Kristina pushed a lock of short brown hair off her face. “That’s okay. You must be busy.”
“Yeah, busy thinking about a certain sexy firefighter,” Dolly muttered, as she walked back into the room and handed over Garfield’s file.
Sky gave the other woman a withering stare before looking back to Kristina. “Come on. You can leave your bag in the staff room and I’ll show you around.”
Kristina put her bag into a storage cube, and they headed back through the foyer and then down the hall. “I know I’ve already given you a small tour, but I’ll just show you around again to refresh your memory.”
“That would be great. I’m afraid I have the memory of Dory.”
“I love that movie.” She paused at the first room. “To the left we have the bathroom. Then a couple of indoor playrooms—one for the big dogs and one for small.”
“Do they use them often?” Kristina asked.
“Oh yeah, especially if it gets too cold outside or it’s raining.” She kept moving.
“Sounds smart.”
“Are you still enjoying Amber Ridge?” The other woman had only moved here a few months ago. Apparently, she moved around a lot but was hoping to settle here.
“I’m loving it,” Kristina said. “I thought it might feel too small for me, but it really doesn’t.”
“Really? There are days this town feels the size of a shoebox to me.”
Kristina laughed, but Sky couldn’t be more serious. Everyone knew everyone and that meant everyone knew everyone’s business.
Sky stopped midway down the hall at the door leading outside. “Farther down the hall is a big wet area where we wash the dogs, and at the very end is the kitchen, which is filled with about ninety percent dog food and a couple of human muffins.”
Kristina laughed. “I’ll have to be careful I don’t mistake dog food for human food.”
“The cookies are particularly deceiving.” She wrapped her fingers around the door handle. “Are you ready?”
“For what?”
Sky just grinned as she stepped outside.
Immediately, half a dozen dogs ran up to her. Some jumped up, some just licked her. She knelt and laughed as she patted them. Bella squeezed between the larger dogs and lay her head on Sky’s lap. She gave her an extra-tight cuddle. Bella was here a lot, so they’d formed a special bond. Rosemary had even asked Sky to look after Bella overnight a couple of times.
More dogs licked her face, and her smile widened.
Thiswas her form of therapy.
Kristina laughed as she crouched to pet them. “Oh my gosh, they’re gorgeous.”
“They really are. They all have their names on their collars, but most of them are regulars, so you’ll get to know them pretty quickly.”
They got everything here. Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Border Collies. Even a few Boxers.
She was just rising when her walkie-talkie went off.
“Sky?”
She pulled it off her hip. “Yes, Dolly?”
“We just got a call asking if we could temporarily house a lost Dachshund puppy until the owners are found.”
“What about the Humane Society?”
“They’re dealing with an outbreak of kennel cough, and they can’t take any new animals until it’s under control.”
