her tail against old wooden slats.
Theo grasped the dog’s leash. “I’ll keep a close eye on the dog.”
Shelby walked inside and was hit with a comforting blast of air conditioning. Behind the old-fashioned soda counter was a young man with a short beard. He also had red hair, but darker than Steph’s.
"I'd like you to meet my husband, Josh,” Steph said. “This is Shelby. She's here for the summer, and she does dog walking."
“Welcome,” Josh said. “And this is Emily,” he said, pointing to the girl next to him scooping ice cream.
Emily looked to be around Shelby’s age and was lucky to get such a fun summer job. But Shelby was happy with her new business. She could be outside and set her own schedule.
Josh pointed to the flavors on the antique menu board behind the counter. "Can I get you some ice cream? What's your favorite? We've got moose tracks, apple pie à la mode, and everything from chocolate mint to strawberry sorbet. Double scoops for our first-timers, on us."
Shelby walked to the counter and looked at all the scrumptious flavors in the tubs. She had a hard time making up her mind. “I'll have chocolate peanut butter and salted caramel, please.”
"Good choices," said Steph. "Cone or cup?"
"Well..."
"Let me guess,” said Josh. "Everybody wants one of our famous waffle cones. You can smell them three blocks away."
“I sure did,” Shelby said. “Thanks!”
Once outside with her piled-high ice cream cone and three bone-shaped dog treats, Shelby joined the two men at the outdoor table. She handed each dog a treat, which were quickly gobbled up. A line started forming at the door of the shop. It was certainly a popular place and she could see why. Ice cream began to drip down the side of her cone, so she licked up the edges that were starting to melt.
Theo took a sip of his iced coffee. "Have you been down to the beach much?"
Shelby thought about her last unpleasant outing to the beach. She had not gone back since except for the brief time this morning. “Not yet,” she said.
"Trevor lives right off Lakeside Drive in a remodeled summer cabin. You might see it through the trees from the path when you walk. He also volunteers at the local Veterans Center.”
"That’s right,” Trevor said. “In fact, you should bring one of the dogs over to the center some time. It's always helpful for the vets to have a friendly canine nearby.”
"That would be fun," Shelby said. "I'll bring my grandma's dog, Scarlett. She’s a bouncy bundle of joy, and she loves everyone."
“She sounds perfect,” Trevor said. “We’re just down the road.”
Shelby saw Theo nudge Trevor.
“And…” Trevor hesitated. “Bring a flyer or something. Maybe some of the guys could use a dog walker.”
“I’d love to! Just say when.”
Shelby was making fast work of the cone. The creamy mixture was cool and comforting. People wandered in and out of the shop. Children stopped to pet Oscar. Some asked to pet Karma, but Shelby wasn’t comfortable allowing that without Mindy there.
After a while Karma started to get restless, so Shelby rose to leave. "Good to meet you, Trevor. Tell the Redds I said goodbye if you see them.” They were so busy inside, Shelby did not want to disturb the owners. She turned to Theo. “And guess what! It looks like I will be walking Oscar, too.”
"Business is building fast," Theo said.
After throwing her napkins away in the trash can, Shelby departed to take Karma home. When she got to the house, she knocked before opening the door. The border collie flung herself through and leapt onto the couch next to Mindy.
"Here’s my sweet girl," Mindy said. Karma immediately lay down next to her. "Finally she’s tired. You two were gone awhile."
Shelby sat on a chair opposite her. "We ran the one-mile trail by the lake. And then we went down to the water for a break. Next we went for a treat at Redd’s Ice Cream Parlor, and Karma had a couple of treats herself. I hope that's okay."
"Oh, sure," said Mindy. "Sounds like you had a wonderful first day. I wish I could have gone with you.”
“Maybe soon,” Shelby said. “Let me know if I can do anything else to help you out, too.”
Mindy adjusted her leg on the pillow where it rested on her ottoman. “That is very kind of you. It's hard for me being tied down like this, but at least my job's letting me work remote for now.”
“What