“I’ll let you guys finish getting ready, then,” Jake said. “Do you need anything?”
“Unless you can magically make coffee appear, no,” Elle said with a slightly wan smile, “but thank you for asking.”
“Actually, I think there’s a tent over there with coffee for the vendors. Want me to go get some?” Jake gestured toward a blue tent at the edge of the field, where a line waited.
“I was just joking,” Elle said, “but if they really have coffee over there and you don’t mind getting us some, we’ll love you forever.”
Megan felt her cheeks heat, as though Elle’s words somehow projected the feelings running rampant through her since she’d seen Jake this morning. But of course, Elle was just joking. Jake headed off toward the coffee tent.
“What’s that funny face for?” Ruby asked, waving a hand in Megan’s direction as she set down a bowl for the dogs and began filling it from the jug of water beneath their table.
“What face?” Megan moved around behind the table with Barnaby.
“The face that said, ‘oh shit, Elle just said the L word to Jake,’” Ruby said.
“What?” Elle rubbed at her brow, apparently slow on the uptake before she’d had caffeine. “Oh, because I said—” Her eyes widened comically. “Oh.”
“So, are you trying to tell us something?” Ruby asked. “And have you told Jake?”
“No, and no,” Megan said stubbornly, dropping into her seat. “You’re being ridiculous.”
“So, you don’t love him?” Ruby grinned, equally stubborn.
Elle watched quietly, a hand pressed over her mouth in obvious delight.
Megan rolled her eyes. “Maybe I do, but this is just casual, and whatever. We’ll see what happens.”
“Um, this is kind of huge news,” Ruby said. “I mean, unless I’m mistaken, you’ve never been in love before.”
“No, I haven’t,” she admitted, staring down at Barnaby, who’d curled up at her feet. “But it doesn’t have to be a big deal, I mean, does it?”
“It’s a big deal,” Elle confirmed. “But in a good way, because Jake looks pretty smitten too, and really, you guys seem perfect for each other. You’ve been so happy since you started dating him. You seem, I don’t know…settled or something, but again, in a good way.”
Megan didn’t say anything. She knew exactly what Elle meant, because she felt settled…in a good way. But she also knew it wasn’t as simple as that. “Jake’s still healing.”
“That’s true,” Ruby said. “But it doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you too.”
“All the same, I’m not going to say anything just yet,” Megan said. “We’re in a really good place right now. I don’t want to make things more complicated than they need to be.”
“In my experience,” Elle said. “It’s always good to tell someone you love them. As Jake knows better than most anyone, tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.”
Megan rested a hand on Elle’s shoulder as she registered the depth of her words. “I’ll play it by ear.”
From there, the morning got busy. Priya arrived at the table beside theirs with a host of volunteers, dogs on leashes, and cats in crates. The fairgrounds started to fill in as early birds arrived to get a head start on the day. Jake swung by with a carrier of coffee and a quick kiss for Megan before heading off into the growing crowd.
The rescue pets attracted a lot of attention, and they had a steady stream of people visiting their table. She saw Priya handing out lots of adoption applications, and the donation jar on the table was already half full by mid-morning.
“What’s his name?” a woman asked, bending down to let Barnaby sniff her hand.
“Barnaby,” Megan told her, feeling something catch in her chest at the idea of him being adopted. She’d adopted out over a dozen foster dogs at this point, but somehow she’d become attached to this one, or at least attached to the idea of Jake keeping him. “He’s a three-year-old pit mix, very shy with new people, but he warms right up once he gets to know you.”
Barnaby shuffled closer to Megan’s chair, pressing himself against her leg.
“Aww, he’s a sweetie,” the woman said. “He reminds me of a dog my parents had when I was a kid. What’s the adoption process like?”
“Well, you’d need to grab one of those applications.” She pointed to the stack on the shelter’s table. “Barnaby’s being fostered with us at Rosemont Castle, so once the shelter approves you to adopt, you could come out to the castle and spend time with him there to make sure he’s the right dog for you.”
“It would be nice to get the chance to hang out with him like that,” she said. “I’m definitely going to put in an application. I’ve been wanting to stop by the shelter and look for a dog, but coming out to Rosemont Castle sounds more fun.”
