Ellis grinned at her, the compliment warming her from the inside. “Thanks, K.”
Chapter Five
The day had started off crappy for Barkathon. Not freezing, but rainy. Then just gray and damp. April showers at their best. But the forecast called for sun later, and Cherry did her best not to let the lack of sunshine get her down. She needed to post some content. It’s why she was there.
The shelter consisted of three buildings. The main headquarters housed cats and dogs that were up for adoption. Then off to the left was a huge barn where livestock were kept, horses and pigs and cows that had been surrendered or rescued and were in need of new homes. To the right was the smaller goat enclosure, always a big draw for the kids. Between the main building and the barn, there was a row of tents and tables where all the Barkathon vendors were, selling their wares, chatting up attendees, stopping to pet the dozens of dogs that people brought on leashes to walk around the property.
She wandered around, taking various shots of people, animals, booths. She’d go through it all later and decide what to use, what to stockpile for a later date, that kind of thing. She’d learned about stockpiling from Andi, because there would always be days when she either had no time to come up with content or her creativity was nowhere to be found. Those were the days to dig into her stockpile and find something to post.
Glad she’d put her hair in a ponytail so the dampness couldn’t send it into frizztastic status, she held the phone in front of her and checked her look. Not too made-up, but not barefaced, she gave a nod and hit record, then slowly walked down the aisle of vendors, white tents on either side of her.
“I’m at Junebug Farms today where they’re holding their annual Barkathon to raise money. Junebug is a no-kill shelter here in Northwood, and I’ll show you around as we go. If you could send them some cash, even five bucks, it would go a long way to helping the animals here find their forever homes. Donation link’s in my bio.” She stopped recording, then went through the plan she’d laid out in her head when she’d first arrived. Then she’d put it all together later and post. She got to work, took shots in all the planned places—spots with the best lighting and the most interesting compositions. Then she took a few selfies as she wandered and used her selfie stick a couple times to make it look as if somebody else had taken the shot—her sweetie. She was just finishing up outside when somebody spoke behind her.
“Hey, you.” Cherry turned toward the familiar voice to see Andi smiling and waving at her. In one hand, she had a leash with a black and brown dog who looked to be a beagle mix of some sort. With the other, she held hands with a very pretty fair-skinned woman with hair to die for that Cherry recognized from Andi’s posts as her wife, Julianne.
“Hey, you,” Cherry said and wrapped Andi in a hug. “I forgot you said you were coming.” She turned to Andi’s wife, who was smiling at her. “And you must be Julianne. I have heardso muchabout you. It’s nice to finally meet you in person.” She reached out a hand and Julianne shook it.
“I could say the same to you.” Her eyes were kind, and her smile was soft.
“And this must be the famous Auggie,” Cherry said as she squatted down. Hearing his name, Auggie’s tail started to wag, and he stuck his face right in hers, then licked her chin enthusiastically. “Aw, who’s a good boy? Is it you? Is it?”
They chatted for a bit, talked about the event and shots they’d taken, posts they had in mind. Cherry actually liked when they discussed their thoughts on posts when they were at the same event because then she could make sure hers weren’t the same. Andi had way more followers, but they also had many in common. The last thing Cherry wanted was people thinking she copied Andi’s content. It was great that Andi was so open with advice and guidance, but Cherry was her own person who did her own thing, and she wanted that to be clear to anybody who checked out her socials.
They said their good-byes, and Andi and her wife headed toward the barn while Cherry walked toward the main building. She had enough stuff to make a couple of good posts later, but she really needed a bit more. She wanted to emphasize donating to the shelter. She hated seeing so many homeless animals. With a sigh, she grabbed the handle of the main building’s front door, was blasted by the marked increase in volume, and muttered, “I absolutely should not go in here—” And the rest of the sentence stuck in her throat because was she really seeing what she thought she was seeing?
Across the lobby at the front desk stood a familiar blonde with a carrier at her feet. She wore jeans that hugged her ass in a way that grabbed Cherry and wouldn’t let her look away. Her hair was down, which she’d never seen before, only ponytails, and it was wavy and looked soft and did it smell like coconuts maybe? Peaches, she wondered?
“Jesus, get it together, Davis,” she muttered to herself, but before she could do or think anything else, Ellis turned her way and their gazes met. And then Ellis’s face blossomed into a beautiful smile, and escape was impossible, and Cherry’s insides went warm and mushy and what the hell was wrong with her?
“Hey, you,” Ellis said with a wave, raising her voice over the noise. “What are you doing here?”
“I was…” The words stuck in Cherry’s throat as she crossed the lobby to Ellis so they could actually hear each other, and then she rearranged her face into a smile, hopefully erasing the shocked expression she was sure she’d worn. “I saw the commercial on TV and wanted to pop by. I mean, who doesn’t love animals, right?” She didn’t stop to think about why she’d tucked the truth away in a pocket—she just kept smiling.
“Exactly. And want to help them.”
Cherry pointed to the paperwork on the counter that Ellis had clearly filled out. “And what’s going on here?”
“That would be my attempt at influencing the Universe to make a cat like me.” Ellis’s cheeks flushed a pretty pink, her eyes blinked rapidly, and she looked down. “I’m waiting for a volunteer to take me to the visiting room.”
“Have you already found a cat?”
“I did. Online first. Then I went in and saw him in his cubby. The visiting room was full, so I’m waiting until they have space for me and Nugget to meet.”
“Nugget? OMG, that’s too cute.”
“Hey, do you…” Ellis stopped and cleared her throat, then shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Would you wanna meet him with me?”
“I’d love to.” God, she’d answered quick. Didn’t even think about it. That wasn’t like her. More time with Ellis? Yes, please.
What was happening?
“This place is cool,” Ellis said as her gaze wandered the room. “Do you come here often?” Her eyes went a little wide as she must’ve realized what she said. “I meant that as an actual question, not as a pickup line.”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” Cherry said, not stopping to wonder why she suddenly became the Queen of Flirt around Ellis, because the surprised look on Ellis’s face was totally worth it. “And I actually used to volunteer here to walk the dogs when I was in high school. So, yes, I do come here often. Or I did.”
“Really? That’s so cool. Did you want to bring them all home?”
Cherry snorted. “No, I wanted to stay here with them.” She grimaced at the words, but when she looked at Ellis, there was nothing but sympathetic understanding on her face. And before anything else could be said, they were interrupted by a tall woman with short hair whose name tag said she was Lisa.
