Chapter 23: Chapter 23

“Oh, yes! This is him. For certain,” Irma said as she held Pooch in her arms, rubbing his fluffy head. “I would recognize this sweet face anywhere.”

Noelle swallowed hard, her heart stopping in her chest. Pooch’s wide, dark eyes blinked up at her, his pink tongue wagging as he took in a familiar face. He seemed perfectly happy sitting on Irma’s lap in one of the rooms they used to introduce families to their potential new pets. She’d asked Irma to take a seat and then went to fetch her little friend. Pooch was so happy to see her, his tail wagging furiously, and she lamented the fact that she hadn’t gotten the opportunity to spend much time with him that day. She’d petted him earlier when she’d filled his water and food bowl, but he hadn't had a walk. Unfortunately, there were just more animals than there were humans to love on them.

“Isn’t he just the cutest?” Irma asked, stroking Pooch’s head. “I remember the first time I met him. Sal had brought him home from a breeder. He was just an itty bitty thing then, even smaller than he is now. Probably five pounds. How he yipped and yapped! But he was always so happy. He’s a lap dog, you know?”

Noelle nodded, smiling at Irma’s reminiscing, even though it was hard to focus on anything but the precious face in front of her. “He seems to like you.”

“He likes everyone! Never met a stranger, Sal would say.” She chuckled, shaking her head slightly. “Sal loved to knit, and I’d go over most every day and sit with her while she did so. Pooch was always on her lap or right by her knee. Sometimes I’d try to call him over, and he’d come for a little while. Who doesn’t want to sit and chat, listen to the weather, with a sweet baby on their lap? But then he’d always navigate back to her. He was her little shadow.”

It hadn’t been clear to Noelle up until that point whether or not Sal was a man or a woman, but now she understood. She thought she realized why Pooch had chosen Brady, too. His scarf must’ve reminded the little dog of his sweet Sal and her knitting. “I’m sure Sal will be very happy to know her baby has been found.” It pained Noelle to say the words, but at least she knew Pooch would be home with his owner again, that he’d be happy. And perhaps she could go and visit him sometimes.

Irma’s face fell, and Noelle thought she saw tears in her eyes. “Oh, no, honey. That won’t be the case, dear.”

Confused, Noelle tipped her head to the side. “What do you mean?” She wasn’t sure she was ready for the answer. Readjusting slightly on the bench she was sitting on across from Irma, she waited for her response.

With a tremble in her voice, Irma said, “Sal passed away. Two weeks ago. It was so sad…. She didn’t have any family. It was just a quiet ceremony at Gamble’s Cemetery. A few of us neighbors came. Anyway… Sal won’t be needing this little fellow where she is now, in a better place.”

Noelle’s breath caught in her chest. She felt just terrible for poor Sal. It made her heart heavy to know that there were sweet senior citizens living in her own town who had no family and hardly any friends. Her mind went briefly to the shortcomings of the senior citizens center. She’d have to talk to Brady about this. But then, she realized that meant Pooch couldn’t go home after all.

It was clear that Irma loved the pup, that petting him brought her great joy, and the two of them were familiar with one another. Legally speaking, she could put Pooch up for adoption now, and she could offer him to a family or whomever else might want him. But it seemed clear what she needed to do. “Would you like to take Pooch home with you, Ms. Irma?”

“Me?” Irma asked, blinking a few times. “Oh, no, honey. Not me. I love this little fellow. He’s sweet as can be. But I am a genuine, certified cat person.” She nodded as if that was a fact. “My six companions would not take well to having a dog around, even if he is well-behaved and cute as a button. No, I’m afraid I can’t take him. But… now that you know who he belonged to, you will be able to rehome him more quickly, won’t you?”

Still not sure whether or not she should be relieved or disappointed that Irma didn’t want to take him or glad that Brady would have a chance to say goodbye, Noelle nodded, “Yes, yes I will.”

“Good, good,” Irma said, nodding. “Well, I’m glad I could help. Sal loved him so much. I suppose he must’ve gotten out with all the people coming in and out of the house after she passed. I wondered what had happened to him and had thought I’d have to bring him here myself, but then I got to lookin’ and saw his picture. I’m not good on the computer. I hope I did everything right.”

Noelle smiled at her. “You did everything just perfectly. You’ve been a great help, and I assure you, we will find Pooch a wonderful home where his new owners will love him just as much as Sal did.”

“Wonderful.” Irma breathed a sigh of relief and ruffled Pooch’s head. He reached up and licked her face, making her giggle. Noelle had no doubt in her mind she’d find a wonderful family for Pooch. It was just too bad it wasn’t going to be her--or Brady.

***

Praying he wasn’t too late, Brady pulled into the closest parking spot next to the door of the animal shelter, ripped out his keys, and ran inside. He glanced around, looking for Noelle, looking for Pooch, but then, the parking lot only held Noelle’s SUV and another car he thought belonged to one of the volunteers, so he wasn’t surprised that he didn’t see Pooch’s owner inside.

“Can I help you?” a voice called, as she rounded the corner He recognized the woman as the one who’d been there the other day when came to take Pooch for his first walk. Her face softened as she recognized him, too. “Oh, hi there. Brady, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” he said, trying to calm his pounding heart. “I was looking for…. Has Pooch’s owner come yet?”

“Oh, I’m afraid you just missed her,” she said, giving him a small smile.

Brady felt his insides melt. Just missed her? That meant… Pooch was gone, and he wasn’t going to get to say goodbye. “Oh. Okay,” he said, trying not to let his disappointment show on the outside. At least, Pooch was home now, where he belonged.

His eyes had shifted to the floor as his resolve faded. Deciding he may as well stick around and say hello to Noelle, he was about to ask where she was when he heard familiar footsteps--two sets up them. One on two legs; the other on four.

Confused, Brady’s eyes lifted slightly to find Pooch’s sweet face rocketing toward him across the concrete floor. He was on a leash, a long one, and Noelle was doing her best to keep up with him.

“Pooch!” Brady exclaimed, dropping to one knee and scooping the little guy up. He yapped and licked Brady’s face, as if he were his owner. “There you are, sweet boy!”

Laughing, Noelle said, “I guess he missed you.”

“I guess so,” Brady agreed, smiling as he stood and gathered Pooch into his arms, still petting him as he closed the distance between himself and Noelle.

“Rhonda, could you go finish with the big dogs before you go? They just need a little more food and water.”

“Certainly.” Rhonda said with a smile as she headed back. It was impossible not to smile with Pooch around.

Running his fingers through Pooch’s soft hair, Brady said, “I’m confused. I thought Rhonda said his owner had already come and gone.”

Noelle blew out a deep breath. “It was his owner’s neighbor,” she clarified. He nodded, remembering now that she’d said that in her message. He’d been in such a hurry when he read the transcription of her voicemail, all he could focus on was the fact that Pooch might be leaving. “She was right. Pooch did belong to her neighbor, an older woman named Sal.”

“Sal didn’t want him back?” Brady asked, not sure why anyone wouldn’t want Pooch.

Shaking her head, Noelle said, “Sal passed away.” Brady’s eyes widened. He felt so sorry for the woman. And for Pooch. “Irma, the neighbor, said she didn’t have any family. She assumed Pooch got out when people were coming over to tend to Sal’s place. Anyway… there’s no one to take him. So… I’m free now to find him a good home.”

Not sure how to feel about that, Brady continued to pet Pooch’s soft fur. The dog was snuggled against him, his head on his scarf.

How he wished he could take him, load the little guy up right now, in his truck, and take him home, to a place where they could live together without having to worry about intruding on anyone else. But Brady didn’t have a place of his own, and he’d heard Kyla that morning mentioning how glad she was that they only had one dog after she’d tripped over the canine by the counter. No, he couldn’t take Pooch to his friends’ house, and there was no other place for him to go. Even though he had managed to reschedule his meeting with Jennifer for tomorrow morning, he had no house, and by the time he did, chances were, Pooch would already be with someone else.

Clearing his throat, Brady tried to be positive. “Good,” he said, hoping Noelle didn’t catch the wavering in his voice. “That’s good. Because… he really does deserve a home. With a family. A few kids…. You know. Plenty of attention and people who will love on him.”

Noelle held his gaze for a moment, and he felt like she could see right through him, that she knew how badly he wanted to keep the dog for himself. “Yeah,” she said, quietly. “That would be nice. I’m sure he’d love that.”

Brady nodded. Of course he would. What dog wouldn’t love that?

“Do you want to take him for a walk?” Noelle asked. “He hasn’t been today.”

Brady looked down at the little dog he was holding. Pooch’s wide dark eyes stared up at him, and Brady felt like the creature was staring into his very soul, almost begging him to never leave him. A sting began to radiate throughout Brady’s chest. He hadn’t thought about getting a dog since he was a little boy. He simply hadn’t had time for one, or felt settled enough to bring another living being into his home. But, even without a ton of experience with dogs, he felt like he knew this one. Pooch was attached to him already.

It wasn’t fair. The dog couldn’t possibly understand why he wouldn’t take him home, carry him out to the truck and go for a ride to a place with a big back yard and plenty of furniture to snuggle up on on cold nights. The more time he spent with Pooch, the more likely he was to become even more attached. Besides, now that Noelle could post that he was available for adoption, chances were he’d be going home in the very next day or two with a wonderful family who would take him on lots of walks.

“I can’t,” Brady finally said. “I… have a meeting.” That wasn’t exactly true. Since he’d pushed his meeting with Jennifer to the next day, he didn’t have any other appointments on his schedule. But he did have work to do. And he needed to call Kent.

She arched an eyebrow at him, like she didn’t quite understand. Or maybe she thought he was lying. But she didn’t call him out. “Oh, okay. Well, maybe tomorrow.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Brady stammered, looking back at Pooch for a moment who seemed to pick up on his rejection. His ears were down, his eyes larger than normal.

Deciding he couldn’t continue to torture himself, Brady handed the dog to Noelle. She opened her arms just in time to take him. “Thanks for calling me,” he said, needing to get out of the shelter. Not only did he feel bad for leaving Pooch, the look on Noelle’s face told him she felt rejected and wronged, too. This had nothing to do with her. “I’ll call you later,” he assured her.

Noelle nodded. “All right. Have a good afternoon.” She held Pooch in her arms and patted his head softly. The dog looked at him with longing in his eyes, and Brady headed for the door, pushing through it and heading for his truck just as swiftly as he’d run into the shelter.

Once he was inside, he put the keys in, started it, and backed away, putting his seatbelt on as he went. He’d driven a few blocks when he stopped at a stop sign and took a deep breath. There were no other cars around, so he took a moment to breathe. What was he doing? Why was he so attached to a little dog? It seemed so silly. Yet, he felt in his heart that he and Pooch were meant to be together. It just couldn’t happen.

Did he also feel that way about Noelle? Like they were meant to be together? Maybe… but if he kept acting so strangely in front of her, she would probably begin to think there was something wrong with him and wouldn’t want to have anything to do with him, and he wouldn’t be able to blame her.

Brady shook his head to clear it and then headed toward his office to get back to work. Sinking himself into his work would do wonders for his psyche, he was certain of it.

Within a day or two, Pooch would be rehomed, and he wouldn’t have to think about the little dog anymore. He could move on. That was a good thing because, as he drove through the downtown area and saw the lack of Christmas decor, he remembered he had a bigger problem on his hands. He had to make sure the Christmas events were successful so he could get Holiday Hills back in the Christmas spirit and some money back in the coffers. If he didn’t, all of the town’s entities would suffer, including the animal shelter, and he couldn’t let that happen.