Tail of Two Hearts, page 2
“True. But Chase thinks the event will go better with older dogs who have some training.”
“Good point. Then that’s what we’ll do.”
“Sounds good to me.” Vivian shifted aside the books on the lowest shelf and slipped one into place.
“Viv? You’re smiling.”
“I smile most of the time, don’t I?”
Allison eyed her curiously. “Of course you do. But it’s a different kind of smile. Did something happen at the pet shop?”
“Not really.” She sat on her heels. “It’s just that...”
“That what?” Allison pressed.
“I think Chase was flirting with me. But it was probably my imagination.”
“It was not your imagination. You’re a very attractive woman, and he’s a very nice man. And he’s single. He’d have to be blind not to notice you and be interested.”
“Maybe.” Vivian pushed to her feet. “He doesn’t know I’m hoping to adopt a baby. When he finds out, he’ll probably lose interest in me in a hurry.”
Allison’s jaw dropped. “Why on earth would he do that?”
“Because in the past year, two guys I had been dating dropped me like an overdue book when I told them I couldn’t have children of my own.” The memory still had the power to sting and made her uneasy about mentioning to anyone her inability to reproduce.
“Oh, honey.” Standing, Allison rested her hand on Vivian’s shoulder and gave her a squeeze. “Chase may not be like that. You can’t think that all men are like the two who dumped you. If he’s interested, you need to give him a chance.”
”It doesn’t seem right to keep something like that a secret.”
“Well, yes, I suppose that’s true. But just because he flirted a little doesn’t mean you have to blurt it out right away or tell him you’ve applied to adopt a baby. You may find you don’t even like him.”
If her reaction this morning was any sign, Vivian was pretty sure she’d like him a lot. She certainly felt a spark.
“If Chase is the right man for you,” Allison continued, “he might be surprised about you adopting on your own. I know I was when you first told me. But I soon realized how much you want a family, and I’m all for it. The sooner, the better, right? I mean, I get to be Auntie Alli, don’t I?”
Laughing at Allison’s sweet request, Vivian felt some of the tension leave her. “Absolutely!”
“Good.” Allison glanced at her shiny new engagement ring and twisted it around her finger. “Meanwhile I get to work on being the best stepmother ever to Sam’s twins.”
“I’m sure Rosie and Nicky already love you.”
Vivian felt a twinge of envy. There had been a rash of engagements going on in Bygones lately. Just last Friday, Lily Farnsworth, who owned the flower shop next door to the bookstore, had married Tate Bronson, a local farmer and single dad. And now Allison was happily making plans for her wedding to the high school basketball coach.
“I certainly hope they love me. I already adore them.” Allison patted Vivian’s shoulder again. “I’ll leave it to you to talk with the folks at the animal shelter. We’re going to need to put together a flyer about Doggie Daze to post around town and get an announcement in the Gazette.”
“Maybe we can even get Whitney to write a story about it. That would be good publicity.” Whitney, the newspaper’s one reporter, was always looking for some local angle.
“It would indeed. I’ll give her a call. And since you are way better at graphics than I am, I’ll let you design the flyer.”
“I’d love to. My inner artist enjoys being let loose from time to time.”
Between assisting customers and designing the Doggie Daze flyer, Viv saw the rest of the day go by quickly.
After Allison decided to close for the day, Vivian grabbed her purse and jacket from the back room, and stepped outside to head home.
It was well into twilight; the old-fashioned wrought-iron streetlights were lit, casting circles of yellow on the brick street that ran through downtown. Wrought-iron benches spaced periodically along the sidewalk stood empty and only a few parked cars remained.
As she strolled to her car, she noticed the shop lights were off at Fluff & Stuff. In the upstairs apartment where Chase lived, a shadow crossed a lit but curtained window. Chase was such a nice, down-to-earth guy; he seemed almost too good to be true.
But she’d been burned twice and was leery about how he might react when she had to tell him about her inability to have babies. If they got that far.
Exhaling, she climbed into her compact car for the short ride home. No sense worrying about that now, she told herself.
Because her parents lived thirty minutes from Bygones, Vivian had rented a small house closer to her job at the library when she had first started to work there. But then the town had run out of money, had cut the funds for her position and had reduced the number of hours the library was open.
Vivian had been fortunate to be hired by Allison to help at the bookstore.
Her house formerly belonged to a foreman on the now-bankrupt wheat farm. The two-bedroom clapboard house served her well. And the rent was modest enough that she could still afford it, even though she was only working part-time at Happy Endings.
She stopped on the road in front of her mailbox and grabbed the day’s mail, then drove under the carport.
Taking her mail and purse, she went in the front door and flicked on the light.
Essie, her calico cat, hopped down from her favorite spot on the back of the couch, tiptoeing over to meet Vivian.
“Hi there, little lady.” She crouched down to pet the cat. “Have you had a busy day watching out the window?”
Essie responded with a loud, rumbling purr.
“Yes, it sounds like it was very exciting.” Vivian tossed her purse and mail on the blond-wood end table by the couch. Although she had purchased mostly used furnishings, she’d perked up the room with two bright red garden stools for coffee tables and a couple of matching red throw pillows, accented with a green-and-white afghan her mother had crocheted tossed over the back of the couch. On the longest wall, she had hung framed posters of colorful gardens from around the world.
Definitely homier than plain walls and a beige couch.
She stepped into the second bedroom, where Roger was noisily running through his tunnel, showing off his speed.
“Hi, guy. Did you get in lots of training today?” She peered into his cage, which sat on top of an old wooden desk. “Chase asked about you this morning.”
Roger peeked out of his tunnel and gazed up at her with his beady little eyes.
“I know. He really loves animals—even little guys like you.”
As she glanced around the small bedroom, she pictured a crib and changing table, maybe a mural of Noah’s ark on the wall.
Just because she couldn’t bear her own children didn’t mean she couldn’t have a family. She didn’t need a man to tell her it was okay to fulfill her dream. She was taking charge of her own life.
Essie wound her way between Vivian’s legs, still purring loudly.
“I know, sweetie. You want some dinner, don’t you?”
In the kitchen, Vivian poured some dry food into the cat dish, placed it on the floor for Essie and returned to the living room. Plopping down on the couch, she kicked off her shoes and picked up the mail.
An ad for a pizza place on Highway 135. A solicitation from some charity she’d never heard of. And a—
The envelope—bearing the return address of one of several adoption agencies she had contacted about adopting a baby—trembled in her hand.
She swallowed hard and licked her lips.
Please, please let it be good news.
Carefully she opened the envelope and removed the single sheet of stationery.
Dear Miss Duncan, Vivian read. We appreciate your interest in adopting a child from our agency. However—
Her eyes began to blur the words: single woman...limited income...not financially equipped to support a child.
She covered her mouth with her hand. It’s only one agency turning me down, she told herself. She’d applied to several others. Somewhere there was a baby waiting for a mommy. Waiting for her to hold and love him.
She straightened her shoulders.
Tomorrow was another day. She was confident her dream would come true. She swallowed her tears and lifted her chin.
All in God’s time.
Chapter Two
As was his custom, Chase woke early the next morning. He let Boyo out the back door to a fenced area where he could do his business. The dog sniffed the perimeter of his domain. Boyo relaxed only after he was convinced that there had been no intruders since his last visit.
Before long Boyo was back in the shop and racing up the stairs for his breakfast. His brownish coat was a typical shade for a basset hound but his curly hair was very much that of a poodle.
Chase trotted up the stairs behind him.
The fact that he owned a pet shop still amazed him. His life had definitely turned around the day some anonymous benefactor had decided to revitalize downtown Bygones and had offered matching funds for six new businesses to start up in the refurbished stores on Main Street.
The minute he’d heard about the opportunity, he’d sent in his application. Until then, owning a pet store had only been a fanciful dream born of a few happy months as a youngster volunteering at an animal shelter outside of Wichita, plus a whole menagerie of strays he’d brought home over the years.
By the time he was a teenager, his reality had been working grueling, mostly boring, hours, first as a worker and then as foreman, in a warehouse near Wichita.
He had hated the drudgery of the job; he had ever since starting to work there as a teenager. But the wages had been enough that his mother had been able to cut back on the hours she had worked.
In the small upstairs kitchen he fixed Boyo and Fluff their breakfasts. While they ate, he stood at the counter eating a bowl of cereal and drinking his morning coffee.
As soon as he fed the puppies and kittens downstairs, and cleaned their pens, he would keep his eye out for Vivian’s car. He’d been thinking about her a lot. Eager to see her again. Although he wasn’t sure that was a good idea, he couldn’t seem to help himself.
An hour later, just as he was finishing with Pepper’s cage, Chase spotted Vivian’s little red car go by.
“What’s up? What’s up?” Pepper squawked.
“I’m going to call on a very pretty lady. That’s what’s up.”
“Pretty birdie. Pretty birdie,” Pepper announced in his shrill vocalization.
“Yes, Pepper, I know.” Chase held out his hand so Pepper could hop off his shoulder, onto his hand and return to his clean cage with fresh newspapers on the bottom. A fine use for the local Bygones Gazette, he was sure.
The parrot reached his perch and gave his feathers a shake. “Good birdie. Good birdie.”
“You’re an excellent birdie, Pepper. I’m hoping one day soon you’ll find a new home.” Although he had to admit he was growing fond of the silly bird, he’d be more than happy to sell Pepper to a parrot lover. Business was business, right?
The middle-aged man who had brought in the bird had told Chase that Pepper had belonged to his mother, now deceased. His wife hated the bird. So he had to get rid of Pepper.
It was hard on long-lived creatures like large parrots. When their owner passed on, the birds experienced grief much like humans did. But after a few weeks here in the pet store, Pepper seemed to be adjusting to his temporary home and clearly enjoyed greeting customers.
Sometimes not too politely, Chase thought with a frown.
“I’ll find you a permanent home soon, ol’ codger,” he promised. Unfortunately he hadn’t had a single response to his advertisement so far.
Chase washed his hands and tried to tame the lock of hair that kept falling down over his forehead, to no avail.
Outside, another sunny but cool morning greeted him. The school day had already started, and none of the shops had opened yet, so there was little traffic on the street.
Despite the Closed sign on Happy Endings’s door, Chase knocked on the glass window. He peered inside until he saw movement in the shop. Then he stepped back and cleared his throat. Absently, he rubbed his damp palms on his pants and shuffled his feet. She wasn’t expecting to see him today, and he wasn’t sure how she’d react to his idea for Saturday.
Vivian lifted the sign and saw him. Her pretty blue eyes widened, and he heard her unlock the door. Her expression was both surprised and wary as she greeted him.
“Sorry to come by so early, but I wanted to talk with you,” Chase said.
“Sure.” She opened the door wider. “Is it about our Doggie Daze event?”
“Yeah, sort of.” He stepped inside. As she closed the door behind him, Chase caught the fresh scent of citrus—Viv’s perfume or shampoo, he suspected. It mixed pleasantly with the unique smell of books and printer’s ink. He glanced around the shop—the walls painted in blue, green and tan—and its dozens of bookcases with their shelves filled with books. He noted that Allison apparently hadn’t arrived for work yet.
“I wondered if you’d like to go with me to the Happy Havens shelter tomorrow?” he asked. “You could check out the dogs, decide which ones you’d like to bring in for your Doggie Daze affair.”
“I’d love to! I’m sure Allison would let me come in a little late. She’s very excited about the event.”
Her eager response, and the way her eyes crinkled at the corners when she smiled, delighted Chase. He was already looking forward to spending a little time with Viv. Getting to know her better. Just as friends, he reminded himself. He wasn’t looking for a romantic relationship. He had broken up with a woman in Wichita only a few months ago. No need to get involved again too quickly.
They made plans to meet at his shop in the morning, and he’d drive them to the shelter.
“Say, I put on a pot of coffee about five minutes ago. Would you like a cup?” Viv asked.
He glanced at his watch. “How ’bout a half cup? It’s almost time to open the shop.”
“Perfect.”
He followed her into a back room, noting the way her auburn hair shifted gently across her shoulders, the tips just brushing the collar of her green blouse.
In addition to a couple of unopened cartons of books, the room contained a sink and a microwave on the counter with a coffeemaker next to it.
“How do you take your coffee?” she asked.
“Black’s fine.”
She poured coffee into a mug and handed it to him. Their eyes met for a moment in silent communication before she turned to pour coffee for herself. A ripple of awareness warned Chase that more than friendship might evolve between him and Vivian. A prospect he hadn’t anticipated. Although maybe he should have.
Her hands wrapped around the mug, she leaned back against the counter. “You’re a businessman. Can I ask you for some advice?” she said.
“Sure. Anything about dogs and cats and hamsters I can handle. World peace is above my pay grade.”
Her laughter rang a happy note that resonated somewhere in Chase’s chest.
“I promise it’s nothing that earthshaking.” She took a sip of her coffee. “Since the town had to cut back on its support of the library, and I lost my job there, my income has dropped considerably. I’ve been trying to think of a way to supplement what Allison pays me. So far I’ve come up empty.”
“Hmm, let’s see.” He admired a woman who didn’t sit around waiting for someone else to bail her out of trouble or take care of her. Thinking about her question, he sipped his coffee, which was rich and hot. “Maybe I could hire you to come in early to clean up the puppy pen.”
She wrinkled her pert little nose. “That wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”
“What were you thinking?”
“I’m not sure.” She seemed pensive, as if she’d been considering the problem for some time. “If I could do something at home, then I’d be able to work around my schedule here.”
“That sounds like a great idea—if you can figure it out.”
“Yeah, that’s a big if.”
“It’s not easy to find that kind of job.” Leaning against the doorjamb, he drank some more coffee. “Telemarketing?”
Her smooth forehead furrowed. “I don’t think so.”
“Doing opinion polls?”
“I’m not sure I want to spend that much time on the telephone.”
“Understandable.” He drank another sip of coffee. “Nothing else comes immediately to mind, so let me think about it awhile.”
“Sure. Maybe between us, we’ll come up with something that would work.”
“I’ll do my best.” He set his mug down on the counter. “I’d better get going.”
They said their goodbyes, and Chase headed back to the pet shop, his spirits high, his footsteps light. Odd how planning an ordinary trip to an animal shelter could make him look forward to a very special day.
Because of Vivian.
* * *
When Allison arrived at the bookshop, Vivian was busily making copies of the flyer for Doggie Daze to distribute around town.
Allison picked up one of them. “This is wonderful. You’re so talented. Cute dog.”
“I used free clip art from the internet.” Heat warmed her cheeks. “I thought this dog looked a lot like Boyo, Chase’s dog.”
“Oh, he does. A little bit shaggy but so cute.” Allison eyed Vivian with evident curiosity. “You sure there isn’t something I should know?”
