She didn’t answer, but her eyelids lowered a fraction. When he leaned in for the kiss, she stopped him.
“No,” she said, stepping back out of reach. “Don’t.”
Despite the kiss me signals from her, she’d changed her mind. Feeling both disappointed and relieved, he gave a terse nod. “I’ll, uh, see you Monday.”
Seth climbed into his truck and drove away.
By two o’clock Monday, Emily was ready to begin the orientation for the eight fifteen-and sixteen-year-old community-service volunteers.
They began to trickle in to the shelter. First a girl from Jupiter High, a school on the south side of town. Then a boy and girl from Merrybrook, the high school in the wealthiest part of Prosperity. The rest, a girl and three boys, hailed from Trenton, the school Taylor attended.
Except for Taylor, the Trenton kids entered the building together. Minutes later, she wandered in alone. She barely acknowledged the others from her school, and vice versa. Were they excluding her because they were juniors and she was a sophomore, or for some other reason?
Emily remembered her own teen years, wanting so badly to fit in and be liked. She hadn’t exactly been popular, but she’d known she could count on the few friends she’d had. She hoped Taylor would be as lucky.
She passed around the name tags she’d made. “Welcome to The Wagging Tail orientation,” she said. “Let’s start by introducing ourselves.”
After the introductions, Matt from Merrybrook posed a question. “This is a small shelter. How are you going to find enough for all of us to do?”
“Good question. To answer that, let’s take a tour of the place. You’ve all seen the kennel, and we’ll visit it again today, but there’s a lot more. While I show you around, I’ll explain what you’ll be doing.”
She led them through the main floor of the house, pointing out her office, the supply closets and the kitchen. Outside, they visited the dog runs, and finally, the quarantine hut that housed the dog Seth had examined. The other hut stood empty.
“What’s wrong with him?” asked Cat, the only student from Jupiter High.
“She’s a female,” Emily corrected. “She has mange and worms, but our veterinarian, Dr. Pettit—oops, he prefers to be addressed as Seth—assures me that she’ll be okay. Speaking of Seth, Taylor, would you mind if I mentioned your connection to him?”
The girl glanced down. “We don’t have a connection,” she muttered. “Except that I’m stuck living at his house.”
“This dog arrived Thursday night,” Emily went on. “After Seth examined her Friday morning, he sent her blood and stool samples to the lab.”
She hadn’t stopped thinking about his gentle ways with the dog, or the fact that she’d almost kissed him. Her strong desire and feelings for him had startled her. Why him, and why now?
Maybe it was time.
But did she really want a distraction she didn’t need in her life right now? No, she told herself. She didn’t.
“Earlier, Seth called with some good news,” Emily said. “Other than mange and worms, this dog is healthy. Considering that she was starving when she was picked up, and had probably been living on the streets for a while, that’s great news.”
“If she’s healthy, why does she have to stay here by herself?” Cat asked.
“Because both mange and worms are contagious. She’s on medicine, and I’m bathing her with a special shampoo. The worms will be gone quickly, but curing the mange will take longer. She’s still available for adoption, but until her skin is cleared up, I can’t move her into the kennel.”
“You mean these dogs get adopted?” Cat asked. “I’m adopted.”
“That’s interesting, Cat. I’m just as careful finding a stable home for our dogs as a human adoption agency is finding a good home for children. Anyone interested in adopting one of our dogs must fill in a detailed application and meet with me, both here at the shelter and in their home.”
All the teens seemed impressed.
The tour ended in the kitchen, which was the best place to gather a group. The teens crowded around the kitchen table. Emily stood in front of them. “There are a couple more things to discuss,” she said. “First, keeping this shelter open costs money. Besides rent, dog food and supplies, I pay a part-time office manager. You’ll meet her next time.”
“Don’t forget Seth,” commented Birch, one of the boys from Taylor’s school.
“Actually, we’re fortunate that he’s volunteering his services. People always want to know where I get the funds to keep this place running. The money comes mostly from private donations. Every year, in early November, I host a fund-raiser. This year, you and your families are all invited. You’re also going to play a big part in the event. Which brings me to the brainstorming party I’m hosting for our fund-raiser, two weeks from Friday, in my apartment, which is upstairs in this building.” Emily gestured in the direction of the staircase.
“I’d like you all to come, so please write down the date or put it in your phone. We’ll have pizza from Harper’s Pizza, and I’ll be asking for your ideas.”
They gave her blank looks, so she explained. “For example, last year, we hosted a dinner and raffle at the Bitter & Sweet downtown. People bought raffle tickets for a chance to win various prizes. They also donated money. That night, we took in enough to stay open one more year.”
“Cool,” Cat said.
“It’s very cool,” Emily agreed. “So be thinking about ideas for that.”
“What if we have to work or there’s a football game?” Shayna from Merrybrook asked. “I’m on the cheer squad and I can’t miss the game. Same with Matt—he’s on the football team.”
“Come for an hour, then, but if you can’t, you can’t,” Emily said. “Now it’s time to figure out who you want to do your community service with, and which day you would like to volunteer. Since there are eight of you, and community service days are Monday through Thursday, you’ll work in teams of two.”
Matt exchanged confused looks with Shayna. “You aren’t going to assign us?”
Emily shook her head. “I’m leaving that up to you. Keep in mind that it’s always good to make a new friend from a different school. Feel free to get up and walk around and get to know each other. I’ll give you a few minutes.”
Standing out of the way, she watched the teens pair up. Most of them stuck with kids from their own school. But there were five from Trenton, and Taylor ended up the odd person out. Cat was also alone.
From across the kitchen, the two girls eyed each other. Appearance-wise, they were polar opposites. Cat was petite and curvy. About five feet two, she wore dark eye makeup and her dyed-black hair was boyishly short. A crop top hugged her torso, and under a flouncy, tie-dyed skirt she wore blue tights and black ankle boosts. Taylor was about Emily’s height, and willowy, her long red bangs all but hiding eyes with far less makeup. She was dressed in a sleeveless, hooded knit tank top that covered her boyish hips, tight jeans and TOMS flats.
Cat moved first, heading toward her. “It looks like we’re the only two left,” she said. “Do you want to work together?”
Her expression impassive, Taylor shrugged. “Guess so.”
Emily moved to the white board attached to the wall and clapped her hands for attention. “Now that everyone has a partner, let’s figure out who comes on what days. Then you can go home, and those who choose