you.”
“Listen here, little lady—” The man grabbed my wrist a split second before Max clamped his jaw around his leg.
“Max, no!” I screamed.
He obediently let go of the man’s leg and sat down beside me, but there was nothing I could do about the growling coming from deep within his throat.
“That dog is a menace and should be put down. I’m calling the sheriff.”
“No, don’t!” I pleaded. “Max didn’t even break the skin on your leg. He was just warning you to back off. Any dog would have done the same. I’ll pay for the fish,” I offered.
The man took a step back. “You have any money on you?”
“No,” I admitted, “but I live down the beach. I’ll go get some and bring it right back.”
The man seemed to be considering my offer. “Okay. A hundred bucks, and you got twenty minutes or I call the sheriff and report the fact that your dog attacked me.”
“A hundred bucks?” I complained. “For that tiny fish?”
“Take it or leave it.”
“Okay,” I agreed. “I’ll be right back.”
Luckily, I kept a stash of emergency cash in my cabin, so I was able to avert a disaster by appeasing the unfriendly visitor to our island. I left Max at home with Romeo while I returned to give the man his money, which turned out to be my second really bad idea. Max was understandably riled up by the unpleasant encounter and was therefore determined not to let me out of his sight. Once I left, Max’s protective instinct kicked in, resulting in a doggie-size hole in the screen door.
By the time Max caught up with me, I had delivered the money to the unreasonable fisherman and was on my way back to the house.
“What did you do?” I asked my dog. He suddenly realized the error of his ways and hung his head in shame. Max lay down at my feet with his face flat against the ground and looked up at me with the most apologetic eyes.
“I know. You were worried about me and wanted to protect me from the bad man. It’s okay. I’m not mad.” I smiled at my protector. “I guess we can call Danny to see if he has time to come by to fix this.”
Max covered his eyes with his paw. I guess he knew that calling Danny before I jumped in the shower would be my third increasingly horrible decision of the day.
“Oh my gosh.” Tara laughed. “You are kidding?”
“I’m afraid not.” I groaned. I had just recounted my morning to Tara, including the fact that not only had Danny come right over while I was in the shower but that he had brought Cody with him. The problem was that I didn’t know they were there and had come walking out of the bathroom in nothing but a very small towel.
“The towel was so small that when I turned to scamper back to my bedroom I’m pretty sure my right butt cheek was hanging out,” I shared as we pulled up to the community center for our first exercise class.
“That is too funny. I wish I could have been there. What did the guys say?”
“Danny laughed and Cody whistled. I scurried away as soon as I noticed them, so I didn’t really give them a chance to say anything. I snuck out my bedroom window and climbed down the tree when I left so I didn’t have to face them.”
“You didn’t!”
“I had to. Trust me, that wasn’t how I wanted my first encounter with Cody to go after everything that happened between us.”
Tara and I paid for the class and continued into the room that was used for the various classes the center offered. Unfortunately, one entire wall was lined with mirrors, accentuating the fact that both Tara and I looked ridiculous in the leotards that had seemed like a good idea when we’d bought them the previous year for a dance class we’d never wound up attending. My bright green leotard clung to my slim frame, making me look like Peter Pan, and even worse, with her voluptuous figure, Tara looked like a grape about to pop in the purple leotard she’d chosen to wear.
“Maybe we should put our sweats back on,” I suggested.
Tara
“Listen here, little lady—” The man grabbed my wrist a split second before Max clamped his jaw around his leg.
“Max, no!” I screamed.
He obediently let go of the man’s leg and sat down beside me, but there was nothing I could do about the growling coming from deep within his throat.
“That dog is a menace and should be put down. I’m calling the sheriff.”
“No, don’t!” I pleaded. “Max didn’t even break the skin on your leg. He was just warning you to back off. Any dog would have done the same. I’ll pay for the fish,” I offered.
The man took a step back. “You have any money on you?”
“No,” I admitted, “but I live down the beach. I’ll go get some and bring it right back.”
The man seemed to be considering my offer. “Okay. A hundred bucks, and you got twenty minutes or I call the sheriff and report the fact that your dog attacked me.”
“A hundred bucks?” I complained. “For that tiny fish?”
“Take it or leave it.”
“Okay,” I agreed. “I’ll be right back.”
Luckily, I kept a stash of emergency cash in my cabin, so I was able to avert a disaster by appeasing the unfriendly visitor to our island. I left Max at home with Romeo while I returned to give the man his money, which turned out to be my second really bad idea. Max was understandably riled up by the unpleasant encounter and was therefore determined not to let me out of his sight. Once I left, Max’s protective instinct kicked in, resulting in a doggie-size hole in the screen door.
By the time Max caught up with me, I had delivered the money to the unreasonable fisherman and was on my way back to the house.
“What did you do?” I asked my dog. He suddenly realized the error of his ways and hung his head in shame. Max lay down at my feet with his face flat against the ground and looked up at me with the most apologetic eyes.
“I know. You were worried about me and wanted to protect me from the bad man. It’s okay. I’m not mad.” I smiled at my protector. “I guess we can call Danny to see if he has time to come by to fix this.”
Max covered his eyes with his paw. I guess he knew that calling Danny before I jumped in the shower would be my third increasingly horrible decision of the day.
“Oh my gosh.” Tara laughed. “You are kidding?”
“I’m afraid not.” I groaned. I had just recounted my morning to Tara, including the fact that not only had Danny come right over while I was in the shower but that he had brought Cody with him. The problem was that I didn’t know they were there and had come walking out of the bathroom in nothing but a very small towel.
“The towel was so small that when I turned to scamper back to my bedroom I’m pretty sure my right butt cheek was hanging out,” I shared as we pulled up to the community center for our first exercise class.
“That is too funny. I wish I could have been there. What did the guys say?”
“Danny laughed and Cody whistled. I scurried away as soon as I noticed them, so I didn’t really give them a chance to say anything. I snuck out my bedroom window and climbed down the tree when I left so I didn’t have to face them.”
“You didn’t!”
“I had to. Trust me, that wasn’t how I wanted my first encounter with Cody to go after everything that happened between us.”
Tara and I paid for the class and continued into the room that was used for the various classes the center offered. Unfortunately, one entire wall was lined with mirrors, accentuating the fact that both Tara and I looked ridiculous in the leotards that had seemed like a good idea when we’d bought them the previous year for a dance class we’d never wound up attending. My bright green leotard clung to my slim frame, making me look like Peter Pan, and even worse, with her voluptuous figure, Tara looked like a grape about to pop in the purple leotard she’d chosen to wear.
“Maybe we should put our sweats back on,” I suggested.
Tara
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