Page 27 of Mother Clucker

I let out a breath. He’d signed in spite of David trying to talk him out of it. And I had a feeling I could thank Anna for that. She must have convinced him there were no evil intentions hidden in the contract.

I owed her. Big time.

Lowering the cell, I said, “So, I was wondering if I could start volunteering around here. Maybe a couple of times a week?”

“We’d love that. Let me introduce you to Emily. She coordinates the volunteer schedules.”

“Great. Thanks.”

Anna led me past the counter and I caught sight of the paper brochures. They looked like they’d been run on a copy machine. I grabbed one on my way by and cringed at the Comic Sans font. Then had to hold in my groan when I noticed a typo.

“Anna?”

She turned. “Yes?”

“Would you mind if I took a crack at redesigning your brochure? It’s kind of what I do for a living. Not graphic design, per se, but marketing.”

She let out a breathy laugh. “I would love that. It’s something I’ve been meaning to tackle but . . .”

“Not enough hours in the day?” I suggested.

“More like not a creative bone in my body.” She smiled. “Anything you did we’d be so grateful for.”

“And I’d be more than happy to do it. I can definitely help you with your publicity.”

“Let me run back and grab Emily for you. She can give you a tour and introduce you to the other volunteers.”

“Perfect. Thank you.”

As she disappeared into a back hallway, I folded and tucked the paper brochure into my back pocket.

Now that worrying about David sinking our show idea was off my plate, I could work on getting him and his darn pecs out of my head by burying myself in brochure layouts tonight on my laptop.

Perfect. Clear head. Clear goal. Just how I liked it. I was happy . . . then another text came through my cell.

I expected it to be Lucy again, following up. I wasn’t expecting to see David Strickland’s name appear on my screen.

DAVID: Drew signed your contract so you can stop hating me now.

Eyes narrowed, I typed a reply.

HEATHER: Don’t worry. I have more reasons.

A row of laughing emojis was his reply. And just like that, he’d managed to wipe out the Zen state I’d achieved.

The man didn’t understand what a show could do for him. If he agreed to be part of the production, and if it got picked up and became a hit, Strickland Feed would get huge amounts of free promo. It was a lot of ifs but the investment in time would be well worth it for the payout.

But no, David Strickland was too stubborn to admit my idea was a good one.

Dang it. Where were those puppies for me to pet?

I wandered to the bulletin board as I waited. Pinned up on the cork board were all sorts of flyers, some printed, some handwritten. All showing more animals in need of homes, both young and old. And Anna had said the shelter was already at full capacity.

The wheels in my mind began to turn.

They needed to get the word out. I knew they had a basic website. It was how I’d found them in the first place. But I hadn’t looked if they had a social media presence.

Cat and dog pictures were like gold on Instapost. If they didn’t have an account yet I was going to set one up for them. More than that, I was going to make sure it was filled with heartwarming posts and stories, even if I had to come and take the pictures and videos myself.

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