Thad snatched the papers from his hands. His eyes widened at the number in bold at the bottom of the page.
“Damn. Maybe we’re going into the wrong business. What does it take to become a contractor?”
“I thought the same thing.” Von laughed. “The shitty part is, based on what I’ve found online, his prices are reasonable.” He turned around one of the dining room chairs and straddled it. “We were already planning to do most of the work ourselves. My suggestion is that we only use the contractor for the heavy stuff, like electrical and plumbing, and figure out a way to conquer the rest on our own. We can probably find a few more vets in need of work. It will still cost us less than what this guy is charging.”
“Yeah, but even with hiring more men, this still meansputting in a lot more time than we first thought,” Thad pointed out.
“You got something better to do with your time? Other than hang out with this dog?” He hooked a thumb at Puddin’, who had joined them in the dining room.
“Don’t remind me about this dog,” Thad said. It occurred to him why Puddin’ was standing at attention. “Shit. I forgot his vitamins.”
He grabbed the bag of multivitamins disguised as chicken-flavored dog treats from the kitchen counter and tossed two toward Puddin’. The poodle caught them midair.
“Impressive,” Von said. “You two should take your act on the road.” He grabbed a handful of walnuts from the bowl Thad kept on the dining room table.
For as long as he could remember, his grandfather had kept a wooden bowl filled with unshelled pecans, walnuts, and Brazil nuts, along with a nutcracker, on the dining room table. He’d been surprised when he got here and realized that his grandmother had gotten rid of Granddad’s nut bowl. It was probably Nadia’s idea, because the wooden bowl no longer matched the color scheme.
“You’re bringing him back to daycare today, right?” Von asked.
“Yeah,” Thad said. Then he cursed as something else occurred to him.
“What’s wrong?” Von asked.
“Putting in longer hours at The PX means I’ll have to leave Puddin’ at the damn doggy daycare until eight most nights of the week,” Thad answered. “That’s an extra sixty dollars a day, on top of the regular daily fee.”
“Damn!” Von looked as if he’d swallowed the walnut whole. “Wearegetting into the wrong business.”
Thad ran a hand down his face. “Maybe I can cut a deal with the daycare owner.”
“Are we talking about the same daycare owner who came to the Bywater house looking like she wanted to strangle you? That daycare owner?”
“Yeah, that’s her,” Thad said.
“Maybe I should ask her. She seems to like me better than she likes you.”
Thad refrained from responding because anything he said would reveal too much and he wasn’t in the mood to hear Von’s mouth. He was grateful that, for once, Von hadn’t been able to read his mind.
“Let me refill my coffee and pack up the dog’s food. I’ll meet you at The PX in about thirty.”
Von followed him into the kitchen and stood to the side while Thad grabbed a travel mug from the kitchen cabinet. His grandmother had at least a half dozen of them, all with logos from various companies that sold dry cleaning supplies. The moment Thad filled the cup, Von took it from his hand.
“Pour yourself another. I’ll see you at the site.”
“Asshole,” Thad mumbled under his breath. He grabbed another travel mug.
After fixing his coffee, he packed enough food for Puddin’s dinner, then stored the rest in the refrigerator. He was running late. He’d decided yesterday that if he was going to pay for this dog to go to daycare, then Puddin’ would be at Barkingham Palace as soon as the doors opened.
He stopped at the dining room table and stared at theclosed laptop. He had not downloaded the genealogy site’s app onto his phone yet, but now he was thinking maybe he should.
No, he shouldn’t. He wasn’t wasting any more time today on that scammer. He whistled for Puddin’ to follow him.
Even though the daycare was only a few miles from his grandmother’s house, it still took twenty minutes to get there. If people would stop checking their cell phones while stopped at traffic lights it would cut his travel time in half. He’d had to blow his horn at every single light.
The moment Thad walked through the doors of Barkingham Palace, he sensed that something was different. The space hummed with excitement. Three women occupied the lobby, along with four dogs.
“I’m sorry, but we’re full for today,” the receptionist was telling a woman who held a brown fur ball against her chest.
“Is there a waitlist?” the woman asked.
