Chapter 10: Chapter 10
A genuine belly laugh emanated from Brady’s mouth as he took the little Havanese in. He had his face pressed against the kennel so that his snout was sticking out the kennel, a silent plea to be released from his cage so that he could play. Despite the fact that Noelle had made sure he had a few toys, fresh water, and the best dog food they had on hand, that wasn’t enough. Clearly, this little guy was a people person.
“Look at you!” Noelle said, pausing to take him in and let Brady catch his breath. “Aren’t you pathetic.”
“Does he always do that?” Brady asked. “It looks uncomfortable.”
“I haven’t seen him do that before,” she said with a shrug. “But he probably recognizes your scent. Do you want to pet him?”
“Absolutely.” Brady’s answer came without question, and she smiled, popping open the kennel that was at her eye level. Pooch pulled his face back, his tail wagging with excitement as she took hold of him and gently got him out.
Brady opened his arms for the dog, and she handed him over, so glad to see he wanted to hold the little guy. It was heartwarming to see someone not only want to come and check on the dog they’d brought in, but to actually want to pet him, to hold him, to reassure him that he was going to be all right, all of that made Brady a special guy. She couldn’t remember the last time this had happened. Maybe never.
As Brady stood holding the dog, scratching him behind the ears and relishing Pooch’s kisses, which were endless, he asked, “What do you mean you think the lack of Christmas spirit has affected your volunteer rates?” He didn’t sound skeptical, only like he wanted more information.
Noelle realized her statement might’ve been hard to follow. “Well, it used to be like the North Pole around here. We had so many Christmas activities we could hardly get them all in. They started the day after Thanksgiving and lasted until New Year’s Day. Everyone was in the Christmas spirit for over a month. When people are happy like that, joyful, they’re more giving. They want to help others. Sure, we’d get a lot of people who would sign up for a month or two and then stop coming, but several people wouldn’t. They’d keep coming for most of the year. We also got enough donations of dog food, toys, leashes and collars to last us throughout the year. Now, even though some of the local churches put together a fundraiser for us around Christmas, it’s not nearly enough to supplement our budget. The more budget we have to spend on food and necessities, the less we have for other things. Like advertising. And repairs. And vet bills.” Her eyes went to Goldie for a moment before she returned her attention to Brady. “Anyway, if the city could revamp that Christmas joy we used to have around here, maybe it would change things for us as well.” She shrugged, hoping that made sense to him and didn’t sound silly.
He was nodding along as she spoke, as if he had an understanding, even though he clearly hadn’t lived in Holiday Hills that long. “When I moved here, just based on the name alone, I was expecting a lot more Christmas--and you’re right. I haven’t seen that.”
Memories of what it used to be like when she was little came to mind. The holiday activities she and her parents used to attend. Now, all there was left was the parade, and that wasn’t even what it used to be.
Deciding now wasn’t the time to dwell on that, she shook her head. “Anyway, we make it work the best we can.”
“You’re doing an amazing job for what you have to work with,” he said.
“Thanks.” Noelle was confused. How did he know what she had to work with? Or was he just saying that, based on what she’d said in her explanation, she was doing a good job with what she had? Before she could ask him to elaborate more, he had a question for her.
“Would it be all right if I took Pooch for a walk? Is that allowed?”
Her face brightened as he surprised her again. “That would be amazing. I’m sure he would love that.”
“I can’t stay for too long. I have a meeting to get to, but I would love it as much as he would.”
Noelle grinned at him and moved to pull a leash off of a nearby hook. They kept them everywhere. Brady tipped the dog toward her and she hooked the blue leash onto his red collar. “Here we go.”
“Do you want to come with us? I mean… do you have time?” Brady’s green eyes were wide as he waited for her response. How could she possibly say no to that?
“Sure. I can take one of the other dogs for a walk. That would allow me to get some work done and make sure Pooch behaves himself.” She eyed the scarf Brady was wearing. “We don’t want him pinching your apparel again.”
Grinning, Brady looked down at the scarf and then put Pooch down on the ground as Noelle moved around him, another leash in her hand, to get Goldie out of her kennel. She was healed enough now to go for a short walk. It was hard to believe just a few weeks ago she’d been near death, brought to the emergency vet a town over with a shattered leg and hip.
“And who is this?” Brady asked as she lowered the dog to the floor, already clipped to the leash.
“This is Goldie,” she said, bending to pat the small dog on the head.
“Goldie?” he questioned. “But she’s white.”
Noelle laughed at his confusion as she stood. “I know. It’s because she’s worth her weight in gold. She’s a Maltese mix, sweet, and tiny, as you can see. She got in the way of an SUV a few weeks ago when she was out and about. Our usual vet was out of town, so we had to take her to the emergency in Lucas.” Her voice trailed off as she remembered how shocked she’d been when she’d seen the bill.
“Thus, she’s worth her weight in gold?” Brady assumed.
“Exactly. Let’s just say the emergency vet did not give us the discount our usual vet gives us.” She sighed. It was all water under the bridge now. She could hardly let the little dog die. “Anyway, I’m sure we’ll find her a home as soon as she’s fully healed.” As they headed for one of the doors that led to the back yard, Goldie got excited and started hopping up and down, but Noelle could still see her limp.