Head Over Paws

by Debbie Burns

  Proving his memory was as good as hers, Morgan beelined straight toward the first box as they started down the path.

  “Fair warning, once he comes in here, it’s hard to get him out.”

  “You know, now that he and Samson are hanging out as much as they are, Samson may help instill some manners in him. Morgan’s a sharp enough dog to figure it out, that’s for sure. It just takes awhile to come back from neglect like he’s had.”

  “I bet Samson does teach him a few things. Especially once they get over that cool, indifferent phase they’re in with each other.”

  Gabe chuckled. “We’re already seeing some signs of that, don’t you think?”

  They’d reached the first scent box, the trail’s newest addition, that contained an abandoned beehive. Morgan went to town sniffing and sniffing, the sound reverberating through the air holes in the box.

  As if proving their growing camaraderie, Samson noticed that something interesting held Morgan’s attention and trotted over to sniff the box as well. Their noses touched as they sniffed, and Samson’s long, bushy tail kept almost identical time with Morgan’s short, stiff one.

  “It would certainly seem so.” Olivia glanced down the trail as far as she could see. “So, what are we doing out here anyway?”

  “Patrick pointed something out to me earlier. It’s a bit windier this way, and the ravine’s steeper, but the bridge would be no wider, and the trail’s mostly already here. We could start on the bridge this weekend and have most of it done by Sunday.”

  “Don’t you think we should wait? Till it’s official?”

  Gabe had pulled out his phone. Olivia assumed he was checking a text before he passed it her way, but she realized that he had an e-doc pulled up—one that looked very official and had a series of signatures, including his and Yun’s.

  She gasped. “It’s final? Oh my gosh, when did it happen?”

  “Around eleven o’clock this morning.” He grinned, happiness radiating off him. “I’d have called, but I wanted to tell you in person.”

  Olivia threw her arms around him. “Gabe, I’m so happy for you!”

  “Thanks. I’m happy for us. Good things are coming for you too. Trust me. I can feel it.”

  “You know what? I believe you. I feel it too.” She pressed her lips against his for a congratulatory kiss. “How’s Yun? Ecstatic?”

  “You could say that. She spent her lunch break drawing up plans. I think I told you, the jewelry store owner’s son just moved back home. We agreed that he could be the general contractor on the remodeling. It was the one thing that finally tipped that cranky old man’s scale.”

  “The one who was away at the Peace Corps?”

  “Yeah, him.”

  “Do you think that could be weird, having the previous owner’s son doing the remodeling?”

  “Maybe, but he’s a legit contractor and from the pictures we saw, a talented one at that. Besides, with the money we’ve saved on the contract, it’s a win-win. I’m guessing there’s more to the whole thing than I know, but the old man really wanted his son to stay in St. Louis for a while. And honestly, I’m not going to have to manage much on the construction end of things. Yun lives for project management. As you may have guessed.”

  Olivia laughed and hugged him again. “In a few months, you’re going to be working right next door to this place. It’s practically too good to be true.”

  “I hear you.” He pulled her in for a hug, one hand closing over her back pocket. “Hey, I think you’re getting a call.”

  “I thought I felt something. But I also thought maybe I was just happy to see you,” she said, grinning. She pulled out her phone to glance at the number. It was a local one, but not a number she knew. Just as she started to answer, it was lost to voicemail. “I’ll check it later,” she said when her phone vibrated to indicate a new message. “I see a pair of lips I’d like to spend a couple minutes kissing before I have to head back inside to those kids.”

  Gabe kissed her just long enough to warm her blood before slipping Samson’s leash from her hand. “You know, all those résumés you’ve been sending out… Why not take a few seconds to see who it was?”

  Olivia shrugged. “You’re right. As always.”

  Maybe it was because the afternoon had already been so perfect, but after pressing her phone to her ear and listening to the voicemail, she needed to play the short message a second time for it to sink in.

  When it finished the second time, she had to steady herself by locking a hand over Gabe’s arm. He’d been watching Morgan and Samson take turns sniffing around the base of a crooked sapling. He looked her way at the touch and cocked an eyebrow. “Judging by the look on your face, I’m guessing you don’t regret that lost minute or two of kissing. I hope you’re about to tell me you’re getting called in for an interview.”

  She shook her head, keeping her hand on his arm. “Uh, not exactly. Maybe, I guess.”

  “It’s got to be something good, because you look like Christmas just came about eight months early.”

  “It was Principal Garcia. That must have been her cell phone. She said they’ve had a string of new-student applications. Enough to be over limit by one.”

  “Over limit by one? That’s enough, isn’t it?”

  Olivia bit her lip, but the smile still spread across her face. “It would seem so. I can hardly believe it. Gabe, it’s the one job I wanted all along.”

  Gabe enveloped her in a tight hug. “I’m sorry you had to go through this, but no one deserves a position there more than you. Not after all you’ve done with those kids.”

  “She didn’t exactly say the position was mine, but she asked me to come to her office first thing Monday morning. Here, listen, because I can hardly believe it.”

  Olivia pulled up the voicemail again and played it over the speaker for Gabe to hear. Sure enough, it ended with the words she’d thought Principal Garcia had said: “There are the formalities, of course. We can never skip those. But I know who I want back here next year. And after this field trip of yours, there’s a motivated group of incoming eighth graders who are hoping for the same thing.”

  “Listen to that,” Gabe said as Olivia hung up. He brushed the tip of one finger across the ridge of her brow. “Olivia Graham, not even finished with a full semester there and already making waves.”

  “Oh, Gabe, I can’t tell you how many ideas I’ve been storing away in hopes of having my own students next year.”

  Gabe locked her hand in his and pulled it to his chest. Morgan had finished scoping out the area and was ready to move on and made it known by tugging the leash in his other hand. Samson had wandered a few feet ahead and was busy sniffing out the next scent station, making Morgan whine with envy.

  Gabe looked from the dogs to the jewelry store just visible beyond the trees and then back at her. “You know, all my bets are on next year being a really good year.”

  As their lips met somewhere in the middle, Olivia couldn’t think of a single reason to disagree.

  Acknowledgments

  One of my favorite coffee mugs reads “Please don’t confuse your Google search with my medical degree.” As a fiction writer, I often find it necessary to dive headfirst into a subject I know little about, soak in what I can, and hope to do the subject justice in the manuscript. Understandably, one of the questions I get asked most about my writing of this series is, “How am I so versed in animal rescue work and dog training?”

  While Google searches are helpful, they can’t compare to life experience or in-person interviews. Fortunately, the animal shelter world is one in which I’m fairly well versed. I’ve had considerable experience working for nonprofit conservation organizations and volunteering with animal shelters. When it comes to dog training, I know the basics and have taken my own dogs through obedience training courses, but I’m not a professional trainer
. Fortunately, my two adequately trained shelter dogs fit right into my at-times chaotic house with teens!

  There are many other aspects of the canine world that I’ve written about in this series in which I’m not as well versed. For help in portraying Gabe and Samson’s search-and-rescue (SAR) work, I’d like to thank Brenda Cone for sharing her expertise as a SAR worker with her beloved dog, Max. I’d also like to thank Linda Swoboda for sharing her behind-the-scenes expertise as a volunteer rescue transporter. In regard to portraying Gabe’s EMT-firefighting work, I’d like to thank Battalion Chief Eric Heimos and his crew for sharing their knowledge and expertise on firefighting and emergency rescue services with the Missouri Romance Writers of America. In regard to Gabe’s veterinary work, a special thanks to Dr. Rebecca Hodges for looking over the manuscript with her keen veterinary eye. Thanks also to Patsy Donaldson and her knowledge of all things Missouri Bootheel.

  For helping shape Head Over Paws from story development to cover design and more, I’d like to thank the wonderful team at Sourcebooks and Sourcebooks Casablanca, most especially my editor, Deb Werksman. I’d be remiss not to also mention Susie Benton, Stefani Sloma, and Diane Dannenfeldt by name. Thanks to my beta readers of this book, Sandy Thal and Theresa Schmidt. And of course, there’s my agent, Jess Watterson, at Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency, who’s always there when I need her and who brightens my days with pictures of her shelter dogs whenever I’m surfing through Instagram due to a bout of writer’s block.

  Last but never least are my family and friends whose support means so much. Amanda Heger and Angela Evans, thanks for helping me stay grounded through the at-times chaotic life of being a published writer. Ciara Brewer and Bree Liddell, without our consistent goal setting in our mastermind meetings, I doubt I’d ever make these deadlines. And finally, there’s my family, who even with book number five, are still just as excited for release day as they were for my debut. Thanks for your support, love, and inspiration.

  About the Author

  Debbie Burns lives in St. Louis with her teens, two phenomenal rescue dogs, and a somewhat tetchy Maine coon cat who everyone loves anyway. Her hobbies include hiking, gardening, and daydreaming, which, of course, always leads to new story ideas.

  Debbie is an award-winning author and 2019 HOLT Medallion Award of Merit recipient. Commendations for her Rescue Me series include a Starred Review from Publishers Weekly and a Top Pick from RT Book Reviews for A New Leash on Love, and an Amazon Best Book of the Month for My Forever Home.

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  authordebbieburns.com

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