Page 87 of Perfect Enough
I shook my head. “I’d like to step away from dance for a bit. It’s been my passion for so long, but I need a change. I need to breathe life into something new. If you wouldn’t mind going over your business plan, and maybe we can set up a meeting with the other investors, and if you wouldn’t mind, my lawyer. But please know that I understand this should be something you think about as well. We just met, and I’m basically offering to partner with you.”
Reaching for my hand, she squeezed it. “I love this idea, and I don’t mind setting up the meeting at all. This is a huge investment in both money and time and yes, we did just meet, but I know I like you already.”
Smiling, I returned the squeeze. “Then what’s our next step?”
“A normal person would say we should meet with the lawyer, but I think the first step needs to be you meeting the dogs. Are you free Friday to join us on the bus?”
A bubble of excitement nearly burst free as I nodded and replied, “I’m free Friday, yes! Tell me where and what time, and I’ll be there.”
“This is our bus!” Haven said as she opened her arms to indicate the blue bus parked outside the coffee shop where she’d told me to meet her. Painted in white on both sides of the bus was ‘The Ruff Ride’.
A gentleman who appeared to be a few years older than me stepped out of the bus. He was tall, well built, and cute, with dark blonde hair, hazel eyes, and a killer smile.
“This is Owen Williams. Owen this is Sophia Montgomery.”
Owen reached for my hand and shook it. “It’s nice to meet you, Sophia.”
“Likewise,” I said with a smile.
Haven was grinning and I wanted to ask Owen if she was always this damn happy. I had a feeling she was.
“Let’s go inside, and I’ll give you a quick tour before we pick up our AM pups.”
Once inside the bus, I saw that each seat had a set of straps with a hook. “I take it you hook the dogs in?”
“Yes, each dog knows where they sit, and they’ll jump right up and into their seats.”
I laughed, and Haven raised a brow. “You’ll soon see. Back here is the treat bucket. After we do our off-leash walks, each pup gets a treat.”
I nodded.
“That’s it. Let’s go get our pups! Friday is our light day and we have less pups.”
Haven wasn’t kidding when she said each dog knew where to sit. A couple of the dogs were waiting in their front yards for the bus, and when the doors opened, they ran in, jumped in their seats, and anxiously waited to be buckled in. Of course, every single one had to briefly stop and sniff me first. Newcomer and all. They had picked up five dogs, which was light according to Haven. They normally had around nine to twelve Owen had told me.
Once we got to the area where Haven was taking the dogs for a walk, she pulled out a vest-type backpack that had all these connectors attached to it and leashes.
“This is how we start when there’s a risk of other people being here. Once we get down the trailhead some, I’ll take them off the leashes. The most important part of this is being able to recall every single dog if there is someone else on the path. Most of them will poop and I’ll collect it all and leave it here to throw out on the way out.”
Staring at her, I asked, “You’re going to latch all five dogs onto you at one time? Aren’t you afraid they’ll all take off running with you attached?”
She laughed. “Trust me, they all listen very well. And five is nothing. Ready?”
Nodding, I helped her get the pups off the bus and on to her impressive leash belt. Each dog listened like little angels. About a hundred yards down the trail, after Haven finally let the five dogs off their leashes, they all went in different directions. Howshe managed to find all the poop was beyond me. It was clear this wasn’t her first time.
“You’re not afraid one will run away?”
She shook her head. “See the German shorthair? He has an e-collar on because if one of them is going to bolt, it would be that one, but he isn’t a bolter. It took him a few weeks to learn he needed to stay with the group. Right here?” She held up what looked like a small remote. “This is the buzzer. It vibrates, so if he’s wandering off, I just give him a buzz and he comes back.”
Monty, the black lab with more energy than the Energizer bunny, ran past me for what had to be the tenth time since we’d taken him off his leash.
“Is he always so full of energy?” I asked Haven, who looked up at me from where she was squatting down, petting a chocolate lab. He had gray around his mouth and was clearly loving the one-on-one attention. I couldn’t for the life of me remember his name.
“Monty? Yes. He just turned one, so he’s still in his puppy phase. Old Duke here, though, is thirteen, and he likes his walks to be less of a chaotic scene. But don’t let his age fool you. He still has some pep in his step. He just likes to save it until it’s time to get back on the bus.”
Old Duke! That’s what it was.
“Really?” I asked as I stepped out of the way for Piper, a golden retriever, and Lou, another golden. They were chasing each other and living their best lives.