Page 39 of 15 Summers Later

“Yeah. I have a nice cargo area. I figured I’d take a package of hot dogs and see if that might draw them in.”

“Need me to come with you?”

“No. I’ll see if my grandson wants to take a ride up in the mountains. Maybe we’ll take the fishing rods. Kill two birds.”

“Or kill a few fish, anyway.”

He smiled. “Never hurts to try. Need me to feed that little thing?”

“That would be helpful. Thanks.”

She poured the milk substitute into a bowl and handed him a dropper. Ed was one of her most reliable volunteers, always willing to do whatever was needed.

A retired engineer in his midseventies, he had moved here from the Seattle area with his wife to be closer to his daughter and her family. Sadly, his wife had died of a stroke a few years ago.

She strongly suspected he might have a bit of a thing for another volunteer, Ada Duncan, though he treated her with the same teasing charm he did everyone else.

Sometimes she wondered if Ed was her mysterious benefactor, the donor who had given the seed money for her to take the shelter to the next level. It was possible. He lived in a beautiful log home on some acreage, and she gathered he had a healthy retirement income. She had once heard him talking about investments with another of the volunteers.

Ed had never given her any clue that he was the one responsible for the gift, but she still couldn’t help but wonder. Who else would have been so generous?

She spent the next few hours working on paperwork, scheduling social media posts and organizing the volunteer schedule for the coming weeks.

Finally, tired of office work, she decided to take the puppies out to explore the fenced play area. She carried them out in batches of two and was taking the final pair out when she spotted Sierra Gentry pulling up beside the play area on her bike. Her eyes were suspiciously red and she looked upset.

Madi greeted Luke’s daughter with a sympathetic smile. “I didn’t think I would see you today. I heard about Zoe going to stay with her dad.”

“What am I supposed to do all summer without her?”

“She’s not your only friend. You have Mariko and Yuki and others.”

“I know. And I love my other friends. I do. But Zoe is mybestfriend. My ride or die, like you and Aunt Nicki. I’m going to miss her so much.”

Madi felt a wave of gratitude for Nicole, who had befriended her in the early days after her injury, when she was still in rehab and Nic herself had been grieving.

She had come weekly to visit her while she was in the rehabilitation center, then when Madi moved here to Emerald Creek to live permanently with Leona, Nicki would come every day after school to keep her company.

She suspected visiting her had been therapy for Nicki, as well, who was mourning her father and struggling through the trauma of that day.

“And we’re going to have to go through all of this again next summer! It sucks,” Sierra complained.

“I know it’s hard and you’ll miss her. But you can video chat all day long if you want. And you have plenty to keep you busy here in town, right? You’re helping at the vet clinic and you can volunteer here as often as you want.”

“Yeah. That’s true.” She let herself into the enclosure and sat on the grass. One of the chubby black Labrador-mix puppies plopped in the grass next to her and Sierra smiled, though her eyes remained watery.

The creatures were pretty hard to resist, Madi thought.

One of the puppies came over and tugged at Madi’s shoelace and she smiled as she redirected it by throwing a ball.

“I felt so bad after Zoe left for the airport, all I could think about was coming out here and snuggling one of these little guys.”

“You’re welcome anytime you need doggy hugs.”

“Thanks, Mad.” Sierra picked up the chubby, cuddly puppy and held him up to her face. “They’re all so cute. I don’t know how you can ever give them up to a new home.”

“They would much rather be in a loving home than here. We have to make sure we find the best placements for them.”

“Are you doing an adoption day?”

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