“Should I call you when I’m back?”

She gave a quick shrug. “Up to you. Have a good trip.”

He sighed loudly enough for her to hear. “I don’t think I can.”

She turned to face him with a tentative smile. “No, I mean it, James. I want you to have a good trip.” She felt his gaze follow her as she descended the steps and walked to her car. She didn’t look back.

As she pulled out of Teri’s driveway, she couldn’t help wondering if she’d just rejected a marriage proposal from the only decent man who’d ever asked her.

Six

On Thursday, Grace hurried into the Pot Belly Deli five minutes late. She’d arranged to meet Olivia for lunch at noon, but she’d had to deal with a patron’s inquiry. She didn’t like to keep her friend waiting.

Now that Olivia had finished her chemo, she was on the way to remission. She’d given herself the summer off to regain her strength before returning to the courthouse, where she was a family-court judge.

“Sorry I’m late,” Grace said, sliding into the chair across from her best friend.

“I took the liberty of ordering for you.”

Grace smiled. “Oh, good. What am I having for lunch?”

“Cream of potato soup and a green salad with ranch dressing on the side. No scone.”

Olivia knew her likes and dislikes, which stood to reason after forty-some years of friendship. “And you?” Grace asked.

“A salad and scone.”

Grace threw her friend an accusing look. Olivia was still far too thin; she needed more than just a salad.

Olivia grinned. “And a slice of double chocolate cake.”

“Excellent.”

“With two forks.”

“Even better.”

“So, are you ready for Rover?” Olivia asked.

Grace leaned back in her chair. After months of preparation, the Reading with Rover program was about to launch at the library. She’d worked hard to get it set up. Children with below-grade-level reading abilities could come to the library, where they’d be paired with a dog. The dogs made the reading environment nonthreatening; kids could read simply for enjoyment. With a dog—and a silent companion—as their audience, they didn’t risk being embarrassed in front of their teachers or peers. Children loved dogs, and the dogs loved them back. She’d learned about the program in a professional journal and been intrigued.

“Am I ready?” Grace said, repeating the question. “I think so. I won’t know until this afternoon. So far, I have two teenage volunteers and two adults from the community.”

“How many dogs?”

“We’re starting with six dogs and six children between the ages of seven and eleven. They’re all at risk schoolwise.”

“The superintendent’s on board?”

“Oh, yes. The superintendent herself told me she’s impressed with the idea.”

Olivia reached for her tea. “I’m absolutely enthralled with the whole thing.”

“Me, too, and I’m so glad they all came from the animal shelter.”

Olivia glanced up. “Aren’t they trained? I thought you told me they were.”

“Well, yes, they are. Beth Morehouse chose the dogs from the shelter and then trained them as therapy dogs. She does wonders with these animals. She’s been taking them into nursing homes and hospitals for the past couple of years.”

“Beth Morehouse? You’ve mentioned her, but we’ve never met. She wasn’t at the fundraiser, was she?”

“No, she was out of town, working with a dog owner in Seattle.”

“Tell me about her.” Olivia grimaced. “You’ve probably told me before but, you know—chemo brain.”

Grace was well aware that chemotherapy often resulted in a mental fog that could take months or even years to lift.

Grace nodded sympathetically. “She moved into the area a few years back. She’s a divorced mother of two and a dog trainer by profession. She already had three dogs of her own and then adopted the others…and it sort of grew from there.”

Grace had met Beth while working as a volunteer at the animal shelter. When she discovered Beth had therapy dogs, it seemed natural to use them in the Reading with Rover program. Grace had first spoken to Beth in early winter, and the other woman had immediately caught her vision and agreed to help.

“I’m excited about it,” Grace said. Not only did she love bringing new programs into the library, but this one had felt right from the moment she’d heard of it. Now, after months of planning, she was about to see it come to fruition.

“I know it’s going to go well,” Olivia said with unwavering confidence.

“I hope you’re right.”

“Do I detect a note of hesitation?” Olivia asked.

Having been friends all these years, Olivia knew her better than anyone, even Cliff. “Not hesitation, exactly. I’m a bit concerned about the two high school volunteers.”

The waitress brought their meals and they both started to eat.

“One is Tanni Bliss and the other is Kristen Jamey,” Grace said after a spoonful of soup. “Those two are about as different as any two teenagers can be. Kristen is a cheerleader and I understand she’s well liked. Tanni, on the other hand, goes out of her way to avoid hanging out with the popular crowd. I know from her mother that she’s had a rough time of it since her father died and pretty much isolates herself. I just hope Tanni and Kristen can work together.”

“What makes you suspect they can’t?”

Grace wasn’t sure how to explain it. “At the first volunteer meeting, I saw how Tanni looked at Kristen, like she thought the time I spent training Kristen was a complete waste. She as much as said so—she hinted that after a couple of weeks, Kristen would be gone. Kristen pretended not to hear, but she did and I could tell she was offended.”

Olivia paused with her fork next to her plate. “Why would Tanni take such a strong dislike to Kristen?”

“She seems to view Kristen as an airhead who’s gotten involved because she needs a volunteer project on her college application. Tanni implied Kristen wasn’t going to get into college on her grades alone. She’s a cheerleader, very cute and bubbly, and Tanni isn’t that type. Like I said, the two are total opposites.”

“She’s recently lost her father, so my guess is that Tanni’s dealing with depression.”

“I think so, too.” Grace hoped the program would provide Tanni with some encouragement—and that the girls would keep their mutual dislike out of the library.

At three-thirty that same afternoon, Grace was surrounded by dogs and kids and mild chaos as the children were matched up with their new canine friends.

“Kristen,” Grace said, “I want you to work with Mimi and Aubrey.” Mimi was a mixed breed, part Pomeranian and part something else she couldn’t identify. Aubrey was a first-grader who clung to her mother’s hand until she was introduced to Mimi. Grace found it gratifying to see how quickly the youngster responded to the dog.

Kristen led the girl to a fairly secluded area by the window, where the lighting was good. Together Aubrey and Kristen sat down on the carpet. Mimi snuggled up next to Aubrey and placed her chin on the little girl’s knee.

“Tanni, I’m going to assign you to Boomer and Tyler.”

“You got it.” The girl nodded and led seven-year-old Tyler and Boomer to the opposite end of the area reserved for the program. Boomer was a golden retriever who reminded Grace of Buttercup, her own dog.

Grace couldn’t help noticing that Tanni moved as far away from Kristen as she could, which didn’t surprise her.

She paired the two adults with two children and two dogs each, but those children were older—ten and eleven, eight and ten, respectively.

Grace stood back and waited. Her research indicated that the children felt more comfortable reading aloud to the dogs than to adults and achieved higher reading levels with practice, which of course made sense. Research showed that being with dogs enhanced their social skills and helped overcome shyness. Watching the children interact with the animals, she witnessed a startling—and very rapid—transformation in each child. She smiled as Boomer, the golden retriever, looked up at Tyler with his big brown eyes and actually held the book open with his paw pressed across the top of the page.

Grace had learned that various bookstores as well as libraries across the continent participated in programs very similar to this. In fact, one large Seattle bookstore brought therapy dogs into the children’s section twice a month. Apparently other bookstores were starting to do the same thing.

Grace only hoped that the reading program at the Cedar Cove library would prove to be as popular and as rewarding.

The thirty minutes seemed to flash by. She moved silently from one reading group to another. It was important that the children feel relaxed and at ease; the volunteers were there to oversee the kids and dogs, but once the children were set up with books, they were to quietly extract themselves and watch from a distance, letting the children read to “their” dogs alone.

Grace joined Kristen after she’d left Aubrey. “What do you think?” she asked.

Kristen’s pretty face lit up with a smile. “Aubrey took to Mimi right away. It was amazing. Did you notice how Mimi cuddled up to Aubrey? It was so sweet.”

From the corner of her eye, Grace noticed as Tanni made a face. Kristen saw it, too. Grace saw a flicker of pain in the girl’s eyes. She didn’t say anything but Grace knew Tanni’s look of contempt had hurt.

When the children were finished, Beth Morehouse collected the dogs and walked them out of the library, with Kristen and Tanni’s help.

Tanni returned to retrieve her backpack. “Do you have a minute?” Grace asked, stopping her.

“Yeah, sure.”

Grace led the way into her small office. “How did you feel the first session went?” she asked, gesturing for Tanni to take the seat across from her.

The teenager slouched down in the chair. “All right, I think. Tyler and Boomer seem to be a good match. I was surprised by how easily Tyler felt comfortable with such a big dog. He’s small for his age and I was afraid a golden retriever might intimidate him, but that wasn’t the case.”

“Beth suggested the pairings.”

“A couple of times I wanted to jump in and correct Tyler, but I knew that’s not what I’m supposed to do.”

“Great.” The children needed to gain self-confidence and self-esteem. That wouldn’t happen if the volunteers intervened and corrected their pronunciation.

Tanni reached for her backpack, which she’d dropped at her feet when she sat down.

“I had another reason for asking to speak to you,” Grace said, broaching the subject carefully. “It’s about Kristen.”

Tanni frowned. “What about her?”

“Do you dislike her?”

The girl shrugged. “Not really.”

“Do the two of you have a history I should know about?”

Tanni stared down at the floor and shook her head. “No.”