Chapter Seven

Hey, it’s a gorgeous snowy evening, and I feel like walking. Wanna come with?

It was after six on Thursday. There was a beautiful light snow falling, and the temperature hovered just around thirty degrees, as Sammi texted Chrissy, whose reply came back immediately.

Sure. Not like I have a date or anything exciting. Meet?

Sammi grinned. Headed to Junebug Farms. Feel like walking dogs.

The gray dots bounced, then Chrissy’s response came through. Seriously? Fine. Weirdo. See you there.

There was something about this type of winter weather that had Sammi all up in her feels. Maybe it was the quiet. She’d read somewhere that snow absorbed sound, and that’s why snowy days seemed quieter than summer ones. She liked that. Now, as she brushed off her car—the last one left in the parking lot of her office—she felt a silent relaxation come over her. Once her car was all clear of snow, she stood there, head tipped back, and just looked up at the huge expanse of deep sky, at the tops of the trees nearby, reaching up into that expanse, and at the big, fluffy flakes falling to the ground. It was all so beautiful, it took Sammi’s breath away. She inhaled the cold, crisp air and held it in her lungs before letting it go.

The drive to Junebug didn’t take long, and she was slipping into a spot in no time. It wasn’t super busy, but there were a handful of cars sprinkled around hers, and inside, the lobby was humming with activity.

“You just missed your grandmother,” the woman behind the desk told her with a smile.

“Did I?” Sammi hadn’t talked to her grandma yet that day. “Bummer. Well, I’m here to walk a dog.” She glanced at the front door where Chrissy was stomping her feet on the mat just inside. “And my friend here is, too.”

Just a few moments later, they had leashes in hand and were choosing dogs to walk. Sammi breathed a quiet breath of relief when she found Beckett’s kennel. “Hi, boy,” she said quietly, and the dog’s entire body shook with happiness and excitement. “Wanna go for a walk?”

Lisa had the keys, and when she came down the hall, she also had a green and black plaid dog coat. “He’s short-haired, so let’s put this on him for outside.”

Chrissy had chosen a small terrier mix named Crisco, and soon the four of them were out in the snow. They walked in silence for a moment before Chrissy said, “Okay, I initially thought you were a little nuts wanting to randomly walk shelter dogs on a Thursday night, but this is kinda nice, not gonna lie.”

“Right?”

“Also, I think that dog’s in love with you.” Chrissy gestured to Beckett, who was happy as could be trotting alongside Sammi, sniffing on occasion, but also glancing up at her regularly.

“Feeling’s mutual. Huh, buddy?” She ruffled his ears, and he wagged his stump of a tail.

“You gonna adopt him? You should.”

“Eh, I don’t think so. My hours are crazy. I feel like it wouldn’t be fair to leave him cooped up in the house all day.”

“You mean as opposed to being cooped up in the shelter all day?”

Sammi snorted a laugh. “Valid.”

“How did things go at the mall? I saw the posts online. The photos were so cool. And I still can’t believe they ended up with two queens. How strange. And awesome.” They followed the shoveled path that led from the main building toward the barn where the large farm animals were housed—horses, cows, sheep, and such. All were also up for adoption.

“It was fun, actually, though I suck at wrapping. Keegan saved me ’cause she’s good at it. So she wrapped with the two ladies there who were, like, world class wrappers, oh my God.” Chrissy laughed at her words and Sammi went on. “I’m serious. If gift wrapping was an Olympic sport, those women would have gold medals. It was fascinating and only served to shine a spotlight on just how terrible I am at it.”

“Oh, I know. I’ve received gifts from you that look like a kindergartener wrapped them.”

Sammi was laughing at this point. “I want to be shocked and appalled, but I also know you’re right. Anyway, Keegan helped them wrap, and I talked to people about the shelter. Jessica said we got quite a few online donations that night, so that’s good. And I’m pretty sure the other dog that was with us got adopted. I didn’t see her in there.”

“The other dog?”

“Yeah, we brought two. This guy and a little Chihuahua. Nobody even asked about Beckett, though.”

“I mean, he’s pretty intimidating to look at, with his barrel chest and giant block head.”

Sammi feigned a gasp and comically covered Beckett’s ears. “Don’t you listen to her, sweetie. You’re devastatingly handsome.”

“And you were good hanging out with Keegan?” Chrissy shook her head as they rounded the barn to head back toward the main building. “Seriously, what are the freaking chances you’d end up not only with two queens, but that the other one would be her? It’s such a ridiculous coincidence.”

“Right? So weird. It was good, though. We had fun. We laughed a lot.”

“When’s the next gig?”

“Saturday. There’s a dog bakery near the lake. We’re making Christmas cookies.”

“For dogs.”

“Yep.”

“Good thing you’re a better baker than you are a wrapper.”

“Hey, I can rap.” And then she launched into a truly terrible rendition of Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” until Chrissy was laughing so hard, her eyes teared up.

“Stop! Oh my God, stop, you’re ruining the entire song for me.”

They continued to follow the path around the barn and back, taking their time, letting the dogs sniff and explore.

Chrissy bounced on the balls of her feet as Crisco sniffed a bush. “I read once that letting a dog sniff all the things is equal to them walking for thirty minutes or something like that.”

“I think I read that same article,” Sammi said with a nod. “I get so irritated when I see people pulling their dogs along on walks. Let ’em sniff!”

“Right?” Crisco finally finished her inspection and moved along. “Hey, so, I have this friend who has a friend…”

“Oh, I hate the sound of this already,” Sammi said, a soft laugh puffing out of her.

“Come on. She sounds really nice. When’s the last time you were on a real date?”

Sammi sighed because it had actually been with Keegan. “Long time ago.”

“Exactly. Plus, this could be a group thing instead of a date with just the two of you. Less pressure that way.”

“I don’t know…” She surprised herself when her brain started thinking logically. That was unusual, since she was a person who led with emotion. She groaned. “Fine. Tell me about her.”

She felt more than saw Chrissy’s head whip around in shock. “Seriously? That was easy.”

“I didn’t say I’d go. I said tell me about her.”

“Okay, here’s what I know…”

By the time Sammi was back in her car and headed home, she was scheduled to go to the Funhouse the next night in a group of six people, three of whom she knew and two she didn’t. Including Sarah, the person Chrissy wanted her to meet. While she wouldn’t say she was exactly looking forward to it, she wasn’t dreading it, and in her mind right now, that was as good as it was going to get.

* * *

The Funhouse was one of the newer hangouts in Northwood, and Keegan had only been once before, but she’d loved it. It had everything: bowling alleys, foosball tables, Ping-Pong, video games, air hockey, a bar, and a small restaurant. Definitely similar to a giant arcade for grownups. And now, all decked out for the holidays, it felt extra festive and shiny, with silver garland strung around windows and multicolored twinkle lights pretty much everywhere. Keegan loved it.

She’d wanted to do something different, and getting Jules to come had been more difficult than she’d expected. But she’d told her to invite a couple of her friends and they’d go as a group, so at seven thirty, four of them—Keegan, Jules, and two of Jules’s work friends, Jason and Charice—had shoes and balls in hand and were headed for the bowling alleys.

Keegan loved to bowl. She’d been in a league when she was a kid and on into her early adulthood, way before she’d finished school and moved back to Northwood to teach. She hadn’t taken the time to look for a league here, but picking up her sparkly red bowling ball felt like coming home, and when she took her first shot, flicking her wrist and sending the ball in a long, beautiful curve down the alley to level every pin but one, the silence that settled over her three friends was incredibly satisfying.

“Um, is your date a ringer, Jules?” Jason asked.

“It’s news to me, but I’m thinking she might be,” Jules said in response.

Keegan stifled a sigh. “I told you I bowled for years.”

“You didn’t tell me you were good.”

“I am.”

“I see that.” Jules sipped her beer, her eyes never leaving Keegan.

Keegan shrugged and took a seat. Something she’d discovered about Jules—she didn’t pay a ton of attention because she was distracted a lot of the time, mostly by her phone. Case in point, Jason had to tell her three times that it was her turn.

Jules slid her phone into her back pocket and took her first shot. She just clipped the ten pin, and that was it. “When we’re done here, I wanna play pinball,” she said, taking her phone back out.

Jason and Charice were nice enough people, but they worked with Jules at the remodeling company, so the three of them talked a lot about that. People and situations Keegan was unfamiliar with, customers and other coworkers and vendors. She found herself smiling or laughing softly when it seemed appropriate, but she mostly didn’t know what they were talking about.

“Who needs a refill?” she asked when she’d drained her own beer, and Jason requested a Bacardi and Coke. She strolled toward the bar, stopping to watch a Ping-Pong game for a moment, then what seemed like a very intense air hockey match between two college-aged guys who played like some kind of championship was on the line. Along the wall, the video games blinked and beeped, and she had a sudden burning desire to get some tokens and play Ms. Pac-Man until she couldn’t feel her fingers. Maybe later.

The huge Christmas tree in the lobby was real, much to her surprise, and she admired it on her way to the bar. Very tall and nicely decorated, it reminded her that she needed to buy a new ornament for her own tree, which she did every year.

The bar was busy, and she bellied up to it and waited her turn, scanning the other patrons around the U-shaped counter. At thirty-three years old, she put herself right about in the middle as far as the age of the other customers went. There was a gaggle of girls to her left that seemed to be barely above the drinking age of twenty-one, very giggly. Past them was a pair of guys, probably in their late twenties. At one end of the U was what looked like a group of couples, late thirties, early forties, maybe? And next to them was a woman who was around her age, talking to another whose back was to Keegan. Hard to estimate an age from the back…And then she turned and Keegan could see her profile.

“Thirty-four,” she said softly, as she recognized Sammi.

“Sorry?” The bartender stood in front of her, looking perplexed.

“Oh. I’m sorry. Um, yeah, can I get a Bacardi and Coke and a Heineken, please?”

“You got it.”

Keegan hazarded a glance toward Sammi, who hadn’t seen her. She was laughing. Not a soft, polite laugh, no. She was full-on laughing at something the other woman had said. Keegan didn’t recognize her, but she was pretty. Blond, lean, not quite as tall as Sammi.

“Here you go, love.” The bartender slid her order in front of her.

“Thanks.” Keegan paid, picked up the drinks, and headed back toward the bowling alleys without saying hello, and if somebody had asked her why, she wouldn’t have a logical answer. She felt like she was fleeing the scene.

Probably because she was.

* * *

So? What did you think?

Chrissy’s text pinged through Saturday morning, just as Sammi was getting out of the shower. She dried herself off, toweled her hair, combed it, and put in product before she texted back.

She was nice.

The gray dots bounced, and Sammi could picture Chrissy furiously typing out her irritated response. Sure enough, it popped through. Nice? Nice? That’s all you can come up with?

She grinned at her own reflection because part of her was just messing with Chrissy. She’d actually liked Sarah more than she’d expected to. There was no reason not to. She was attractive, funny, successful. She’d made the evening much less awkward than Sammi had braced for, and she’d had a pretty great time.

That was, until she’d noticed Keegan at the bar. Seriously, what the hell was going on? They were suddenly popping up in each other’s worlds on a shockingly regular basis. That was weird, right? She didn’t know for sure if Keegan had seen her, but something in her gut told her Keegan had, and had chosen not to say anything. She wasn’t sure if it was out of respect or hurt that she’d decided to also not say anything, and that had colored the rest of her night. She was pretty sure Sarah had felt her shift in attitude and must have wondered what she’d done to cause it. Sammi felt bad about that.

I had a good time, she texted, knowing it was still far from what Chrissy had hoped to hear.

Well, she liked you. A lot. She followed that up with about twenty-five heart eyes emoji, which made Sammi laugh. How do you feel about another date?

And there it was. The question she’d known was coming. “God, this is just stupid, isn’t it?” she asked the woman in the mirror looking back at her. “It’s just stupid. What is wrong with me?” Being stuck on Keegan was doing nothing good for her. And Keegan had made it pretty clear last year that it didn’t work for her, that all she wanted was a friendship. Why she was so hung up on the woman was something Sammi had no explanation for.

She took in a deep, slow breath and spoke to her reflection. “Just get through this dog stuff,” she whispered. “Just get through this dog stuff and then we’ll keep our distance from her for a while. Maybe that’ll do the trick.” She studied her own eyes, saw the uncertainty in them, the hurt, the confusion. “Gah!” She tossed her towel. “Fine.” She typed a text back to Chrissy.

Sure. Why not? I’ll text her myself later.

Chrissy’s response was to send every celebratory emoji there was, from the party horn to the red balloon. Fantastic!

She smiled and shook her head at Chrissy’s vicarious joy. The conversation ended there, and Sammi got ready for her day at That Doggone Bakery. Her weather app told her it was going to be a cold and snowy day, so she chose jeans and a black sweater. As she finished drying her hair, her phone lit up on the counter. A text from her mother.

Grandma’s making French toast…

“Say no more,” Sammi murmured, finishing up, grabbing her coat and boots. The weather app hadn’t lied. Snow was falling steadily, and the plows had yet to come through, so she trudged across the street to her grandmother’s house and stomped her way in through the side door.

“That didn’t take long,” her mother said with a soft laugh.

“You said French toast. What more do I need?” She hung her coat on the hook near the steps, toed off her boots, and entered the kitchen, which was warm and smelled like cinnamon. Soft holiday music came from the Bluetooth speaker on top of the fridge, and her grandma’s Christmas towels were draped over the handle of the oven. A couple of festively dressed stuffed birds decorated the windowsill. The table was set for three. “Clearly, you knew I’d come.”

“I’ve met you.”

Sammi grinned and gave her mom a kiss, then moved to the counter where her grandmother manned the electric frying pan and kissed her as well.

“Do they even make these things anymore, Grams?” she asked, indicating the pan.

Her grandma frowned. “You know what? I have no idea.” She used her spatula to flip the four slices of French toast, revealing golden brown goodness. Sammi’s mouth watered. “You’ve got the bakery today?”

“Yup. At noon. I think we’re actually gonna bake, too.”

“That sounds fun,” her mother said, getting syrup and butter from the fridge. “I think we’re gonna stop by.”

“Yeah?”

“We’ve got some errands to run, so we’ll just add you to the list.”

Sammi spent the next hour chatting with her family and eating breakfast. She had yet to find any restaurant in Northwood with better French toast than her grandmother’s, and she told her so every time she made it. Her grandma also blushed every time.

By the time eleven thirty rolled around, she was pulling her SUV into the parking lot at Junebug Farms. Snow had continued to fall steadily, but it was fluffy and light and generally just blew out of the way. Not too bad for driving, at least so far. But winter weather could change in a heartbeat and become treacherous. Hopefully, not today.

Keegan was already there—Sammi had seen her car in the lot—and her heart skipped a beat, as usual. She sighed, wondering how she could get that to stop. Maybe taking Sarah out would do the trick. She glanced around as she crossed the lobby to the desk where Keegan, Grace, and Evan all were. Interestingly, no Jules. Again.

“Hey,” she said, as Keegan met her gaze and smiled widely, as if happy to see her.

“Hi, you. How’s your Saturday so far?” Keegan asked.

“Well, I’ve got a belly full of French toast, and I’m about to hang out with some dogs and make some dog treats, so I gotta say, it’s not a bad one.”

“Oh, I’m jealous of the French toast,” Keegan said, feigning a pout. “All I had was a Pop-Tart. Unfrosted.”

Sammi gasped. “Unfrosted? That’s just a travesty.”

“Tell me about it. I bought them by accident.”

“You poor thing. You have my sympathy.”

Lisa came out from the dog wing then, with two dogs on leashes. She greeted them with a warm smile. “You guys have done great so far. We’ve gotten several large donations, and Binky was adopted by a family in the mall that night.”

“Not Beckett?” Sammi asked.

Lisa shook her head. “Not yet.” She handed over one leash to Sammi. “This is Belle. She’s a Lab mix, about two, found as a stray.” Belle’s entire yellow body wagged along with her tail. She looked up at Sammi with big brown eyes and sat. Lisa laughed. “Yeah, she’s not gonna last long.” She handed the other leash to Keegan. “This is Ralphie. He’s an older guy whose owner passed away suddenly. He’s been a little depressed, but he’s coming out of his shell. He’s a pug mix.” Ralphie was all wrinkled tan skin and squished nose. His body was rotund—his owner had clearly fed him well—and there was an air of sadness around him.

Sammi watched as Keegan squatted down so she was close to his face. She whispered something to him Sammi couldn’t hear, then petted him tenderly and stood up.

“Trent’s pulling the van around,” Lisa said. “Anybody have any questions?” When heads shook all around, she pretended to wave them away. “Good. You’re gonna love this place. Go! Make all the cookies. Tell Makenna I said hi.” The group headed for the exit.

* * *

That Doggone Bakery had been in business for nearly ten years. Keegan had done some research in preparation for her day there. Makenna Covington was the owner, and she’d started it in her own kitchen, surprised when it had exploded into success. She kept her name and the name of her shop in the forefront of people’s minds by sponsoring teams, donating treats to shelters, and hosting adoption days there. Keegan had never met her but liked her instantly just from what she’d read.

“I think we’ll do things pretty much the same way we did at the mall,” Grace was saying, pulling Keegan back into the moment. “You guys just do what you’re gonna do. Evan will take photos. I’ll post on socials. Just ignore us, yeah?”

Sammi nodded, absently stroking Belle’s head as Sammi looked out the window, as they’d forgone the crates for this ride. Sammi was quiet today, Keegan noticed. A bit distant. And even as she wondered what might be on her mind, she appreciated what she’d worn. The jeans looked soft and worn, slightly threadbare around one knee. Under the Junebug fleece, her black sweater only accentuated her dark features, and its V-neck shifted every so often to offer Keegan a tiny glimpse of what might lie beneath it.

She groaned internally. Stop it. As always, being this close to Sammi had her blood racing, and she looked away, gazed out the window with Ralphie on her lap.

“I really like you guys,” Trent said from the driver’s seat, his voice sounding loud to Keegan’s quieting mind.

“Well, we like you too, Trent,” Sammi said with a grin.

“No, I mean, we have crates in the back of the van. The dogs are usually there for rides. But I like that you two wanted the dogs to be next to you. It’s very cool.”

Keegan glanced at Sammi, who was looking her way, and smiled. God, those dark and stormy eyes of hers made Keegan want to dive into them…But she remembered how scary that had been last time, how she’d balked. Too much. Too much. She cleared her throat. “I can’t speak for Sammi, but I just want these dogs to get as much love and as many pets as they can. They spend enough of their day in a cage, you know?”

Sammi nodded. “Same.”

“Well, I think it’s cool,” Trent said again, his smiling eyes meeting Keegan’s in the rearview mirror. “I’m glad we went with two queens.”

“Yeah,” Grace said, leaning forward in her seat so her head was between Keegan and Sammi. “How did that happen?”

Sammi shrugged as Keegan shook her head. “We have no idea. You’d have to ask Jessica. She’s in charge.”

That Doggone Bakery was in a small building tucked between a bookstore and a coffee shop along the retail strip of Black Cherry Lake. The outside was painted a bright blue, and the window display featured two stuffed dogs sitting at a round table, a third dog in a chef’s hat and apron serving them goodies from a tray. Trent stopped the van along the street, and the group unloaded, then he drove it to the parking lot.

The front door pushed open and a very attractive brunette greeted them with a smile. She wore a blue and white hat with the bakery’s logo on it, her dark ponytail hanging out the back. “Hi there! You must be the gang from Junebug Farms.” And then, without waiting for a response, she dropped down into a squat and gave all her attention to the dogs. “Well hello. Hello there. Hello there. How are you? You’re so pretty, ma’am. Yes, you are. And you, sir? Very handsome. So handsome. Are you good dogs? Yeah? Do you want some treats? Do you? Yeah? Come on in.”

Keegan and Sammi exchanged glances. Oh, this was going to be a fun day.

They headed inside, as the snow had started to blow. The shop was quite small, but also cozy and inviting. A small Christmas tree stood in the corner, lit up in green and red lights, and decorated with dog ornaments and bone-shaped cookie cutters. There were glass display cases, just like any regular bakery, trimmed in white twinkle lights, and the kitchen in the back was fully open and visible.

“It might be a bit of a tight squeeze,” Makenna said, her eyes smiling. “It’s not a big place, but we can manage, right?”

Evan was already snapping photos of the shop, and he actually went back outside and took some shots through the window. Belle had her nose pressed against a glass display case, and Ralphie pawed at Keegan’s leg until she picked him up. His center of gravity was so low, she groaned with effort. “God, you’re like picking up a cinder block, buddy.”

He licked her face in response.

“This is great, what you guys are doing,” Makenna said. There was an old-timey swinging door between the display cases, and she held it open after she passed through. “Come on back, and we’ll get baking.”

Sammi looked around the shop as she held up Belle’s leash. “What should we do with…?”

“Bring ’em back,” Makenna said, her voice filled with cheer. “They can taste test. I usually have my boys back here with me, but I knew you were coming, so I left them home today. I thought four dogs in the kitchen might be a bit much.” Her laugh was musical and contagious, and it made Keegan grin. “Normally, it’d be a big no-no to have them back here, but I don’t have the same government regulations around my kitchen because I’m not making food for humans.” She pointed to some hooks on the far wall. “Grab a couple aprons, and we’ll get to work.” She picked up her phone and made some selections, and then Taylor Swift was singing about calming down, her voice emanating from a speaker Keegan couldn’t see.

There were lots of ingredients on shelves, including big tubs of peanut butter, large containers of oats, a basket of sweet potatoes, and several bunches of bananas. There was a refrigerator next to a big, stainless steel counter. A hanging basket held countless cookie cutters, and there were two food processors on another counter next to a large oven.

She glanced at Sammi, who had tied on a black apron like a pro. She’d pulled her hair back and fastened it with a hair clip she’d apparently pulled out of thin air. Evan took a few shots of her, probably because she looked super hot in that moment, a fact that wasn’t lost on Keegan.

“Okay,” Sammi said with a clap of her hands. “What are we making?”

Makenna had a great smile, almost as compelling as her laugh, all white teeth and dimples. Something about her…she just seemed to emanate happiness. Keegan didn’t know very many people like that, but she liked being around Makenna Covington.

“I thought we’d stick to some simple stuff. The fewer ingredients the better for dog treats, so I thought we’d make some peanut butter banana ones and some cheddar bacon ones. Sound good?”

For the next three hours, they baked. They scooped and mixed and rolled and cut and drizzled and frosted, and it was the most fun Keegan had had in a long, long time. She and Sammi worked side by side, their hips bumping, their shoulders brushing. Sammi smelled like raspberries and cream for some reason.

“Did you wash your hair in fruit?” she finally asked, when they’d had enough of those bumps and brushes that she felt comfortable teasing.

“I did, yes,” Sammi said, without missing a beat. She was rolling out some peanut butter banana oat dough and didn’t look up. “Every morning, I mash up a bushel of raspberries and then stick my head in it.”

Keegan laughed softly. “Well, it smells really nice.”

Sammi looked at her then. She could feel it. “Thanks.”

Only then did it occur to Keegan just how close everybody was and that they’d likely heard the whole exchange. A glance around showed her both Evan and Grace looking intently at their phones, though Grace seemed to be stifling a smile.

“You two are so cute,” Makenna said with a knowing look. “How long have you been together?”

Keegan felt her cheeks heat up. “Oh, um, we’re not…” She shook her head.

“No?” Makenna’s eyes went wide. “Wow. I’m so sorry. I’m shocked. I’m usually really good at picking up on that kind of thing.” She made a yikes face. “I’m really sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Sammi said. “I could do way worse.” And she bumped Keegan again but kept her eyes on her dough.

“Facts,” Evan chimed in from his corner, where he was shooting a wide shot, and made them all laugh.

Several times as they worked, customers would come in with their dogs, the sleigh bells hanging from the door jingling merrily. Belle and Ralphie would get excited, Belle’s tail sweeping things off countertops and whacking shins. Makenna lit up like the proverbial Christmas tree every time. She knew many of the people by name and pretty much all the dogs, and Keegan thought it was so cute how she got down to dog level every time so she was speaking directly to them.

At one point, Sammi’s grandma and mom came through the door, and the way Sammi’s entire demeanor shifted to obvious joy at seeing them was something to behold. They waved at Keegan and didn’t stay long but were clearly thrilled to see Sammi in an apron in the kitchen.

“You two having a good time?” Mia asked, a knowing tone of some sort in her voice.

Keegan nodded, as did Sammi, who then said, “Yes, and we’re working, so stop bothering us.” But her tone was light and held no irritation. She was kidding.

Sammi’s mom and grandma both bought several bags of treats, even though they didn’t have dogs, and Keegan thought that was super kind of them. Then they waved some more and headed back out into the snow.

Keegan decided she loved it there at That Doggone Bakery. She found herself disappointed she only had cats, as she wanted to come back and visit often. Makenna’s cheerful disposition, the warmth and coziness of the shop, the creativity of her treats, the way the customers seemed to fill with joy when they entered, along with the cheerfulness of the Christmas decorations, not to mention the surprisingly delicious smells, made it a place she found herself taking comfort in. Unexpected, that.

Belle loved everything they made, though she seemed most fond of the bacon-glazed peanut butter treats. Ralphie turned up his smooshy nose at the majority of the treats, which was kind of hilarious, but Makenna wouldn’t stop, and she won him over with a chicken and rice treat she pulled from the display case. “Pugs, man,” she said with a good-natured shake of her head. Then she packed up a bag of them for Ralphie and a variety for Belle.

Keegan didn’t want to leave. The thought had only just crossed her mind when Sammi said, “I love it here. I want to live here.”

“Me, too.” Keegan smiled at her. “Hey, Makenna, is there room back there for cots? We’ve decided we don’t want to leave.”

“I have one already, but I’d happily invest in bunk beds.”

“Deal,” Keegan said. “I’ll just go home and pack a bag.”

Makenna surprised Keegan by throwing her arms around her and hugging her tight. Then she did the same to Sammi, then Evan and Grace and even Trent, when he’d parked the van out front. “I am so happy I got to meet you all. This was a great day.” As was Makenna’s way, Keegan understood after spending the afternoon with her, she then squatted down to speak with Ralphie and Belle. “And you two are such good doggies. You’re gonna find forever homes soon, I just know it. Be good, okay?” She gave them both tender kisses on their furry heads, and Keegan found herself tearing up.

My God, who is this woman?

The ride back to Junebug was unexpectedly quiet. Keegan found herself in her own head, and all up in her feels after spending the day with somebody as loving and open about it as Makenna Covington.

“You okay?” Sammi asked quietly as they drove.

Keegan nodded. “I am. I just…” She searched for the right words to describe what she was feeling. “There was something about her, right?”

“Who? Makenna?” Sammi asked. At Keegan’s nod, she chuckled. “Oh my God, yes.”

“It was her aura or something,” Grace said from the passenger seat in front of them.

“Yes,” Keegan agreed with enthusiasm. “Not that I can see those. Or understand what they are exactly, but something about her makes me want to be better.”

“Better than what?” Sammi asked.

“Better than who I usually am. Like, a better person.”

“But you’re already amazing. How much better do you want to be?”

Keegan met her gaze. The interior of the van was dim, dusk having settled during the ride. Sammi’s expression was sincere, and Keegan felt an almost irresistible urge to lean into her, to press her lips to Sammi’s, but she managed to keep control of herself. “Thank you,” she said on a whisper. “You’re sweet.”

“True. But I’m also right,” Sammi said with a smile, then turned her gaze back toward the window.