Kiss Me in the Summer - Barbara Dunlop Page 0,24

sides to let the breeze come through.

He wrapped the end of Harper’s leash around a pole. “First thing, I want to freshen up the signs. How are you at painting?”

I took two steps back to stay out of the dog’s range. I was a little surprised I’d forgotten about him while Josh and I talked. “I’m not artistic. Stick men are about as good as I get.”

“Can you color inside the lines?” Josh walked under the canopy.

There were numerous wooden folding tables set up on the grass with a bunch of unopened crates and boxes along the back.

“Maybe,” I said. “Probably. How big are the lines?”

He gave me a grin over his shoulder. Then he pulled back one of a dozen or so plywood signs stacked against one of the tables. He twisted to hold it up.

It was a black-and-white puppy sitting pretty with big brown eyes, long lashes, and a gold, bone-shaped tag hanging from a pink collar. The tag said “Sweetie.” Sweetie looked gentle, friendly, and harmless.

Of course, she was cartoon. I wasn’t afraid of cartoon dogs.

The black scripted lettering beneath the puppy said: Rowin Veterinary Clinic.

“They’ve all faded over the years,” Josh said looking down the front of the sign. “I thought we could freshen them up.”

I had to admit, it looked easy enough. The picture was big and not too detailed.

“Sure,” I said. “I’ll give it a shot.”

He set the sign on a table and lifted another.

This one was a light brown dog wearing red-rimmed glasses with an eyesight chart in the back.

“Oh, I get it,” I said, the reason for the booth dawning on me. “You’re booking appointments.”

Josh looked up. “Appointments?”

“Do you sell merchandise at your clinic? Pet food?” It made sense to me that the summer fair would be an excellent way to talk to citizens about the health of their pets, maybe gain some clients, promote a product line.

Josh was smart to take advantage of the crowds.

“I’m not selling anything,” he said. “I even throw in a checkup.”

“Like a coupon?” It seemed to me that a free pet checkup was a pretty significant loss leader. But I wasn’t exactly an expert on the veterinary business.

“No. I do it before we give them away.”

I was lost now. “Give what away?”

“The rescue dogs. Like Harper. From the shelter.”

My gaze caught on a stack of wood in a corner of the canopy-covered booth. I could see now that it was fencing. There was going to be a pen in here. I swallowed—a dog pen.

“Last year was a record.” Josh looked both excited and proud. “We completed more than a dozen adoptions.”

Chapter Five

I spent the weekend repainting cartoon dogs—big dogs, little dogs, pretty dogs, ironic dogs, dogs chasing balls, and dogs tussling together over rope toys. Josh had come in and out, working on the dog pens and setting up some shelving for the booth, but also helping with the general festival setup.

It was Monday now, and I was back in Madeline’s law office. I hadn’t heard anything more from Gerry about my car, but I could feel the clock ticking.

I wanted to get out of Rutter’s Point before the doggy adoption pen was fully finished and the shelter dogs arrived. Josh had a plan to acclimatize them to the summer festival surroundings one or two at a time, before the official festival opening when the crowds showed up looking to adopt. It wasn’t clear when that process would start.

It would lower the dogs’ stress level, he’d said. And I was all for that. But I didn’t want to increase my stress level at the same time. It would be better for everyone if I wasn’t around for the acclimatization.

He’d also announced we’d be bathing and primping each dog so they’d look their very best for prospective owners. He’d told me his friend Victoria Zoe, the shelter manager, had bathing facilities in back of the vet clinic. For some reason he seemed to think I’d be a great help bathing dogs.

I hadn’t told him no. I hadn’t let him see my panic at the thought of soaping up a reluctant pooch that had teeth and nails and knew how to use them. I simply vowed to be on the highway out of town well before the bathing began.

I was going to call Gerry for an update today. And I’d do that just as soon as I finished some urgent paperwork for one of the real estate deals. The seller had unexpectedly activated a clause allowing him to