Once more, Gracie took a quick scan of the room and, this time, she caught the dark gaze of Marshall Hampton in the backrow. She felt the heat rise in her cheeks, hoping the light was low enough that he wouldn’t notice.
He just looked right at her, a beat too long. Was she imagining a message in his eyes?
“Is that him?” Nicole whispered under her breath as she surreptitiously stole a peek. “Oh, my gosh. It’sthatMarshall! You never said his last name.”
Gracie turned back to the front. “You know him?”
“Marshall Hampton? I’ve heard of him, of course. One of my customers at the ski shed couldn’t stop talking about him moving to Park City.”
“Who is he?”
“Former NFL. I think he played for…I don’t know. I don’t follow football, but he was a big deal and he’s retired and living here now.” She wiggled her brows. “Quite a catch, Gracie, since he used to make them.”
Taking a breath, Gracie looked again and, meeting his gaze, she lifted up a hand and fluttered her fingers. At first, he didn’t smile and her heart dropped, but the corners of his lips lifted slightly in a cool, distant smile.
“I think I’ve fumbled,” she joked.
“I don’t know,” her cousin replied. “He looks torn to me. Maybe he thinks you know he was a football star…”
“I had no idea.” Gracie slid her a look. “But, to keep the sports analogies going, he’s out of my league.”
“Not at all, but?—”
“Oh, here’s Jack,” Cindy said.
He came striding through a set of double side doors that led to the back parking lot. He slid a door stopper under one of them to keep it slightly ajar, then strode to the chair they’d saved for him, greeting Aunt Cindy with a kiss and a big smile to all the others.
“So sweet of you to come, Uncle Jack.”
“I’d never miss Benny’s big day. Plus”—he thumbed in the general direction of the doors—“Red needed more help than I imagined. Did you know that thing runs on propane?”
Gracie laughed nervously. “Benny’s convinced Red’s arrival will seal his win.”
“Or blow the joint up,” Jack said wryly.
Before they could say anything else, Miss Renee took the stage to a round of applause.
“Good afternoon, friends, family, and dog lovers!” She beamed at the crowd. “Thank you all for trusting us with your kids and furbabies this week at Canine Canyon.”
As she talked, Gracie blew out a breath, barely listening to the pitch to rescue a pet as she thought about Sam and Marshall and…Red.
And everything in her grew tense.
Renee launched the show with their first contestant, a teacup Yorkie named Petunia who could bark “Happy Birthday” for a treat. Petunia was cute, but her owner, seven-year-old Annie, stole the crowd’s hearts. She had a high-pitched whisper of a voice, wild blond curls, and patiently plied Petunia with way too many treats to get her to perform.
But the tiny dog did bark a plausible number of times to count as “Happy Birthday to you,” and received great applause for the effort.
The next few contestants consisted of a toddler and his older brother, who guided a golden retriever through a mini-obstacle course, a preteen boy whose beagle, Toby, shook paws with the entire front row.
There were several furry friends who could sit, stay, beg, roll over, turn in circles, and one particularly sizeable Labrador named Scooby who danced a waltz by holding his owner’s shoulders with his two front paws.
As they neared the end, out came Olivia and Kat, whose name got a big laugh. But Olivia became quite serious as she gave a short speech about the women at the heart of the space program, featured in the movieHidden Figures.
Nicole leaned closer. “Tell me this is your future stepdaughter.”
Gracie gave a dry snort. “What part of ‘not interested’ do you not understand?”
“Then she’s your future daughter-in-law.”
