Page 85 of Perfect Enough
“If I’m being honest, there’s nothing in that house for me or my mother. I think it does her more harm than good to stay there. As for me, I’m not a sentimental person when it comes to possessions. I don’t even have keepsakes or things I collect.”
I squeezed her hand. “A simple girl. Another reason to adore you.”
Her cheeks turned red, and she laughed softly. “You wouldn’t happen to know anyone who’s hiring, would you?”
At that moment, my phone went off with a text from my mother. “It’s Mom. Let me just make sure everything’s okay.” I pulled out my cell.
Mom: Joshua, you wouldn’t happen to know anyone who might be interested in being an assistant to Haven, would you?
Gaping at the text, I fought the urge to laugh. I looked at Sophia and asked, “Soph, do you like dogs?”
Confused by my random question, she replied, “I love dogs, I already told you that. I love all animals. Why?”
I let a smile spread slowly over my face. “I think I just found you a new job.”
Chapter Nineteen
SOPHIA
The young woman sitting across from me wore such a wide grin, her dimples were on full display. Her light brown eyes also seemed to shimmer. Either she was desperate for someone to hire, or she was genuinely a super upbeat person. Her ponytail even bounced around as she spoke. I instantly liked her.
“Josh told me you’re looking for a career change,” Haven Larson said as she leaned back in her chair and stroked the golden retriever sitting next to her.
Glancing at the chocolate lab besideme, I found myself doing the same thing. “I am. I’ve been dancing for as long as I can remember. I majored in dance, but I also do all of our accounting for the dance studio, as well as all of the ordering, class schedules, and social media accounts. I pretty much run the studio as well as dance.”
Haven still wore a smile. “And you know what it is that I do?”
It was my turn to smile. “Josh told me a little bit about it, yes. You own a bus, pick up pups daily, and take them for hikes.”
“That’s part of it. Let me tell you a little about myself and my plans.”
I hadn’t asked Josh, but Haven looked to be about the same age as me. From what Josh did tell me, Haven has had a dog-walking business since high school. I was dying to hear moreabout her future plans and if they included dogs. “I’d love that,” I said, excited to hear all about both. I wasn’t sure why, but I suspected the woman sitting across from me hadbigplans, and I suddenly wanted to be a part of them.
“I started my dog-walking business when I was in high school. I’ve always been a lover of dogs. All animals, really. I mainly started it to earn money to help my parents and maybe put some away for college. It was pretty clear college wasn’t in my plans, so I started saving as much as I could. My love for it also grew more and more, so I took classes on training dogs, then dog behavior, and so on. A few clients started asking me to help their dogs with basic training—sit, stay, and down. I really loved it, but it was clear to me training was not something I was in love with. Just being with the dogs is what made me the happiest.
“Then, instead of just going for short walks a couple times a day, I thought of picking up the dogs and taking them for more of an off-leash adventure. Hiking up into the mountains or to a lake. My parents helped me the best they could to buy an SUV, and I would pick them up in the mornings, and we’d go off on our adventures. A year or so later, I saw this couple on social media who’d bought a bus, and they’d pick up the dogs in that and take them off leash, and I thought, what a great idea. So, I saved up, traded the SUV in and bought my bus and signed up even more clients.”
“Do you go every day?” I asked.
“Yes, except for the weekends. My client list is growing fast, though, and I recently started doing two groups. My morning pups, and my afternoon pups. I hired someone to help me, Owen Williams. He drives the bus, and he also has much more experience training dogs, including the fancy degrees and whatnot, so I hope to expand the business to offer officialtraining soon through Owen. He’s a great guy and I think you’d like him.”
“That sounds exciting.”
A wide smile appeared on her lovely face again, and she suddenly got very giddy. “That’s not the most exciting part. My grandmother left me a trust fund, it’s not a whole lot of money, but with what I saved and what she left me, as well as some investors who are on board, I think I can make my next adventure a reality. I got the trust fund a year ago when I turned twenty-one. I’ve spent the better half of this year getting a business plan together, meeting with potential investors, and I hired an architect just yesterday! It’s Rose Robinson, actually. Josh’s sister. She’s expecting another baby in April, and I was worried she wouldn’t want to take on this project, but she did! The best part, she’s doing it all for a super big discount. She’s an animal lover as well.”
I smiled. “What’s the project?”
“I want to open—a dog park!”
I stared at her, waiting for more. When she didn’t say anything else, I asked, “A dog park?”
She giggled. “Not just any dog park, Sophia. The dog park to end all dog parks.”
Laughing, I said, “What makes it stand out from all the other dog parks?”
“Well, first, Hamilton onlyhasone dog park. It’s a nice park, but we can offer much more.”
“Such as?” I asked, genuinely curious. Her excitement was infectious.