The Search The Secrets of Crittenden Cou - By Shelley Shepard Gray Page 0,15

would have been if Perry hadn’t . . . if everything hadn’t fallen apart like it did.

As if she had suddenly remembered Deborah, Mrs. Schrock cleared her throat. “Jacob, I need your help right now. These puppies are running amuck. We can’t go on like this much longer.”

“Mamm, stop. I can’t round up puppies and fix the cage at the same time.”

Deborah gasped at his tone.

Mrs. Schrock, too, looked a bit disgruntled by his remark. However, she must have been used to it, because after a moment’s pause, she glanced Deborah’s way. “Do you have a problem with the puppies, dear?”

Deborah shook her head.

“Gut. You may make yourself useful. Go grab a puppy and help me carry them all to the kennel in the back.”

Deborah’s feet felt paralyzed. Out of all the things she would have imagined happening, being greeted by Mrs. Schrock and four oversized puppies was truly nothing she could have dreamt up.

But beyond all that was the terrible suspicion that she was the absolutely last person Jacob was going to want to see for any amount of time.

Resolutely, she refrained from looking at the door he was behind. “Mrs. Schrock, I’m happy to help you, but I’m not sure . . . Perhaps I could use your restroom and get cleaned up?”

“Later, for sure. But for now, go pick up a puppy and follow me.”

The order, given in that no-nonsense way, finally spurred Deborah into action. “Here, puppy,” she said gently. One chocolate brown nose nudged her hand and whined. As its tiny pink tongue slid out with a pant, Deborah couldn’t resist a giggle. “Yes, that means you.” She wrapped her fingers around its thin collar, then with a heft, lifted the overgrown pup into her arms.

The puppy shifted and cuddled close, not worrying at all about its chunky weight or squirmy body. “Come on,” she whispered. “Let’s go follow your mother.”

“I’m most certainly not that puppy’s mamm, Deborah,” Mrs. Schrock protested while carrying a puppy of her own. “Only its owner. And a temporary one at that.”

Luckily, the other two pups ran to their sides, completing their little line toward the storage room.

When Mrs. Schrock noticed that Deborah was right behind her, she smiled kindly. “Thank you for your help. I tell ya, my husband comes up with the strangest ideas sometimes. I didn’t think anything could beat the guinea pig and snake incident, but these giant puppies might come close.”

Deborah looked at the puppy padding by her side. “What kind of dogs are these?”

“Mastiff,” Jacob said, then stilled as if he suddenly noticed who he was talking to. “You.”

She froze. “Yes. Me.”

His eyes narrowed. “What are you doing here? And what are you doing, wandering around our store like you own it?”

“I only came in for a few supplies,” she said helplessly. “Cottage cheese.”

“And out of every store in the county, you chose our store? I find that pretty hard to swallow.”

Deborah knew he had reason to dislike her. But she wasn’t her brother. And Jacob wasn’t the only person Perry had taken advantage of or been cruel to. Perry had hurt her deeply a time or two as well.

Or twenty.

But out of respect for his mother, and for the simple reason that she had no desire to make trouble, Deborah kept her words light. “As I was saying, I only came in for a few things, but the puppies came rollicking forward, and one thing led to another.”

“They almost attacked her, poor thing,” his mother said. “Knocked her down!”

“But you weren’t hurt.”

Deborah winced. It almost sounded like Jacob was disappointed about that. She lifted her chin. “Your mother asked for my help. And so I said yes . . .” Her voice drifted off as his expression became cooler. Like ice.

Giving up, she handed over the puppy in her arms. “Here. Excuse me. I’ll go now.”

He took the dog, obviously trying his best to not touch her.

But by his side, his mother looked to be losing patience. “Jacob! You are being rude. You apologize.”

“I will not.” Jacob glared. “Don’t ask me to pretend she’s my friend, Mother.”

“You used to be friends.”

“That was a long time ago. Before—” He opened his mouth to say more, but must have changed his mind, because he cut himself off.

“Before what?” Mrs. Schrock’s eyebrows rose, practically daring her son to continue.

But instead of continuing, he turned away.

Deborah’s visit to the store had now gone from bad to worse, and she had no one to blame for the situation