Page 74

Serena
“Serena, you have someone downstairs who’s asking for you.”
I rub at my eyes, the hours of searching for shelter grants on the computer getting to me. “Thanks, Wendy.” I stretch my arms above my head, my back making an audible pop. Now’s as good a time as any to take a break.
I follow her down to the first floor, smiling as I spot Claire and a young girl hanging around the front desk.
“Please tell me you still have Sandy,” Claire says in her typical no-nonsense way. “If you don’t, this one might riot.” She points to the girl, who merely grins in response.
“She’s here. I promised to give you a heads up if someone else was interested in her, didn’t I?”
“Can we see her?” the girl asks, bouncing on the balls of her feet, raring to go.
“Oh, Serena, this is my stepdaughter, Ava.” Claire waves her hand back and forth between us making the introductions. “And she’s desperate to meet this dog.”
“Give me a second. I’ll bring her out.”
I walk in the kennel area and get Sandy out of her stall, clipping on a recently donated sparkly pink leash I have a feeling Ava will like.
The girl squeals at the sight of the dog as we return up front, holding her hands up to her cheeks. “Oh my God, she’s so cute.”
Claire lets out a sigh of relief.
“Would you like to take her for a walk? Get to know her a bit?” I hold the leash out to Ava, who nods and immediately grabs it, bending down to give gentle pets and behind the ear scratches to the preening dog.
“Thank God,” Claire mutters, soft enough for my ears only. “Suddenly this girl’s been my best friend once I mentioned it. I actually had to pull her out of school to come here today just to get her off my back.”
We make the same loop around the block I did with Archer and Petey on Sunday, Ava already a pro at handling the dog. We give her some distance up ahead to bond with Sandy while keeping an eye on the two of them, and I bask in the warm sunshine, still buoyant from this morning. I can’t believe how well it went. And all I had to do was actually ask for what I wanted to get it. What a novel concept.
“You install that swing yet?” Claire asks, her gaze focused on Ava.
“What?”
She chuckles to herself. “Never mind.”
Swing? What is she- Oh. The sex swing. Very funny. “No, we’re doing fine without it.”
“So the advice I gave you worked?”
“It was extremely helpful.” My face heats, but maybe she’ll attribute it to the sun.
“Good. Glad someone’s getting some action. There are some nights lately I don’t even see my husband. Leaving me on my own is never a good idea.” Well, that doesn’t really surprise me.
“Is he working late?”
“Yeah, some big project at his job.”
“What is it he does?”
We pause as Ava and Sandy stop ahead for the dog to sniff a tree. “He’s an executive at RealityTV.”
Oh God, I hate that channel. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been known to indulge in my fair share of reality shows, but that network seems to greenlight the worst of them.
“Actually, your name came up recently at one of his meetings.”
I squint at her. Come again?
“The show the Nash brothers are putting on,” she elaborates. “They said you and Archer would be a regular feature. Surprised me, to be honest.”