the empty concrete around our feet. “What’s their plan?”
Before she could answer, a frazzled woman in a bright purple Lucky Duck Rescue shirt and neon green sunglasses hurried up to our table carrying a large cardboard box. She set the box down gently and pushed the sunglasses into her hair.
“Thank you so much for volunteering. Usually we’d have some of our regulars at this booth, but three of them came down with the nasty flu that’s going around. I’m Alexis by the way.”
She shook both our hands and checked her clipboard. “Eva and Chloe, right?”
