“They really are. It looks like they’re all tired too,” Fritz says.
The puppies are curling up for a nap, and I shrug as I get up and scoop Magic Nugget into my arms to help her since she doesn’t have help.
“We had a blast,” I say. “Ugh, I need to pick up.”
“Honestly, I’ll have someone come in later. You’re totally fine,” Fritz says. “I’ll probably have other people come in to play with other dogs. I think it was only cleaned up for you.”
“I’m honored,” I chuckle, watching as Fritz picks up Trudy and Daisy. “Did you find that quote?”
“It’s in my pocket. I should warn you it’s not cheap,” he warns.
“So, I can have someone else come out to get me an estimate, or we’ll use your quote if you think it’s fair,” I say, unbothered as I follow him out. “I didn’t expect it to be cheap when I offered.”
“Alright,” Fritz agrees. “I’m not sure if my quote is fair or not, so I’m willing to call around.”
“How bad are the pipes?” I interject.
“Bad,” he groans.
“Then I want the quote you have so it can be fixed before it’s a mess,” I decide. “How is everyone else doing?”
“Skylar is still playing with six kittens. Koen walked a few of the dogs with another volunteer, and is now bathing one of our bigger dogs. He’s difficult to control, but he seems to like Koen,” Fritz says, surprised.
“So, I really want to adopt Magic Nugget,” I say, chuckling at her name. “I’ll organize someone to help take care of her while I’m gone, but I’m in love.”
“The team actually has vetted pet sitters,” Edna says, walking back up to us. It’s like she’s magic. “That guy isn’t here anymore. At least, he’s not anywhere I've looked. I think he left out a back door. The front desk said he told them he was with us, and that’s how he got in here in the first place.”
Fritz winces so hard, I bet his asshole also puckered, and Edna holds her hand up.
“It’s unfortunately part of how things work for hockey players,” she explains. “He couldn’t have gotten anything too incriminating based on where we are.”
“I was playing with puppies,” I say innocently. “That's why I wasn’t too worried about his camera. I kind of want to see if Koen is still washing the dog. I’m wondering if his dog whispering skills extend to water too.”
Another volunteer comes up to take the puppy from me and I feel a pang of sadness.
“Don’t worry, I’m going to make sure everyone knows she’s yours,” Fritz reassures me. “I’ll get her vaccines up to date, and all the paperwork in order. You can come back to pick her up tomorrow if you’d like.”
“I would,” I say happily. Fritz fishes a paper out of his pocket, and I take it and put it in my wallet without glancing down.
I’ll allow myself to have sticker shock later. I don’t want Fritz to have second thoughts about this. I want to help, so I will.
“I’ll take you to Koen,” Edna says, leading the way through the hallways until she walks out to a room with different size tubs.
I grin as I see that Koen is indeed trying to keep the dog he’s working with from jumping out of the tub.
“Uh-uh,” I say, walking toward Koen. “That’s a bad idea, dude. You’ll get hurt. Stay.”
The dog’s tongue drops out as he pants, staying still as Koen sighs.
“He was good until I started to rinse him off,” he confesses.
Pinching his chin, I tip his head back to kiss him. I grin as I see his eyes unfocus once I let him up for air.
“He got impatient,” I say. “It happens to me often.”
Koen chuckles as he goes back to making sure all the shampoo is washed off before nodding in satisfaction.
“Clearly, I let my success in getting Lyle into the tub go to my head,” he says drolly. “There are towels to your left. Can you grab a few, please? I want to start drying him off before I open the doors.”
