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“Alyssa, I feel like this is all a dream,” Christen Press stated with wonder in her voice, “and I’m just hoping I don’t wake up,”
Her best friend Alyssa Naeher chuckled on the other end of the call, “Press, you’ve worked hard for where you’ve gotten and this windfall of inheriting your Aunt’s house just shows good things happen to good people,”
“Well, I don’t know about that,” Christen sorted as she drew her knees up while she sat on the steps of the front porch of her recently acquired home.
“Listen, you were done with LA for a couple of years before you finally admitted it to me,”
Christen let out sigh, “You’re right,”
“So, this is just how it’s supposed to be,” Alyssa reasoned, “it’s the next step in your journey and you’ll make the most of it while you’re there,”
“I suppose you’re right,” Christen agreed, picking at the paint that was peeling off the wood porch slat, “the will stipulated I have to live here for three years before I’d be able to sell the place.”
“And who knows, after three years, you may want to stay. You said it’s beautiful,”
“It is,” Christen nodded, even though they were on the phone, “the property is huge, the house is really nice and the outbuilding is perfect for my studio. Everyone on my channels seem to love this new development in my life,” Christen had a very strong YouTube following for her yoga and meditation channel and also her Instagram account where she documented life in LA and promoted sports apparel and other products. Both were successful enough that she had left her office job to devote more time to them.
“And what do you think about this new development?” Alyssa inquired, being direct like only a best friend could.
“I think it’s not even been a month and I’m starting to feel comfortable,” Christen admitted, “I like the town, the city is only forty minutes away. I’ve got a good routine down,” she paused for a moment, “I think I’m just a little lonely,”
“Well, yeah,” Alyssa said softly, “I imagine you are. But you’re going into town, right? Start talking to people. Find out what events are going on and go to them,” she said gently. “Be a little proactive, put yourself out there, okay?”
“You’re right,” she agreed, “I have been a little closed off, I suppose,” she considered it, “You’re right, I need to get involved and do something.”
“You do know,” Alyssa chuckled, “there’s no stopping you now from getting a dog like you always wanted to,”
Christen’s eyes brightened at the thought. “Yes, I can!” she practically squealed. She had been so busy with moving in and completing all of the details involved in becoming a new legal resident and keeping up with delivering content to her channels, she hadn’t given herself much time to contemplate any ideas of that nature. “I have plenty of space,” she continued, “I could get a dog or two,”
Alyssa chuckled again, knowing her friend would soon be a new proud, pet parent, “I’m sure you will,”
----
It hadn’t taken Christen long to establish a routine. Not one for cooking for herself much, she had scoped out the restaurants in town and had found the diner, the one all of the locals frequented that served excellent meals. Each morning, Christen would arise, dress for the day, have a cup of coffee while sitting on her porch and enjoy the view. Then she would venture into town for breakfast and usually sit at the counter and read the local paper while she ate. Strangely enough, she didn’t mind eating breakfast and lunch alone, yet there was something about dinner alone that kept her doing that. So she would cook her evening meals at home.
But it was while she was skimming the events page of the morning paper that she noticed an advertisement for an animal adoption event hosted the town veterinarian that very weekend. She smiled broadly to herself and took it as a sign she needed to get a dog and then spent the rest of her time at the diner ordering a dog bed and an array of toys, bowls and supplies for their arrival. Later that night, after she had talked with her parents to catch up, she settled on her couch and watched Dirty Dancing, a movie that always put her in a good mood.
-----
Christen took in the storefront with the painted window of a dog and cat beneath the word VETERINARIAN painted in bright orange lettering. To the left of the building was a large grassy lawn with two large tents set up and a half dozen people milling around. She could see a few rows of cages and some tables and chairs organized in a U shape. As per usuall, Christen had arrived promptly at the opening time and it was obvious the crowds hadn’t come yet.
Christen felt the slight temperature difference of the shade of the tent as she stepped in, pausing at the first table that was smattered with pamphlets. She took a moment to look them over, selecting one about heartworm prevention, flea and tick treatments and one about basic canine first aid. As she scanned the rest of the fact sheets and stacks of business cards for pet grooming and dog walking services, she could overhear a conversation at the next table.
“Oh, fantastic! We’ve got all the puppies and older dogs washed and ready,” the pale teenager rambled, “We even have a few cats and a litter of kittens too and a”
“And no more coffee for you,” a low voice chuckled and Christen could see from the corner of her eye the woman plucked the cup from Rose’s hand, “You’re way too chipper for this early,”
“Aw, Dr. Heath,” she pouted, “Coffee is my life blood,”
Christen picked up a fact sheet about barn cats and listened more closely. The woman’s voice had her attention and she angled her body to inconspicuously watch the exchange with amusement, taking in the older woman’s fitted t-shirt that read Cat Daddy and jeans that hugged her fit body. When Christen’s eyes hit the woman’s face, she may or may not have actually let her mouth fall open, so she was taken by her. By how extremely gorgreous the stranger was.
The striking woman considered for a moment, “Rose, I didn’t even drink coffee until I was a junior in college and I still don’t like it that much, how do you even like it?”
Rose, the teenage girl, gasped dramatically, “Such blasphemy!”
Dr. Heath chuckled, “Would you please make sure everyone has water bowls?” she asked and handed her back the cup, “And switch to water for yourself after you finish this,” she advised, “You’re at an eleven and I need you at a seven, we don’t want to scare off potential adopters, okay?”
“Sure thing!” Rose grinned wildly, not at all offended, “Hey puppies!” she called as she moved to the cages close by, “Who’s thirsty?”
“Sorry about that,” the woman turned and faced Christen and froze for a moment as she took in Christen.
Christen was doing the same thing to the stranger that she found incredibly attractive. She shook her head, “Oh, it’s alright,” she smiled, “she seems excited about the event,”
“She is,” she returned a smile, “It’s our first one,” she explained, “Oh, I’m Dr. Heath,” she shook her head, “Uh, Tobin,”
Christen froze when she saw the brilliant smile, it was if she had seen her first sunrise over the mountaintops or her first sunset over the ocean. “Dogs,” she uttered and wanted to disappear right then. She felt just like Baby Houseman in the movie last night saying how she carried a watermelon upon meeting Johnny Castle. When Tobin grasped her hand and they both felt a twitch and both pulled their hands back quickly.
Tobin tilted her head, “Dogs?” she smiled politely, somewhat confused.
Christen shook her head to clear the sound of the chorus of angels singing in her head. “I mean, I’m excited to see the dogs, like Rose is today,” she exhaled and shook her head with embarrassment, “I’m Christen,”
Tobin smiled warmly, “Christen,” she repeated softly, “I haven’t seen you around these parts,” she drawled.
“I’ve just moved here,” she replied, “and I saw the ad in the paper yesterday about the dogs for adoption,” she finished hurriedly as if she needed to explain her presence.
“Oh, yeah,” Tobin bobbed her head, “You want to meet them? I can show you,”
“Dr. Heath! Dr. Heath!” a young male voice called out, “Could you come here?”
Tobin looked over her shoulder and nodded at the young man who had called her, “Uh, why don’t you check them out and I’ll meet up with you? I can tell you about their histories,”
“I’d like that,” Christen managed to get out, her heart thudding in her chest. She was grateful she had taken an extra few minutes in preparing herself this morning. She wanted to crawl under a rock at her earlier blunder yet was relieved that Tobin didn’t seem to mind it all. She was only on the fourth cage, softly speaking with a somewhat scared looking pittie mix when she saw Tobin approaching. Her hands became slightly sweaty at the thought of speaking with her again.
“She was found on the highway,” Tobin said quietly, “no chip and nobody came looking for her,”
“Aw,” Christen frowned, “that’s so sad,”
“Are you looking for a certain type of dog? Working, hunting, protection?”
Christen shrugged, “I don’t have anything in mind,” she admitted, “I thought I’d meet one I just click with,”
Tobin smiled, “Yeah, sometimes when you see one, you just know,” she said with a grin, looking directly into her eyes and Christen felt like she was melting. She noticed how Tobin’s soft brown eyes were flecked with bits of golds and muted yellows. She could look into them for days.
“Yeah,” she sighed as she stared at her with a dreamy look on her face.
Tobin looked at her equally smitten.
A bark nearby broke them out of their moment, both turning away shyly. Someone was calling for Dr. Heath again. “Let me know if anyone catches your eye,” Tobin murmured, “I’ll be around,”
“Sounds good,” Christen nodded and smiled at her, pleased to see her return the gesture. The dog before her quickly got her attention again and she lingered for awhile trying to gauge interest.
----
“So, Maddie is afraid of thunderstorms but in her bag is a Thundershirt that really helps her,” Tobin stated, fondly looking at the tan mixed breed and then at Christen, “She likes to snuggle in bed, so…” she shrugged bashfully.
“Wait, was she yours?” Christen asked in confusion.
“Oh, no,” Tobin’s eyes widened, “I just,” she looked indecisive for a moment, “Some of these pups I’ve taken in for various reasons,” she explained, “and I can’t keep them all. Either their owners surrendered them because of health issues or abandoned them after boarding,”
Christen scowled, “That’s awful,”
Tobin shrugged, “It is what it is,” she said plainly, as one would who had seen it often. She shuffled the papers in her hands, “So, we just need your signature and she’s all yours,”
Christen didn’t want to leave but she couldn’t think of an excuse to stay. She had already met all of the animals up for adoption and stopped by the tables set up, talked to the volunteers. She even purchased a coffee and a doughnut and enjoyed watching a blond teenage girl doing tricks with her bulldog. She nodded and picked up a pen and poised her hand, ready to sign. As she drove home, all she could think about was how intriguing Dr. Heath was and how she wanted to get to know her better. She did her best not to linger on what a complete fool she had made of herself in front of the attractive veterinarian.
----
“I know I don’t have an appointment, but is Dr. Heath available for a few minutes?” Christen asked, discreetly wringing her hands with nerves.
Rose looked up from behind the reception desk and smiled, “She’s just finishing up with a patient, but she’ll have time to see you,” she nodded, “Just have a seat and I’ll tell her you’re here,”
“As long as it’s okay to drop by unannounced,” Christen stated, she didn’t want to intrude on Dr. Heath during her work day. “I would have called, but I was in town and I”
“Oh, it’s totally fine,” Rose waved her hand, “I’ll be right back.”
A few minutes later, Christen could hear laughter from behind the door in the waiting room and when it opened, a large Cane Corso Mastiff bounded into the area, straining at his leash. He immediately approached Christen, panting loudly and excitedly, his butt wiggling with happiness at potentially meeting someone new.
“Logan, heel,” a woman ordered, “Sorry,” she said apologetically, “I didn’t know anyone was out here,”
“Oh, it’s fine,” Christen smiled, letting the dog sniff her hand and then he leaned against her. She stroked his head, “He’s beautiful,”
“He’s a huge flirt,” the tall blind haired woman chuckled. Christen noticed her arms were covered with beautiful artwork. “I’m Ashlyn,” she stepped forward and Christen rose to shake her head.
“Christen,” she smiled at her.
“You’re new around here,” she looked her over. Christen nodded and saw Tobin step behind Ashlyn into the waiting room, standing there with a smile on her face and her hands in the pockets of her jeans. Her dark blue t-shirt was screen printed with “My dog thinks I’m cool” which Christen found amusing.
“Just moved here,” she replied.
“Welcome to town,” Ashlyn smiled and turned to Dr. Heath, “see ya later, Tobes, don’t forget about Friday night,”
“Sure thing, Ash,” Tobin nodded with her eyes on Christen.
“Nice to meet ya, Christen, hope to see ya around,” Ashlyn grinned as she neared the door.
“Nice to meet you too,” Christen smiled back and then turned to face Tobin. “I’m sorry to come unannounced Dr. Heath,”
“Tobin, please,” she shrugged casually.
“Tobin, I was wondering about Maddie,” Christen said, “you mentioned something about her on Saturday.”
Tobin glanced over to see Rose, sitting at her station behind the counter, eagerly listening to their conversation. “Ah, why don’t we have a seat in my office? I’ve been on my feet all day,” she opened the door and gestured to enter the hallway.
Once seated in a small office, Christen squirmed in her chair feeling her nerves rising.
“Is everything alright with Maddie?” Tobin inquired with concern.
“Well, she just seems…mopey? Like, she doesn’t get super excited about anything,” she explained, “and I know she needs time to adapt to her new surroundings, but she seems kinda sad.”
Tobin nodded thoughtfully from behind her desk, looking at her solemnly, “I think I know what’s wrong,”
“What?” she asked anxiously, fearing some horrible rare medical condition.
“She was pals with Woodie,” she gave her a crooked smile, “and he’s been kinda depressed since she left,” she admitted sadly.
“Wait, which one was Woodie? Was he the one with three legs?”
Tobin nodded, “Yeah, he had tangled with a bobcat or something, nearly didn’t make it. He’s missing a bit if his left ear and a third of his tail,”
Christen smiled at her memory of the dog, “He was a cutie tho,”
“He has a sweet face,” Tobin smiled.
“Is he still up for adoption?” Christen inquired.
“Uh, yeah,” Tobin looked surprised. “You want him?”
I want you, she said in her mind and then straightened in her seat, “Yes, if I had known how close they were, I would’ve taken him Saturday,”
Tobin smiled, “Aw, that’s nice,”
Christen shrugged, “Well, separating siblings is heartbreaking,”
Tobin nodded and swiveled in her chair to open a small refrigerator, “Can I offer you a water or an iced tea?”
“A water would be wonderful,” Christen smiled. Then she felt a weight land on her lap, “Oh!” she looked down at a fluffy back and white cat staring up at her.
“Oh, that’s Mikey,” Tobin handed her a bottle of chilled water, “Just push him off,”
Christen looked down as the cat kneaded her upper thigh and laid down, “He’s fine,” she stroked his silky fur, “Is he on staff here?”
Tobin took a sip from her water, “He actually is,” she nodded, “he’s a comfort cat. He’s chills with our patients who are coming out of anesthesia and hangs with the others who are recuperating,”
“That’s so cool,” Christen grinned. She glanced around the office, “You went to UNC?”
Tobin nodded, “So did Ash,” she shared, “how about you?”
The conversation came easily without any awkward pauses and was only interrupted when Rose called in on the intercom that Tobin was needed for her next appointment. They both were a little shy when they discovered an hour had passed.
“So, Woodie,” Tobin nodded as she stood up, “you want to adopt him?”
“I do,” Christen said replied, “if he’s been depressed and Maddie’s been miserable,” she shrugged and smiled. She gently lifted the sleeping cat from her lap and set him in the small Sherpa lined bed that was on the corner of the desk.
“I’ll get Rose to start the paperwork,” Tobin smiled genuinely, “I got to go do my thing,” she edged towards the door as Christen stood up. “Of course!” she said with some embarrassment, “I didn’t mean to keep you for so long,”
“Oh, I’m not complaining,” Tobin grinned at her, “You can keep me anytime,” she winked and was out the door.
Christen fanned herself and prayed the blush on her face had faded when Rose cheerily entered the office. Christen completed the paperwork and then Rose directed her back to the waiting room while she prepared Woodie for his release. Christen was slightly disappointed Tobin hadn’t made an appearance to send her off with Woodie but the excitement of the three legged mutt brightened her mood instantly.
Later that night when Christen was snuggled under the covers of her bed, she replayed her day. She lingered over Tobin saying “You can keep me anytime,” and then that wink. That wink was something else. It had sent a flutter through her entire body. The incredibly hot veterinarian had been flirting with her and she had been too enamored to do anything but fan herself from the heat that Dr. Heath had ignited in her.
-----
“Wait, so you adopted two dogs already?” Alyssa asked with laugh.
“Well, yeah, they’re buddies. They were heartbroken to be separated,” Christen explained, mindlessly rooting around the website of the gorgeous veterinarian. She had found herself doing that a few times today, searching the internet to learn more about Dr. Heath. Tobin. She had been distracted between that and playing with the dogs, she had fallen behind her rigid filming schedule for the first time in her career. She had, somewhat shockingly to even herself, casually decided that she would film her new puppies and that would be the Friday upload and hadn’t stressed out over it.
“But you went back for the second one?” she clarified, wanting to be sure she had the story straight.
“Yes, because Maddie was acting weird and I just wanted advice but when Tobin”
“Tobin?” Alyssa cut in.
“Dr. Heath,” Christen rolled her eyes, “when she explained how Woodie was depressed because he missed Maddie, well, I decided to bring him home,”
“So, you did it for dogs’ mental health,”
Christen chose to ignore the sarcasm in her best friend’s voice. “I did,” she replied primly, “as any good pet parent would do,”
Alyssa chuckled and from the tone of it, Christen knew she had seen through the whole story and prepared for the onslaught. There was only a slight pause before Alyssa struck.
“Just how hot is this vet?” Alyssa questioned with amusement.
Christen wanted to prepare a witty comeback, yet nothing came to mind, just the image of Tobin’s face, that chiseled jaw, those high cheekbones, her plump lips. Those eyes.
A few moments of silence passed between the two.
“Okay, really hot, I got it,” Alyssa laughed. “You’ve got it bad,” she laughed some more. “Good thing you have, what, forty acres for all the dogs to run around!”
Christen sighed dreamily, “I do,” she practically crooned and that made Alyssa laugh even harder.
“Well, just ask her out!”
“I would if I could form complete sentences around her,” she replied drily, “I turn into mush when I’m around her,” she admitted without embarrassment. Alyssa would understand, she’d been in the same situation, albeit with a hot guy from her apartment building, and Christen talked her through that adventure.
“Wait, you said you guys talked for, like an hour,” Alyssa recalled, “where you an idiot then?”
Christen rolled her eyes at her phrasing but then thought about it for a moment, “Actually, no I wasn’t,” she huffed out.
“So, you can talk to her, just don’t work yourself up,” she advised.
A flash of confidence washed over her. “Yeah, I’ll work on that,” she agreed, “I can do it,”
----
The next week flew by for Christen. She got caught up on producing her content, completed the editing of all the videos and had them scheduled in her queue to upload. Her first two videos with the dogs had become very popular with many of her followers wanting more. She had planned out video topics for several weeks in advance and had begun her research on the topics. She had taken a day trip to the city and purchased some things for around the house she needed. She had nailed down dates for Alyssa to visit and her parents were going to get back to her about their visit. She had announced to the family that she would like to host Thanksgiving this year and they nearly fainted with surprised but readily accepted.
Maddie and Woodie kept her entertained and busy. They took long walks around the property, and accompanied her on car rides into town. She met Ashlyn again who had been walking Logan and they had a nice chat. Ashlyn invited her to attend the town’s Fourth of July festivities at the end of next week with her and her wife Ali. She promised to introduce her to her friends and Christen secretly hoped Tobin would be among one of them.
Everything had been going well except that Christen was stymied at how to see Tobin once more so she could ask her out. That issue was settled late Sunday night for her. She was lying in bed, scrolling through her phone and landed on watching random videos on Facebook when one came up about a couple who had sought out the oldest animals from three different shelters so they could adopt them. After watching the touching video about how the dogs’ lives were changed for the better, an idea popped into her mind. She fell asleep easily after that, knowing she had a plan.
----
After a busy morning the next day, Christen leisurely sat on the porch with Maddie and Woodie lying nearby soaking up the sun. She gathered her courage and picked up phone and called the Veterinarian.
“Dr. Heath’s office, how may I help you?” a young voice asked that Christen recognized belonged to Rose.
“Hi, is this Rose?”
“Yes, it is,”
“Hi Rose, this is Christen Press, we met at the adoption event and,” she began.
“Oh! You came back and adopted Woodie too!” she enthused.
“Yes, I did,” she paused, “I was wondering if I could make an appointment with Dr. Heath?”
“Are the puppies okay?” Rose asked worriedly.
“Yeah, they are,” she smiled, thinking how sweet the teenager was, “I just wanted to talk to her about seeing if there were any cats or dogs who had been there the longest and needed a nice home to live out their days,”
“Aaawwww,” Rose cried, “That’s so swweeet,” she said, “Um let me check, okay? Let me see what her schedule is for today, I’ll just put you on hold for a minute, alright?”
“That’s fine,” Christen smiled, thankful the teenager hadn’t seen through her scheme. Well, it wasn’t totally a scheme, she really did want to give a senior animal a home for their remaining years and she didn’t mind if it was a cat or a dog. She also just happened to want to ask out the hot vet as well. Little did she know, on the other end of the phone, Rose herself was happily scheming with hearts in her eyes as she had recognized the chemistry between the two adults.
“Hi, Christen?” she came back on the call, “Dr. Heath is totally booked today, but I can fit you in at four forty-five as the last appointment if that’s good for you?”
“Yeah, that would be perfect,” she replied.
“I put you down as a consult so she knows you’re not bringing in one of the pups,” Rose informed her.
“Sounds good, see you then,”
“Bye!”
Rose knew her gut instinct had been absolutely correct the moment she saw Christen in the waiting room wearing a pretty summer dress that was long and flowy and she had her hair down with those gorgeous natural curls. They totally had the hots for each other. She had thought she was on right track earlier in the day when Dr. Heath had insisted that she needed to run home after getting something gross on her clothes before her consultation. Whatever it was that had caused the clothing emergency was apparently invisible to Rose upon her discreet inspection and when the good doctor reappeared with freshly brushed hair and wearing a pair of nice knaki slacks and a button down shirt instead of her typical t-shirt or scrub top, that had cinched it.
Rose rapped on the office door, waited a beat and then opened it, “Dr. Heath, your consult is here,” Her eyebrows lifted when she witnessed her normally relaxed and laidback boss was pacing the floor.
Dr. Heath looked at her quickly and gulped, “Okay, send her in,” she nodded and moved to the safety of behind her desk. Rose turned and shut the door, rolling her eyes and letting out a soft chuckle.
“Hi,” Christen greeted shyly as she entered the office, tightening her grip on her purse.
“Hi,” Tobin gulped as she stood behind her desk, “You look,” she stopped herself, “It’s nice to see you again. Is everything okay?”
Suddenly feeling bold, Christen stepped closer, lifted an eyebrow and smirked at her, “I look?”
Tobin swallowed, “Amazing,” she whispered with a terrified expression painted on her face, “absolutely gorgeous,”
Christen gave Tobin a brazen once over and smiled, “You clean up very nice as well, Dr. Heath,”
“Tobin,” she stated, “you can call me Tobin,”
“Tobin, would you like to go out to dinner with me sometime?” Christen asked bluntly.
Tobin nodded her head slowly, “Yes, I would like that very much,” A slow grin spread across her face.
“What are you doing tonight?” Christen stepped closer to the desk.
“I think I’m going to dinner with you,” Tobin smiled widely at her, “I’ve been wanting to ask you since we first met,” she admitted, shyly, “I just,” she shrugged, “got nervous,”
Christen laughed, “I know that feeling,”
“Won’t you sit? We’ve got some time,” Tobin offered and gestured to the chair behind her. They both sat down. “Did you have some questions about one of the dogs?”
“No, Woodie and Maddie are doing great,” she replied, “but I was wondering if you have a cat or a dog who’s been here for a long time or maybe a senior pet that most people wouldn’t pick to adopt?”
A wide smile graced Tobin’s face and she beamed at her, “I do,” she nodded, “want to meet them?”
“Them?” she asked as she stood up.
“Uno the cat and Agent Scully,” Tobin chuckled, “Scully is a like the Aunt to all the others around here, but she’s getting older and can’t rough house with them much anymore. She would love to hang with Woodie and Maddie in a quieter house.”
“Do you take them all to your house?” she asked as they left the office and she followed her down the hallway.
“I rotate two a night, except if it’s gonna storm, then they all come,” Tobin answered over her shoulder, “I hate the idea of them being here all alone like that.”
After they spent some time to allow Christen to meet the dog and one eyed cat, she decided that of course they should come home with her. Tobin just grinned and shook her head, mumbling something about a new zoo in town. Tobin was looking in a filing cabinet to retrieve the animals tags necessary vaccine paperwork and Christen had just finished completing the adoption forms when she heard a rumble and looked up to see Tobin’s face flush. “Are you hungry?”
Tobin clenched her teeth and nodded sheepishly, “I’m starving, didn’t eat lunch today,”
“We should go eat,” she said prudently. “I could come back here with you to pick them up if that’s alright with you,”
Tobin pulled out a file and brought it to the desk, “That would be great,” she grinned.
“Well, you’re going to have to pick the restaurant,” Christen chuckled, “I haven’t been out to dinner since I’ve been here yet,”
“What do you have a taste for? Italian? Chinese? Good old home cooking?” Tobin grinned.
Christen tapped the tip of her nose with her index finger as she considered her choices.
“Hhhmm, I have a feeling we couldn’t go wrong with good old home cooking,” she replied, wondering if it was an innuendo and they’d go to Tobin’s place or really go out to eat. Either way, she was fine with it.
“It’ll take just a minute to lock up,” Tobin said as she opened a drawer and pulled out her wallet and keys. Then she pivoted quickly and rooted around a box and pulled what looked like a t-shirt from it. She folded it and found a plastic bag and dropped it in.
A few minutes later they were outside and had just bid Rose a good night and Tobin had locked the door. As they walked slowly to the parking lot, Tobin snickered.
“What?” Christen looked at her curiously.
“I’ll show you in the car,” she chuckled.
Once they were buckled up and the vehicle was running, Tobin handed over the plastic bag. “I thought you’d like this,” she smiled at her, eagerly watching as Christen pulled the shirt from the bag and then held it up to read it.
“Apparently, I’m not allowed to adopt all the dogs…rude, but ok.” She threw her head back laughed. “I love it!” she breathed out, looking at it and then at Tobin. “Thank you,” she reached out and grabbed Tobin’s hand and squeezed.
“I thought you’d get a kick out of it,” Tobin shrugged, grinning.
Christen heard Tobin’s stomach rumble again and squeezed her hand and then go. “Let’s go eat,”
“Okay,” Tobin put the SUV in gear and backed out of the lot, once on the street, Christen grabbed her hand and squeezed again. Tobin glanced down at their joined hands and then sent a smile to Christen. “I like this,”
Christen giggled and shook their hands and then gave a her poorly executed, nearly two eyes fully involved wink, “I like this, too,”
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