Page 1 of Embers of You
CHAPTER 1
Sutton
Sitting on a hard,scratchy hotel bed in the middle of nowhere, I can’t help but wonder where I went wrong in my life to end up here. Was it the people I chose to associate with? My supposed best friend and even my family.
Bennet, my Landseer Newfoundland lays next to me on the bed, looking up with his big, dark brown eyes almost like he’s asking the same internal question.
What are we doing?
“I don’t even know, buddy,” I tell him while I brush my fingers through his thick fur and scratch behind his ear. “But I’m figuring it out.”
Dogs are so expressive, and I can tell he trusts me. Unconditional loyalty is something only a dog can give. Humans can be such shit. They lie and cheat, a dog would never. At the end of the day most people are only looking out for themselves.
Sighing, I open my laptop to search for a place that would be a good fit for us. I’ve driven us over seven hundred miles away from Los Angeles. I think we are just outside of Medford,Oregon, at least that’s the last sign I remember seeing. I have no idea where we’re going, or what we’ll do when we get there. I just know that staying in L.A. wasn’t an option anymore. As far as I’m concerned, there isn’t a place on the planet that could be far enough from the people I’ve chosen to leave in my past.
As soon as I found out just how deeply the betrayal ran, I packed up everything, including Bennet, and left my parents’ house. Living there while I saved money for a place of my own wasn’t worth having to accept that level of deception.
I open up the dog groomer group I’m a part of to look for any job openings. Anything will do; I just need to find something soon because I don’t want to stay in this motel room much longer.
One particular post catches my eye, and I’m not even sure why. Some posts have fancy pictures, big words, exciting language. Not this one. This one is simple.
DOG GROOMER WANTED
We’re a small shop in a small town in Washington.
Great view while you work.
Flexible schedule.
Message if you’re interested.
P.S. We have a bird.
A good view, flexible, and a bird? Why not?
I send a message and see the owner of the post is located in Amity, Washington. I assume that’s where the shop is located and decide to look up places to rent nearby.
After researching the town, I realize it’s on the coast, but several pictures include a lot of mountains. I wonder if the ‘great view’ is either one of those. My last shop was in the middle of the L.A. chaos and a small beachside town sounds way calmer. Exactly what I need.
Considering it’s close to the middle of the night, I don’t expect a response from the grooming salon owner, Trish, but I’m proven wrong when my phone lights up while I’m scanning through rentals.
Trish: When can you start?
She doesn’t even know anything about me, and wants to offer me the job already?
Sutton: Do you want to see any of my grooms first?
Trish: Sure.
I hit send on some pictures of a few of my favorite grooms I’ve done. There was a regular standard poodle whose owner let me get really creative. I add a couple more basic grooms with a Schnauzer, Cocker Spaniel, and a Scottish Terrier.
The pictures have just barely gone through when another message pops up.
Trish: When can you start?
There’s no way she looked at the pictures yet, but I’m not about to give up this opportunity.
Sutton: Friday?
