Apple Blossom B&B: A Sweet, Small Town, Southern Romance (Sweet Tea and a Southern Gentleman Book 3) by Anne-Marie Meyer

Author:Anne-Marie Meyer [Meyer, Anne-Marie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sweet Escape Publishing, LLC
Published: 2023-05-30T18:30:00+00:00

13

CLAIRE

I screamed as Carmel shook, spraying me with soapy water. I leapt to the side to avoid the shower of droplets, but I wasn’t fast enough, and I ended up with the front of my t-shirt soaking wet.

Rose chuckled. She was sitting on the front porch of the B&B, sipping lemonade and pretending not to watch me. She was aghast that I’d agreed to watch the dog and remained an ever-present observer, eyeing me as I attempted to feed and clean the dog I affectionately named Carmel.

“Your mother will lose her mind when she finds out that you allowed a dog on the grounds of her B&B,” Rose had muttered under her breath yesterday as I filled bowls with water and meat scraps from the fridge.

I’d just shrugged. My mother hated me already, so I wasn’t losing out on anything. An animal needed my help, and I wasn’t going to walk away.

“You could help me,” I called up to Rose as I stalked around Carmel, determined to scrub her down. The dog just watched me warily.

“And look like you? No, thank you.” Rose raised her glass of lemonade, and the sound of ice clinking made my parched throat ache.

I shot her an annoyed look, but as I did, Carmel took her chance at freedom and sprinted across the yard. I yelped, stumbling to get my feet under me, and took off after her.

“Carmel!” I yelled as my flip-flops slipped on the grass. I had half a mind to kick them off, but there were too many jagged rocks around for me to trust that I wouldn’t end up with cut up feet. I cursed as she took off into the brush at the edge of the woods around the B&B.

Mom owned the twenty acres that surrounded the B&B to keep a secluded feeling even though the building was located just a stone’s throw from town. Normally, I didn’t mind how intimate the grounds felt with the tall trees and thick brush, but it was going to be hell to find that dog.

“Carmel!” I shouted again, pushing through the brush, searching for any hint of Carmel’s direction. I sighed as sweat pricked my neck and back. I was hot and irritated. I’d spent the last twenty minutes trying to clean her, and now all of my hard work was going to be for naught.

If she heard me, she didn’t move to obey. All I could spot was some rustling in the woods, so I followed after it, praying that I was following Carmel and not some rabbit or squirrel.

I used to roam these woods as a kid. If I remembered right, there was a small pond somewhere back here that I’d follow my brothers to and beg them to let me fish with them.

Maybe that’s where Carmel was headed to. Sweat was dripping down my back, and my thirst had been amplified from the humidity and exertion. She was still covered in her winter coat, so she had to be hotter than I was in my t-shirt and biker shorts.

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