Here Comes Santa Paws (Christmas Falls: Season 2)

4. Elias

Chapter 4

Elias

I dropped my head back between my shoulders and closed my eyes as I tested the reclining limits of my rickety office chair. My headache was bad enough that I’d turned off the lit ceramic Christmas tree on my desk. Normally, the blinking soothed me like the steady pulse of the holiday season, but today, I winced with each flash.

The seemingly endless barking from the shelter dogs didn’t help the sharp pain piercing my temples. The day’s stress was getting to me. On top of the lack of sleep, I’d had a morning full of phone calls to the insurance company, hunting down bids from restoration companies, and I’d run about a thousand loads of towels through the laundry while trying to sop up water throughout the night. Not to mention, it was proving impossible to find a contractor to come in and give me an estimate for the repairs.

Nancy knocked lightly on the doorframe to my office and entered. “Coffee and a sandwich? I wasn’t sure if you’d eaten anything today.”

“You’re an angel.” I rubbed my palms against my eyes and sat straight.

“Headache?” She pulled a tube of pain meds from her pocket and set it on my desk next to the lunch delivery.

“A big one. Thank you.” While squinting at her, I managed a smile and hummed gratefully as the bitter coffee hit my tastebuds.

It had been one hell of a long night after rushing to the shelter, turning off the water, and calling the electric company emergency line to shut off the power. Honestly, I’d been so rattled that I probably wouldn’t have thought to do those two critical things without frantically asking Siri what to do after a water leak while en route to the shelter.

My best guess was that a pipe had burst since I’d found several inches of water in places. After addressing the most critical safety needs, I’d spent the rest of the night shuffling animals from waterlogged kennels into dry ones. We were already at capacity, and trying to puzzle out which pets could safely be housed together while my stress thermometer was maxed out had kept my blood pressure high. Once I’d managed the temporary shuffle, I started mopping up water as best I could and creating a list of all the things I needed to take care of so I could hit the ground running with phone calls as soon as business hours hit.

So many calls.

I unwrapped the hot sandwich and salivated at the savory aroma.

“Seriously, thank you. I was about to make a meal out of questionable Fig Newtons from the break room.”

She laughed. “I had to save you from yourself. What can I help with next?”

I smiled my gratitude. “I finally found a water damage restoration company who can come out tomorrow, but I’m striking out with a contractor. Any chance you know one of those?”

She shook her head. “No, but I can put feelers out.”

“Thanks, Nance.” I took a bite of the sandwich and nearly moaned. “I’ve gathered that it will take weeks to fix, at least. The area needs to be dried out, inspected for mold, repairs made to the pipes and wall, and assessed for other pipes about to go. It’s so much.”

One of the dogs expressed their frustration with a howl so loud I glanced around to make sure it wasn’t in the office with us.

Nancy winced. “Poor things. They must be so stressed.”

“We can’t keep them beyond capacity like this.” I needed to vocalize the worry taking up more brain space with each passing hour. “What if this impacts adoptions during the festival? We’ve lost access to nearly half our animal housing and introduction areas. What if more kennels need to go out of commission after someone inspects things and finds more damage?” I dropped my head in my hands and tugged on my hair. All I wanted to do was go home and hide under my warm blankets.

No time for that. I had to rally for the animals. “I need a Christmas miracle.”

Nancy looked thoughtful as she chewed. “What if we launch a fostering campaign and some pop-up adoption events? It’s been a while since we recruited a new batch of foster caregivers.”

“I love that idea, but with the festival starting tomorrow, I worry people will be too busy. We’d be asking them to not only care for the pets but bring them to adoption pop-ups. Maybe I should ask other shelters in the region to take on the animals. I can reach out to breed-specific rescues for the purebreds.”

Nancy shook her head as a defiant glint sparked in her eyes. “You know as well as I do that there are families who come to Christmas Falls this time of year with the plan to adopt a family pet. We can’t let them down. This town will rally behind the shelter.”

I considered her words. The people in this town were special and pitched in when someone needed help, as they had when my parents and then Grandma died. We’d had a freezer full of casseroles and grass freshly mowed. “You’re right.”

Nancy’s unwavering confidence in me and the people of Christmas Falls bolstered me. The coffee and food didn’t hurt either. Plans were already forming in my mind. The former director I’d volunteered under, who hired me to take over when she retired, had called me innovative and scrappy, and I needed that now more than ever.

“We can hit the town Facebook group with a call for help, reach out to people already on our foster list, email our volunteer roster, and make flyers to pass out at the festival events this weekend. Oh! And leave at some local businesses. I’ll start scheduling the pop-ups,” I said.

I pushed the sandwich wrapper aside and rummaged in the piles of insurance policy documents for my notepad. I needed to make a list of my friends who might be able to temporarily take in an animal or two.

Nancy drained the last of her coffee. “Get me the event details when you have them, and my grandson can whip up flyers in a jiffy. I’ll email the foster and volunteer lists.”

I stopped scribbling to smile at her. “Seriously, thanks, Nancy. I owe you one.”

“No, you don’t. Getting these animals into their forever homes is all I care about.”

I finished the sandwich and wrapped up my trash. “I’d better check on Carol.”

“Is she doing okay?”

“So far, yeah. I’d hoped her kennel had been spared.” I sighed. “She seems okay in the corner of the break room I fenced off.” It was the only private space left other than my office. If she wasn’t so anxious around humans, I would’ve kept her in here with me.

Nancy’s expression wilted. “I wish I could take her.”

It was a shame the apartment Nancy moved into after her husband died didn’t allow pets because she’d spoil the hell out of them.

An idea formed as it spilled from my mouth. “I could take her home with me.”

Nancy’s eyes went wide. “She’d hate it at your place. Your animals are…enthusiastic.”

I snickered. “But she’ll hate the construction noise even more. I have a spare bedroom I can keep her in, and it will make it easy for me to keep working with her. My dogs are a handful, but they’ll be great for socializing her.”

I tossed my trash into the bin. “I need to call Gramps. Doubt I’ll be able to make us the dinner I promised tonight.”

She waved me off. “I’ll stop by. There’s a new recipe I’ve been needing a guinea pig for. I’ll let you know how he’s doing.”

Her bashful blush pushed the last of my headache away.