Puppy Love for Christmas

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Sabrina fumed. She fumed the entire day after the race and kept on fuming well into the next morning. It was Christmas Eve. It should have been the most exciting day. The Adopt-a-Thon was minutes from opening. And yet all she could think about was the combined idiocy of Chris and Troy. Who were they to decide for her who she would take to the Snow Ball? She hadn’t even decided if she wanted to take anyone.

She unloaded the last of the cats from the carriers she brought from the Sanctuary to the tent they had built at the center of town square. It was a family of calicos, a mom and her two kittens—one was blind, the other deaf. It was the shelter’s hope that they would all be adopted together. It would be a shame to separate a family, especially siblings.

The dogs were all in special circular pens. The bigger breeds had a pen all to themselves. The medium breeds, including Triumph, who seemed big for his age, shared three to a pen. While the smaller dogs all shared the biggest pen. Most of the excited yips came from that side of the tent.

The cats were all in portable cages stacked on top of each other—three high. They had hammocks, toys, an endless supply of food, and fleece beds to keep them warm. Space heaters were also turned on inside the tent. The temperature had dropped overnight. Good thing everyone at the shelter had a contingency plan for just the case. Still no snow, though.

The inside of the tent was as much of a Christmas wonderland as they could make it without taking away from the fact that they were there to showcase the animals. There were sections where pet supplies could also be bought so families who adopt had a one-stop shop for everything they would need to ensure a comfortable home for their new member.

“We’re looking good,” Sharleen said as she stood next to Sabrina and scratched the calico mother behind the ear. The cat purred in pure delight, tilting its head into the affection. “The funds from yesterday’s Polar Run is more than enough to keep the lights on and the animals fed.”

“That’s good,” Sabrina said.

“I’m sensing you’re not too thrilled about that? You should be proud of what you have accomplished here. We couldn’t have done it without you.”

“It’s not that.” She sighed even after Sharleen bumped shoulders with her in solidarity. “I’m having boy troubles.”

“The one thing I can say is boys can be so stupid sometimes.” Sharleen winked at her. “Don’t let them get to you.”

She was right. Sabrina wasn’t the type to wallow about her situation. Yes, she was miffed about the bet. Regardless of who won, she was still in charge of her choices. If she didn’t want to take anyone then she wouldn’t. She’d be too busy helping with the auction to pay attention to a date that night anyway.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded and said, “Let’s get this thing started, shall we?”

Sharleen smiled. “And by the looks of the line outside, I think we stand a chance adopting out everyone today.”

“That’s the plan.”

Arm in arm, Sabrina and Sharleen stepped out of the tent. Mayor Stanley was already outside, ready to kick things off. The support staff would remain inside to assist once the crowd started pouring in. And what a crowd it was. The size was enough to take Sabrina’s breath away. There were more people than she expected—surely many of them from the surrounding towns and counties. Maybe even from as far away as Devon. It seemed something worked in their efforts to draw them all out that day.

Sharleen squeezed her arm. Sabrina shared a giddy smile with the nurse as she discreetly wiped a tear away. “How is this possible?” she whispered.

The nurse merely shrugged.

The mayor stepped in front of the podium. The Christmas season meant lots of speeches for Mayor Stanley. The Adopt-a-Thon was no exception. He spoke about the importance of pets. How they were more than just companions. They were family. Many heads in the crowd nodded. Once the speech was over, the flaps of the tents were opened and the hopeful children with their moms and dads wondered in. Sabrina and Sharleen were in charge of the door. They made sure to limit the number of people in the tent so the animals wouldn’t get overwhelmed. Every time someone walked out, with or without a pet carrier or a dog on a leash, they let a new batch in.

Sabrina always believed in Christmas miracles, but never had she truly seen magic in action than that morning. Her heart was full. The capacity for people to care reminded her that there was still good in the world. Gave her hope that she was on the right path. That saving special needs animals and finding them forever homes was her calling.

“Hey, Sabrina?”

Her breath hitched at the sound of Troy’s voice behind her.

“You go and fix your boy troubles,” Sharleen said. “I can handle the entrance for a couple of minutes.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, really not wanting to leave to deal with whatever Troy had to say.

“You’re due for a break anyway.” Sharleen shooed her away before she turned to a little girl who was looking for a cat to take home. The nurse pointed her and her mom toward the direction of the feline cages.

Steeling herself, Sabrina turned around and grabbed Troy’s arm. She led him out of earshot of the tent. Wouldn’t want to disturb the patrons and the animals in case she had to shout some sense into her ex.

“First of all, let me just say—”

“Nope.” Sabrina raised a hand in interruption. Troy shut his mouth. “Right now, I’m doing the talking.”

Troy nodded, dropping his gaze a second before lifting it to meet hers.

She breathed in and out, clearing her mind and making sure she wasn’t too emotional when she spoke. “What gave you the right to make that kind of a bet?” Troy was about to answer but she shook her head and he pressed his lips together. “You know what, I don’t even want to know.”

Taking a moment, she thought about what she really wanted to say and how she wanted to say it. She dug deep, exploring the feelings she once had for Troy. The answer was really simple when it came down to it.

“Troy, what we had was great,” she began.

“It was more than great,” he said. “You and I fit together, Sabrina. And I was a complete fool to let that go.”

“But you did let it go.” Her lips were a thin line of disappointment. “You let me go. All because you were afraid that we would break up in the end. You didn’t even give us a chance. I thought our relationship was stronger than the distance between us.”

“How many ways can I tell you that I regret that I did. That I was stupid.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “I made a mistake, okay?”

“Why are you the one getting mad?”

“I’m not—” Troy stopped himself. When he breathed in his nostrils flared. “It’s just how long are you going to punish me for what I did?”

“You think I’m punishing you?” Sabrina put a hand to her chest. “Troy, you’re the one who broke up with me. I had to deal with the heartbreak for a year. Even more. Then you decide that just because you regret what you did to come crawling back and asking us to get back together? It’s not that simple.”

He closed his hands around her arms and looked her in the eye. “But it is that simple. We can pretend like the breakup never happened. We can start over. Start from where we left off.”

Sabrina stepped out of his hold and shook her head. “But it’s not that simple. I can’t pretend that I didn’t mourn the loss of our relationship. I’ll probably carry that pain around whenever I remember that it happened. It’s not that easy to forget.”

The truth of her words seemed to hit Troy all at once. “What are you trying to tell me?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Yeah, but I need you to spell it out for me. Football’s given me too many brain injuries to completely understand what you’re saying.”

The joke, although funny, was ill-timed. This wasn’t the place to laugh when Sabrina’s chest was crumbing inside.

“Why do you have to joke when I’m trying not to cry?” she asked, blinking the rush of tears away.

“Because if I don’t then I’ll start crying and that’s the last thing you want to see.”

A small laugh left her. She hated that he still had the ability to make her feel better when all she wanted was to run away and bury her head in her pillow. The fact was, she and Troy shared some of the most important years of her life. She could never deny that he was her boyfriend. That her high school life was dominated by thoughts of him. But she was a grown woman now. About to start a new chapter. A first step into a new life.

As much as she was glad that Troy shared her high school years with her, she knew that he wasn’t the one to share the next stage in her journey. She had a whole new part of herself to explore.

“I’m sorry, Troy,” she said when she finally found the strength to speak without her voice wobbling like a loose wheel.

“No” was his firm response. “I won’t allow it.”

“You don’t have any control in what I chose to do.” Her words were just as firm.

“You have to at least give us one more chance. You owe us that.”

“Troy, you and I are over.”

“We can be great together again. Can’t you see that?”

In the middle of the Christmas fair? Pretty much the most beautiful place in Trevor in that moment? All Sabrina saw was the fear in Troy’s face. The same fear that she felt when she finally realized that he was breaking up with her over a year ago.

“I don’t know that.” She tried to smile but the corners of her lips wouldn’t stretch high enough to accomplish it. Something was pulling them down. “And I don’t think I want to explore what you and I can be. I think you were right.”

“About what?” His voice was softer, emptier.

“About us breaking up. Maybe it was the right thing to do.”

“Is this about Wakefield?”

Her eyes grew wide.

“Are you resisting getting back together with me because of him? Because you like him?”

“I can’t restart something with you when I know I’m falling for someone else.” There. She finally said it. “And I don’t think that’s any of your business. What we’re talking about here is between you and me. My liking him doesn’t belong here.”

“At least give me until New Year’s Eve to convince you that I’m in this.”

She shook her head. “Troy, don’t make this any harder than it already is.”

“But it’s Christmas.”

Stepping forward, Sabrina wrapped her arms around Troy’s waist and rested the side of her head against his chest. It took a second for the shock to wear off before he encircled her with his strong arms. The scent of him filled her every breath. She would be lying if she didn’t admit to the fact that a part of her will always miss him. Troy was a good boyfriend. But it would be cruel to the both of them to prolong something that was already over a year ago.

“There’s no real good time for something like this,” she said against his chest. She could feel the beating of his heart against her cheek. There was a time when she would have found great comfort in that sound. Now it was just a heart beating, nothing more. “I’m happy that we were together. That you were my boyfriend.”

“I’m happy that you were my girlfriend,” he said into her hair.

“Then let’s hold on to that.” She pushed back to look into his eyes. The eyes that she had looked up at countless times before. They were the same, but different somehow. She was no longer seeing them through the rose-colored glasses of love. “You will always hold a place in my heart.”

“You’re a hard one to forget Sabrina Fairbanks.” In his smile was real regret.

“I’m just that kind of girl, I guess.”

They shared a watery laugh. She shifted her weight onto her toes and placed a soft kiss against his cheek. She whispered “goodbye” into his ear. Then she backed out of his embrace and dried her tears as she walked away.

Walked right into Chris.