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Liza shrugged. “Yeah, it wasn't too bad.”
“What time did you wake up? How’s your head?” Miller walked out into the kennel area to verify that everything had in fact been done.
“I was up at six. Just a little headache today.” Liza watched him. “How’d I do, Boss?”
Miller walked past the kennels inspecting each pup.
“Looks… good.”
“Fresh coffee is in the pot too.”
Miller turned around to face the kitchenette and saw a half-full coffee pot.
“Do I get an A-plus for the day?”
“There’s still a lot of day left…” Miller was shocked that Liza took the initiative to take care of everything, but he felt slightly irritated and couldn’t immediately pinpoint why.
At that moment, the doorbell rang. “I’ll let Maggie in,” Liza offered.
Miller walked over to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup.Why does it bother me that Liza took care of everything?Then, realization dawned. It bothered him that the rescue… that the dogs… might not needonlyhim.
A moment later, Liza and Maggie appeared. Maggie was a year older than Miller, so they somewhat knew each other. Miller was in an upper level math class with her his junior year. She was always nice, but much more reserved than Liza. That’s really all he knew about her.
“Maggie, this is Miller. Miller, my sister Maggie.”
Miller nodded and Maggie reached out her hand. Maggie had dark brown hair, unlike Liza’s bright blonde. But, they had the same eyes.
“Well, show me around,” Maggie said.
Liza took the lead. “These are all the dogs that are available for adoption. This one’s Willow, she’s a sweetheart.” Liza pointed to an eager German shepherd mix.
“That cutie-pie is Ajax, and the adorable black lab is Hunter. He has a really heartbreaking story. His owner wanted to put him down because he couldn’t ‘do his job’ as he said.”
Miller watched, surprised by the passion with which Liza spoke.
“Oh and you have to meet Randall. He’s my BFF.” Liza led her sister to the Chihuahua’s kennel.
Immediately, Randall began barking incessantly. Liza pulled a string cheese out of her sweatshirt pocket.Wait a second, that’s my sweatshirt,Miller realized.It was his favorite black UnderDogs hoodie.I guess she made herself at home.He tried to hold back a smile as he noticed the way his large sweatshirt swallowed up her petite frame.
“His love language is cheese,” Liza said as she handed Maggie a piece. Maggie hesitated. “Go ahead, throw it in there.” Maggie tossed a piece towards the pup.
Randall immediately stopped barking, gobbled up the cheese, and sat proudly, showing off his obedience. “Oh good boy,” Liza cooed.
“Whoa, Liza, you’ve really turned into a dog person,” Maggie said with a stunned look on her face.
“She’s a natural.” Maggie and Liza both turned to look at Miller. It seemed like they had forgotten he was there.
“Aw, thank you Miller. I learned from the best.” Liza cocked her head, showing off her dimples. Miller stared back, hoping she could understand without words how impressed he was by her.
They held eye contact until Maggie spoke. “Should we… talk about the fundraising stuff?”
“Uh… yeah definitely. We can sit here.” Liza led the way to the round table near the kitchenette that had four chairs around it.
“So, what do you guys have so far?” Maggie asked.
Liza looked at Miller expectantly.
He leaned back trying to convey casual confidence. “I was thinking we could do a 5k. I want to do something simple that doesn’t require too much preparation or manpower.” He was feeling nervous for some reason. Probably because he hadn’t worked closely with anyone in the last year besides Abigail. That is, until Liza shot herself into his life like an arrow racing to take out an innocent bystander.
