“Why, Dad?” Lisa said. “We going on a trip?”

  The father’s smile got even bigger. “Yes, we are. And we need to leave first thing in the morning, which is why we have to pack tonight.”

  “What about our Christmas tree?” Jeffrey said.

  “We’ll have plenty of time to decorate the house and set up the tree before Christmas. In fact, this trip is all because of Christmas.” He spread out his arms and gathered everyone toward the sofa. “Have a seat, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

  Everyone sat down. Jeffrey sat in the middle, which Riley immediately interpreted as an invitation. He leapt onto his lap. He still didn’t know what this was all about. He hadn’t recognized a single word anyone said.

  “Our CEO,” Dad began, “asked everyone to meet in the lunchroom at one o’clock. Some of the hourly people looked pretty nervous thinking maybe this was going to be a layoff. But I knew it wasn’t. Business has been great the last two quarters. Turns out, things were going even better than I realized. He said the Board decided to share the wealth, so everyone was going to get a significant Christmas bonus. In fact, they had the checks all ready. The bookkeeper was standing by the front door with a big box, ready to pass them out.”

  “Wow, Dad,” Lisa said. “How much was it?”

  “That piece of information belongs to your mom and I.” He looked at her. “I will tell you when we’re alone.” He looked back at the rest. “Let’s just say it was bigger than any Christmas bonus I’ve gotten since I started working there.”

  “Really, Tom?” Mom said.

  He nodded. “And as soon as I opened the check and saw the amount, I instantly knew what I wanted to do with the money. My boss gave us the rest of the day off, but I stayed at my desk to work on my little Christmas present scheme. Took me just over an hour to iron out all the details. But everything came together and now—”

  “Dad, would you just tell us already?” Lisa said. “The suspense is killing me.”

  “Okay. Here goes. You know how last summer we had planned a family vacation at Disney, but then we had to cancel?”

  “Because it was too expensive,” Lisa added.

  “Yes,” Dad said, “in a manner of speaking. And your mom really wanted to be able to stay at one of the Disney World resorts, not in a cheaper hotel twenty minutes away like we did the last time we went.”

  “Did we ever go to Disney before?” Jeffrey said. “I don’t remember that.”

  “You were just a baby,” Lisa said.

  “Tom,” Mom said, smiling, “are you saying—”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying. I’ve already booked everything. It’s all paid for. Tomorrow we’ll get in the car and drive down to Disney World, where we’ll stay for the next five days, with passes that will let us go to any one of the parks we want. Even different parks on the same day. And…we’ll be staying at the Port Orleans French Quarter resort, which is right on the Disney property, less than five minutes from the parks. How’s that sound?”

  Everyone yelled and cheered at once. What was going on? Riley got off Jeffrey’s lap, moments before he jumped to his feet. Jeffrey ran around the coffee table and threw his arms around Dad’s waist. Lisa immediately did the same. Mom stood, walked around the table and leaned over the children to give Dad a kiss. They were all so excited and happy, which made Riley happy, too. Only he had no idea why. He stayed on the outskirts of the huddle wagging his tail, waiting for some direction.

  “So, I’m guessing you approve,” Dad said.

  “Do we ever,” Jeffrey said.

  “The Port Orleans Resort,” Mom said, “isn’t that the one we were looking at on the internet?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can we afford that?”

  “We can now. I’m telling you, it’s already paid for. The rooms, the park tickets, the money for the food. The gas to drive there and back.”

  “I can’t believe it,” Mom said.

  “Believe it. It’s real.”

  Just then, before he’d even said anything, Riley detected a change in Jeffrey’s mood. He watched as Jeffrey backed up and sat on the edge of the nearby recliner. Quickly, he rushed to be near him.

  “But Dad, what about Riley? We can’t leave him here all alone.”

  “What? No Jeffrey, we wouldn’t leave Riley by himself.”

  Riley heard his name, twice. Now everyone was looking at him.

  “Riley’s going with us.”

  “To Disney? They let dogs go to Disney?”

  “No, not at the parks. But there’s a special kennel just for pets on Disney property, for people staying at the resorts. I looked it up online. It’s huge.”

  “And,” Mom added, “it’s right down the street from Port Orleans, the Resort your father picked. That’s one of the reasons I liked that resort so much. It’s so close to the Disney kennel. We can stop and visit Riley whenever we want.”

  “Can we go every day?” Jeffrey asked.

  She nodded. “As often as we want. They even have a nice fenced in play area. You and Lisa can take him out there for a run every day. The pictures on the internet looked really nice. The whole place is nice. I think he’ll love it there.”

  Jeffrey squeezed Riley. “You hear that, boy? You’re going with us to Disney.”

  “Which reminds me,” Mom said. “Jeffrey, you need to get all his stuff together for the car.”

  “But Dad said we have to pack.”

  “You don’t know how to pack,” Lisa said.

  “You just take care of Riley’s stuff,” Mom said. “I’ll pack all your clothes. When you’re done with that, pack your backpack with all the fun stuff you want for the car ride and the hotel.”

  “Okay.”

  “Well,” Dad said, “let’s get hopping.”

  “Wait,” Mom said, “what about dinner?”

  “I’ll call the pizza place.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Riley watched Lisa run up the stairs and Jeffrey headed out toward the kitchen. He was just about to follow Jeffrey when Mom used his name. She was talking with Dad. He stopped in case he could understand anything else.

  “Hey Tom, I just thought about another Riley detail. Did you ever go online to update his chip information for his tag? Remember we talked about it last summer when we thought we were taking the trip then?”

  Tom’s smile instantly disappeared. “No, I didn’t. But I’ll take care of it tonight.”

  “Tom…you better. It’s over a year out of date. We moved since the last time it was active. Our contact information isn’t the same anymore.”

  “I know. I’ll take care of it.”

  Riley didn’t know what either of them had said. They seemed a little tense. He ran through the kitchen trying to catch up with Jeffrey, but he had just left through the door leading to the garage and closed it behind him.

  Oh, well. Better go check in with Squirrel.

  4

  Summerville Humane Society

  Summerville, FL

  Kim Harper, the Animal Behavior Manager and senior dog trainer at the shelter, sat in front of her computer screen reading everything she could about Dignity Pond, a new tiny-home housing complex set to open its doors shortly after New Year’s Day. Its founder, billionaire Taylor Saunders, had asked to meet with Kim today. She had no idea why. The call hadn’t come to her directly, but through the shelter’s CEO.

  Mr. Saunders could be arriving any minute.

  The CEO had asked Kim to do whatever she could to accommodate the man, within reason. It’s not every day a billionaire philanthropist comes knocking at your door. Like every other non-profit corporation, adequate funding was always an issue at the Humane Society. Her concentration was instantly broken when her office door swung open and a big hairy blur came bounding through.

  “Finley, greet!”

  Kim turned in her chair to welcome Finley, a mostly-golden retriever and one of her favorite dogs in the world. He instantly obeyed his owner Amy’s command and sat right in front of Kim, eagerly waiting for her to respond. Amy Wallace was Kim’s assistant dog trainer at the shelter. They’d started working together six months ago, after Amy’s release from prison. While there, Amy had trained Finley as part of a program that prepared shelter dogs to assist war veterans struggling with PTSD. Finley had gone home with Chris Segar, a veteran of Afghanistan, who’d fallen in love with both Amy and Finley. He and Amy had recently gotten engaged.

  Amy stood in the doorway.

  “There’s my beautiful boy,” Kim said, scratching behind Finley’s ears. “Oh, so soft.” She ran her hands through his long reddish coat. “And silky.” She gave him a hug. “And you smell so nice.”

  “He just got a bath,” Amy said. “We’re done for the day, right? After we do this private lesson?”

  Kim looked at the clock on the wall then made a face. “That’s why you’re here.” She had forgotten. She and Amy were supposed to be doing a private lesson together twenty minutes from now. Finley was supposed to come, too. “I’m afraid our plans have changed.”

  “What? What do you mean?”

  “I got an assignment handed to me from the CEO a half hour ago. I’m supposed to meet with Taylor Saunders any minute. You know who that is?”

  “I know he’s a rich guy. I’ve seen him in the local news a few times. But why is he coming here?”

  “I’m not exactly sure. Apparently, when he called he asked to speak with me, specifically.”

  Amy walked the rest of the way into the office and sat in a straight-backed chair. “So, we’re going to have to reschedule the private lesson?”

  Kim paused. She hated doing this but she knew Amy was ready. “Not exactly. I was thinking…”

  “Uh-oh, what?”

  “I’d like you to do the lesson.”

  “Me? You mean, without you?”

  Kim nodded. “I really don’t want to reschedule this lady. We had to postpone her last week, remember? When we had that little emergency in A-kennel?”

  “I do, but…I’ve never done a private lesson by myself before.”

  “I know, Amy. And I’m not just asking you to avoid saying no to this lady again. The truth is, you are totally ready for this. This lesson is just about basic stuff. The dog is terrible on the leash. She goes nuts when other dogs walk by, and she jumps on everyone that comes in the front door. You can handle those kinds of things in your sleep. Besides, you’ve been teaching these behaviors in the group classes already. Not to mention all your training experience from the prison program.”

  “But all of those times were in a group. This will just be me and one owner. If I make a mistake it will really stand out. What if she asks questions I can’t answer?”

  “Then you just say, let me get back to you on that. But there’s a good chance you’ll know the answer. You really are ready for this, Amy. I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but I’ve been letting you do more and more of the talking when we’re doing private lessons.”

  “You have?”

  “I have. On purpose. And you’ve been doing great.”

  There was a pause. Finally, Amy smiled.

  “I’m serious,” Kim said. “You will do just fine.” Her phone rang. “I better get this. He might be here.”

  “Real quick,” Amy said, “would it be okay if I called Chris and asked him to meet me at the client’s house? He’s already off work, and since part of the lesson is helping her dog behave better when dogs come around, I figure he could walk Finley for me.”

  “I don’t have a problem with that. Sure. Tell Chris I said hi.”

  “I will.” Amy called Finley, waved goodbye to Kim and headed down the hall.

  Kim picked up the phone.

  “Hey Kim, this is Anne out in the lobby. There’s this really handsome, well-dressed guy who just walked through the front door. He’s asking for you. Says he has an appointment?”

  Kim decided it was probably Taylor Saunders. The man must be out of earshot, or else Anne would never say something like that.

  “Do you want me to send him back?”

  “No, I think I know who it is. And if I’m right, I’m expecting him. I’ll come out there.”

  “Okay, I’ll tell him. It’s near the end of the day. Maybe hint that you’re hungry. Judging by the wristwatch he’s wearing, he could afford to take you anywhere in town.”

  “Just tell him I’ll be right there.” Kim hung up the phone and headed down the hall toward the lobby. There was a big mirror hanging in the hallway. Normally, she walked right by. For some reason, she stopped and checked herself over. Her hair, her makeup. Practiced a few smiles. She realized what she was doing and stopped.

  Handsome, well-dressed billionaire.

  Remember, he is just a man. Probably married. All the handsome, well-dressed ones were. When she reached the lobby, Anne saw her and waved. She pointed to where the man was sitting, at the end of a row of padded chairs reading a dog magazine.

  Kim took a deep breath and tried to walk across the lobby as normal as possible. When she stood right in front of him, she extended her hand. “Mr. Saunders?”

  He looked up and smiled. A very nice smile. “Mrs. Harper?”

  “No, well…my name is Harper, but it’s Miss. You can call me Kim, if you’d like.”

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I assumed that you’re married. Then please, call me Taylor.” He stood and shook her hand.

  He was quite tall. She noticed he wasn’t wearing a wedding band, either. “Okay…Taylor.” It felt odd calling a man of his stature by his first name so soon.

  “Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Kim. I hope I didn’t mess up your plans.”

  “You didn’t. Just had to rearrange a few things. When my boss told me about your call, he didn’t mention why you wanted to see me.”

  “That’s probably because he didn’t know. It’s no big secret. I would have mentioned it, but I didn’t make the call myself. My assistant did. Is there some place we could talk? It shouldn’t take very long.”

  “Sure. We could either go back to my office, or maybe it’d be better if we met in our interview room. It’s just down the hall.”

  “Great. You lead the way.”

  After Kim had taken a few steps, Taylor spoke up. “Say, I’ve got an idea. Don’t feel you have to say yes, but I worked right through lunch and I’m kind of hungry. You have any plans for dinner?”

  “No. Not really.”

  “Well how about this? We could go out and get a bite to eat, and I could share my proposal with you then.”

  “You have a proposal?”

  “Kind of. I don’t mean to make it sound so official. It’s more like a big idea I’ve been thinking about lately. I’d like to run it by you, see if you think it’s feasible. Something you might like to be involved with.”

  What in the world could it be? Was he thinking about offering her a job? Her expression must have shown some confusion.

  “It’s an idea I’d like to explore. If it works, it would involve you, this shelter and my new project. You may have heard of it, Dignity Pond?”

  “I have. I was just reading about it online before you arrived.”

  “Great. Well, that’s what this little meeting is about. I’ll tell you all about it over dinner. You want to drive in my car or follow me there?”

  “Follow you where?”

  “I was thinking of The Sierra House? Ever been there?”

  Not in a million years, she thought. She couldn’t afford the appetizers there. “No.”

  “I love that place. It’ll be my treat.”

  “Well, I better follow you or we’d have to be back here by six. That’s when they lock the front gate.”

  “Then you’re right. We better meet there. Can you leave now?”

  “Sure. I just need to go back to my office and get my things, turn off my computer. But wait, I’m not really dressed to eat at a place like that, am I?”

  He stood back and looked her over, in a respectful way. “You look absolutely perfect. Besides, it’s a pretty casual atmosphere there.”

  “Okay, if you say so.”

  “Know where it is?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ll leave now and get us a table.” He smiled, turned and headed out the front door.

  Apparently, Anne had heard the entire exchange. She gave Kim a big smile and two thumbs up.

  Eating at The Sierra House with a handsome, well-dressed billionaire. Not exactly the way Kim had imagined this day would end.

  5

  Kim pulled her nine-year-old Hyundai Santa-Fe into the parking lot of The Sierra House. The car, like her, seemed totally out of place. At least she had been able to change her shoes (she always kept a nice pair in the car). As she got out and made her way to the front door, she noticed almost every other car was either a BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Cadillac or Audi.

  She reminded herself how much none of this mattered. She got to work with dogs. Something she had wanted to do since she was a little girl. How many people can say that?

  An attractive young hostess anticipated her arrival and held open the front door. “Welcome to The Sierra House.”

  “Thank you.” She stepped into the foyer and was immediately struck by the elegance. It resembled the lobby of an exquisite hotel. A large Christmas tree, fully decorated, filled the left corner. Another hostess stood behind a marble podium that was outlined in red and silver garland. “Do you have reservations?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure. I’m meeting a man named, Taylor Saunders. I think he might already be—”

  “Oh yes, Mr. Saunders. He’s already here. He said to expect you. I’ll take you to him.”

  “Great. Thank you.”

  “He comes here quite often,” the hostess whispered. “He’s such a nice man. The servers fight over who gets his table.”

  Kim didn’t know what to say. She just followed quietly. They rounded a corner into the main dining room, divided into various sections by dark-paneled half-walls and slatestone pillars. The lights throughout were wrapped in shades, giving the place a warm, living room feel.

  She continued following the hostess but noticed Saunders up ahead. He saw her, too, smiled and waved. As she reached the table, the hostess mentioned their server would be there in a moment to take their drink orders. Menus had already been set on the table.

 

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