“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Should we go inside and check on your uncle?”
Dolly looked up at me. “Can Aurora come, too?”
“Of course. She deserves a little fun time out of her kennel. Let’s go find her some treats and we can see if she knows any tricks yet.”
“Where did she come from?” Dolly asked. “Did her mommy and daddy not want her?”
“Oh, it’s not that way with dogs. She probably got adopted into a house that didn’t realize how big she’d get or how much energy she’d have.” That was the typical reason most of the dogs were abandoned. Pit bulls were a fantastic breed for people who knew how to handle their curiosity and boundless energy. But so many dog owners didn’t appreciate the amount of exercise they’d need, and that led to me having more dogs than I could handle. And that didn’t count the number of poor animals we’d found abandoned—the ones who’d most likely been part of the dog-fighting ring Bodie was trying to end.
But all of those points were way over Dolly’s little head. So I took her by the hand and led her back inside the front office of the warehouse in search of some dog treats.
A few minutes later, Alex came through the door and interrupted our impromptu training session with Aurora. “I think we’ve got a tentative plan. Want me to fill you in?”
“Sure.”
“Gramps, can you keep an eye on Dolly while I show Zina our plans?”
Morty took the bag of treats and waved us on.
“Thanks.” Alex held the door for me and we walked back into the warehouse. “So we’ll bring in a temporary dome. That way we’re not trying to refrigerate such a big space.”
“How big of a dome are we talking?”
“Just big enough for an ice feature and the pool.”
I bit back a laugh. “An ice feature?”
“Yeah. They’ll need something familiar to keep them cool. Nothing too dramatic. We’ll make some snow and?—”
“This is ridiculous. You know it’s going to cost you a fortune to keep the snow from melting.”
“I don’t think it’ll be a problem,” Townsend said. “My team’s handled stuff like this before. We did a whole snow globe feature for a Christmas in July event in Dallas a few years ago. “
“Fine. So snow and ice aren’t an issue. What about this pool? Where are you going to set that up? Are we talking kiddie pool, or?—”
“Salt water, of course.” Alex grinned—the kind of grin he might give a child if he were trying to explain some complicated issue.
“Of course.” I shook my head. “How much is all of this going to cost?”
“Don’t worry about expenses. Mr. Munyon made it perfectly clear he’s more than willing to pay for whatever it takes to give his daughter the perfect winter wonderland wedding of her dreams.”
I gritted my teeth to prevent myself from saying something I might regret. I was there for Lacey, not to try to get everyone to realize what a waste of time, money, and energy this was. How many pups could I house for the amount of money Mr. Munyon was willing to throw away to rent a dome for a couple of months? I could probably redo the whole roof for what he was spending on renting the warehouse alone. The thought made me sick to my stomach.
“I’ll work up a proposal and get it over to you by the end of the day tomorrow,” Townsend said.
“That sounds great. We’re in a time crunch so the sooner the better.” Alex shook the man’s hand again.
I swallowed the bubble of apprehension rising in my throat. How had Lacey and Alex talked me into this? The voice of reason had never mattered much to my friend, not when she was focused on something she thought was important. I agreed that something had to be done to save the economy of the town, but why did it have to be weddings? Couldn’t we have come up with something else instead? Something with less sparkle, less wasteful disregard for tossing money aside, and maybe a more altruistic goal?
A loud crash came from the front of the building, followed by the sound of someone stumbling through the door.
“Uncle Alex! Gramps fell down!” Dolly shrieked from the doorway.
CHAPTER 11
ALEX
Gramps layon the floor of the office. “Dammit, help me up.”
