Puppy Love for Christmas

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Fifteen

Christopher grabbed onto Sabrina’s arms as a way to steady not only her but himself. The momentum of their impact as they were moving on opposite directions would have been enough to send one of them to the cold, hard ground. The curls on her head bounced as she looked up at him. Immediately, his eyes were glued to the moisture that turned her usually sea green irises a deeper shade of moss. Then he looked over her head toward a retreating Troy, who had his head down, shoulders hunched over, and hands in his pockets.

Christopher suppressed the sudden, caveman urge to find out what upset Sabrina, which involved punching first then asking questions later. Instead he reminded himself that he wasn’t a Neanderthal like Troy. He used his brain. The Christopher of yesterday was a fluke. A lost part of himself he didn’t ever want to explore. Not at the expense of hurting Sabrina.

“Hey,” he said, adding much needed positivity in his voice. “What a turnout. Congratulations!”

Sabrina let out a watery laugh, trying her best to discretely wipe away a stray tear that crawled down her face.

“You think so?” she asked, her tone stuffy like a nose suffering through a winter cold.

He smiled, pretending he didn’t see the tears. “At this rate? I think you’ll have all the animals adopted. The Sanctuary will be totally empty tomorrow.”

Sabrina shook her head. “There are still animals at the Sanctuary.”

He liked that her voice began returning to its normal tone and confident cadence. “Why? I thought the goal was to find everyone homes?”

“That is the goal.” She sniffed, gliding the side of her hand over her nose. Christopher produced a handkerchief and handed it to her. “Thanks.” She unfolded the square and blew into the two halves. Then she grimaced as if realizing what she had just done. “I’m so gross.”

“Who says? All I see is a beautiful woman.”

A small smile tugged at her lips. “When did you become so cheesy?”

He shrugged. “Maybe I’ve always been cheesy and you just didn’t notice.”

For a moment, the smile went away and she grew serious. Christopher was worried that he had said something wrong. Before he could apologize and change the topic, she beat him to it.

“I’m so sorry, Chris,” she said.

There was a second where Christopher thought there was a high probability that Sabrina would start crying again. But she rallied, taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders. He smiled in relief.

“What do you have to be sorry for? I’m the one who should be apologizing to you. That bet was dumb. It was totally not me. I should have never let Troy egg me on like that.”

“The bet was dumb.”

“Totally dumb. For a guy so smart, I should have known better.”

“You know what they say . . .” She paused, looking him in the eye.

“What?” he was forced to ask when it seemed like she wasn’t going to say anything more.

She gave him the brightest smile. “The more intelligent you are the less common sense you have.”

For that smile, she could have told him that he wouldn’t amount to anything and he still would have forgiven her. “I guess you’re right. Charlie always complains that I need to use more common sense.”

Sabrina glanced around at the sea of people. “Where is Charlie? I haven’t seen her since the race yesterday.”

“She went home.”

“What?” Her eyes grew wide. “Why? Was it something I said or did that made her go?”

“No.” Christopher rubbed her arms before he clarified, “Her job here was done, that’s all. I gave the last of the bracelets to the cats that need them and pendants that attach to collars for the dogs.”

“Really? I would have wanted to say good bye.”

“She’s just a call away. I can give you her number if you like.”

“Maybe later,” she said, sheepish. Then she rubbed a hand down the side of her face. “I’m still blown away by the number of people who came. I honestly didn’t think we would get this big a turnout.”

Christopher indicated the people. “When you said you were worried about the attendance for the Adopt-a-Thon, I put together a simple algorithm that would target an audience that was predisposed to owning special needs pets. A couple of emails in the right inboxes and voila.”

“You did all this?” The surprise on Sabrina’s face was all the reward Christopher needed.

“All I did punch a few keys on a keyboard.” He shrugged. “You’re doing most of the work.”

“You!” She put her hands on his shoulders and shook him. “You are my Christmas miracle!”

“Honestly, I don’t think I did enough.”

With a squeal of delight, Sabrina jumped up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders in the biggest hug of gratitude that Christopher had ever experienced. If this was a Hollywood movie, he would be twirling them around. Unfortunately, they were far from LA and there were too many people. The last thing they needed was to become a twirling hazard. Plus, his muscles were still in recovery mode. No heavy lifting allowed.

“Consider this my Christmas gift to you,” he said, laughing as she peppered his cheek with kisses.

“You never fail to surprise me, Christopher Wakefield.” She jumped back down to her feet and placed her hands on her hips. “I wish the other animals were ready.”

“Yeah, you were saying. Why aren’t they all inside the tent?”

“Some aren’t ready. Like cats that just gave birth or dogs that were just spayed.” Her face grew worried as she looked toward the tent. “Actually, Triumph shouldn’t even be in the tent since he’s a new arrival. But Sharleen says that since he’s come out of his shell and has gone through the process of adoption, he was ready like the rest that we brought out for the thon.”

He studied her expressive face. “I get the feeling that you don’t want Triumph to find a home today.”

“What?” Her shock at his question seemed genuine enough. “Of course, I want to find him a home. That’s the reason why we rescued him from that shelter in Devon. He deserves a home.”

Yet, the more she spoke, the less Christopher believed in the truth of what she was saying. It was like Sabrina’s lips were saying one thing but she actually meant something totally different. Still, who was he to argue with her? Finding all the animals in the tent a home was top priority so that the shelter could take in more animals in need of safe havens until they too found their forever homes. That was why Christopher was so invested in what Sabrina was doing. He shared her drive to help.

Speaking of helping, he said, “Why don’t we see if they need us in the tent? It looks like more people are arriving and the staff might not have enough time to answer all the questions aimed their way. Especially about the anti-anxiety tech.”

Sabrina nodded, but before she turned toward the tent, she said, “Thanks.”

“For what?”

“Not asking what that was about.”

She meant the tears. “Didn’t seem like you were inclined to share. But just know that I’m here.” And he was serious too. If she needed him he was there for her.

“I know.” She reached out.

At first, Christopher didn’t know exactly what she wanted. Then she wiggled her fingers. “Are you asking me to hold your hand?”

She rolled her eyes. He chuckled, taking her hand in his. It reminded him of the days when they used to wander the hotel at night, holding hands. No matter how well-lit, there was something spooky about a hotel at night.

“But, just so you know,” she began as they made their way toward the tent. “I’m not taking anyone to the Snow Ball.”

“I’m fine with that. I’m not taking anyone either. We can not take anyone together.”

She squeezed his hand, giving him a smile. He smiled back. Something had changed between them. He was sure of it. As to what that exactly was, he had no idea.

Sharleen smiled wide when they reached the tent flaps. “The calico family found a home.”

“All three of them?” Sabrina’s face lit up.

The nurse nodded. “They’re going to live on a farm where there are lots of places to explore and run and play.”

“That’s great,” Christopher said, his heart felt several sizes bigger than what his chest could possibly fit. He knew the value of having a pet. The love. Loyalty. Companionship. He’d give anything to have Einstein back. “Do they need us in there?”

“We need all the help we can get today,” Sharleen replied. “Who knew so many people would show up? I’m not complaining.”

“The turn out is all because of Chris.” Sabrina beamed.

“Really now?” Sharleen looked him up and down.

For the first time, Christopher dropped his head in embarrassment. “I just sent emails. You should thank Charlie. She’s the one who brought the tech here.”

“Still,” Sabrina admonished. “Don’t be modest. All these people are here because you thought about helping spread the word.”

“Either way, the Animal Sanctuary thanks you.” Sharleen waved them on in.

Sabrina let go of his hand as soon as they entered the tent filled with people. Christopher felt the separation but not in a negative way. He understood that she turned into work-mode. He watched her assess the situation. All he had to do was wait.

It didn’t take long for her to say to him, “Why don’t you check on the dogs and cats and see how many are left while I go over and see what needs doing over at the counter.”

“You got it.” He gave her a small salute before going to do what she had asked. If she had said he needed to turn in a circle ten times and sing Oh Holy Night at the top of his lungs, Christopher would have been hard pressed to say no.

He approached the pens and assessed the situation. There was only one large breed left. The Saint Bernard. People were usually intimidated by huge dogs when, really, they were big softies inside. Christopher wouldn’t mind taking the big guy home if he didn’t have to fly back to San Francisco in a couple of days.

The smaller dogs were more popular. The last one was already in the arms of a little boy who had the brightest smile on his face. The pug licked his cheek repeatedly, causing him to laugh while his parents looked on in adoration.

Christopher’s gaze wandered over to the mid-sized breeds. All but two had been adopted. His heart clenched at the sight of Triumph. His tail was wagging. He was trying to catch the attention of those passing by. Unfortunately, all they saw was his missing leg. Not that he was a happy dog who would make someone a wonderful companion. It broke his heart.

He approached the pen and dropped to a knee. When he reached out, Triumph immediately came near. Christopher scratched his ear. The dog sat, his tail thumping in delight.

“Don’t worry, buddy,” Christopher said, a lump in his throat. “We’ll find you a home.”

Triumph’s tongue lolled out of his mouth as if he was smiling. That was the thing about animals. Dogs especially. They didn’t let anything get them down. Not even having three legs stopped them. Triumph’s spirit remained intact and he continued to be hopeful. It was enough to bring Christopher to tears, but he held back the waterworks. It wouldn’t do anyone any good if he blubbered.

“He looks like a good dog,” a male voice said from behind him.

Christopher got to his feet and turned to see the jolly owner of the sweet shop. He was in his sixties and living alone. He reached out and they shook hands.

“Good day, Mr. Parsons,” Christopher greeted. Then he looked toward Triumph. “In the time I’ve spent with him? Triumph has been nothing but the best dog.”

“Why that name?” Mr. Parsons asked.

“Tri is for his three legs and umph because he doesn’t let missing a leg stop him from enjoying his life.” Christopher patted Triumph on the head. “He’d make a great best friend.”

“I’ve been lonely since Mary passed,” Mr. Parsons said, longing in his voice. “I thought maybe it was time to find myself a friend.” He reached out and Triumph came to him without hesitation.

A part of Christopher didn’t want the dog to go near the sweet shop owner. He wanted Triumph to only go to him. But that was completely crazy. He didn’t have time for a dog with his work schedule. And even if he did? His apartment didn’t allow animals.

Christopher swallowed. Sabrina never prepared him for how tough volunteering at the Animal Sanctuary would be. The only warning he had been given was not to get too attached. What good that did him now.

Mr. Parsons got down on one knee. He cradled Triumph’s adoring face in both his wizen hands. The dog’s mouth was open as if in a smile.

“You’re a good fella, aren’t you?” Mr. Parsons asked.

Triumph sat there, patient.

Christopher’s heart constricted when Triumph made eye contact with him right as Mr. Parsons said, “How’d you like to come home with me?”