Shoved (Moonlit Lake Matchmaker #4)

Chapter 3

STORM

After watching Tillie drive away safely, I continued on to the restaurant my brother Jasper was in the process of buying. Jasper was my new law practice’s first client. Not that he really counted, since I wouldn’t actually charge my brother for my services. But it was a start.

“Hey, Jas.” I poked my head into his office. “I have the papers for your partnership all ready for you and AJ to sign.” AJ was not only the head chef at Aurora’s Restaurant, but she was Jasper’s fiancée and soon-to-be business partner.

Jasper looked up from his computer screen. “Hey, Storm. You said you’d be here twenty minutes ago. What took you so long?”

“You won’t believe it. I caught Tillie unicycling along the lake walk. Caught being the operative word.” I held my arms out. “That woman should be on a leash or bubble-wrapped.”

“Would you want to be in charge of containing her?”

“No way. I don’t even know if that’d be possible. Like trying to hold back a tornado.”

“That’s for sure. Never a dull moment with Tillie around, though.”

“Yeah. And she showed me some cards she drew for me.”

Jasper leaned back in his chair with a wide Cheshire Cat grin spread across his face. “Really? So you’re next, huh?”

“Maybe not in the way you think. One of the cards said to get a dog,” I scoffed. “I think the universe realizes I’d be terrible at a relationship, and it’s like Dude, you’d have better luck getting along with a dog. ”

“Ha ha ha!” He slapped his hand on his thigh, laughing hysterically. “Your soul mate’s in the pound? That’s the best I’ve heard all day.”

I pressed my lips together and crossed my arms. “It’s really not that funny.”

“Oh, but it is. I can’t wait to add this to the group chat.” He got out his phone and started typing.

Everyone in my family knew my stance on marriage. But that didn’t stop them from goading or pushing my buttons about it. I’d do the same to them.

I was an attorney. I knew better than all of them just how successful, or unsuccessful, most marriages were. Over half of them end in divorce. And while those odds weren’t great, that wasn’t the worst part. In the firm I’d worked in, there wasn’t a single happily married couple in the place. Most were divorced or having affairs. I didn’t do anything halfway, and definitely not something that was destined to fail. What was the point?

My parents had a happy marriage. I’d grown up with the gold standard. If I ever decided to settle down, I’d want what they had. But a relationship like that was as rare as a snowflake in the desert. And I was a realist.

I slapped my hand on Jasper’s desk to get his attention. “Hey, are you gonna look at these papers or not? I don’t have all day.”

“What? Do you have a hot date? Are you going to meet your dream girl now? Can I come with to help you screen the candidates?” He extended his fingers one at a time, as he listed the requirements. “You want a girlfriend who’s sweet and affectionate, doesn’t get upset if you work long hours, and most importantly, potty trained.” He burst out laughing again.

“Laugh it up, fuzzball.” I scowled as I sat back in the chair across from Jasper’s desk. “I actually would like to get a dog, now that I have all this extra time on my hands.”

“But you’re just starting your practice. That takes a lot of time and energy.”

“Not near as much at the hundred hour weeks I was working.”

“Good point. And actually, if you start walking your dog around town, people will inevitably come up and talk to you. Like magic! And then you can tell them you’re open for business.” He snapped his fingers, his grin widening. “Oh, and your dog can be your new paralegal. That’s gold! People will be flocking to your office. Best marketing tactic ever.”

I stroked my chin. “You might be onto something there, Jas. But even so, I’m not going to get one right away. I’ll need to research it a bit more. Make sure I pick the right one.”

“Do you want a purebred or a rescue dog?”

“I’m leaning toward a rescue, an older dog, maybe. I don’t want to have to train a puppy. Way too much work.”

“I can attest to that. I love Junior, but that dog could very well be the death of me. This morning when I was in the shower. I left him alone for just five minutes. Five minutes.” He held his hand up with fingers spread to emphasize his point. “In that little bit of time, he completely ransacked my room, emptying all the clothes from my drawers and drooled slimy goo on every single thing. Then he looked at me with his adorable face and sad eyes, so I couldn’t even be mad at him.”

“You’re ridiculous. That dog has you wrapped around his little finger. You’re never going to get him trained at this rate. Speaking of which, I need to add dog training onto my list of things to study before I actually go through with this.”

“Yeah. You talk big now. But just you wait. You’re gonna be just as wrecked as I am. And I’ll be laughing my butt off when it happens, too.”

“Hold onto your butt. I’ll be prepared. No dog will get the better of me.”

“Famous last words.”

“Look over these contracts. There’s a copy for AJ, too.” I tapped my finger on the file I’d set on his desk. “Let me know if you have any questions.”

“Will do.” He picked up the folder and set it aside. “You going to look at dogs now?”

“Yeah. Just a fact-finding mission. I want to see what dogs the shelter has first and then research the breeds when I get home.”

“A solid plan. Good luck with that.” He nodded with a smug smile. “Oh. And Storm?”

“Yeah.”

“Just don’t look them in the eye.”

“Why’s that?”

“You’ll see. Trust me.”

After talking with Tillie and then Jasper, the idea of getting a dog would not let me go. Even though my law practice was just getting started and I wasn’t completely settled into my rental cabin outside of Moonlit Lake, the idea of having a dog to share it with was sounding better and better.

I pulled into the animal shelter, just to take a look, maybe get some idea of what I wanted and didn’t want in a pet. Not to actually get one, of course. This was just a little preliminary research. No matter the situation, thorough research made all the difference.

“Good afternoon. Are you looking to adopt a pet?” The receptionist at the shelter wore a name tag that read, Zoe. She looked to be in her late teens to early twenties, with purple hair and a concert tee from a band I’d never heard of. At least she wasn’t on her phone while she was working.

“I just want to look at some dogs. Not ready to adopt, yet. Just looking.”

She nodded with a slight, knowing smile. “Do you prefer big or small dogs?”

“I don’t want a small dog, so medium or large. And I want one that’s already trained. Not a puppy.”

“Ok. We have a few that fit those qualifications. Just give me a few minutes, and I’ll get them ready.” She disappeared through the door behind the desk.

I perused the rack of brochures as I waited, grabbing one of each that pertained to dog ownership. All part of my research.

A few minutes later, the door opened, and she waved me into another room. Inside the room, three dogs awaited. One was excited, tail wagging his entire body. He reminded me a lot of Junior, Jasper’s master of destruction. I already knew that would not be the one for me—too much energy. The second was a big fluffy dog, almost as big as I was. It had a calmer disposition, which was a plus, but was bigger than I had in mind. The third one, was medium-sized black and white mutt, looked a lot like Snoopy from the cartoons, and just sat there looking at me, as if checking me out. Her eyes locked on mine and I felt a stirring in my gut. What was that all about?

Eventually, she walked over to me and curled up at my feet and went to sleep.

With her hands on her hips, Zoe tilted her head as she looked down at the snoozing pooch. “Hmph. That one has been here the longest. She hasn’t shown any interest in anyone in the time she’s been here. In fact, if she doesn’t get adopted soon… well, you know.”

“If she’s been here so long, why hasn’t anyone picked her? Is there something wrong with her?”

“No. She’s perfectly healthy. Completely trained. She does get anxious when put in a crate, probably some kind of trauma from being locked up before she came here. We’ve been calling her LuLu Lemme-outta-here. And believe it or not, more than once I’ve seen her reach her paw through the bars and open the cage herself. Now we just leave the door open.” She admitted and looked around to make sure nobody else had heard that part. Probably against protocol. “Lulu seems to be picky about who she likes or trusts, though. There was one person who wanted her, but when it came time to go with him, she growled at him, peed on his foot, and ran off.”

I looked at the creature now sleeping on my feet. What could have happened to her to make her so skittish and untrusting? I shuddered to think, having heard many cases of animal abuse.

This dog had been through enough already in her short life. She didn’t deserve to be euthanized because of it. But I was here for research.

Just as important as research was gut instinct. And mine was ruling in favor of Lulu right now. Could I overrule that feeling? Did I want to?

The colorful girl interrupted my internal processing. “She seems to have chosen you, though. You’re the first person she’s come up to, and definitely the first she’s trusted enough to sleep on. That has to mean something.”

“But I was just coming to look, not adopt. I haven’t done my research. Don’t know what I’d do with her.”

She started getting things together as if this was a done deal. “We’ll give you a bag of food that she’s used to eating. And also a collar and leash. She’s already been fixed, and is up-to-date on her shots. There’s really nothing else you need right now.”

I looked down at the fur ball at my feet. Everything was happening so fast. I’d just come here to research and now I was looking at food, a collar, a leash, health records, and the dog that went with all of it.

Lulu must have sensed my gaze. She looked up at me with sad eyes and I was doomed. So that’s what Jasper meant.

Knowing I’d been beaten, I let out an audible sigh and nodded to the woman to start the paperwork.

I looked down at the dog. My dog, apparently. “Gonna have to think of a different name, though. I will not have a dog named Lulu.”