Chapter 14

Cleaning out the kennels was usually a job Noelle disliked so much, she’d do just about anything to get out of it. On days when Rhonda was volunteering, she didn’t need to worry because the older woman didn’t mind it one bit. That Tuesday morning, as Noelle went from stall to stall making sure everything was tidy, she wasn’t paying enough attention to the job to be too upset. Her mind was on other things.

Brady would be bringing her lunch in just a few hours. It seemed strange to think of that as something special really. It wasn’t like it was a date or anything. He was actually coming by to see Pooch. Brady was just being nice, volunteering to bring her something to eat. He could probably see how hard she worked at her job and didn’t want to be rude, coming at lunchtime and not bringing her anything. So, being excited about it was probably pretty ridiculous.

Yet, that morning, she’d put on a sp