Something was off with Noelle. It seemed as if Mrs. Davis had told her about the donations because she had been smiling when she spoke to the woman, but by the time she made it over to the tent, she wasn’t just sad; she was scowling.
“No luck?” Brady asked her.
“Nope. I can’t believe he’s just… gone.”
He’d moved to put his arm around her, but she stepped away.
“I feel just terrible,” Rhonda said, not for the first time.
“I know. It’s okay,” Noelle said. “I think we can go ahead and start loading up these empty kennels,” she said. “We can leave the animals that haven’t been adopted out for a bit longer, but other vendors are starting to load up.”
“I can help with that,” Brady volunteered.
“No, it’s okay,” N
The week both seemed to fly by and drag as Noelle tried to stay focused on her work. It was difficult, standing in the back room of the shelter, seeing Pooch’s empty cage and not having any idea what had happened to him. She just prayed that, wherever he was, he was having a nice Christmas. It wasn’t what she’d hoped for when she’d first met the little dog. If she was honest, over the weeks that he’d been at the shelter, she hadn’t just started to hope that Pooch would end up with Brady; she’d hoped they both would. That she and Pooch would both become a part of Brady’s family.But now, on Christmas Eve, as she finished topping off the dogs’ food and water, knowing it would be a little later than normal when she came in the next day, she had to bury those wishes deep. Not only had Pooch been adopted by a different family, it had been almost a week since she’d spoken to Brady, and she wasn’
The last week had been rough for Brady. While he’d been distracted painting a few rooms in his new house and picking out new furniture, he missed Noelle, and she absolutely refused to return his phone calls or texts. Going by to see her seemed desperate, and he wasn’t ready to be that guy yet, so he decided to come to the parade and see if he could run into her there.He’d spoken to her mom earlier in the week, but Doris didn’t know what had sparked the outburst about the budget at the fair. Noelle hadn’t told Doris either. Now, as the sounds of a marching band sounded in the distance, Brady walked along between the citizens of Holiday Hills that he was getting to know, smiling and waving, but not feeling any of it.Even closing on his new house earlier that day had not been that thrilling, and knowing that the board members agreed with his new proposal to move the animal shelter also seemed like something
Noelle hadn’t seen Brady anywhere. She’d spent most of the parade looking for him, walking down the sides of the street, trying to spot him amid the bundled up viewers, leaping up to try to see over the heads of men much taller than her. If Brady was there, she hadn’t seen him.The thought that she should call him entered her mind, but she didn’t do it. What would she say? Sorry I accused you of doing something you’d never do--again? No, until she figured out how to apologize, she wasn’t going to just call him and hope the right words popped out of her mouth.With a sigh, she took one more look around. The downtown area had basically cleared out. She did see one lone figure she recognized, though. Drawing in a deep breath, Noelle approached Mayor Jenkins who had that smug smile on his face. “Good evening, Miss Snow.”“Is it?” she asked, trying to keep her ange
One year later….“That one’s not for you, Pooch!” Noelle said, sitting on the floor beneath the Christmas tree. “That one clearly says Goldie on it. You don’t want to steal your sister’s present do you?”Pooch panted and hopped up and down undeterred by the fact that he’d have to settle for another present. Noelle removed the wrapping and held up a new squeaky toy for Goldie who barked with glee and then took it out of Noelle’s hands to investigate more.Brady reached beneath the tree and pulled out another gift. “This one’s for you, buddy,” he said to Pooch, unwrapping a new bone. The gift had Pooch giddy with excitement. He took it and dragged it across the floor, already gnawing on the end.“What about me?” Noelle asked. “Where’s my one Christmas Eve present?&rdqu
The small tuft of black and white fur disappeared behind the leg of an unexpected passerby, only a hint of his red scarf appearing for a moment as the dog dodged behind a lamp post, disappearing entirely for a few seconds before reappearing further down the crowded sidewalk. Brady Rogers wound his way through people leisurely walking from one shop to the next, making the most of the mild, early December day when the temperature was in the high forties, instead of the low thirties, or colder, which it usually was in Connecticut this time of year.“Hey! Stop!” Brady shouted again, accidentally clipping the jacket of a dad walking alongside his wife and kids as he hurried after the little dog. “Pardon me,” he said, glad he hadn’t knocked the man off balance. So far, there hadn’t been any head on collisions or casualties, but as the crowd thickened, and the dog got further away, Brady feared he might take out one of the ol
Brady heard a voice say, “Well, look at you! Aren’t you just darling!”His eyes followed the sound of a middle-aged woman’s chirp as she continued to dote on what he quickly saw was the little thief. She was sitting with her back to him on one of the benches, a cup in one hand, her other hand stroking the fur of the little tramp.Quickly, Brady trotted over, a stitch in his side, despite his frequent exercise routine. “Thank goodness,” he murmured as he noted the scarf was no longer trapped in the dog’s teeth. It was lying next to him on the bench. Even from a few feet away, Brady could see it was soiled with mud, perhaps some oil from the road, but it wasn’t torn. That was something.“Oh, is this your dog?” The woman slipped her hand beneath the red collar around the dog’s neck, and for the first time Brady noticed the collar was the exact same shade as
The black lab bounced on the concrete floor in front of her, yanking playfully on the blue leash wrapped around Doug Gibson’s hand. The two children at his side did not look nearly as cheerful as the pup, tears in their eyes, as they stared at a spot near Noelle’s shoes. She didn’t blame them. She felt the same way on the inside, and this wasn’t even her dog.“Mr. Gibson,” she said, attempting to keep her voice even, but anger was beginning to seep in. “This is the fourth dog this year.” She took a deep breath and placed her hands on her hips. Then, realizing that might look hostile, which is how she felt, but not how she wanted to appear, she folded them, then changed her mind again and dropped them to her sides--rigid.“I know that, Noelle,” he said, shaking his head. “But my wife keeps getting ‘em off of Craigslist,” he said with a shrug. “I keep tell
The chime behind Noelle had her spinning around again. She prayed it was a family there to adopt a pet, but when she saw a stranger holding a fluffy ball of black and white fur, she assumed the worst. “Can I help you?” she asked as another volunteer, the only other one working that Saturday afternoon, Clara Lincoln, came up to her elbow.Noelle had a feeling she should just let Clara, an older woman with the patience of a saint, handle this one, but when the man spoke, he said, “Hi, I was told to ask for Noelle.”“That’s me,” she said, trying not to notice the jade green eyes and the square jaw of the man before her. “How can I help you?” She folded her arms, not caring if she suddenly looked rude. Her anger at Mr. Gibson was no longer festering. It was surfacing, and she was about to explode if this man said what she had to assume he was about to say.“Well,