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Liza swallowed. “Alright.” She knew Books was testing her, and she would do whatever it took to prove she was up to the task. Especially because her alternative would be much worse if she didn’t complete her fifty hours of community service.
Chapter 6
Miller
Thenextmorning,Millersat in the UnderDogs front office looking at a stack of bills that needed to be paid. It reminded him that he needed to organize some sort of fundraiser ASAP. He took a deep breath and tried to focus on the day before him so that anxiety didn’t take over.
Desperate for a distraction, he quickly typed Abigail’s name into Instagram on his brand new iPhone—which was also an added expense he hadn’t expected thanks to Snowdrop’s hatred of baths. Most of the time he had enough self-control to stay away from social media, but not today. All the stress made him miss Abigail even more. She had been his confidant and encourager. He just wanted things to go back to the way they were. Abigail, the dogs, and him.
He clicked on a photo posted twelve hours ago—Abigail with a tiny smirk, arms crossed, in front of the Bean at Millenium Park. The caption read: “Chi-town with my sister who is obsessed with photos. She’s lucky I love her.” It had only been two weeks since Abigail had broken things off with him, but it felt like months. The days seemed to droll on without their usual teasing texts and routine hangouts.
Abigail used to drop by the rescue to eat lunch with him or help take the dogs for walks every day. They’d have movie nights on weekends. Going from being together day in and day out for six months, to quitting her cold turkey is what he imagined trying to stop smoking felt like. The detox was almost unbearable when you were used to the habit and the comfort.
The rescue phone rang, ripping Miller out of his thoughts. He rolled his chair toward the wall to answer it. “UnderDogs Rescue, this is Miller.”
“Miller, this is Kat Leonard from Oakville Vet Clinic. Dr. Scott asked me to call you. We have a man here that wants to euthanize his hunting dog because he isn’t able to… how did he put it? ‘Do his job’ anymore. But, the lab is only eight-years-old. Other than stiff joints, he seems to be in good shape and he’s sweet as can be. Would you be willing to take him?”
Miller rubbed his jaw and took a deep inhale. “Let me think for a second.” The mounting bills gnawed at his mind.
At that moment, Liza walked in. That morning he had tasked her with cleaning the play yards again. He was surprised she was done so soon. Noticing he was on the phone she gave a small wave. Miller nodded in return and swiveled in his chair so that he was staring at a plain white wall.
“We understand if you can’t take him. We just wanted to ask…” Kat trailed off.
Miller wanted to say yes immediately, but he also needed to be realistic.Can I care for another dog with donations waning and expenses rising?
“Kat, you know I would in a heartbeat if we didn’t just have Willow’s surgery and Murphy’s puppies. I have to make sure I can give him everything he needs. Does he have any other health concerns that would require additional medical attention?”
“We would just recommend a daily joint supplement, but I’d be willing to personally donate those to you. He’s such a good boy. Spent most of his life in an outdoor kennel. I don’t think he’s ever seen a blanket before. I brought one in the exam room and he laid down immediately. I swear he was smiling.”
Practicalities aside, how could he say no? The next closest animal shelter was two hours away and most were at their max capacity. Taking a deep breath, Miller closed his eyes. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
“Oh thank you! You’re gonna love him.” With that, Miller turned back toward the desk and noticed Liza leaning against it looking down at… his phone. The screen was black, but Miller felt his heart rate increase at the thought of Liza seeing that he was pining over his ex-girlfriend. But, maybe it had gone dark before she saw it. He could only hope.
“What’s up boss? Everything okay?” Liza asked in her usual cheerful tone.
“We have to go pick up a dog from the vet.”
“Oh no, is he hurt?”
“I’ll explain on the way.” Miller pushed open the door and ushered Liza to his truck.
“Oh my goodness. That’s so sad.” Miller sat in the driver's seat of his Chevy Silverado and looked over at Liza. She had her hand covering her mouth. “How could his owner do that? Just put him down because he can’t run after a dead bird anymore. It’s like he’s just throwing out old shoes or something. And I have a hard time doing that… I love shoes.”
Miller sighed and gazed at the road ahead. “It’s hard to understand. Being confined to an outside kennel ninety percent of his life was probably miserable. His stiff joints are more than likely from sleeping on a hard floor and lack of movement.”
“I’ve always thought people saw pets as part of their family.” Liza gazed out her window. “I never got to have any pets growing up because my mom hates messes. Not even a fish because as she said, ‘Fish tanks require supplies and cleaning.’ And she was not about to touch ‘icky’ fish water. I said I would do it, but she didn’t wantanyanimals in the house. My dream was to have a little dog that could sit on my lap and I could dress in cute outfits. I wanted that so badly as a kid.”
Miller let out a snort, imagining Liza trying to put clothes on any of his dogs at the rescue. They all had big personalities—especially the little ones.
Miller focused on the road and fidgeted in his seat. Abigail was the only girl he had ever ridden next to comfortably. She wasn’t a talker. She made it easy to just be. Liza, on the other hand, sat up like she was waiting to return serve in a tennis match. She appeared to be on the verge of attempting further conversation.
“So… Do you ever do anything for fun? Or are you all about the books still?” She asked in a playful tone.
Yep. I was right. She can’t handle quiet.Miller grunted, “Work is fun. Dogs are fun.”
“Okay, but like outside of that.”
Miller glanced over at her with a look that he hoped conveyed the messageWhat do you think?
