Gwen snapped a photo of Ginger proudly occupying my seat. “Now we have evidence to show Slash. You have to admit, Lexi, she’s beyond adorable.”
“She probably has fleas and all kinds of canine diseases,” I muttered.
Ginger turned, placed one paw on my leg, and looked at me with big brown eyes. It’s almost as if she understood the conversation we were having. As if I amused her, too.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I ordered her. “Like I’m betraying you or something. I agreed to take you to the shelter, didn’t I?”
Her tail thumped once in agreement. Everyone was so focused on Ginger that Gray almost bumped into a skinny guy running across the parking lot as she backed out of the parking lot. The panicked look on his face from the near collision set us all laughing again. Through it, Ginger rested her head on my lap, her brown eyes watching me. She was hard to resist.
But I tried.
Chapter Ten
Lexi
“Okay,” Gray said, tapping the map on her phone and putting it into the GPS. “Nearest shelter is about ten miles away. Let’s go.”
We followed a narrow, wooded road that dead-ended at the tiny shelter. We climbed out of the car to find a handwritten note taped to the glass door that read, Out for the day. Please leave animals in the covered kennel around back.
“Oh, great,” I muttered. I walked over to the covered kennel. It was empty, but the wire fencing looked like it should be sheltering chickens, not a golden retriever. And the area was small, though it did have a sheet metal awning angling out from the building that would provide some protection from the elements. That was it.
Basia peered over my shoulder and gasped. “Absolutely not,” she said, crossing her arms. “We’re not leaving Ginger here. She deserves better.”
“There’s only one kennel?” I asked in disbelief. “They just stick all the animals in one kennel?”
“This is a pretty small shelter,” Gray observed. “Maybe they don’t get that many after-hours drop-offs.”
“That’s not even remotely logical,” I argued. “What if we leave Ginger and someone brings in a lost cat? Fights could break out if they’re all cooped up here together and don’t get along. It could be a disaster.”
“That settles it for me,” Gwen said. “We’re not leaving Ginger here.”
Gray sighed and furrowed her brows. “I guess we can try to find another shelter nearer to Atlantic City. If Ginger is chipped, then it shouldn’t be too far for her family to come pick her up.”
“I concur with that decision,” I said.
“What if she’s not chipped?” Basia asked.
“Then the shelter will find her a good home.” Gray put her phone back in her pocket and headed to the car. “It’s a win-win for everyone. Let’s see what’s open near our hotel.”
We all piled into the car, and even though this time I claimed my seat, Ginger decided to plant herself right next to me…again. As we were pulling away from the shelter, another car drove up the road. It was a dark sedan with no markings. When we passed each other, I glanced sideways at the driver. He was thin and pale. There was another dark-haired man in the passenger seat, but I couldn’t see him well. I presumed they were either looking for a missing pet or dropping one off.
“They’re going to be disappointed to find out the shelter is closed,” Gwen commented.
“Welcome to the club,” I muttered, but patted Ginger’s head anyway.
As we drove back to Atlantic City, Gwen scrolled on her phone and found two animal shelters in the vicinity. One closed at five, the other at six. We’d never make it.
“Are you kidding me?” I said in frustration. “There are no shelters near our hotel that are open for twenty-four hours?”
“It’s not like shelters have a lot of money for operating expenses,” Gwen explained, swiping through her phone. “There’s one near us, about fifteen minutes from the hotel, which will open at nine o’clock in the morning. There is also a twenty-four-hour emergency vet nearby, but they don’t board. They only take medical emergencies. At least, that’s what it says on their website.”
“So, it’s settled then,” Baisa said. “We take her back to the hotel.”
I blinked. “The casino hotel? As in marble floors, chandeliers, waterfalls, and a well-trained security staff?”
Basia bit her lip. “It’s just for one night, Lexi, and we can’t leave her in Gray’s car.”
“We absolutely cannot leave a dog in my car overnight,” Gray said emphatically. “No way.”
