Theo noticed the girl had some color in her face now. And her eyes had lost their sad edges. The dogs greeted each other like old friends with their “sniffing ritual,” as Theo liked to call it. The greeting presented quite a challenge to keep their leashes from twisting up together.
Shelby laughed as they struggled to untangle the two dogs. Her smile never failed to brighten his day.
“I see you are out on a professional booking,” Theo said. “You seem to be getting pretty busy.”
“I sure am,” Shelby said. “I now have three dogs I walk, including Scarlett, of course. I can’t thank you enough for giving me this great idea.”
“Well I may have suggested this, but you are quite the young entrepreneur to put this all together.”
“Are you headed home?” Shelby asked.
Theo nodded. “We just visited at the Lakeside Vets Center and I will be volunteering there soon. Wally was quite the hit with the folks too.” Theo thought a moment. “I saw the flyer Trevor put up about your dog walking service at the center too. Before you know it, you are going to be all booked up.”
“I will have a full pack soon,” she said with a smile. “I wish the town had a dog park where they could all play together safely off leash sometimes. But for now, I’ll be taking lots of walks!”
Theo considered the idea of a dog park. “That would be nice,” he said. “Just a small one where we could all get together.”
Oscar barked at a person going by on their bike and let Shelby know he was ready to get moving. “I’d better get this dog back to Redd’s,” she said. “Great to see you both.”
Theo watched as they headed toward town. The girl was a natural with dogs. If only he could help her with that dog park idea. A gust of wind blew over him, and it felt like Jean playfully ruffling his hair. Maybe he could help her out with that idea. He would think on it.
Chapter 10
Someone was licking her face. Shelby lifted her hand and felt a furry face with a wet nose just above her.
“Good morning, Scarlett,” she said. She yawned and wondered if she could just turn over and go back to sleep.
Scarlett stared her down and gave a loud woof. When that didn’t work, she cocked her head and woofed again.
“Okay, I get it. You want to go for a walk.”
Shelby had been spending more time walking her clients’ dogs this week and Scarlett was letting her know it was her turn. She threw on some shorts and an old t-shirt and would shower when she got home. All was quiet in the living room, her grandmother still asleep, so Shelby shut the door gently behind them as they headed out toward the lake. She strode down the deserted street to the steps leading to the lake path and began to jog. She was determined to wear this young dog out today. When the lake came into view, Shelby stopped for a moment to take in the beauty. It was worth getting up this early to see the golden sun spilling into the puffy clouds above and turning them shades of canary yellow and rose that were mirrored back on the water’s surface. Patches of blue covered the rest of the sky like a painted background setting.
To get a better view, she walked up the low bluff ahead, Scarlett anxious to explore the territory. When they reached the top, Shelby leaned against a giant oak and watched as the scene before her came alive with early morning birds and a lone fishing boat gliding across the still water. A noise below caught her attention. Keeping Scarlett close, Shelby leaned slightly over the edge to see what had caused it. She was quite surprised to see a young girl about her age, perched on a ledge, sketching the sunrise. She had captured the scene perfectly with what looked like colored pencils.
“That is gorgeous,” Shelby said.
The blonde girl, the pretty one she’d seen at the lake, turned sharply to see where the comment had come from. Her face morphed from surprise to anger as she glared up at Shelby.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to disturb you,” Shelby said. “You’re an amazing artist.”
For a moment the girl smiled and let the compliment set in. Then she looked down at her work and slammed the sketchbook closed. “I was just