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Sebastian pulled out his normal jogging outfit but added a headlamp to the mix as well as an extra thermal layer.
“Sebastian?”
“I’m going to the animal shelter.”
I glanced at the clock on the side table. “At five in the morning?”
The man was damn right sheepish. “I like to run with the dogs. It takes a while, so I get there early and take turns giving about a dozen dogs a half-mile run.”
I processed that information. “You get up before dawn to take a dozen dogs out on a run?”
“Yes. Once a week. I’d do it more, but it’s not very convenient for the volunteer staff. I don’t want to put them out.”
I sat up straighter, leaning against the headboard. “You do this once a week? Have you been doing it while I’ve been here?”
Sebastian nodded, continuing to dress himself. “I haven’t missed a week. That wouldn’t be fair to the dogs.”
Huh. “How did I miss that?”
He subtly tilted to the bed.
“It’s because I wake up at a normal hour, isn’t it?”
He chuckled and slid on his shoes, pulling tight on the laces. “You want to join me?”
I yawned. The idea of staying in the bed held its appeal, but seeing Sebastian jog with a dozen different dogs? Well that was an offer I couldn’t refuse.
“Can we get coffee first?”
He smiled. “Always.”
Thirty minutes later we found ourselves being let into the town animal shelter. The young man, Gary, opened the door for us as soon as we pulled up. He was probably in his early twenties. He did a double take when he saw me.
I reached for my hair and realized I’d been too tired to put on my wig.
Gary didn’t say anything but shot me a few glances that suggested he knew who I was and was trying to get the courage to ask.
Sebastian, for once in his life, seemed completely oblivious. A word I never thought I’d use to describe him. The man clearly knew his way around and marched right up to a hallway marked “large dog breeds” and set about opening one of the doors and leashing a dog. Meanwhile Gary continued to stare. “What can I do to help?”
The lithe young man shook his head. “Let me introduce you to Birdie. Don’t be fooled by her, she’s strong.” He took me to the cage door next to Sebastian who was petting his dog with care. The man looked completely at home and the dog ate it up.
Gary leashed Birdie, some sort of bulldog mix, then handed me the lead. “That’s for you.”
I nodded at Sebastian’s dog. “Who do you have?”
The man in question stood, his large body filling the small hallway that housed the dogs. “This is Gracie. She’s been here a few months now and is the fastest of the bunch. I like to take her out first while my legs are fresh and eager to move.”
“So I probably shouldn’t expect to run with you then?”
Sebastian glanced between me and Birdie. “Probably not.”
I took it that Birdie wasn’t as quick on her feet. Her stubby body probably made it harder to move. “Is there anything I should know?”
That’s when Gary handed over a small plastic fire hydrant full of poop bags. “Walking with the dogs usually gets other things moving, if you know what I mean.”
Lovely.
I turned to my new companion. “You’re not going to poop when we go out there, are you? Not with me.”
