Grace had instigated the program after hearing how it had started in a Seattle bookstore. Because of her own volunteer work at the animal shelter, it had immediately appealed to her. She’d checked with local grade schools and, not surprisingly, the idea had met with enthusiasm.
That was when Grace heard about Beth, who’d moved to Cedar Cove three years earlier. As soon as Grace approached her, Beth had responded with an unqualified yes. Despite the work on her Christmas tree farm, Beth faithfully brought the dogs into the library several times a week. Without her the program wouldn’t be possible.
“What’s up?” Grace asked, pushing aside her spreadsheets. After hours of staring at numbers, considering proposed budget cuts and trying to do more with less, she welcomed the break. It’d been a draining week and she looked forward to a relaxing weekend with her husband. They planned to go horseback riding along the beach on Saturday, maybe take in a movie Sunday afternoon.
“I need a favor,” Beth said, sitting down in the chair opposite Grace’s desk. She carefully set her picnic basket on the floor beside her.
“Anything.” Grace would never be able to repay Beth. Although the library program hadn’t been in operation long, Grace could already see a dramatic difference in the children. At first they’d arrived tense, uneasy about yet another reading exercise, but as soon as they saw the dogs, everything changed. Twice now she’d seen children from the program taking out books. Nothing could’ve been greater proof of Reading with Rover’s success.
“Do you remember the stray dog I found four or five weeks ago?”
Grace recalled that Beth had rescued a golden retriever she’d come across on the side of the road. The poor dog had no identification and she’d apparently been on her own for some time because she was in bad shape.
“Of course.”
“She was pregnant.”
“Pregnant?” Grace repeated slowly.
“The puppies were born a few days after I brought her home. She had a litter of five. Unfortunately, she didn’t make it. She was a lovely, sweet-tempered dog and it breaks my heart to have lost her.”
“Five puppies?” The fact that the lost dog had been a golden retriever instantly brought back memories of Grace’s beloved Buttercup. Buttercup had been almost twelve when she’d died quietly in her sleep that summer. Grace still couldn’t think about her dog without feeling a pang of grief. The golden retriever had loved her life on the ranch and had never seemed happier than when she and Grace took long walks through the property and along the shore. It didn’t seem right that Buttercup was gone. Even now when she got home from work, she expected the dog to greet her.
“So if you would, I’d be forever grateful,” Beth was saying.
Grace blinked. Caught up in her memories, she’d entirely missed most of Beth’s comments.
“If I would do what?” Grace asked.
“Look after one of the puppies for me,” Beth said, giving her an odd glance.
“Me? But…how?”
“He needs to be fed every couple of hours. I have a special bottle I’ll give you. In addition to the feeding, he’ll need lots of attention. This poor baby has lost his mother and he’s been separated from his brother and sisters. He’s lonely and afraid.”
“Beth, I couldn’t possibly take on the care of a puppy.” It was out of the question. “I have to be at work here in the library. I haven’t got the time, and Cliff’s constantly busy with the horses… .” Her voice drifted off. She didn’t add that she was still in mourning for her own dog and couldn’t take on another one right now. It was just too hard.
“I can’t do it by myself anymore,” Beth said. “Not with all the work on the tree farm. We’re gearing up for the holidays. We’re already getting orders and some trees are being shipped as far away as Hawaii and Japan. I’m overseeing all that, plus I’ve got the training and the library program, and I can’t stop to feed two puppies.” She paused. “I can barely handle one.”
“I’m sorry….”
Beth ignored her protest. “Suzette has one puppy and Kristen Jamey took another. A third went to a woman at church, and I have one myself, so that only leaves this last little guy. Unfortunately he’s the runt of the litter, smaller and more at risk than the others.”
“I’m sure you’ll find someone…else,” Grace said.
Suzette Lambert was an associate librarian, and Grace figured the library was well represented in the puppy-care department.
“I wouldn’t bother you if there was anyone else I could ask, and trust me, I’ve tried. I have nowhere else to turn. It’s just for a few weeks,” she said, her voice increasingly desperate. “I really need your help, Grace.”
Grace started to raise her objections again when Beth bent down to open the basket and lifted out a small puppy. He was so tiny he didn’t even look like a golden retriever. His eyes were squeezed shut against the light and he squirmed a little in Beth’s grasp.
“Can you tell the breed of the father?” Grace asked as a delaying tactic.
“My guess is that he was probably a mix. Some Lab, some hound and maybe a bit of poodle. It’s too early to really tell.”
An odd combination, although the puppy was golden like his mother…like Buttercup.
“But I have a lot of responsibilities at the library,” Grace said, hoping Beth would accept the excuse.
“Bring him with you. I’m sure he’ll be a hit with the children and they’ll enjoy seeing him grow week by week.”
“Just how long will I—will he need this extra care?”
“A month, six weeks at the most.”
“Then you’ll be able to adopt him out?”
Beth nodded. “Absolutely.”