“Definitely,” Taylor agreed. “Want to sit on that bench over there for a few minutes?”
“Sure.” I walked toward it with Violet at my side. When Taylor and I sat, Violet lay down on the grass in front of us, but she still didn’t seem relaxed. Her head was up, and her eyes were alert, watching us. “She’s very vigilant.”
“Because she’s not comfortable here, and her instincts are telling her she needs to find a safe place for her puppies.”
“Dammit,” I muttered. It was working. I was starting to go soft for the dog. When I stared into Violet’s eyes, I felt a connection I hadn’t expected.
“Is that a good ‘dammit’?” Taylor asked.
“Good foryou…maybe.” I couldn’t seem to look away from Violet, who was staring back at me with the same intensity. “She has very expressive eyes.”
“She does,” Taylor agreed.
“I hate that she looks so worried.”
“The sooner she gets out of here, the better, so she’ll have time to get settled and start to feel relaxed in her foster home before the puppies come.”
I slid off the bench to sit on my knees in the grass in front of Violet. “What do you think? I’m not sure if you want to give birth while I’m putting down laminate floors.”
Violet’s tail thumped against the grass as she leaned forward to sniff my arm.
“You’re redoing the floors?” Taylor asked.
I nodded. “The carpet was old and worn and smelled like dogs.”
“I didn’t realize you were doing so much work on the place.”
When I looked over my shoulder, Taylor was frowning. “Having second thoughts about wanting me to take her home?”
“It’s not ideal, especially if you have contractors coming in and out.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.” I rubbed Violet under her chin, and her tail thumped the grass again. “I’m trying to put down the laminate on my own, since I’m not wild about a house full of contractors either, but I’m not sure how well it’ll go.”
“What if I come over and help?” she offered.
“Really?”
Taylor looked at Violet and then at me. “I’m asking a huge favor of you, so if you take her, I’ll do what I can to return the favor. I was already going to offer to help with her, but I could probably nail some floorboards too.”
“I’ll think about it,” I told her.
Taylor pressed her lips together. “We don’t have much time for you to decide.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t like to make big decisions on the spot. I need to make sure I’ve thought through all the risks.” It was the financial analyst in me. Sometimes I just couldn’t turn her off.
“Fine,” Taylor said, sounding resigned. She knew as well as I did that if I walked out of this shelter without Violet, I probably wasn’t coming back for her. But I just couldn’t commit to this, not right now. It was too much.
We went inside and put Violet back in her kennel. When the door clanged shut behind her, Violet’s whole demeanor changed. Her eyes seemed to dull, and her tail drooped. She trudged to the bed in her kennel and curled up on it, facing the wall like she’d accepted that she was never getting out of here.
And my heart broke. “All right, I’ll take her, but just for a few weeks until you find a more qualified foster home.”
Taylor beamed at me. “Really?”
I nodded, swallowing hard. “I can’t…I can’t leave her here to have her babies in jail.”
“Thank you,” she said quietly. “I really appreciate this.”
I looked at Violet, and my stomach twisted uncomfortably. What had I gotten myself into? “So what happens next?”
