A Girl's Best Friend Read online

  “That’s okay.” Jackie smiled warmly. “I can teach you. I like swimming. I’ve gone swimming in the ocean. You like going to the beach?”

  Mia smiled slightly. “Yeah.”

  “Good. This summer, we’re going to go, then.”

  Instinctively, Jackie reached down and stroked her hair, which was tightly braided. That had been yet another learning curve. As a white woman, she simply didn’t know how to manage Mia’s hair. She eventually decided to take her to a salon, where they gave her a primer.

  They reached the children’s clothing department. Jackie wondered for a moment if she should just ask Mia to pick anything. Children from a more stable background might have jumped at the chance of a shopping spree, but Mia had just shown that she might be overwhelmed. Jackie would have to guide her, but she didn’t know what she liked to wear.

  T-shirts were a safe place to start. “Do you like any of these designs, Mia?” she asked. “I think the one with the dog looks kinda cute.”

  Mia took a moment to consider the t-shirts. Jackie wasn’t sure what she was thinking at all, but she did reach out and touch a couple, running her hands over the designs reverently, as if they were valuable designer goods.

  She turned to look back at her, characteristically silent again.

  “Maybe this one with the flowers,” Jackie suggested, taking it down from the rack and handing it to her. She took it and looked over it, as if it were a piece of artwork and she was trying to discern the meaning.

  After another moment of silence, Jackie felt herself getting irritated again. But she couldn’t let it show—she absolutely couldn’t. She was normally a fairly patient person, and she had to harness that patience now, for her sake.

  “Should we go with the dog and the flowers, then?” Jackie asked her, reaching down to take the shirt back.

  She blinked at her, then shrugged. “Sure.”

  Jackie picked out shirts in Mia’s size and tossed them in the cart. She managed to get her to pick out a pair of pants and a dress, and then she decided these would be enough for now. Between this and the results of a prior shopping trip, Mia had a good starter wardrobe.

  They passed by the swimsuits. “It’s about warm enough to go to the beach,” Jackie said. “Maybe, since you like pink and purple, this one would be perfect for you.” She picked out a ruffled swimsuit that almost looked like a tutu.

  Mia nodded and Jackie placed it in the cart.

  They made their way to the checkout line and Jackie grabbed a chocolate bar without Mia noticing, as a surprise. The child liked those, she knew, because she saw her eyeing them every time they were in line somewhere. But she was far too polite—or timid—to ask for one herself, unlike the bratty kids Jackie sometimes saw who threatened to throw a tantrum if they didn’t get every little thing.

  It could be a lot worse. Mia was a good kid.

  After paying, she led Mia out to the car and they started on their way home. Jackie put some music on and started singing along. When they approached a stoplight, she pulled the candy out from where she’d hidden it. “I got this for you,” she said. “You were awesome during our outing today.”

  Mia’s face lit up and she took it from her outstretched hand. “Thank you,” she said before opening the wrapper ravenously. After taking a square of chocolate and savoring it, eyes closed with pleasure, she broke off another piece and held it out to Jackie wordlessly.

  “Thank you for sharing with me, Mia,” she said, accepting the piece. The chocolate melted a little on her hands as she bit it, and it tasted a little sweeter than she remembered chocolate tasting.

  When they arrived at home, Mia skipped out of the car, clutching the rest of the chocolate bar. Jackie followed her with the bags and opened the front door. “Let’s get this blanket on your bed and see how it looks,” she said. They walked up the stairs into her room.

  Jackie was pretty pleased with herself. She’d always been a DIY kind of person and the canopy had turned out beautifully. The paint job on the chest of drawers was pretty cool too. And Mia did seem to like it, especially when she had presented it to her with a tiara, as if she were a real princess.

  “It looks great,” she said. “Matches perfectly. What do you think?”

  “Yeah!” she squealed, shaking out the blanket so it was spread out on her bed. Jackie plucked the candy bar off of the sheets, which were in danger of getting melted chocolate all over them.

  Jackie had never thought it would feel so damn good to make a child happy. It had only been about a month and she already loved Mia more than she thought imaginable. Just a month. It had been surprising, how much love she had inside her, that was just waiting to be given to someone. It hadn’t been her parents, or a potential partner, so now it could be a child. Her child.

  “I’m going to start on lunch,” she said. “Come down if you want to help!”

  As she left Mia to pore over the new purchases—something she had glimpsed her doing after the last shopping trip—she felt a happy weight settle in her chest. Maybe this was going to work out after all.

  It felt good to do all the things for her that her parents had never done. Before adopting Mia, she’d wondered if she’d feel resentful toward her for receiving the love she had never been given. But love was an infinite resource. She never did feel resentful. Instead, the positivity just multiplied every time she did something nice for Mia. It was like she was erasing the toxic legacy of her parents every day.

  Jackie couldn’t help but remember Lucy, her old Sheltie. She was the one living being who had shown her unending amounts of love when her parents hadn’t. The dog had been an angel sent down from Heaven to help a miserable young girl.

  Jackie had always considered getting another dog, anyway, as she couldn’t imagine life without a dog in it. Maybe Mia would like having a pet, a companion. The house was kind of quiet with just the two of them. And maybe a dog would draw the little girl out of her shell a bit.

  Now, there was an idea. She’d sleep on it, maybe turn it over more the next few days. But the more she thought about it now, the more she realized what a great idea it was.

  3

  Tyra

  Cleaning the dog runs wasn’t the most glamorous job, but someone had to do it, even if that someone was the manager. Tyra dipped the sponge in the bucket again and wiped down the wall, getting an inexplicable amount of grime off of it. Tassel was such a small, slothful dog. How in the world did he manage to dirty his run so much?

  The sharp scent of the soap hit Tyra’s nostrils as she dipped the sponge again and finished up with the wall, mopping up the excess that had spilled to the bottom with a towel. There. Now Tassel would have a clean home, at least until he did whatever he did to make it dirty again. The little stinker.

  Tyra stood up and stretched. This job gave her a good workout. She did yoga videos at home weekly, and went on runs, but she didn’t even need to. She’d developed some toned muscles since signing on as a lowly junior volunteer when she’d first enrolled at Redwood County Community College.

  The degree in marketing hadn’t been of much use, but the volunteer experience had, and now she was a manager. Not a day went by that Tyra wasn’t proud of how far she’d come. She’d wanted to help animals since she was a kid, and even though she hadn’t gone to school for anything animal-related, she’d found her dream job.

  The degree hadn’t been a total waste though, in retrospect. She’d used some of the skills and knowledge to help run the shelter and publicize adoption drives and other events. But if only she had discovered this gig earlier—she wouldn’t have spent all that time as a wayward student.

  Tyra left the room, glad she was finished cleaning out all the runs, and headed to the front of the shelter to see what she had to handle next. Tina caught up with her just as she turned the corner, blonde ponytail bobbing.

  “Someone’s here to see a dog,” she said. “You wanna take them?”

  Tyra’s tired expression broke into a grin. Mat
ching people with their dogs and actually facilitating adoptions was the best part of this job. “I’m on it.”

  When she entered the lobby, she saw a white woman sitting down with a small brown-skinned girl. Well, that was interesting—the woman seemed like the girl’s parent, but they looked nothing alike. They both appeared pretty nervous though, eyes darting around the space.

  “Hello there,” she said. “I’m Tyra Haines, the manager here at the shelter. How can I help you today?”

  The woman stood up to shake her hand, the girl looking up at both of them curiously. “Jackie Keppel, and this is Mia. We’re interested in adopting a dog.”

  Jackie was a sporty-looking woman, with toned muscles and long, blonde hair. She looked like she spent time rock climbing or mountain biking or something. Maybe it was the athletic shoes or the tan or the stylish sunglasses on her head. But she also had curves in all the right places, and Tyra found her gaze lingering over them, envious, even though she knew she had a nice body herself.

  Jackie’s face was lined slightly. Tyra estimated her to be in her early thirties, and she had a certain youthful vitality to her, barely quelled by her nervousness. Her smile quirked in the corner endearingly, like it was kind of lopsided, and her blue eyes sparkled. But there was something shy about her, something restrained.

  If Tyra had seen a photo of Jackie, she would have guessed that she was very jovial, extroverted, and lively. But she was actually more subdued. It made her seem mysterious, despite the athletic exterior, giving the impression that she would be more comfortable in a blazer.

  But she was a good-looking lady, that was for sure. One of the most beautiful Tyra had seen in a while. She was striking, really, and Tyra had to gather herself to prevent herself from acting foolishly.

  “Awesome, come on back.” Tyra led them down the corridor, slowing a little to fall in step with Jackie. Mia followed like a shadow, clutching Jackie’s hand. “So have you had a dog before?”

  “I had a Sheltie as a kid,” said Jackie. “Mia, you haven’t had a dog, have you?”

  Mia shook her head quickly.

  “So you have experience,” said Tyra. “Have you thought about what kind of dog you’d like? What kind of temperament, coat type, energy level, all that.”

  “Uhh.” Jackie’s mouth quirked into a frown. “I work from home most of the time and have a big yard, so we can handle high energy. I don’t really have a preference. Just a dog who’ll be a good companion for Mia. That’s the goal here.”

  Tyra noted with satisfaction that Jackie had used “who” to refer to a dog. It was a small thing, but she liked when people referred to dogs like they were people. They really were.

  “Are you open to adopting a puppy, or would you prefer an older dog who’s already housebroken?” asked Tyra.

  Jackie hesitated, and Tyra saw Mia squirming, almost like she had to go to the bathroom. Jackie followed her line of sight and saw that the little girl was obviously dying to say something. “What do you think, Mia?”

  “Puppy!” she cried, a grin breaking out over her previously solemn face.

  Jackie and Tyra shared a laugh, and Tyra noticed Jackie squeezing the girl’s hand affectionately. Maybe she was fostering her. It was uncommon, but certainly not unheard of.

  “I’d be okay with a puppy,” said Jackie. “Like I said, I have time to help with the training and everything.”

  “I think I have just the dog for you, then,” said Tyra, smiling.

  Jackie was going to love the Australian Shepherd mixes, especially since she’d had a herding dog as a kid. They were so sweet and smart and playful, and one of them would make the perfect furry sibling for the girl. Because Jackie hadn’t brought a partner, Tyra wondered if she was single.

  As they approached the room where the puppies sat in their playpen, Tyra felt a pang in her chest. Even though they hadn’t been there that long, the puppies had wiggled their way into Tyra’s heart, and she was going to have a hard time giving them up. It happened with all the dogs—Tyra even found herself imagining adopting them, having them at home—but the impulse had been strong with these two for some reason.

  But it happened all the time. Tyra was always finding dogs at the shelter that she’d have liked to take home. If it were up to her, she’d have a whole ‘nother shelter back at her place, with a whole pack of dogs to keep her company. It was always a tiny bit of heartbreak when someone else got them, but she knew it was for the best. She did a damn good job vetting candidates, after all.

  She turned her attention back to her guests. The room had a glass window, and she saw the little girl, Mia, standing there with her nose pressed up against it. She was totally focused on the puppies, her fingers splayed out on the glass as she got as close as she could.

  “We call them Smiley and Harold,” said Tyra.

  Jackie laughed loudly—so loudly that she coughed. “Smiley and Harold?”

  Tyra held up her hands. “I’m not the one who named them.”

  “It’s cute,” said Mia, so softly that Tyra almost didn’t hear her.

  When she turned to Jackie, she saw the woman’s eyes widen. There was something going on there, Tyra could tell. She just didn’t know what. While Jackie obviously cared for the child, she hadn’t been taking care of her for long, because she lacked a certain easy familiarity parents normally had with their children.

  “Well, let’s go in and meet them,” said Tyra, pulling the door open. Mia darted in, immediately walking up to the playpen. When the puppies stumbled toward her, pressing against the fencing, Tyra’s heart melted.

  Mia crouched down and stuck a finger through the fence to stroke the velvety head of the puppy who was closest to her. A smile was slowly spreading across her face, absorbed as she was in what could very well be her new best friend. She was rewarded when the puppy twisted his head around to lick her hand, and she drew it back with a squeal of delight.

  Tyra heard Jackie giggling behind her.

  4

  Jackie

  Jackie watched as Tyra picked up the puppies and put them down in front of Mia. They all sat on the floor in a circle around the little animals, and Mia squealed in delight when one of them crawled into her lap, trying to get closer to her face.

  Jackie had been a little worried that she’d be frightened, but she was taking it well. She seemed totally comfortable with the puppy, and was even gently pushing him away when he got too close. It was like she knew just how to handle him, even at the tender age of seven.

  Jackie was surprised and pleased.

  “That guy is a little shyer usually,” said Tyra. “But his favorite place to be is in someone’s lap. He’s one of the best cuddlers I’ve seen in my time here.”

  “Really?” asked Mia.

  “Yup. You’ve got a bona fide teddy bear there,” said Tyra.

  Mia looked back down at the dog, who was nosing around her jacket, as if trying to find a cozy spot to settle down in her lap. He plopped into a jellybean shape, closing his eyes and sighing.

  Something about this dog reminded Jackie of Lucy. Maybe it was because they were both herding dogs, and had that silky, multicolored fur. Or maybe it was just watching a child bond with a dog. This puppy had blue merle fur just like Lucy had, but with tan patches on his face and around his chest and legs. Jackie could only imagine how soft that fur was as she watched Mia pet the puppy.

  “That one’s Harold,” said Tyra. “Of course, if you adopt him, you can change his name.”

  “I like the name Harold,” said Mia, scratching behind the puppy’s ears. The dog was blissed out on her lap, pudgy belly almost spilling over.

  Jackie looked at Tyra and made eye contact with her. What she didn’t expect was the electrical current that seemed to pass between them. The shelter manager’s deep brown skin was almost golden-hued in the filtered sunlight, and her pale green eyes were striking, like crystals.

  Jackie looked away quickly.

  “Seems like you’re getting
along great with Harold,” said Tyra, saving Jackie from having to react.

  “Yeah. It looks like Harold might just be our pup,” agreed Jackie.

  “Well, the next step is to fill out an application,” said Tyra. “If you’re accepted, which I imagine you will be, we’ll adopt Harold to you on a probationary period for one month. If all goes well, then he’s yours.”

  Jackie’s eyebrow rose. “It’s that easy?”

  “Yeah. The application is pretty comprehensive, though, I’ll warn you. You’ll need a couple of references.”

  “I think I can handle that,” said Jackie. She turned to Mia. “We have to go now, but we’ll be back to see Harold again, okay?”

  Mia looked back down, clearly reluctant to leave the puppy, but she allowed Tyra to put him back in the playpen. When she stood up, she took Jackie’s hand again, but her eyes were fixed on Harold, who was looking right back at her.

  “Looks like a match has been made,” said Tyra quietly, with a smile.

  They went back to the main lobby, where Tyra handed Jackie a clipboard with the application attached. Mia was wriggling next to her, barely able to keep still, as if she were imbued with the puppy’s energy.

  The questions weren’t too difficult, but Jackie was surprised by how her mind kept drifting back to images of Tyra. It was startling. Her face was absolutely beautiful, and she had a body that was somehow lean but curvaceous—it was obvious she did a lot of hard work at the shelter. Jackie was undeniably attracted to Tyra. But then, that wasn’t unique. Jackie had been attracted to other women.

  Maybe Tyra was the first one who almost—just almost—made her imagine being in a relationship. People as kind as Tyra weren’t easy to find. Jackie admired how sweet she was to Mia and the animals, and the fact that she had chosen to work in an animal shelter spoke volumes.

  Jackie shook her head, trying to clear her mind, and focused on the application. It was comprehensive, asking about her lifestyle, house, experience, and all sorts of other stuff. But she answered all the questions honestly, knowing that there wasn’t anything in there that would prevent her from getting a dog.