Everything is perfect, the dogs are all groomed, and even have either a bow tie for the male dogs or a girl Christmas sweater, well for the female dogs. They look so cute, I squeal in delight.
“Miss Kori?” I hear Colton question. I turn around not bothering to hide how happy I am with how things are looking.
“Hey Colton, is everything okay?” I ask.
“Oh yeah, just wanted to let you know the snacks and drinks are ready to go. We set them up by the reception desk that way the dogs won’t be tempted,” he tells me.
“Thank you, anything you need me to do?” I may be the boss, but I never think of myself as superior. I’m more of a team player than that.
“Everything’s ready, but I’ll uh, uh warn you. Um. Kori, I don’t think you realize how big this is. We have cars already in the parking lot and it’s completely full.” He says with a blush coming across his face. I’m wondering why he’s so nervous. I’ll have to ask Nate if he knows something or someone that could make him blush like that.
“Eeep! That is so exciting, well let’s open the doors and let the festivities begin. Hopefully Nate will be here before too long in case we need another set of hands,” I tell him as we walk with each other back to the front of the building.
Colton wasn’t kidding when he said it’s busy. We’re essentially slammed. Volunteers are walking with potential adoptive pet parents, and some are already filling out forms for their background check.
The next few hours fly by. I look down at my watch and realize the time. I didn’t think Nate would take this long with his errand, it’s enough to make me worry. I take my phone out and send him a quick text.
Hey, I hope everything’s okay. The shelter is doing amazing, can’t wait until you’re here.
I put my phone away and get back to work. Hopefully Nate is finishing up and will be here soon, the need to celebrate with Nate is all encompassing.
We all continue our work and are even able to adopt out quite a few dogs today.
26
Nate
When I saw Kori’s text, I was tempted to text her back, but I knew what would happen if I did. The beans would be spilled, by none other than myself.
I met with the realtor to buy our forever home, it’s part of Kori’s and my plan. Well one we’ve talked about repeatedly. I finished signing the papers, and then I sped out of the realtor’s parking lot getting to Kori as fast as I could.
When I get to the shelter, I’m floored. It’s not just busy, it’s slammed. I couldn’t be prouder of my girl. There’s nothing she can’t do, once she puts her mind to it, it’s a done deal.
I barely make it into the reception area before I see her coming at me, her arms are in the air, her curls are wild and free, but the look on her face. I can’t help but think I was part of the reason her smile seems to be permanently etched on her face these days.
“Nate! This is so amazing,” she squeals as she jumps into my arms. Her legs wrap around my hips, and if half the town, plus neighboring town weren’t here, I’d steal her away and have my wicked way with her, again.
Instead, I slowly lower her to the ground, but not before giving her lips a quick peck.
“I’m so proud of you, Kori, you have no idea, and this is just the beginning,” I say into her ear.
“Gah, I love you,” she says to me and turns to head back to where she was working.
“Love you, beautiful. I’ll go help Colton,” I suggest.
“Oh, that reminds me. I think he may have a girl coming today. He was blushing all kinds of colors earlier today,” her smile is bright and cheery.
“Kori,” I grumble.
“What, I wouldn’t be a good aunt if I didn’t know these things,”
“Arrow to my heart, beautiful. The way you look after him, I couldn’t ask for more,” I respond.
“You don’t ask for anything, though. Now, I’m not asking for all the details, but if he says something, I wouldn’t mind knowing a detail or two.” She gives me a wink and then walks away.
I head towards Colton with my own smile. She may want the details, but one thing is for sure, I’ll be having a talk with Colton. He’s almost at the age of driving and girls may be on his radar, but so is college. His head is back on his shoulders, but still, I want to reaffirm a few things with him.
“Hey bud,” I say when I come up to him. He’s taking two dogs out of their kennel to run in the grassy area.