“41 Swan Drive, 41 Swan Drive” Kat repeated as she grabbed a leash and rushed to find her dog. “I am such a bad puppy mother” she berated herself. Completely lost in her own worries, she had failed to notice that Harper had given up waiting and had taken herself for a walk. Now Kat felt the double-edged sword of guilt and worry twisting in her bowels. Anything could have happened to the happy-go-lucky puppy, from being kidnapped or lost, or to being hit by a car.
41 Swan Drive turned out to be a nice grey brick bungalow with white trim and clusters of green bushes artfully arranged around the yard. Following the instructions to let herself into the back yard, Kat pushed open the cast iron gate and fell to her knees when Harper jumped into her arms “You here! You play too! Come see Ryder!” Tears sprang to Kat’s eyes as she hugged her puppy, then released her to run with her furry friend. Getting to her feet, Kat turned towards Sean. Man of her dreams and now also her rescuer.
“Thank you so much for catching her and calling Marge and Ian. I don’t know how I’d survive if I lost her or she got hurt. I was so afraid!” Kat stammered out her thanks, caught by his mesmerizing brown eyes and kind expression.
“I was happy to help” he replied, reaching out to touch her shoulder. “I know the pain of losing a loved one. You must have been beside yourself with worry.”
Kat dropped her gaze and blushed as she told him that she hadn’t even noticed that Harper was gone. She felt like such a fool revealing her inattention to this man. He dropped his hand, and an awkward silence descended upon the two, an odd background to the joyous leaps and yips of the two dancing puppies.
“Well”, he said, turning to her and putting his hand once more on her shoulder “I’m glad it has all turned out well.”
Kat felt tears come to her eyes at his compassion and looked up into his eyes. “I’m not usually this inattentive. I’ve had a million things going on and I see now that I wasn’t paying attention to the right ones. Can I invite you for tea at Sugar Bee’s? I noticed that you often have one of their to-go cups at the park”.
Sean smiled and Kat felt her knees give out just a little. Her heart actually thumped in her chest as she waited for his response.
“No thanks are needed, but I would certainly not say no to a cup of tea. It’s a date. How is tomorrow morning?”
Kat couldn’t help but smile as she walked back home, with a joyfully bouncing Harper by her side. Sean was kind, helpful, beautiful, and made her heart race with a simple smile. Ellie had told her to stop being so reserved, and here she was already going on a date. Wait? Was it a date? Well, tea anyhow.
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