Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87260 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Looking at Rosie in confusion, she shrugged. “I didn’t even know she was back in town until this very minute. Mom is going to be pissed you didn’t come to the house yet.”
Lizzy laughed. “I was already home and shared my good news with them. Mom told me it was girls’ night out tonight. That’s why I’m here!”
Rosie watched her sister as she bounced on her toes. “Well, tell us!”
Holding out her hand, Lizzy showed off a massive diamond engagement ring. “I’m getting married!”
Rosie screamed, Lizzy screamed, and I jumped in shock.
“I had the same reaction,” Josephine Carter said in my ear. Turning to see another one of my best friends from high school, I pulled her into a hug. She was also dressed to the nines in a beautiful dress that almost looked out of place in our local bar. She was rocking the look, though. Her dirty blonde hair was cut in a short bob, and her hazel eyes sparkled with pure happiness.
“Josephine! I had no idea you were in town.”
She laughed. “I came to visit my parents for Thanksgiving and decided to stay the whole week! I ran into Lizzy at the airport in Missoula and caught a ride with her. We exchanged numbers, and she said everyone was coming out tonight, so I thought I would join. I’m exhausted from the flight in from New York City, though.”
“I bet that’s a long flight,” I stated as Josephine and I followed Rosie and Lizzy to a large table toward the back. “Do you live in New York City now?”
Wrapping her arm in mine, she laughed. “Yes, and I love it! I can’t believe we lost touch after high school. So much has happened in my life! I finished college in Boston and moved to New York after getting a job with a law firm.”
“Wow, what are you doing there?”
“I’m a paralegal, and I love my job. Oh, Haven, living in a big city like New York has been so fun. My apartment is so tiny and costs a small fourtune, but it’s worth it. One day I’ll go back to school and become a lawyer; right now, I’m just enjoying life in the big city.”
Smiling, I sat down in the chair next to the one Josephine had sat in, instantly realizing that I didn’t have much in common with these people from high school, not that I ever did, though.
“What about you? Did you ever go to college? Are you still living here in Hamilton?”
“No,” I said with a shake of my head. “Never could afford college. I grew my dog walking business and now take dogs out for hikes in a bus I bought. We go out twice daily with different groups of dogs, and I take them on different trails.”
She smiled. “You always did love your dogs. I think that’s amazing you’ve grown your little dog-walking business into something like that.”
“That’s not all!” Rosie said. “She is opening a dog park and has donors and everything. It’s going to be incredible!”
Lizzy and Josephine both looked at me. “A dog park?” Lizzy asked, her nose wrinkled in disgust. “Why?”
I moved in my seat and silently wished I had stayed home now. I loved Rosie and Josephine, but Lizzy I could permanently do without her and her judgy ways.
“It’s not just any dog park,” Rosie went on. “It will be a membership-only dog park, and the best dog park in Hamilton. Hell, the state of Montana!”
I wanted to kiss Rosie. She had always been such a champion of mine, and I loved her for always coming to my defense.
Turning to Lizzy, I replied, “It made sense to me to open one. My dog-walking business has expanded, and I saw a need for a safe place for the dogs to go and play. Not everyone wants to let their dog go on a bus and hike a trail with a large group of dogs.”
“Oh my God. You walk that many dogs?” Josephine asked, her hand over her heart. “How do you control them all?”
I gave a half-shoulder shrug. “They’re all trained and listen well. They’re also all off-leash when we’re hiking.”
“And it is so much fun!” Rosie added. “I’ve gone out with Haven a few times. The dogs are living their best lives.”
Lizzy slowly shook her head. “I guess if being with animals all day is your thing. I couldn’t imagine as that sounds literally gruesome.”
I forced a smile. “Well, dogs are often more pleasant to be around than humans, if I do say so myself. So, what are you up to these days, Lizzy?”
She sat up straighter in the chair. “I own a boutique in the Bay Area.”
“That’s amazing,” I said before giving the waitress my order. “Just a draft beer. Anything will be fine.”
I thought about Nate and his draft beer at his bar in his family room and smiled.