The Conundrum of Collies (Love & Pets #6) - A.G. Henley Page 0,35

the car. Not exactly the most romantic of goodbyes, but Logan and Emmy were standing there waiting for us.

“What was that about?” I ask Logan in the car. Although I’m sure the Lyft driver doesn’t give a crap what we’re talking about, I keep my voice down.

“What was what about?”

“The double date. The makeup thing. The cologne thing.”

He glances sharply at me. “I mean, the double date was Emmy’s idea. Otherwise, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

I glare at him. “I think you do. Jude definitely does not like a lot of makeup. And you know I hate cologne.”

“I didn’t force Jude to douse himself in Old Spice.” He snickers.

I huff. “It wasn’t Old Spice.” Frankly, Old Spice would have been better than whatever Jude had worn.

“So, good date?” Logan asks.

“Best one in a long time. Jude’s a really nice guy.” I turn to the window, so I can’t be sure, but I think the smirk slides right off his face.

Good.

I don’t know what he thinks he’s doing, but whatever it is, I’m not playing along.

Chapter Sixteen

Stevie

The morning of Bean’s first competition blooms like a bright, beautiful wildflower. The sky is a pale blue, showcasing the dandelion yellow sun, and the grassy park where the Colorado Canine Challenge is being held is a vivid green thanks to some rain the last day or two.

The Denver Disc Dogs club members, me included, are gathered together under a couple of tents near the competition field, and Bean is living up to the caffeinated variety of her name. She can’t sit still, constantly moving at the end of her leash. She watches the groups of dogs and humans as if she would love to herd each and every one.

“Looks like she’s excited.” Jude nods toward Bean.

He’s especially cute today in a tight-fitting shirt and jeans. His dark hair is getting longish. I think about curling a lock around my finger, but I abort mission at the last minute, when I feel Logan’s eyes on us. Why does he seem to be watching me so much lately? Especially with Emmy here?

“I’m going to warm Bean up,” I tell Jude.

I can’t quite put Logan and our problems out of my head as I dig in my bag for one of the discs I brought. It’s been really awkward between us since the unplanned double date. And I can’t exactly avoid him all the time. At least he seems to be spending more time with Emmy, who really is great.

Our captain is already warming up, throwing the disc for Meadow. The border collie is doing her dead-level best to show the competition they have no chance. Which they probably don’t. I watch them for a moment, marveling at how athletic Meadow is, how smooth and even Emmy’s throws are, and what a great, in-sync team they make.

I sigh. Bean and I are nowhere near their level. But that’s what novice means, and at least we’re here, she’s super excited, and the club has checked off items seven and three on my list: learn to do something new and travel somewhere new. I’ve never been to this particular park in Littleton. It might be stretching things a bit to call a suburb of Denver a “new” place, but I’m allowing it. Hey, it’s my list, after all.

Bean and I find some space among the human and dog teams. “Ready to train, Beanie Weenie?”

I start by throwing the disc a few times at short distances to focus her. I’ve found she does better when I give her a chance to warm up and adjust to the activity. I try to keep a similar warm up routine every time, even using the same words before we get started so she knows what’s in store for her. She gets treats after she retrieves the first few throws to reinforce the behavior, and I keep the warmup easy. She needs to save her best sprints and catches for the actual competition.

The youth division will compete first, then the novices, and finally, the stars: the advanced catch and throw group and the freestylers. Emmy will team with Meadow for the advanced group and Jude will partner with her for the freestyle.

Bean only has me, poor thing. My throws still tend to go a little wild, but she’s patient with me. And at least she’s having fun. She practically grins every time she brings the disc back to me. We’re working on commands like drop, and I’m trying to teach her