Kalista looked over as several cars pulled into the parking lot. Smiling she turned back to Evie. “Go do your thing. We’ll get everything ready here.”
After Evie left, Kalista, Becca and her two employees finished unloading all of the boxes and coolers from the van.
“It’s not even ten yet and there are so many people here already,” Zoe said as she and Nikita joined them.
Kalista turned to them and grinned. “Thanks for coming.”
“I thought you were working today,” Becca said.
Nikita shook her head. “I’ll open the shop late today. Most of the crazy assholes who want to come in and get inked on Valentine’s Day end up doing it later anyways.”
That made them all laugh. “What can we do to help?” Zoe asked.
She put her friends to work helping set up tiered trays of cookies and cupcakes. They had also filled little bags with a selection of the treats for people to be able to take with them when they visited with the dogs. She decided to stash the rest of the items in the coolers they shoved under the tables so they would be able to easily replace the trays throughout the day.
Kalista couldn’t help but feel annoyed that Jared hadn’t come with her to help out that morning. He had gotten back from his trip late Wednesday night and had called her to tell her he had gotten home safely. It had worried her that he hadn’t come over, but she had been too busy to think of it too much. The following day she had worked at the bakery all day, and around dinner time Jared had shown up with two huge bags full of Chinese takeout for all the people helping with the baking.
Over dinner he’d told her about the press conference he had attended, but she hadn’t been able to ask any deep, probing questions because they weren’t alone. After they ate, he had helped out in the kitchen, washing the trays after they had transferred the cookies and cupcakes to the cooling racks or doing whatever else was needed. He and Nate had taken over the task of filling the bags with the finished dog treats while the women continued making whatever they needed for the adoption event.
There was something about Jared’s behavior that had put Kalista on guard. When asked, her friends said they didn’t think anything was different, but Kalista knew there was something off. She had come to know him too well, and she was sure that he was hiding something from her. Not wanting to hear that he was ending their relationship, she hadn’t asked about it. Instead, she used the time to figure out what she wanted to say to him when they finally got a minute alone. Unfortunately, she had been so tired by the time they had finished with their baking that all she could do was take a shower, then crawl into bed.
At dawn she had woken up to feel Jared’s mouth pressed against hers. She had welcomed his heavy weight as he covered her body with his and held on to him tightly as he made love to her with a passion that stole her breath. After they climaxed together, Kalista had closed her eyes and fallen back to sleep with a soft smile on her face. When she woke the next time, her smile was gone, and so was Jared.
He had left her a note saying he had some things to take care of before he met her at the rescue center. It had left her with an aching heart since she could feel him pulling away from her, but she was determined to get through the day before she allowed herself to fall apart.
With the extra help from Zoe and Nikita, it didn’t take them long to get everything ready. As the women had been setting out the baked goods more people had arrived, and the area was already packed with people.
“Here,” Francesca said as she walked up to them carrying two clear, plastic containers with a hole cut into the top. “Can we put these donation jars on the tables somewhere?”
“Sure,” Kalista said, finding the perfect spot for each. She started to introduce Francesca to her other friends only to find out that Hunter actually worked part-time at Ink This with Nikita when he wasn’t at the rescue center. Zoe seemed to know everyone in town because the bar she worked at was such a hot spot. Becca was the only one who didn’t know everyone else, so Francesca offered to give her a tour so she could introduce her to everyone.
“It looks wonderful. Oh, Kali. You did such a wonderful job, and we are so grateful to have you be a part in today’s festivities,” Madeline said as she and Evie joined them. She pulled Kalista into her arms and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Kalista still felt awkward with the affection gestures that seemed to come so naturally from Jared’s mother when she couldn’t even remember when the last time her own mother had given her a hug. Kalista opened her mouth to respond when they heard a loud rumbling sound coming from the road.