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We both watched him walk away. I would have probably had some shitty things to say about him if a group of women with dogs in strollers didn’t show up right then, asking about our quick groom service.
We took care of them and got their pups shiny and fresh as a line formed around the corner of our booth. Apparently, word had gotten around thatJJ Doggone Daycarehad a special and everyone who had brought their dog to the festival wanted in on the action.
By the end of the day, we had collected more than two thousand dollars and booked dozens of new clients.
I’d never been one to believe dreams could come true, but almost all of mine had in just a few months.
17
JASON
Jesse and I both took Sunday off to recover from our crazy week, but by Monday morning we were excited to get started on some of the additional plans we came up with for the daycare.
“So what are your thoughts about the biscuits? Several people asked if they could buy them.”
I twirled the business card to the bakery around my fingertips. “I just don’t think they want to bother adding biscuits to their current offerings. They seemed reluctant to do it the one time, but were willing to, as a favor, probably to stay on Tony’s good side since he’s their doctor.”
“I was thinking…” Jesse gave me a side glance. “What about that guy who stopped by the booth? Billy, Peaches’ past…brother, I guess.”
I groaned. “Yeah, I thought about him too. He’d probably be perfect but…what if he wants Peaches back?”
“No, I don’t think that’s the case. He didn’t seem interested in keeping him. I think he just wanted to make sure he was in a good home.”
The guy did seem genuinely curious. “You’re probably right. Well, he has our number, so if he calls, we can ask him how serious he is about baking for us on a regular basis.”
“If we can become known for specialty items like that, we could bring in even more business, especially around the holidays. That could be huge.”
“Yeah, I know. I promise to keep an open mind.”
We were just about to start a training session when the bell over the front door rang, and Billy the baker walked in.
Jesse, always a sweetheart, was first to greet him. “Billy, hey. Glad you stopped by. We were just talking about you and your doggy biscuits.”
“You were?” He looked between the two of us, and then slipped his hands into his pockets. “What about?”
Since I was the asshole to him, I felt like I needed to extend an olive branch myself. “Well, we’ve been thinking about it and decided we’d like to offer freshly baked treats to our customers. If you’re serious about getting involved in the business, you’re welcome to make a few batches for us to test out. If our dogs like them, then we can see how they sell.”
His bright blue eyes lit up with excitement. “Seriously? That would be great. When do you need them? I mean, I can have them by tomorrow. But how many? Like a dozen each? A few dozen? Never mind, I’ll bring a lot.”
Jesse and I both chuckled at his enthusiasm. We understood what it was like to finally have an opportunity. And I couldn’t help but like the guy. “A couple dozen of a couple flavors would be good to start with. If you want to bring some in small packages that we can offer to our clients as samples, that might be smart. Whenever they’re ready, it's fine. They don’t have to be here tomorrow, but I guess sooner is better. We have a lot of new clients starting this week so it’s good timing.”
“Thank you both.” His clasped hands came up in front of his chest. “So much. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
“We do. We’re just getting our business started too.” Jesse patted his shoulder.
“Is that…Peaches?” He looked across the yard and saw Peaches lying on the warm cement, sunning himself.
I smiled at the way his eyes lit up. “Yeah, do you want to say hi?”
He turned to me with a surprised look. “Can I? I mean, is that okay?”
“Sure. The new owners won’t mind.” I glanced at Jesse so he knew I was intentionally not bringing up the fact that I was his new owner.
“Okay, thanks.” He walked out back and whistled once before dropping onto the cement with his legs crossed.
Peaches immediately looked up and ran over to him, then hopped into his lap. They sat there together for a few minutes, and I started to feel a little guilty about keeping Peaches from his original family.
I turned to Jesse with a frown. “What do you think? Should I offer to give him back?”
