the volunteers arrived. Over the past week, he’d settled into an easy routine at Paws for Love, one that limited most of his contact with actual people.
The Texas heat was bad enough to make a man daydream about avalanches and blizzards, but he was doing a good job.
“Here. Drink this.” Shelly handed him a tall glass of ice water, the condensation rolling down the sides in the most perfect way. “You worry me.”
“I’m tough,” Cole grumbled before he tipped the glass and drained it. The sharp cold brought on a brain freeze that was a tiny price to pay for the sweet burn of cold all the way down. He should have taken a break sooner.
As he flopped down in the shade next to the bench Shelly was seated on, he glanced over his shoulder to shoot her a thankful smile, but it died on his lips when he saw Rebecca and two teenage girls staring out the window. All three immediately disappeared and he wondered how long they’d been watching him work.
And why.
“I thought you’d left for the day,” Shelly said. “Otherwise, I’d have brought two glasses of water.”
When Cole realized he’d taken the glass of water she’d made for herself, he straightened up. “Oh, man, I’m sorry. When you offered it to me, I thought...”
She laughed and waved a hand. “You definitely needed it worse than I did. I’ll make another when I go in. This place is starting to shape up.”
“Yeah, I wanted to finish trimming the fence line before I left today.” Leaving early was the best way to avoid conversation with...anyone. Avoiding Rebecca had been on his mind all week. He, Sarah and Shelly worked easily together, mainly because they gave him assignments and left him alone. Alone was how he liked it.
“Sarah’s hustling to have your check ready before you go. Make sure you stop by the office on your way out.” Shelly raised her eyebrows, almost as if she recognized his immediate struggle not to argue that he didn’t need the extra effort.
The money? That he needed.
“Think she’ll let me come in tomorrow?” Cole asked as he wiped his forehead. “I’m making good progress on that second yard. If I can get Les’s help tomorrow, we can put in the gate Sarah wants.”
“You know this is a part-time job, right? You’ve put in more hours than I have this week.” Shelly tapped his arm. “You’re making me look bad, kid.”
“It’s okay. Some of it can be volunteer hours. Free.” Cole shrugged, surprised she was comfortable enough to tease him.
“Take a couple days off. That’s what the rest of us human types do after a long, hard week.” She sighed. “Soak in some air-conditioning somewhere or float in the water or...” She shrugged. “There have to be a million things you’d like to do now.”
That you’re free.
Unfortunately, free time would be dangerous, give him a chance to think things he shouldn’t.
The cough and sputter of EW’s truck floated over the building to their shady spot.
“Sounds like your ride’s here.” Shelly groaned as she stood. “And the new dog won’t wash himself.”
“I’ll be happy to stay and help,” Cole said as he rolled up off the ground. “EW won’t mind.”
“Go. Get your check. Find some weekend. There’ll still be plenty of work here on Monday.” She wrapped her arm through his and pulled him to the doorway. “They won’t bite.”
He grunted as he yanked open the door. She wasn’t talking about the dogs. There was no honor in pretending not to understand what she meant.
“Nope. Just giggle and stare.” He held the door open for Shelly and followed her inside.
“It’s a requirement of being a teenage girl.” She grabbed his sleeve and towed him down the hallway. “The good ones grow out of it.”
Sarah and Rebecca were laughing at the way Freddie rolled back and forth between their two volunteers. One girl would scratch his ears while the other rubbed his belly. Then he’d roll to the other side so they could switch. He was a very happy dog.
When Rebecca covered her mouth to muffle her snorted laughs, Cole shot Shelly a look.
“Hey, he’s a funny dog. That laughter is totally justified, grown-up or not,” she said as her lips twitched.
She was right. This kind of laughter didn’t fill him with uneasy restlessness. Listening to them filled his chest with a weird, warm lump.
Unfortunately, the second they realized he was there, everyone froze. Freddie’s head jerked around and he did an acrobatic spring toward Cole. The instant before he skidded into Cole’s legs, Freddie squatted into an imperfect sit, his tail wagging wildly, the bright white tip a blur.
“Good boy, Fred.” Cole bent to ruffle the beagle’s velvety, floppy ears and scratch under his collar. “Good sit. We’ll work on sticking the landing next week. You be a good boy until Monday.”
The weekend without Freddie and work stretched out like another kind of sentence, solitary without the confinement, and he wasn’t looking forward to it.
He could work for free over the weekend. Just to come in and say hello to his second best friend in the world.
“Here, you guys take him out. See if you can get him to come when you call his name,” Rebecca said softly to the two volunteers. She handed them dog treats and Freddie was ready for his next test.
Cole watched the white tip of his tail disappear through the door before he turned to go.
“I’ve got your check ready,” Sarah said. She darted around them into the lobby and trotted in and out of her office. “Thanks so much for everything you’ve done this week.”
Cole folded and refolded the check while he studied it. “Might be able to get to the flower beds next week.” He forced himself to look up. “If you want. Gonna take some time to clear the old stuff out.”
Rebecca was standing on the other side of the counter, right behind Sarah. She didn’t look up from the papers she had in her hand. Too afraid he’d frown at her or something.
“Maybe. Let’s talk on Monday.” Sarah tipped her head forward. “You know you don’t have to do everything this month, right?” She smiled. “You’ve been such a huge help around here. Next week, let’s talk about a training program. We’re having a big adoption drive in Holly Heights and it would be awesome to have some well-mannered candidates.”
“Sure. I could draw up a schedule to work with more dogs than Freddie.” He’d enjoy that. The new dog, a German shepherd mix, might have the smarts to become a service dog. Right now the animal was unpredictable, lurked in the corner of his kennel with watchful eyes. That made him dangerous. Some basic training would be needed before he could be evaluated, but Cole would like to give it a shot.
Sarah nodded. “Good, but I meant training me and Shelly. The volunteers.” She glanced at Rebecca and cleared her throat. “So on the days you’re not here, we can keep the process going.”
Work with the giggling girls? The dread that swamped him was immediate. He’d never trained people to do anything except leave him alone. His hesitation must have been apparent.
“Please?” Sarah folded her hands together.
A Hillman begging him for help. Add that to the fact that she’d thanked him for doing his job and he’d be willing to try anything she asked. Cole nodded and shoved open the door.
“Hey, have a good weekend,” Shelly called.
Cole waved his hand as he slid inside EW’s truck.
EW raised two fingers and then backed out of the spot. “Running like the bogeyman after you, young fella. Everything okay?”