Without another word, she went back to the table. She wasn’t running. She was sprinting, barely feeling the ground beneath her feet.
CHAPTER26
It was actually too busy. They’d put up too many fliers. Let too many people know about the dog wash fundraiser. She’d thought four people per shift would be enough, but the event was only an hour in and there was already a long wait. There were dogs and their ownerseverywhere. People had come from all over Amber Ridge and from as far away as Bozeman to support the cause.
She rushed to get more shampoo from behind the makeshift reception desk.
Of course, it didn’t help that she’d barely slept the last few nights. What had she gotten? Three hours of sleep per night? Maybe four? Her mind had been a busy mess. Every time she closed her eyes, she had another dream about that fire in Cheyenne. Sometimes Becket was there. Sometimes just Charlie. And when she wasn’t dreaming about fires, she was dreaming about Becket. About the day she’d broken up with him. The pain in his eyes.
She gritted her teeth, grabbed a bottle of shampoo and ran it back to Kristina.
“Thanks.” Kristina took the bottle and squeezed it all over Penelope, the Shih Tzu. “You know she’s watching my every move, right?”
Sky shot a look over her shoulder to see Ivory Hanks sitting by the coffee cart, Styrofoam cup in hand, and yeah, watching very intently. Most dog owners had gotten a drink or some food and gone for a walk…not Ivory.
Sky smiled at her before looking back at Kristina. “Penelope’s like her child.”
“Yeah, well, she’s making me nervous. I’m waiting for her to march over here and tell me what I’m doing wrong.”
It probably wouldn’t take long either. Not that she was going to tell Kristina that. “You’re doing a great job. Can I get you anything? A coffee? Some water?”
“A bottle of water would be amazing.”
“Done.”
She returned to the folding table Dolly sat behind.
“Sky, just look at all these people!” Dolly said. “Another successful fundraiser.”
“Yeah, too much of a success. There are like six dogs waiting.”
Dolly scoffed. “Let them wait. They’ll get their turns soon enough.”
“They’re not getting angry?”
“Of course they are. People are impatient and rude. I’ve just been killing them with kindness.”
Sky chuckled. God, she was glad to have the woman on her team. She crouched and opened the cooler before taking out a handful of waters, one for each dog washer.
Dolly straightened in her seat. “Well, hello there, Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome.”
Sky stood and turned to see who she was talking to—only to gasp at the sight of Becket on the other side of the table.
“Becket.” She hadn’t seen him in days, but God, had he been on her mind.
A sexy smile curved his lips. “Hey.” He wore a tight white T-shirt and looked as good as always. Dangerously good.
“What…what are you doing here?”
“I’m here to wash some dogs. I know, I’m early.”
She shook her head. “No, I texted you saying you didn’t need to come.”
“And I texted back that I wanted to help.”
“ThenItexted back that we didn’t need you.”
His smile widened. “You see, I knew we’d just end up in a texting war, so that’s when I stopped replying and decided to come anyway.”
